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“True enough, Ruth,” her friend said helpfully. “She’s been sitting on her lazy butt all morning, just giving orders like the bossy britches she is.”
Ruth looked between the two of them as if she wasn’t quite sure whether to defend her daughter’s work ethic or applaud her good sense.
Claire took pity on her mother’s indecision. “Why were you looking for me? Did you need something?”
Ruth fussed at a clear plastic display of business cards on the table in a way that seemed completely unlike her. “Oh, you know. Just checking on you.”
“Are you sure that’s all?” Claire pressed.
Ruth picked up the bolo tie and rubbed a finger across the stone, avoiding Claire’s gaze. “Well, the truth is, I need to ask your opinion about something.”
She seemed reluctant to elaborate and Evie, brilliant and insightful friend that she was, stepped away from the counter. “I’m going to run up to check on my dog. Ruth, will you excuse me?”
“Bring him down with you,” Claire said.
When she was gone, Claire turned to her mother again. “Mom, is something wrong? What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Not exactly. I just wondered how you would feel if I took a temporary job.”
Claire gaped at her. “A job.”
“A temporary one. Mary Ella talked to me about it this morning. But I should just say no, especially while you and the children need me so much right now for rides and the like.”
“I’ve certainly been grateful for your help, but I can make other arrangements. What sort of job?”
“Helping at the bookstore. You know Sage has gone back to college for her exams and Mary Ella’s been running Dog-Eared by herself until Maura has a little more time to sort things out. Angie helps when she can, but she’s busy with those kids of hers and of course Alex has the restaurant.”
“I think that’s a terrific idea!” Claire smiled. “You love to read. You would really excel in that environment.”
“I thought about opening a bookstore myself when I was younger.”
She stared. This was the first she’d ever heard that. “Really?”
Ruth shrugged. “I got married instead and then you came along. I wouldn’t want to do it all the time, but it should be fun for a few weeks and if it helps Maura, then it’s worth it. As long as you’re sure you and the children can manage without me.”
“While I appreciate all you’ve done for us, we’ll make do,” she assured her mother, still rather numb. Ruth sometimes helped at String Fever during busy times and she’d worked on and off at the charity consignment store in town, but she mostly lived off the proceeds of Claire’s father’s insurance policy and the sale of a hundred acres in Silver Strike Canyon that had been in her family for several generations.
“When do you start?”
“Tomorrow. Mary Ella’s going to show me the routine there.” She paused. “Do you think I’m crazy?”
“No, not at all! Why would I? I think it will be great for you. You’ll love it, Mom.”
“We’ll see. I probably can’t run Maura out of business in only a few weeks.”
“You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
Her mother decided to stay for a while and work on a few new pairs of earrings to go with her new undertaking. Unfortunately, that meant she was just settling in at the worktable with her findings and the seed beads and Lucite she had decided to use when Evie came down with the her temporary houseguest.
Claire immediately fell in love with the tan, gangly, unusual-looking creature, with a Lab-shaped face and body but tight, wiry poodle hair. Chester, too, seemed to find the new arrival acceptable. His tail even wagged when the dog—whom Evie introduced as Jacques—sniffed around him.
Ruth, not so much. When the friendly animal headed to greet her, her mouth pursed. “I hope you’re not planning to bring that dog into the store with you on a regular basis. Chester is already one dog too many in a place of business, if you want my opinion.”
Because Claire had heard that particular opinion countless times, she only smiled.
“Come on, Jacques,” Evie said. “Out.”
The dog obeyed the command immediately—as did Chester, who apparently wanted to make sure the new arrival knew which of them was in charge.
Evie had just come in from the garden with the dogs when the chimes rang again.
“Claire! You’re back!”
Mary Ella burst through the door, headed straight for her and hugged her close.
“It’s so wonderful to see you here in the store, right where you belong. You must have been more than ready to come back.”
She smiled, resisting the childish urge to give her mother an “I told you so” look. “I was. Thank you.”
“Ruth, did you tell Claire you’re coming to help us out at the bookstore for a few weeks?”
“I did.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Claire said.
“Ruth’s help will be a godsend. Otherwise, I’m afraid we would have to close the bookstore until Sage is done with school.” Mary Ella automatically sat down at the worktable and picked up the beads Ruth was working with and admired them under the light. “These will be gorgeous, Ruthie. Make me a pair, will you?”
“If you help,” Ruth said tartly. Mary Ella smiled and Claire felt a deep wave of gratitude for the other woman. She didn’t know how, but somehow Mary Ella had remained close to Ruth for years, despite her mother’s sometimes-toxic mood. Maybe it had something to do with raising five daughters and a wild son, but Mary Ella, better than anyone else Claire knew, could tease and cajole Ruth out of most bitter moods.
“How are you?” Claire asked the other woman. “I mean, really.”
Mary Ella trickled the cup of seed beads through her fingers and into a tray like water droplets. “My heart hurts all the time,” she said after a long moment. “I keep thinking this has all been a mistake, you know? Someone somewhere made some terrible karmic error and any moment Layla will burst through my front door with that ridiculous purple hair and her fingers with all those rings flying away on her cell phone.”
Her voice hitched a little on the last word and Ruth reached a hand out and squeezed her friend’s fingers.
“We all wish that, more than anything.”
“The worst thing is, I feel like this dark cloud has descended on the whole town, affecting us all. Everyone just seems so sad. Even the Angel’s wings seem to have been clipped, have you noticed? I haven’t heard about a single visit since the accident.”
