P.S. Goodbye, page 3
“A waiting list? In Heritage?”
Olivia stood and threw her napkin into the trash. “I have to work at the diner this morning. But, Caroline, trust me, you don’t have to limit yourself to Heritage. You can do life coaching over the internet. Of course, the best life coaches have client testimonials, but you only need one great success story, and you’ll be on your way.”
“Online?” Caroline groaned and massaged the knot forming at the back of her neck. “I’m beginning to hate that word.”
Leah pointed at Caroline. “Another reason for you to work on our website. You’ve always been good with computers.”
“Spreadsheets and accounting. Web design is a whole different ball game. We need to hire someone.” Caroline started thumbing through receipts. There were too few. “If we can figure out how to pay for it.”
Leah grabbed a Sharpie and hand lettered the words Website Help Wanted across a white sheet of paper and taped it to the front door of the shop. “Maybe we can get a local high school kid looking to make a few bucks. Goodness knows that’s all we can afford.”
“How ironic that a store called WIFI can’t get online.” Hannah’s voice carried over from aisle two where she stood smelling the new selection of candles.
“Hilarious.” Caroline stood and took a step toward her office.
The bell over the door chimed, turning all four girls’ heads.
Grant.
All six-foot-plus well-muscled inches of him.
“Grant Quinn?” Leah’s mouth dropped open.
“Hey, Leah. Long time.” Grant’s gaze shifted from one girl to the next. “I’m here about the job.”
“What makes you think we’re hiring?” The words came out of Caroline with enough force that everyone stared at her.
Grant focused on her, then pointed to the sign her sister had taped up moments before. “That did.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flamed. Why was she always making a fool of herself in front of this man? “Well, we can’t afford to pay much, so—”
“I don’t need much.” He shifted from one foot to the other.
“Perfect.” Leah clasped her hands together, shot a pointed look at Caroline, and then turned back to Grant. “Go down the hall to the first door on the left, and Caroline will be right with you.”
As soon as Grant disappeared down the hall, Caroline stared at Leah. “Why did you tell him that?”
“The better question is, why don’t you seem surprised to see him? We haven’t seen him in how many years?”
Maybe Caroline should have mentioned seeing Grant last night.
Leah studied her. “We’ll talk about this later. But right now you need to go hire him.”
When Caroline didn’t move, Leah jammed her hands on her hips and leaned closer. “We need him, Caroline. If we don’t do something, this store is sunk—and you know it.”
She was right. A website might be the one thing standing between them and bankruptcy. But work with Grant Quinn?
She smoothed her sweater and then walked as calmly as possible toward the office.
“And find out if he’s single.” Olivia’s voice echoed down the hall.
Caroline’s steps paused, but she didn’t look back. Oh, he was single—that much she knew. And even though there was no way she was going to date him, she was pretty sure she’d never survive watching one of her friends date him either.
She needed to figure out a way to get Grant to move on from Heritage—and fast.
Chapter 3
Getting on Caroline Williams’s bad side had to have been the biggest mistake he’d ever made. Grant eyed the plush chair opposite the desk with its back to the door. Not going to happen. Eight years of military training had taught him that—never leave your back open. He eased into the rickety folding metal one against the wall. It’d better be stronger than it looked.
He pulled a yellow leaf out of his shirt pocket and spun the stem between his fingers a moment before setting it in the middle of her desk. He’d picked it up on his walk here, thinking it might make a small peace offering. But by the look on Caroline’s face when he’d stepped into the store, a branch full of leaves wasn’t going to thaw the ice between them.
Caroline’s calendar lay open on the left side of the desk, her script neat, precise, and color coded. Four pens—purple, pink, blue, and green—lined up on the right side. Color coded sticky notes ran down the left side of the computer monitor.
Not a paper out of place. No clutter. The only thing that wasn’t perfect was a broken shelf on the back wall at desk level, and even that was arranged with its former contents in a neat little row on the floor.
It was the military all over again—only the rainbow version. Grant’s stomach churned as if he were waiting for his commanding officer to come in and charge him with misconduct.
The window wasn’t much, but he could see the sky. A bit of the tension eased from his shoulders. A lot of back offices didn’t have windows.
Caroline entered the small room and lifted her chin and pushed her smooth, straight red hair behind her shoulders. He preferred the wild curls that she’d shown up with at Nate’s, but he’d bet good money that this grown-up Caroline didn’t let much go uncontrolled in her life. Not even her hair.
Her green eyes shifted between him and the plush seat he hadn’t chosen. Instead of commenting, she sat ramrod straight in her desk chair and pulled out a blue legal pad. Her gaze stopped on the leaf.
“I know you love the changing colors of autumn.” The metal chair creaked as he shifted his position. “The green ash is usually the first to turn color in the fall.”
Caroline stared at the leaf but didn’t touch it. “So, Mr. Quinn—”
“Mr. Quinn? Really?” He let out a laugh, but when she didn’t return even a hint of a smile, he forced a straight face. “I think Grant’s okay.”
