Say You’ll Stay by Susan Mallery

CHAPTER FIVE

LAWSONWASCAREFULto keep the conversation light for the rest of the meal. He told funny stories about his deployment in Germany and the time he and his buddies went driving on the autobahn.

“We couldn’t drive over a hundred and twenty,” he said with a chuckle. “We tried, but there had been too many years of a speed limit ingrained into us. And we knew if something happened, we’d be in trouble back at the base.”

“Still, that’s pretty fast.”

“Yeah, we had to borrow a car to go that fast. But it was fun.”

Their server returned to check on them. Lawson glanced at his watch and was surprised they’d been sitting at the table nearly three hours. He paid the bill and added a generous tip, then escorted Shaye out of the restaurant.

The sun had slipped behind the mountains, leaving the sky all the colors of twilight.

“Give it an hour and there will be a lot of stars in the sky,” he said, as they started toward Kathy’s house.

“I looked out last night,” she said. “The sky is different here than back in Iowa.”

“We’re out west. Everything is bigger.”

“Even the sky?” she teased.

“You know it.”

That made her laugh.

He liked this, he thought. He’d meant what he’d said earlier, about wanting to get to know her better. Her plan to leave in a few weeks wasn’t helping, but he would do what he could. He was used to working under pressure.

“You ever think about finishing your degree?” he asked.

“I do. I was studying marketing. I was only able to take a couple of classes every semester before I left to be with my mom. So I’m probably about halfway through my sophomore year.”

“It’s a start. Seattle has a lot of good colleges close by. The University of Washington is the most well-known.”

“And the hardest to get into.” She smiled. “I’ll have time to figure it out. I’ll need to live in the state a year to establish residency. I couldn’t afford out-of-state tuition.”

He thought about mentioning North Cascades College, only twenty miles from Wishing Tree, but didn’t say anything. Shaye wasn’t staying, and he wasn’t going to push.

They reached the house and walked into the garage. Shaye turned on the overhead lights, and Lawson moved close to the car.

“I see what you mean,” he said, running his hands across the hood. “She’s beautiful, and all the bodywork is done.”

He saw fenders and doors lying on the floor. The inside panels were removed and refinished, with the door handles and window cranks cleaned up and shiny. The engine was mounted on an engine stand, with the parts on a shop cart nearby.

“The cylinder bores need to be honed,” she said, pointing. “At least one of the water plugs needs to be replaced.”

“How can I help?” he asked.

She looked at him, her expression surprised. “That’s it? You’re not going to start telling me what to do?”

“Why would I do that? You have a plan, you say you can do it. Why wouldn’t I trust you?”

“Because I’m a woman.”

He grinned. “Shaye, I was in the military, working side by side with women mechanics. If you tell me you know how to do something, I’m going to believe you until you show me otherwise.”

She tilted her head. “I’m not used to being trusted based on my word. Not about cars. Most guys want to be all in charge and tell me what to do, even if they’re wrong.”

“I’m not like that.”

“I guess not. It’s nice.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”

Their eyes locked, and tension filled the garage.

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do a whole lot more, but kissing would be a good start. His gut told him to take things slow—based on what Shaye had told him about her past, trust was going to be an issue, so he needed to make sure they had that first.

“Can I come by in a couple of days and help with the work?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“Great.” He stepped toward her, then bent down and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be in touch. Have a good night, Shaye.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she only nodded. “Have a good night.”

He walked out without looking back—which was about the hardest thing he’d done in a very long time.

“I’MATEACHERat the local elementary school,” Dena Somerville, a pretty brunette, said. “I had second grade last year, and I’m teaching third grade this fall. It’s kind of nice because I’ll have some of the same kids. I like that. There’s continuity.”

“How do you have the patience?” Shaye asked with a smile, grateful for the company during a rare slow moment on her shift. “I really like children, but twenty of them every day? I don’t think I could do it.”

“It’s a skill,” Paisley told her. “One I don’t have, either.”

“I love it,” Dena told them. “Plus, we keep our classrooms small here. I only have fifteen students. So how are you settling into life in our little town?”

“I like it,” Shaye said. “Everyone’s very friendly. I’m getting to know the locals, and the tourists are always interesting.” She grinned. “I was yelled at yesterday by a lady complaining there weren’t enough vegan eating choices in town. I told her I could offer vegetarian pies, but not vegan.”

Paisley waved her mushroom stroganoff pie. “There’s no dairy in the filling.”

“There’s butter in the crust,” Shaye pointed out. “To have it vegan, you’d have to use something else for the shortening.”

