It explained her intense urge to get married, to know how a normal family worked. Which was why she had said yes to Graham. Yet she was a fool, because she knew she had said yes to the wrong man. Or had she?
Graham had dated her, made her feel special, when he could have had his pick of many of the other women in town. He was an eligible bachelor, solvent with good prospects. With her round face and voluptuous curves, she had often wondered why he had asked her out. But it was not the kind of thing you asked a man. She liked to think it was because he found her attractive and funny. That her outgoing personality drew him to her.
Yet deep down, she knew it needed to be more than that. There had to be passion, too, surely. Some spark. If she had felt it with a complete stranger, then surely she should feel it with the man she intended to spend the rest of her life with. Or else there was no way they would stay married like all the other couples in Bear Creek. Tonight she would ask him what exactly he wanted from their marriage, what exactly he saw in her.
He steered his truck up the rough track to the farmhouse he was putting back together. It seemed fitting he should repair a building that was so much in need of love and attention. Pulling around the next bend in the track, he caught a glimpse of the house, now with its new roof. For the first time in decades, the house was nearly water tight, nearly protected from the elements.
Hearing his truck approaching, from out of the house Melanie appeared. She smiled and he felt happier; she always made everything seem brighter and less serious. Although things were serious, there was no getting away from that. But he didn’t want to unburden himself on her. This was supposed to be her special day, after all.
“Hello, where have you been?” she asked.
“Into town,” he said, getting out of his truck with the package in his large hand.
“More nails?” she asked, coming to give him a hug.
“Not this time.” He held the box out to her “Happy birthday.”
“Kian, you shouldn’t have. I know how tight money is.”
“It’s not that bad, and anyway, you deserve it.”
She opened the box, gasping in delight. “It’s too much.”
“No, it’s not.” He kissed her on the cheek. “And tonight we are going into town to celebrate.”
“Town!” she gasped, her young face filling with happiness, which she quickly let go. “No. I’ll cook us a meal.”
“You are having a day off from cooking.”
“I enjoy it. Kian, I’ll feel bad if we go into town and eat. I know how stretched we are financially. The comb is enough.”
“Listen, I’ve made up my mind. Let me treat you. Anyway, with the roof on, I will be able to ease up on working on the house. I have been asking around for paid work. A few businesses need a handyman on a regular basis. Plus, when it’s harvest time, I can help with that, too. So let’s have a celebration.”
“If you’re sure.” She couldn’t hide the happiness on her face.
“I am,” he insisted. He didn’t tell her that he had a small ulterior motive, such as needing to save his true mate from sleeping with another man.
“Thank you, Kian. It means a lot to me.”
“I think it will do you good to meet people from town, too. You can’t hide here forever.”
“I know, but I kind of like the solitude.”
“You are so young, Melanie. There is so much of the world for you to see.”
“Says the person who would rather be on a roof or planting crops than on a date. You know, you should be out looking for your mate, not babysitting me.”
“You’re not a baby.”
“I am compared to you!”
It was true; Melanie had been born a number of years after Kian. At the time, he had been off finding himself, or finding how to control his bear. When the news finally got to him, his parents had both passed on and Melanie had been fostered out to a normal family. He had fought hard, using every spare bit of money he had, to pay the legal fees to finally get her back.
They had lived in the city for a while, Kian working full time, in construction, to scrape enough money together to buy this old wreck of a farm. As soon as Melanie left school, they moved to Bear Creek so that she could learn what it was to be a bear without the worry of being seen. So far, they had both agreed this was the right move. But Kian was now worried how well another woman, his mate, would fit into all of this. He desperately didn’t want Melanie’s life to be turned upside down again.
Enough of that for now; this was his sister’s eighteenth birthday. From today, her aging would slow and the bear side of her would become more a part of her, her own hunt for a mate would begin. He only hoped she found her special mate in less time than it had taken him, and with more luck. However, today was not for dwelling on those thoughts, it was for looking forward to a bright future, so he said, “I’m starving, let’s eat.” He went back to the truck and produced a birthday cake. “I even bought candles.”