“If that’s your wish.” She scrawled his full name across the top of the paper as if she might need the reminder. As if she hadn’t written it on every one of the twenty love notes smelling of perfume, the “i” in his last name dotted with a heart, that she’d left in his shoes that summer when she’d been thirteen.
Her pen hesitated over the “i” in Quinn for a moment before adding a solid dot. So, he wasn’t the only one remembering.
“Do you have any references?” The chill in her gaze made the question sound more like an accusation.
“References?” She had to be kidding. He was helping her with a website, not taking care of children. “You can call Nate for a character reference. As far as skills, I have a degree and a knack for technology, but no, I haven’t had a civilian job in over ten years. I’ve been in the Army.”
She made a few notes on the legal pad. “Right. Well, I’ll consider all this and—”
“Consider what? Come on, Caroline. Do you have a lot of people banging down your door willing to work for whatever you can afford? Face it. You need help and I need something to keep me busy for a while.” He flashed her his best smile. That always worked in the past.
Her lips pressed into a thin line as the pen in her hand tapped against the paper at a machine-gun pace.
He reached out to steady the pen but brushed her knuckles instead. Caroline jumped, launching the pen to the floor. Talk about high-strung.
He reached for the pen as Caroline leaned down, his face nearly colliding with her head. Man, she smelled good. It wasn’t the typical expensive perfume Emily had always worn. Caroline’s scent was citrusy—clean.
She leaned back, showing no indication she’d been even remotely affected by his closeness as he was by hers. But judging by the way she bit the inside of her cheek, the girl was ready to let him have it. He braced himself and waited for all the words he deserved. Nothing came. She just stared at him, her pen returning to its rat-a-tat rhythm.
What had happened to the girl who said it like it was? Who didn’t hold anything back?
Grant stood, and when she didn’t comment, he turned toward the door. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Why just for a while?”
“Excuse me?” He turned back.
“Why do you need something to keep you busy just for a while?” Her eyes had softened as she waited for his answer, but when he didn’t give one, the pen in her hand started tapping again. “This isn’t a full-time job. We can’t pay much. You don’t live here. And the Grant I remember would never have been happy spending his days staring at a computer screen.”
He leaned against the doorframe and ignored the way his lungs tightened with the question. “Things change.”
“What’s next for you—after this job?”
“Is that important?”
Her pen stilled. “So you don’t know?”
All he wanted was an easy side job. Why the interrogation? Pain shot through his molars. He stood straighter and relaxed his jaw. “You could say that.”
She tapped her index finger on her chin. “Have you ever considered a life coach?”
“A what?”
“A life coach. Someone to help you figure out what you want out of life and how to develop smart goals to get there.”
His survival instincts kept him from laughing. Barely. She had to be kidding, right? But the way her wide eyes watched him suggested she was dead serious. First his mom wanted him to see a counselor, and now this? What was it with women thinking he needed help living his life?
He shifted his weight to the other foot and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’m confused. What does this have to do with the job?”
Her pen apparently took up twirling as its latest pastime. Her gaze darted from him to the pad and back again. “I-I’m a certified life coach. I thought it sounded like you could use one.”
“You want to be my life coach?”
Her pen flipped out of her fingers and landed on the desk. “I meant you should consider one. A life coach. It could help.”
“Because I’m full of problems?”
“Yes—I mean no. You say you want this job for a while, but how will that help? Deep down, don’t you desire more than a temporary life fix?”
“You know what I want after a two-minute conversation?”
“I’ve known you longer than two minutes, Grant.” The softness in her eyes nearly undid him. She’d finally let her wall down, but this wasn’t a conversation he was ready to have.
Maybe he did need a real plan. Then again, plans were little more than wishful thinking for the future. And plans could be derailed by something as small as a few scraps of fast-moving metal.
He rubbed his hand across his scar and turned back toward the door. “All I was looking for was a job to buy some time. But thanks. See you around, Caroline.”
He already had a mother who wouldn’t keep her nose out of his business. He didn’t need this woman nosing her way in, too, no matter how nicely she’d grown up.
Leah was going to have a fit when she found out Caroline hadn’t hired Grant, but that was a small price to pay to keep that man out of her life. Caroline scanned her list for the day and added “Learn HTML” at the bottom and underlined it twice.
Her gaze strayed to the leaf. He’d known that she loved collecting the changing leaves. She’d never told him that, but she had written it in one of the many letters he’d never answered. So, he had gotten them and read them. Just not written back.
She should throw it in the trash and be done with it. Done with Grant. She reached for the leaf but found herself sliding it up by her monitor. She’d throw it away later.
Why had she even brought up life coaching? He’d just seemed so . . . lost.
You only need one great success story. Olivia’s words echoed in her head. Grant would make a great success story. Shoot, women would read his testimonial to stare at his picture.
But her coaching him? No. It wouldn’t work.
The phone rang and she snatched it up. “WIFI.”
“Caroline? This is Mayor Jameson. I need about two dozen flashlights. Do you have those in stock?”
“No. But I can place an order—”
“Oh, that's all right. There’s a company online that I can order them from, and they’ll ship them to my house for free. Isn’t that something?”