“Would coconut oil work?” Dena asked. “I have no idea.”

Paisley had become a regular at the food cart. She stayed to chat with Shaye when there wasn’t a big line of customers. Today she’d brought another local, her friend Dena, who was a couple of years older.

“Most of the tourists have been very nice,” Shaye added. “I don’t want to give them a bad name.”

Dena laughed. “You’re not. I agree most of them are lovely. I own the Wishing Tree B and B, so sometimes I get to know them too well.”

“But I thought you were a teacher.”

“She’s very busy,” Paisley said, her voice teasing. “Dena puts us all to shame with her work ethic.”

“That’s not true,” Dena protested. She turned to Shaye. “I inherited the B and B from my grandmother when she passed away. It’s fully staffed, so there’s not much for me to do. I work there in the summer, but during the school year, I don’t get that involved in the day-to-day stuff.”

“Her B and B, like the resort, is busy all year round,” Paisley said. “We are a tourist destination, regardless of the season.”

“I would guess Christmas is the busiest time.”

“It is,” Dena told her. “All the events draw a crowd.”

“First snow is the worst,” Paisley added. “The first snowfall is a huge deal here in town. There’s a big celebration, and the tourists love it. The problem is no one knows when the first snow is going to happen, and when a couple books the wrong weekend, they get mad.”

“But it’s not your fault,” Shaye said.

“You know that, and I know that, but they don’t want to hear it’s not going to snow.”

Dena nodded. “Yeah, they can get really upset. But we deal.”

“I’m sorry it’s a problem for you,” Shaye said with a smile. “But I do love the little idiosyncrasies of this town.”

“We have many.” Paisley laughed. “Okay, so next for you will be the tree-lighting. You have to go to that. It’s really special.” She paused, then sighed. “It’s actually nicer to go with a date, but that’s not happening for me these days. Stupid small-town demographics.”

Dena nudged her. “You love the town.”

“I don’t like the lack of age-appropriate men. I know them all, and I’ve either dated them, or together we have the chemistry of a paper bag. I want some great sexy guy to walk up and kiss me.”

“I don’t know,” Dena said, sounding doubtful. “I’m not sure how I’d react to a total stranger kissing me. I might accidentally use some of the moves my dad taught me when I first started dating.”

Dena turned to Shaye. “He had two daughters, and he didn’t want anyone taking advantage of us.”

“He sounds like a great guy.”

“He is.”

Shaye thought about Lawson. He was the only age-appropriate man she knew in town, and she was plenty interested in him walking up and kissing her, but so far he’d only helped her with the Mustang.

“I’m giving up on men,” Dena said with a sigh. “I’ve tried blind dates, double dates and a couple of different online-dating apps. I can’t seem to find the right guy anywhere.”

Paisley hugged her friend. “You have done more than your share of trying. I don’t get it. If I were a guy, I’d date you in a hot minute.”

Dena laughed. “Thank you.” She looked at her watch. “Okay, I have to get back to work.”

“Me, too.” Paisley wiped her hands on a napkin. “I have a meeting with a very emotionally delicate bride this afternoon. When she cries, the sound is so heartbreaking I find myself tearing up in sympathy. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m really impressed by her abilities. No matter what it is, after the tears she gets her way.”

“I’m not sure that’s a positive characteristic,” Shaye said cautiously.

“Only for her. For everyone else, it totally sucks.”

They all laughed.

“We need to do something together,” Dena said, hugging Shaye. “There’s going to be a day of service coming up. Let’s plan on getting together for that.”

“That would be nice,” Shaye said.

Paisley hugged her as well, then both women left. Shaye served a couple more customers. At three, she packed up the cart and wheeled it back to the store.

Paisley and Dena were really nice, she thought as she pushed the cart. So friendly and welcoming. She appreciated the overtures of friendship. She wasn’t sure what a day of service was, but she could imagine and was happy to be included.

She went past the store, through a small alley that led to the back where she used the security pad to unlock the door. She pushed the cart into place, then began unloading the handful of pies she still had left.

Once they were on the warming shelves, she plugged in her point-of-sale device so it would upload the details of the sales. As she wasn’t allowed to accept cash, there was no till to reconcile. Any tips she received were hers to keep.

She pulled out the shelves from the cart and carried them to the industrial dishwasher in the back room. After stacking them inside, she wiped down the cart, then resupplied it with bakery tissue and napkins so it was ready for the next day.

