Once Upon a Craft Shop, page 2
part #1 of Craft Shop Mysteries Series
I drilled the short little man with a firm stare. “And I noticed when I was here that this town doesn’t have a store that caters to that audience. Somebody who makes things only has three options—buy whatever the big box store happens to have in stock, order it online, or travel to a bigger town that has a craft store.”
The little man opened his mouth to make a retort, but seemed to be unable to find the right words. Instead, he snapped his jaw shut and glared at me. “You shouldn’t be here.”
That again? I took another deep breath. Consider this practice for dealing with recalcitrant customers, I told myself, before offering him a tight smile. “You said that already.”
“And I mean it.” He drew himself up to his full height, bristling with indignation. “Outsiders don’t find this place.”
A burst of incredulous laughter escaped me before I could stop myself. The little man’s expression turned lava-level hostile again, and I bit my lip to hold back another giggle.
“I’m sorry,” I said, barely able to contain my laughter, “but have you looked at Google Maps recently? Y’all are on there.” I raised my eyebrows at him. “You’re on a map on the weather app I’ve got on my phone, too.” I nodded to my purse. “And I have cell service, so…” I shrugged.
A shrewd, calculating look came into the short man’s brown eyes. “But cell service was strange when you came into town, wasn’t it?”
I blinked at him, caught off-guard. I thought back to my arrival in town that morning—and then tried to recall the details of my visit a few weeks earlier. Come to think of it, my phone had acted a little strange, but I’d chalked it up to the peculiarities of the local terrain. Hollers and hollows tucked into the sides of mountains don’t tend to get good cell reception.
I decided to switch tactics. Clearly, this man, whoever he was, was one of the locals who resented anybody else coming to live in what he considered his territory.
Setting my irritation aside, I offered him a bright smile. “What’s your name?”
If anything, his scowl deepened. He looked downright suspicious now that I was smiling at him. “Why?”
Of course he was going to be difficult. Sending up a silent prayer that he would not, in fact, turn out to be one of my neighbors, I motioned to the Square. “Do you own one of these shops?”
“Not exactly.”
Oh, dear heavens. I gritted my teeth. This was worse than trying to pry family history out of my great-uncle Terry.
I opened my mouth to ask another question—what, I hadn’t entirely worked out yet—but a firm female voice sounded from behind me.
“Dave, are you being obnoxious to this poor girl?”
Chapter
Three
I whirled around, but not before I glimpsed the little man’s face turn a peculiar shade of purple-red.
A plump woman just a little shorter than I was stood on the sidewalk in front of my new shop. A wild riot of silver-gray curls adorned her head, and green eyes sparkled at me from a round face. She wore a light blue dress with a lacy floral pattern and sleeves cuffed at the elbow with about two inches of lace. A white apron was tied around her waist.
I thought she had to be at least in her fifties, but her faintly-lined light brown skin gave her that indeterminable look that meant she could be anywhere from fifty to seventy.
“Maddie!” The little man, Dave, spluttered. He unbent his arms long enough to throw them into the air in frustration. “You can’t just go around town introducing people and handing out names willy nilly!”
“You mean like you just did?” The older woman, Maddie, propped her hands on her hips.
Dave choked back whatever he’d been about to say, falling into grumbly silence.
Fascinated, I watched the two interact. I couldn’t explain it, but I had the strangest feeling that I’d inadvertently stepped into an argument years in the making.
“It’s fine, Dave.” Maddie offered the little man a surprisingly gentle smile, her green eyes full of an understanding I didn’t quite comprehend. “Let me handle this.”
Dave’s face puckered like he’d just bitten into a lemon, but he jerked his head once in a short nod. His surly gaze flicked to me, and then he turned around and marched off without another word.
A faint frown creasing my brow, I watched him stomp away. Another humid breeze ruffled my brown hair. I tucked a stray lock behind my ear out of habit and turned to find Maddie watching me.