Melanie clapped her hands together excitedly. This was going to be a great day!
Alli was thinking the opposite. Even though she loved her job, she was starting to feel stressed. It was getting to the stage where she needed more than Mrs. Bury to help her. With all the alterations to be done, managing new clients was a stretch. Yet she wanted to expand, to draw in more people from the surrounding area. Alli knew that most of her business came from recommendations, her personal touch, and she was finding it difficult to find someone to lavish the same care and patience on her clients. Or who had nimble enough fingers to cope with the detailed work the alterations needed.
It didn’t help that the ring on her finger kept getting in the way and was uncomfortable. It was just too tight, so eventually she had to take it off and put it in the cash register for safekeeping. If Graham returned, and she doubted he would, since she had already received a text message from him telling her to meet him in the bar at seven, she would simply push it back on her finger before he noticed.
When she met him tonight, she would ask him about getting it altered.
Or give it him back
.
That was what she should do; she knew it. But she was beginning to fall in love with being in love. When Graham wasn’t here, she could allow herself to dream of her big day, and to dream that Graham was a better man for her than he actually was.
The day wound on; she kept herself busy and tried to ignore the ticking clock. But eventually it reached six o’clock, and she knew it was time to close up. First, she had to tidy up; she went around the shop, brush in hand, cleaning the bits of fabric up and making sure everything was ready for the morning.
Her thoughts drifted from Graham to the stranger, Kian, picturing him as he had stood at the counter. He had only entered her life that morning, yet it seemed as if they had connected on a deep level. Now she was sounding like a hare-brained romantic: he was just a man. However, mesmerised by the sweeping brush as it slid across the floor, her thoughts jumbled up and before she knew it, she was imagining herself marrying Kian instead. And wow, did he look a gorgeous sight in his morning suit.
“Hi,” a young sweet voice said from the doorway. “I wasn’t sure if you were closed.”
“No,” Alli said guiltily, glad no one could read her thoughts; they had just reached the honeymoon stage! Feeling hot, which she blamed on the exertion of sweeping the floor,
not
on making love to dreamy Kian, she put the brush to one side. Looking at the young woman, who stood rather nervously in the shop doorway, she said, “Come in. What can I do for you?”
The young woman entered and shut the door, glancing around as if to check there was no one hiding amongst the dresses. Alli knew instantly that she needed discretion, a trait Alli excelled at. After all, a bride likes to surprise everyone on her wedding day, and they also liked to share titbits of information about their family relations, and often the groom, which were not always suitable for common knowledge.
“Come through. I was just about to put the kettle on. Do you want a cup of tea?”
“Oh, well, I can’t stay long. I’m having dinner with my brother, but he just went over to the hardware store to get some hinges.”
“Old Terry likes to talk. I’m sure you’ll have time for some tea. We can talk while I make it.”
She hesitated and then followed Alli through to the little kitchen. “I don’t want to put you to any bother. Especially since I’ve come to ask if you can refund the cost of this.”
She took out the silver comb and placed it, in the box, on the small table. Alli looked at it and then looked at the young woman. “Melanie?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “My brother came and collected it this morning. It’s too extravagant.” Her fingers stroked the finely crafted silver.
“He must have thought you were worth it,” Alli said gently.
“He would spoil me all the time if he could, but we can’t afford it. I’ve already cost him so much.”
Alli wondered why Melanie felt that way; did Kian make her feel that she was expensive to keep? No. There was more to it than that. But she didn’t ask; it wasn’t her business.
“Look, Melanie. I can refund the cash if that’s what you want. But won’t he be upset if you return his gift?”
She hesitated, and Alli knew the answer already. But still Melanie persisted. “Yes. But he’ll need the money for plumbing soon. If he can’t get any work, then we will be broke.”