Caroline closed her eyes as her hand tightened on the phone. “It sure is.”
The mayor ended the call, and Caroline stared at her desk. They could expand their inventory if they got online. Online. Maybe she’d made a mistake. Grant might set her on edge, but going bankrupt wouldn’t be good for her sanity either.
Leah wasn’t going to just pitch a fit. No, her sister was going to kill her.
Caroline pushed away from her desk and made her way to the front of the store. Grant was still there, talking to Hannah and Leah. He leaned on the front counter, drinking a cup of their coffee out of her favorite mug. The girls were all smiles and their cheeks slightly pink. Yeah, Grant had that effect on all women—not just her.
Leah looked up. “You didn’t tell me that you saw Grant last night at Nate’s.”
Great. Now warmth filled her cheeks.
Caroline closed the distance and joined them at the counter, careful to keep her gaze away from Grant. “Hey, Leah, I saw Grant at Nate’s last night.”
Hannah checked her vibrating phone and headed for the door. “It’s a call on one of my houses. I gotta take this outside.”
“She has more than one house?” Grant looked between the sisters.
“She’s a Realtor.” Leah refilled Grant’s coffee cup. “How long are you staying in Heritage?”
Grant paused with his mug halfway to his mouth. “It depends if I’m able to get a job here.”
Leah’s brow wrinkled. “You mean a job after our website?”
Grant rubbed the back of his neck. “Caroline didn’t think—”
The bell above the door chimed as Ms. Johns stepped inside, her white hair haloed by the morning sun. Leah moved to help the woman.
Caroline took a half step closer to Grant. “I’ve changed my mind.”
“Changed your mind about hiring me?” He drew a long gulp of coffee and leaned his back on the counter as if he’d be there all day.
“Yes and about being your life coach.” Caroline crossed her arms tight to her body. Where was a legal pad when she needed one?
“I don’t need a life coach, but I’ll take the job.” He set down the empty mug and pushed away from the counter.
“No deal. I’ll hire you if you also agree to let me be your life coach.”
“Any other conditions?” The ring of the antique cash register finishing Ms. Johns’s sale shadowed his words.
“You leave a review—hopefully a good one—on my life coaching website I’ll also hire you to create. So two website jobs, free life coaching, and a review.”
The front door chimed again, announcing Ms. Johns’s exit, and Leah stepped back over to them. “Now what were you saying? Caroline didn’t think . . .”
Grant’s gaze hopped between Caroline and Leah, then back to Caroline.
Please say yes.
“Caroline didn’t think I should start until Monday. Being the weekend and all, I have a few things I need to do today.” He nodded at Caroline and turned toward the door.
“Oh. Perfect. See you Monday.” Leah waved and moved his dirty mug to the bin under the counter.
Grant held the door for Hannah to enter on his way out.
“Wow, just wow.” Hannah joined them at the counter, staring after Grant as the door closed behind him. “How do you two know him?”
Caroline claimed her own cup of coffee in her not-so-favorite mug. “Our cousin Nate, the new pastor, grew up with him in Canton—over by Detroit. We visited them every summer. And when we lived with Nate’s family one summer while our parents had . . . issues, Grant was around. A lot.”
Leah tapped a sparkly fingernail on her mug. “Caroline had the biggest crush on him. She even wrote his name on the bottom of her shoes with little hearts—”
“That’s enough.” Caroline stirred in two creamers and a sugar.
“No, really, it was hilarious.” Leah’s giggle started small but grew to a full laugh. “She forgot and put her feet up on an ottoman, and everybody in the room could read her shoes, including Grant, who was sitting across from her.”
“Yes.” Caroline rolled her eyes and drew a sip of the hot brew. “And that’d be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Thanks for the reminder.”
“I wonder if he remembers.” Leah giggled again. “I’ll have to ask him when he comes to work on the website.”
“No you won’t.”
“Oh, Caroline—”
“I’m serious, Leah.” Caroline banged her mug on the counter, sending a bit of coffee over the side. She snatched a paper towel from under the sink and wiped at the counter, her hand shaking. “You can’t—”
Leah covered her hand. “Whoa, what’s this about? It’s more than a silly crush you had at thirteen. What aren’t you telling me?”
Caroline tossed the paper towel into the trash. “Do you remember the summer after we graduated high school?”
“That was the summer I worked at Emmanuel Beach Campground and you stayed here to work in the store.”
“Right.” Caroline pulled the leftover muffin out of the pastry bag and set it on a napkin. She needed extra carbs to deal with today. “What I never told you was that I went to visit Nate for a long weekend and Grant was home on leave.”
Leah leaned in a little closer. “And . . .”
“And we spent a lot of time together during those few days.”
“And . . .” Hannah took a seat on one of the stools and leaned her elbows on the counter.
“And one night at a bonfire, Grant and I ended up talking until four in the morning.”
“Just talking?” Leah and Hannah exchanged a doubtful look.
“Yes.” Caroline straightened her shoulders. “Just talking. Okay, maybe we held hands. Well, he didn’t really hold it, he just ran his fingers along the palm, the back—”