“Don’t mind him, dear.” The older woman offered me a friendly smile. “He’s not usually that cranky.”
Unwilling to let the little man off the hook so easily for his churlish behavior, I arched an eyebrow. “I suppose he randomly accosts everybody who moves into this town?”
For a second, the expression on Maddie’s light brown face could have been carved from stone. Then she sighed. “Believe it or not, dear, people don’t generally move to Starhaven.”
I wonder why, I thought, but I had the sense to keep the words to myself.
“Dave has had several…” Maddie hesitated, choosing her words carefully. She glanced down the street, apparently checking for Dave’s whereabouts, though he’d long since turned the corner and disappeared. “Well, he’s had several bad experiences. And he doesn’t handle change well.”
I remained undaunted. “Most people don’t like change.” I took one hand off my hip and held it out. “It’s part of the human condition.” My chest ached with a sudden, old pain, but I resisted the urge to put my hand over my heart. “The only way we can grow is through change.” I shook my head slightly. “It’s inevitable. That doesn’t give him the right to be downright hateful to a complete stranger.”
“Agreed.” Maddie sighed again, inclining her head in a slow nod. “But before you judge Dave too harshly, I will tell you that he has had a rough time over the years. There is a reason he’s so frightened of change.”
She held up a hand before I could even open my mouth. “It’s not an excuse, mind you. I just think you should know, if you’re going to live here, that this town is named Starhaven for a reason.”
She gave me a knowing look. “But then, you wouldn’t be here if that didn’t resonate with you in some level.”
Her words caught me completely off guard. I eyed this strange older woman, mentally debating whether this had been a lucky guess or if she knew something about me that she shouldn’t.
Lucky guess, I decided. I was a single young woman opening her own business in a new town. If that didn’t indicate I was making major changes in my life, I didn’t know what did.
“Now…” Maddie’s face broke into a smile. “I’m sure you have plenty to do, but let me buy you a coffee, Miss O’Malley. I’d love to hear more about this craft store of yours. I can assure you, there are plenty of people looking forward to you opening.”
This has been the strangest conversation I’ve had in a long time, I thought, but I only hesitated a second. “I’d like that.”
Maddie smiled at me and swept a hand toward the coffee shop at the other end of the Square. “After you.”
I hiked my purse up on my shoulder and started walking, but as I took the first step up the sidewalk, the hair on the back of my neck prickled again.
Someone was watching me.
I suppressed a shudder. Glaring at me was probably more like it. The truculent stare didn’t feel friendly, whoever was responsible for it.
I darted a glance sideways, but the tall, willowy owner of the plant shop across the street had vanished. Probably not her. My gaze flicked to the apartments and shops that lined the street above the businesses at ground level. Impossible to tell where that stare was coming from—someone could be watching me from any of those windows.
Ignore them, I told myself firmly, lifting my chin and holding my head high. You have just as much right to live in this town as they do.
As Maddie and I walked to the coffee shop, however, talking lightly about the weather and the number of shops along the Square, I couldn’t help but wonder. If this town was as insular as Dave seemed to think it was, why had it been so very easy for me to move here?
Chapter
Four
I liked Starbright Café the moment I stepped inside. It had a comfortable, cozy vibe—the kind of vibe that suggested you were among friends and had all the time in the world. Plus, it was laced with fantastic smells that promised all sorts of wonderful delights.
Coffee was the predominant scent, but as I sniffed appreciatively, I caught the underlying scents of chocolate and several teas, along with something floral I couldn’t quite place.
Just like in my own shop, the owner had played up the old factor of the building by leaving the original molded tin ceiling squares intact, as well as by restoring the brick walls that lined the interior. The golden wooden planks of the floor were worn, but clean, and they also seemed to be squeak-free. Some pretty sort of Celtic music played quietly over the speakers, though it had a wild feel to it that put me in mind of beautiful women wandering across lonely moors.
