“I don’t think so. Yet,” she murmured, twirling the damaged flower in her fingers. “Even if I needed help, I’m not entirely sure whose butt you’d need to kick.”
He scratched his gnarled, gray-stubbled chin. “You don’t think it’s Rory?”
Rory wasn’t exactly a romantic, and she couldn’t see him leaving a flower on her windshield every day. Even so, they had been engaged, and she’d ended things. “I’m not sure. It’s not like I knew the guy very well.” Or at all. They’d fallen in love, had planned a life together, and then it had turned out she hadn’t known a thing about his real life. Well, nothing she couldn’t see here in the small town of Silverville. Even now, despite them breaking up months ago, just the sound of his name cut deep into her heart.
She was dumber than her neighbor’s Belgian Blue cow. That beast had run headfirst into a wooden fence so many times they’d finally moved her to a pasture that fronted a forested mountain. It was a good thing BlueBrat didn’t like to climb things.
Earl gingerly set the shovel back in line. “I could have a talk with him if you’d like.”
“No,” she said. “If anybody needs to speak with Rory, it’s me.”
Earl shook his head. His thick, gray hair was short on top, but he’d let the sides grow longer, which looked odder and odder every day. But Serenity wasn’t sure how to tell him that. One of his granddaughters had recently opened a hair salon near the other end of town, so no doubt the woman was experimenting on her grandfather. He was charming regardless.
“I’ll figure it out, Earl. Don’t worry.”
The man’s brows drew down. “I can’t see Rory doing something like that,” he declared. “Are you still mad at him?”
“No,” she said curtly. “I’m not mad at him. It’s just over.”
Earl sighed. “Come on. Even though you won’t tell me what got you so riled up, I know you love that man. He loves you. That should be enough.”
She barely kept her temper at bay, wishing she could talk to somebody about Rory’s job. It was probably treason or something for her to even consider doing so. “Love isn’t enough.”
“That’s just silly,” Earl stated glibly. “Plus, it’s the holiday season. Christmas is over, but perhaps you’d like to start the upcoming year by fixing all that has gone wrong with your romance. I would truly love to see you happy again.”
Huh. Serenity was done with the conversation, and she still hadn’t told Earl about the hang-ups. They’d started a couple of weeks ago, and the person on the other end of the line was an unknown caller who never spoke. That so didn’t seem like Rory, even though she’d accused him of bombarding her with calls just the week before.
He’d denied it.
What if he really was some sort of obsessive stalker? She’d never gotten that vibe from him, but she hadn’t realized he’d been lying to her, either.
Earl patted her shoulder with a beefy hand. “It’ll be okay.”
“Thanks.” Perhaps it was time to speak with the sheriff. Oh, it was just phone calls and flowers—no threats—but still. Her world had gotten creepy.
She turned and made her customary walk down each aisle, ensuring the nails, boards, and carpet samples were in the correct places before ending up at the lone checkout desk at the far end. She’d considered expanding the area many times, but they really didn’t need two cashiers. While they supplied hardware to the entirety of Silverville, the town wasn’t that big, and they rarely even had a line.
“Good afternoon, Verna,” Serenity said to the woman behind the counter.
Verna finished stacking bills and wrapped them with a rubber band before shoving them back into the old-fashioned cash register. A dented and well-worn figurine featuring a New Year’s baby perched near her elbow. “Hey, how’s it going?” Verna’s gaze caught on the flower still in Serenity’s hand. The heat from inside the building had dusted off the ice, and petals now fell rapidly. “Oh, no. Not another one.”
“Yes.”
Verna brightened. She was around forty with lighter brown hair, sparkling dark eyes, and recently enhanced lips. “If you really think about it, it does show dedication and romance.” Her eyebrows waggled. “Come on, give Rory another chance.”
“I don’t think these are from him,” Serenity murmured.
A head popped up above the counter. “Looks like a sad flower anyway.”
Serenity yelped and jumped back. “Vance, what are you doing back there?”
He stood all the way up with a drill in his hand. “The bottom of the counter was loose, and I told Verna I’d fix it.” He grinned. As Verna’s twin, he had the same-colored hair and eyes, but he was a good six feet tall.
“It’s nice to see you,” Serenity said, meaning it.
His sister had taken the cashier job a good decade before, and Vance often helped at the store. Other times, he worked as the manager of the local bank. “It’s good to be doing something with my drill again.” He looked down at it and squeezed the trigger, making it whir. “I almost lost this in the divorce, you know.”
“I know.” From what Serenity had heard, poor Vance had been married to a woman from Spokane, who was awarded pretty much everything in the divorce. Of course, her source had been Vance’s twin sister, so grain of salt and all that. Even so, she’d been wracking her brain for a single friend she could introduce to Vance. “Anyway, you got your drill back,” she said.
He made it whir again and smiled, his teeth sparkling white. “I sure did.” His grin was engaging. “You look pretty today, Serenity.”
She rolled her eyes. He was always saying that. “I look like I just swept the back room, which I still have to do.”
He glanced at his watch. “Oh, I need to get to work. My lunch hour is over.” He neatly tucked the drill under the counter and walked around. “I have to agree with my sister. I think the flower shows dedication and romance.” He lifted a shoulder. He wore a checked, button-down shirt with gray slacks for his job as a banker. “Maybe Rory isn’t so bad.” With that, he kissed his sister on the cheek and hustled out of the hardware store.
Serenity blew out air. “It seems like the whole town is on Rory’s side.”
Verna leaned over and patted her shoulder. “That’s not true. Everybody’s on your side, but we also want you to be happy, and Serenity, you were happy with him.”
“I only thought I was,” she returned. “He just isn’t who I thought he was.”
“I guess, but since you won’t really talk about it, I can’t truly form an opinion. But I do trust your judgment.” Verna looked toward the sparkling Christmas tree in the corner. “You want to keep this up until after New Year’s?”
Considering Serenity had a tradition of keeping her decorations at her cottage up until Valentine’s Day…of course. “Yes. I’ll take it down next week.” She wasn’t ready to let go of the holiday magic quite yet, even though her life had become bizarre. She tossed the flower into the nearest trash can. “Let’s put the de-icer on sale.”