Alli poured the water into the cups, stirring the tea while she assessed the young women in front of her. She wore a pretty floral dress, complete with a long tear, which had been neatly stitched up, making it almost invisible to an untrained eye. Handing a cup to Melanie, she inquired. “I see you’ve had a tear in your dress.”
Melanie looked down, her hand going to the tear. “Oh. I thought no one would notice. It’s my favourite dress, but I tore it when I went into the woods.”
Alli took a step towards Melanie, saying reassuringly, “I wouldn’t have noticed, but it’s my job to check that seams are neat and invisible. You develop an eye for the finest detail.”
Melanie cast a look behind her. “It must be wonderful to work with all of these beautiful dresses.”
“It is, although I am so busy it’s stopped being as enjoyable as it was.” She sipped her tea, questioning that her motives were true, and not based on her feelings for Melanie’s brother, before she asked, “Did you stitch the tear yourself?”
Melanie ran her fingers along the neat seam. “Yes. I enjoy sewing, I find it very therapeutic.”
Alli made a decision right then. “Melanie, I know how we can help each other out. I need help in the shop.” She saw the look of horror pass over Melanie’s face and moved to reassure the nervous woman. “Alterations, that sort of thing. It will free me up to deal with the client side of things. We can do it on a trial basis, say a month; if you don’t like it, then that’s fine. What do you think?”
Melanie looked at Alli with wide eyes. “It would be perfect. But what if I ruin one of the dresses?”
“You won’t. To start with, we can work together until you are confident. But I can see you are a talented seamstress, and I can teach you all I know.”
“Yes,” Melanie said, standing up taller, looking very pleased with herself. Then her smile broke through and she beamed. “Yes!”
“Excellent.” Alli felt relieved. She had solved one of her problems, now all she had to do was solve the one about her engagement.
“Will you come and tell Kian with me?”
Alli hadn’t expected that. “I’m not sure I have time.” She looked at her watch; she was supposed to meet Graham in less than an hour. She had not left herself much time to shower and change.
“It won’t take a moment.” Melanie looked so young and vulnerable that Alli felt sorry for her. She told herself she needed to check that Kian treated his sister well. Because she was worried he was the reason Melanie lacked confidence in herself.
“Sure. I can spare five minutes.” She could pop back to her apartment above the shop, which also doubled as a further workroom and storage area, later to get ready for her date with Graham.
Alli whizzed around, switching off the lights, locking the cash register, and bolting the back door before she followed Melanie out into the street, which was now quiet. Alli liked this time of day; the hustle and bustle of the main road through Bear Creek was replaced by a kind of serene calm. She smelt the mountain air, feeling regenerated by it. The day’s troubles passed out of her mind for an instant, leaving her more relaxed.
“What’s it like to live on a farm?” she asked Melanie as they walked to the bar.
“Well, it’s not technically a farm yet. There are no animals.”
“What about the open air? No cars or loud music.”
“It’s so much better than where we lived before. We had to stay in the city until I finished school, and Kian had to work as many hours as he could to scrape the money together for the ruin he bought.”
“Did you both want to move here? I thought a young woman like you would prefer the city.”
“No. I longed to come here. He had told me about the place; he passed through town before he took me on.”
“Took you on?”
“Yes. Well, you can tell he’s a good deal older than me. He was abroad when my parents passed away. I went into foster care and he had to fight to get me back. He’s the only family I have.”
“That’s quite a thing to take on, a young teenage girl.”
“I was much younger when he got custody of me. So many checks—it wasn’t exactly a popular choice, a young girl living with her much older brother.”
“He looked after you, though.”
“He’s the best; I just wish he would put some thought into finding his perfect woman now. He longs to settle down, but I think he’s scared what I will think of anyone he brings home.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. He wants to provide me with a stable home life. But I want him to be happy. He deserves it.”
“Here we are.” Alli reached for the door of the bar. “Wait. Let’s put this in your hair first.” She gathered up Melanie’s long auburn hair, and then pushed the comb into it to hold it up. “There. It looks just right, shows off your shoulders.”