The sofas, tables, and chairs scattered around the long, narrow interior were mismatched, but it was the kind of mismatch that ended up blending together and adding to the comfortable vibe. A few other customers were scattered about the coffee shop—a pair of women nestled in a couple of cozy chairs in the corner by the window, and a middle-aged man with a laptop at a table across from them.
I cast an approving glance around as I followed Maddie to the long, smoothly-polished counter made of gray stone, but my gaze was caught and held by the most curious-looking cuckoo clock I’d ever seen. It was mounted high on the wall at the far end of the coffee shop between two doors leading to the men and women’s bathrooms. Even from here, I could see the plethora of strange figures carved into the wooden frame that surrounded the clock face. Mermaids, and fairies, bears and dwarves, with a host of smaller figures skillfully carved into the spaces between them.
I started to drift closer, to give the clock a better look, but at that moment I realized it was my turn to place an order.
Turning back to the counter, I smiled at the young man behind the counter. He was short and slight, with wavy golden hair and eyes so dark they were nearly black set in a pale, square face.
“Hi, may I get a feta and egg wrap and one mocha iced coffee with two percent milk, please?”
“It’s on me, Rodney,” Maddie interjected, before I could pull my wallet from my purse.
The young man nodded and rang me up without saying a word—or returning my smile. In the back of my mind, I thought that was rather odd for a barista in a coffee shop, but after the morning I’d had, I couldn’t help but wonder if everybody in town had issues with newcomers.
What did they do when tourists arrived?
Aloud, I said, “Thank you, Maddie.”
“My pleasure. Let’s go over here.” Maddie led the way to a red velvet loveseat nestled in the corner opposite the two women, who were both eying us covertly. Golden morning sunshine still slanted through the plate-glass window, though it was dwindling as the sun rose higher in the sky.
Smoothing my skirt, I took one corner of the loveseat, while Maddie took the other. Neither of us spoke until the short golden-haired barista brought our drinks over. He remained tightlipped and unsmiling, even after both of us thanked him.
I bit the inside of my lip as I stared down into the dark mocha surface of my iced coffee, wondering for a split-second if I needed to worry about what was in it. I immediately chided myself for being ridiculous. Surely the coffee shop wouldn’t deliberately open themselves up to a lawsuit like that.
I took a sip and smiled. Delicious—and comfortingly familiar. I glanced at Maddie, who was serenely sipping what looked like green tea from an actual teacup, and raised an eyebrow.
“Is he always like that—” I tipped my head discreetly toward the barista, “—or does he share Dave’s opinion of newcomers?”
Maddie’s green eyes widened slightly, and then her face smoothed back into its cheerful, friendly expression. “Rodney doesn’t talk much, it’s true.” She took another sip of her tea. “You’ll have to excuse him. And Dave.”
I lifted an eyebrow at this. It would take a while before my vivid first impression of the little man faded. “Why is he so against new people coming to Starhaven and opening businesses?”
“It’s complicated.” Maddie lifted one shoulder in another delicate little shrug. “He has his reasons.” It was her turn to smile briefly. “I will admit not all of them are valid or rational, for that matter,” she added, “but don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll come around in time.”
I bit my lip. I could only hope.
Maddie gracefully changed the subject. “If I may ask, how did you come to discover Starhaven?” She twinkled a smile at me and leaned forward, her posture indicating genuinely curiosity. ”We are a ways off the beaten path.”
It was for that reason—and that reason alone—that I decided to let her change the subject. Well, that and I really didn’t want to talk about Dave any more.
I took another sip of my iced coffee. “I was driving through the mountains to Tennessee so I could visit a friend of mine and my car overheated or something.” I shrugged—I still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. “Fortunately, I wasn’t far from this exit and I was able to stop at the auto shop.”
