When Jason’s curly brown head poked through the car window, Olivia leaned toward him and said, “Morning, Baby Brother. Late for work again?”
“Oh geez.” Jason checked his dashboard clock, as Olivia knew he would. Jason had no sense of time. In a moment, he reappeared. “You got me,” he said. “I’m twenty minutes early. So we’re even?”
“For now.”
“Listen, Livie, I heard about Clarisse. That’s raw.”
Olivia nodded. “Raw” was a good word for it. Sometimes Jason could show amazing empathy.
“Well, gotta roll. Later.”
Or not.
Except for a wave of sadness when she arranged the vintage cookie cutters in their curio cabinet, Olivia pushed her grief and confusion well to the back of her thoughts. She needed to concentrate on all the last-minute preparations for the store’s spring event. By eight forty-five, fifteen minutes before opening, Olivia pushed up a west-facing window and poked her head out. A perfect day for a spring cookie extravaganza. The sky had cleared to a cornflower blue, and rows of red tulips, planted the previous fall along the front walk, had opened their petals to the sun.
From her vantage point, Olivia had a side view of the Chatterley Café entrance. A line of customers, waiting for tables, snaked out the door and down the sidewalk in her direction. Even for a spring-scented Saturday, this was impressive. A slender young woman in a swinging skirt emerged from the café and appeared to be heading toward the store. Her brisk, graceful stride looked familiar. As she approached, Olivia recognized the sleek blonde hair and air of determination. Tammy Deacons was about to be her first customer. Olivia had a sinking feeling that a discussion of cookie cutters was not on Tammy’s agenda.
Olivia started to shut the window, but she was too late. Tammy caught sight of her and began to wave as if she were marooned on an island and The Gingerbread House was the only plane in the sky. With a twinge of guilt, Olivia closed the window and detoured to the kitchen. “Tammy is heading this way,” she warned Maddie, who was finishing up a display of her flower cutout cookies.
Maddie paused in the act of placing a magenta sunflower next to a forest green daisy with leaf green polka dots. “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll leave her to you. Besides, I have to change.” When Maddie said she had to “change,” it wasn’t into a clean T-shirt and jeans. She had the ability to create a persona, to morph into an entirely different being. When the two of them went antiquing together, Olivia hunted down the scattered displays of used cookie cutters, while Maddie went straight for the vintage clothing. She might buy a nightgown, a 1950s shirtwaist dress, a few scarves, then set to work on them. When Maddie appeared in the resulting outfit, she’d transformed herself into a garden gnome or a teapot or some creature never seen before on this planet.
As Olivia returned to the sales area, she heard a firm knock on the front door. The store opened in ten minutes, and she had yet to clear a display space for Maddie’s decorated flower cookies, add money to the cash register . . . Get a grip, Livie. Life on the planet wasn’t likely to end if The Gingerbread House opened a few minutes late. Besides, if Tammy insisted on a chat, she could tag along while Olivia finished her preparations.
Knowing Tammy’s impatience when she had something on her mind, Olivia called out, “Just a minute,” as she headed across the crowded store. She flipped the lock, opened the door, and said, “Hi, Ta—.” She found herself looking at broad shoulders encased in plaid flannel. She raised her eyes about six inches to Lucas Ashford’s chiseled features.
“Lucas! I thought . . .”
“Sorry, Livie, I didn’t mean to startle you, and I know you’re about to open, so you’re busy. I was wondering . . .” With his muscular arms and shy manner, Lucas reminded Olivia of a lumberjack, more comfortable in the forest with the deer and squirrels than with other humans. It always surprised her when he spoke in compound sentences.
“We have to open in about ten minutes,” Olivia said, glancing around at the still unprepared store. “We could talk after that, once Maddie is on the floor to help.” When she turned back to Lucas, Olivia realized his eyes were focused on the kitchen door.
Lucas uttered a confused “Uh,” and, with obvious reluctance, returned his sea green gaze to Olivia’s face. “Well, I was actually sort of wondering if Maddie had a minute before, you know . . . I mean, I know she’s busy getting ready for your . . .”
Olivia suspected he was searching for a more specific term than “thing.” She took pity on him. “Our spring event, yes, she is, but I’m sure she’d be glad to see you.” An understatement by about twelve miles, but she decided not to give Lucas reason to be overconfident. Maddie could do that all by herself.
“You know,” Olivia said, “Maddie hangs out in the kitchen, and you are always welcome to knock on the alley door.”
“She didn’t answer,” Lucas said. His dark eyebrows slid together, giving his face a worried expression, as if he believed Maddie might be ignoring him on purpose. Really, the man hadn’t the slightest insight into his effect on women. Best to keep him that way.
“She was probably getting into her costume,” Olivia said. “I’ll see if she’s dressed.” As she turned around, the kitchen door opened and out walked a vision. Of what, Olivia wasn’t certain.
“Hey there, Lucas,” Maddie said, sounding pleased and oh so casual. “So? Have I outdone myself or what?” She twirled once and sashayed toward them. Sunshine yellow leotards encased her body from modest neckline to yellow ballet slippers, showing off her generous curves. A short, vivid blue skirt barely preserved her modesty. Around her neck, she wore a necklace of blue silk ribbon woven through small, flower-shaped cookie cutters used as charms, which tinkled as they bumped together.
As Maddie glided through the numerous displays of cookie cutters and baking supplies, Olivia stole a peek at Lucas’s face. His smile spread like flood icing until it nearly reached his ears. “So who am I?” Maddie asked, striking a regal pose.
“A moveable garden?” Olivia guessed. “A sun nymph? Queen of the universe?”
“Nice tries, Livie, but so pedestrian. I am, of course, the newest and most flamboyant of the earth goddesses, the bringer of cookie flowers to those who ask politely. Only I need a name.”
“You’ll think of one,” Olivia said.
Maddie reached into a pale yellow hobo bag hanging over her shoulder. She brought out a blue daisy decorated with yellow and navy polka dots. “A cookie for your thoughts, young Lucas,” she said.
“Um.”
Maddie held the cookie closer to him. “And?”
“Well . . . You look great!”
“I was going for ‘delicious’ or perhaps ‘luscious,’ but ‘great’ will work.” Maddie handed Lucas the cookie, which he accepted without taking his eyes off her.
“And my name shall be?” When Maddie tilted her head and gazed up at Lucas, the light caught green sparkles in her froth of red hair. “I was thinking of ‘Glorious.’ Is that too over-the-top?”
“I like it,” Lucas said, and took a bite of his cookie.
Olivia made a mental note not to suffer a life-threatening emergency if Maddie and Lucas were the only ones available to call for help.
Meanwhile, the minutes were ticking away. “Why don’t you two head for the kitchen,” Olivia said. “I have to finish out here. Maddie, we’ll open in seven minutes, okay? Are you ready?”
Maddie tore her attention from Lucas. “Naturally,” she said, lifting her eyebrows at Olivia. “When have I not been ready in plenty of time?”