AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Randy came in, paid sticker price for a purse, muttered something about a granddaughter, and left on his lawn mower.”
“Huh. I didn’t know he had a granddaughter.”
After only an hour, half of the clothes had been sold. There were still a lot of people bustling in and out of the café. According to Sandy, a van full of women came down from Vernon, a town thirty minutes farther north. The bell above the door rang again, and Cate came in.
“Hi, Cate. Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?” Kylie greeted her.
“Yes actually, I was wondering if there might be something that would be good to wear to a job interview?”
“Do you have one coming up?”
“Not exactly.” Cate lowered her voice a bit. “But I can’t work at the grocery store forever, right? I’m hoping to start the hunt for a new job in Hampton soon, now that Charlie’s a bit bigger.”
“That’s great,” Kylie said. “Follow me, I have some ideas.”
She led Cate over to the clothing racks and picked out a pair of skinny black pants, a light pink blouse with a tie at the neck, and a white blazer with three-quarter sleeves.
“Try these on first.” Kylie handed the clothing to Cate.
She retreated to the bathroom, and Kylie gathered a pair of wedge ankle boots and a brown leather satchel and brought them over to Cate who’d come out of the bathroom in the outfit to get an opinion.
“Fabulous!” Kylie said. “How do you feel?”
“Really professional. Like maybe I should be aiming higher on the job front.”
Kylie passed her the boots and satchel which Cate put on, and Kylie took a picture with her phone so Cate could see the whole thing.
“This is kind of like raiding people’s closets in high school.” She laughed.
“Yeah, except my taste in clothes is much better now.” Kylie joined her laughter.
“Okay, I’ll take this outfit and hopefully get to use it soon. Thanks for your help.”
“Anytime,” Kylie said, and found that she meant it. She had an inkling it would be nice to be around to cheer Cate on as she went to that job interview.
Kylie was startled out of her thoughts when Audrey yelled, “It’s not fair! Kylie, why do you have to be so much taller than me?” Her friend was holding up a pair of jeans that would’ve dragged on the floor on her.
After another hour, everything had been cleared out. Kylie was sliding tables back into place and cleaning up napkins and mugs off the counter. She told Sandy to go home and she’d lock up after cleaning.
The bell above the door chimed, and Derek came in. He wore jeans and a blue crew neck sweater. His dark brown hair was combed neatly. There was no denying he was just as handsome out of uniform as he was in it.
Kylie placed a cool hand on her cheek to collect herself.
“Hey,” he said. “I thought I’d come and see if you needed any help. Wow, did you sell everything?”
“Yes! It’s all gone.” Pride welled in her chest. “I’ll have a final total for you tomorrow after I count up all the cash, but I think we at least broke three thousand.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. Also, you apparently had a lot of clothes.”
She laughed. “You know, I really did.”
“What can I do?” he asked.
“Do you mind sweeping the floor while I wipe down the tables? The broom is in the corner of the kitchen.”
“Sure thing,” he said, going behind the counter to get the broom.
They worked in silence for a few minutes. She was cleaning out the coffee maker when she looked at Derek, and her heart skipped a beat. In that moment she saw all the things that had made her swoon over him in high school. He was thoughtful, and helpful, and sweet. She also saw everything he had become, an amazing uncle, a protector of the town, and a beloved member of the community.