My face creased in a frown at the memory. The mechanic on duty had been surprised to see me. Odder still, he’d taken a look at my car and proclaimed there was nothing wrong with it. I was able to go on my way—but not before I’d had a chance to walk the Square.
That was when I’d gotten the crazy idea for my craft shop. I’d seen a ‘For Lease’ sign on the shop and I’d taken one look at it and just known. This was where I was supposed to be.
It helped that my paternal grandmother had left me a bit of an inheritance when she passed away six months ago. I hadn’t known what to do with it until I found myself in Starhaven.
I conveyed as much to Maddie, who nodded with the sage look of someone who’d fully expected that to be the answer.
She took a contemplative sip of her tea. “What did you do before?”
“I was a secretary.” I lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Worked for a law firm in Louisville. I was good at it, but it was kind of sucking my soul dry, you know?”
A faint smile tugged at one corner of Maddie’s mouth. “And you thought going into retail would be better?”
“Frankly? Yes.” I straightened a little in my seat. “I’m not expecting it to be easy. I know there’s a good chance I could crash and burn. But—” I waved the hand that held my coffee, belatedly realizing it was a good thing I had a lid when it sloshed alarmingly inside my cup, “—I love fabric and yarn and thread. I love making things and helping people make things.”
“And… “I lifted my chin a little, meeting her in the eye. “This town doesn’t have what I’m offering.”
Maddie held my gaze for a long moment, and I had the strangest sense that she was taking my measure, probing into things I probably didn’t even realize she was probing.
“This town is special,” she said at last. “We take care of it, and we take care of our own.” That faint smile tugged at her lips again. “We don’t much care for strangers, it’s true.” Her large, green eyes narrowed fractionally. “But you found us, and Old Man Moffat leased you the building.” Her tone held the faintest note of amazement.
That statement begged a question—and I asked it. “Is he not normally in the habit of leasing to people? I’ve never met the man—only his lawyer.”
The pause Maddie took before she answered would have told me everything, even if she hadn’t replied. “Not to outsiders.”
The hair on the back of my neck prickled again. It was funny, Mr. Moffat’s lawyer had asked me several times if I was sure—absolutely sure—I wanted to move to Starhaven. At the time, I’d just chalked it up to him being extremely thorough and perhaps a little pedantic. But now…
For the first time, a whisper of a thought crossed my mind. Forget the ups and downs of retail—had I gotten myself into something I’d regret with this town?
“Well, he must have liked me.” I offered Maddie my most charming smile. “I am pretty likable. No criminal record either,” I joked.
She smiled, and the expression was friendlier than it had been earlier. “You’re here now, so they’ll have to learn to like you—or at least tolerate you.”
The look the plant lady had given me returned vividly to the forefront of my mind. I laughed, a little uncertainly. “Yeah…that’d be nice.”
I drank some more of my coffee, wondering why the lawyer hadn’t seen fit to inform me that my neighboring business owners weren’t keen on an outsider joining their ranks. You’d think, if he was trying to discourage me from signing the lease, that he might have mentioned that.
I said as much to Maddie and she just gave me an enigmatic smile over the rim of her teacup. “Old Man Moffat wanted you here,” she said, as though that settled it.
Maybe in her mind it did.
Giving my head a mental shake, I decided it was my turn to change the subject. “What do you do here in Starhaven?”
“I work for the Starhaven Community Foundation.” Maddie took another delicate sip of her tea. “I am what you might call a facilitator.” One corner of her mouth dimpled in a smile. “I help people settle into the town, and I make connections between people.”
A town facilitator. I stared at Maddie. I’d never heard of such a thing.
“What kind of connections?” I asked cautiously.
Maddie lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Oh, you know… Someone is looking for a new employee, I know someone who would be perfectly suited to that job. Helping people find houses in the right part of town.” She waved a hand. “Really, the job covers all sorts of things.”
“And Starhaven has a Foundation for this?” My forehead scrunched into a frown. I’d never heard of a community foundation that did those things directly.