As she worked, she thought about what Paisley had said about the tree-lighting ceremony. Lawson had mentioned it the first day they’d met, when he’d listed all the Christmas in July activities. Maybe he would ask her to go with him.

Or not, she thought with a sigh. Most afternoons he swung by to buy a few pies and chat with her, and more often than not, he showed up to help her with the car, but he hadn’t asked her out. Not since their dinner at Navidad Mexican Café. She had no idea why he wasn’t suggesting something more datelike than working on the car. Not that she didn’t enjoy his company, because she did. A lot. He was likable and knowledgeable and smart and funny. He always had great stories about his family or being in the military. He talked about the people he’d met and the places he’d been. The only subject he didn’t touch on was his time in Afghanistan.

They were learning more about each other every day, but he wasn’t asking her out, and she didn’t know why. Yes, she was leaving at the end of the month, but until then they could—

She mentally paused, not sure what they could do. Get more seriously involved? Become lovers? That was a big step, especially with her plan to leave. Technically Seattle wasn’t that far, so maybe they could make a long-distance thing work. Or—

“How’s it going?”

She turned and saw Toby standing in the doorway to the back room.

She smiled at her boss. “Good. I’m sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t sell out today.”

He grinned. “How many pies did you bring back?”

“Three.”

He chuckled. “Okay, we’ll live with the pain.”

“Yes, try to get over it. I’ve increased the amount I take out by more than double what I had last week. I think word is spreading about how good the product is. Plus, it’s kind of unique.” She held up a hand. “I’m not dissing the other vendors. It’s just you can get a hot dog anywhere, but a hand pie is more special.”

“I like to think so.” He leaned against the doorframe. “How are you enjoying the work?”

“It’s fun. I like meeting the customers. Sometimes the little kids have such a hard time deciding what they want. It’s like the most important decision they’re making that day.”

“You’re doing a good job,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“I’m getting feedback from different people. They like how you handle yourself.”

The unexpected compliment pleased her. “Thank you. That’s nice to hear.”

Toby studied her. “Adien is going to be heading out on maternity leave in a few weeks, and she’s told me she won’t be coming back to work. Not with three little ones at home. I’m going to have to replace her. I know you said you’re only in town for the month, but if you were going to stay, I’d like to offer you a job here. You’d get a substantial pay raise, and the job would be full-time, with benefits.”

The offer stunned her. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted, suddenly feeling a little tightness in her chest. “I appreciate you thinking of me.”

“You’re good at what you do. It’s a summer job for a few hours a day. A lot of people would simply go through the motions and not put any effort into it. You chose to get involved and work the program. I respect that.”

“Thank you.”

“What are your plans, Shaye? I don’t mean leaving or not leaving, but what do you want to do with your life?”

The question surprised her. Almost no one had asked about her thoughts on the future—at least not since her parents had passed away. “I want to get a degree in marketing. I have about a year and a half of college. I want to finish that, then find a job in my chosen field.”

“So not retail.”

She smiled. “Not permanently.”

He nodded. “Stick with your goals. Don’t get distracted by life. My advice is worth what you paid for it, by the way. Think about the job offer. Adien’s here through the month, so I’m not going to start looking for a replacement until after Christmas in July.” The smile returned. “North Cascades College isn’t that far from here. You might want to look at their curriculum.”

“There’s a college nearby?”

“A good one. You’d probably want to establish residency so you don’t have to pay out-of-state tuition.”

“Yes, I’ve already thought about that. It takes a year.”

“The year is going to pass regardless of what you do. I’ll keep the job offer open until the end of the month. If you want to talk about it in more detail, feel free. I promise not to mistake interest for a firm yes.”

“Thank you. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“That was the goal.”

He nodded at her, then left. Shaye stood in the back room of Judy’s Hand Pies, her head spinning.

The job offer was unexpected, to say the least. As was the information on the nearby college. She’d never considered staying in Wishing Tree—her plan had always been to move on to Seattle. Only that was slightly less appealing than it had been. She didn’t know anyone in Seattle. She didn’t have a job lined up or a place to stay. She would be completely starting over.

Not that she was ready to commit to staying here, either. The town was great, and she was making friends, but it was still too soon to know where she belonged. She wanted to make a smart decision, a logical one, rather than choose something because she’d met a cute guy who made her heart beat faster and her knees weak.

“I have time,” she whispered. Toby had said he wouldn’t start looking for a replacement until after Christmas in July. So she could consider her options and think everything through. She knew whatever decision she made, it had to be based on what was right for her and not contingent on any man in her life. She’d learned that lesson already, and she wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.