Claire thought of that night when Riley responded to her flickering porch lights. “I had a visit.”
The three women stared at her. “What!” her mother exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
That night when Riley had fallen asleep in her family room seemed such a precious memory, one that still seemed not quite real. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted to savor it myself. Anyway, it wasn’t a big deal. He…the Angel left a basketful of magazines and books and other cheer-up treats on the front porch one night the weekend before last.”
“Did you see the Angel?” Evie asked, her eyes bright and intent, which made Claire wonder once more if her friend could be behind the mystery. Evie had arrived in Hope’s Crossing not long before the Angel first started appearing and even though she lived a low-key life, Claire had picked up a few clues here and there that Evie might be secretly affluent, someone who could afford the kind of generosity the Angel had displayed.
Besides, Evie certainly knew her reading preferences and her favorite kind of goodies from Sugar Rush.
She searched the other woman’s face for some hint that she might know more about the Angel of Hope than she let on but saw nothing more than curiosity.
“Just a shape in the darkness,” she finally said. “Not much more than that. Riley checked around the house and the yard for me and couldn’t find any clues.”
She probably shouldn’t have added that little detail, judging by the various reactions. Ruth’s mouth pursed as if she’d smelled something particularly foul. Mary Ella gave her a long, speculative look. Evie, drat her, looked as if she were barely hiding a smile.
“Riley?” Mary Ella said.
Claire cleared her throat. “Funny story. I saw a shape out there and thought it might be an intruder. I flicked my porch lights a couple of times to maybe scare him off or something. Riley happened to be passing by just then and stopped to make sure everything was okay.”
“Nice of him,” Evie murmured.
“Right. Um, well, he checked around the house and the yard for me and couldn’t find any clues.”
She decided not to mention that he’d fallen asleep or that when he’d awakened he said wholly inappropriate things to her she couldn’t stop thinking about. Or the subsequent times he’d dropped by and kissed her until she couldn’t remember her name.
Changing the subject right now would probably be a good idea. “You know, whoever it is,” she said quickly, “there’s something so magical about the whole thing, don’t you think? The mystery of an unexpected kindness. I’m glad I didn’t see who it was. I’m not really sure I want to know. Don’t you think something will be lost if we ever figure it out?”
Mary Ella nodded. “You know, I think you’re right.”
“You’re both crazy. I want to know who it is,” Ruth said.
“But this way, we all think the best of each other,” Claire said. “We wonder if it could be our neighbor. We look at people in the street and wonder, is it him or her? It could be anyone. Or everyone.”
“What are you talking about?” Ruth gave a baffled frown.
Mary Ella smiled. “She just means all the speculation is part of the good the Angel is doing in town. Maybe we all think a little more kindly toward each other and have become a little more aware of each other’s needs. The Angel has lifted all of us, whether we’ve been direct recipients or not.”
Claire stared at the other women as random ideas that had been floating through her mind suddenly coalesced in one grand vision. “That is exactly what Hope’s Crossing needs!”
“What? A visit from the Angel?” Ruth asked.
“No. We all need to be angels of Hope!”
The three women stared at her. Ruth still looked confused, but Evie looked intrigued and Mary Ella’s features lit up with excitement.
“That is sheer brilliance, Claire,” she exclaimed.
“What are you thinking? A ‘random acts of kindness’ sort of thing?” Evie asked.
Ideas raced through her head, faster than she could sort them out. “No. No, but I think that could definitely be a component. We need to do something to bring this town together. Everyone in Hope’s Crossing has been affected by the accident in some way or another. Don’t you feel like something has been shattered?”
“Other than your arm and your leg?” Ruth said caustically, gesturing to her respective casts.
“Besides a few bones. We’ve all suffered a great loss.”
“We should do whatever we can to heal it,” Evie said quietly and Claire smiled at her, grateful beyond words for whatever twist of fate had brought her friend here to the mountains of Colorado.
“What about a day of service? Neighbors helping neighbors,” Mary Ella suggested. For the first time since she came in, her lovely green eyes looked clear and unclouded by sorrow.
“Yes. Yes!” Claire thought of the possibilities. Fences that needed to be painted, windows to be washed, blankets to be knitted. “We could involve every one. Children, families, youth groups.”
“We should have something special planned for the teenagers. They’ve lost so much,” Evie said.
Claire thought of Taryn, a cheerleader and popular girl at Hope’s Crossing High School, lying in a hospital bed in Denver, of Charlie Beaumont, facing serious charges in the accident, of the other teens involved.
And, of course, of Layla.
She leaned forward suddenly, an abrupt movement that sent a pain rippling up her leg that she ignored. “What if we end the day with a dinner dance and benefit auction. The proceeds can go to a charity that benefits the entire community. Maybe something with particular impact on the young people.”
“A scholarship in Layla’s name,” Ruth said abruptly.
“Oh.” Mary Ella’s features softened.
Claire beamed at her mother. “Oh, perfect, Mom. Just perfect.”
“Maura would be touched, don’t you think?” Evie asked.
“How soon could we throw it together?” Claire asked. “Would a month give us enough time?”
“Layla would have turned sixteen on June forth,” Mary Ella offered.
Claire calculated. Three and a half weeks. Could they make it happen in that short amount of time? “A little less than a month, then.”
“It’s too much work,” Ruth said.
“No, we can do this. I can’t imagine a better day for it.”
She pulled the rolling table with her laptop toward her, excitement flooding through her. This is what the town needed, something to hold on to. The bright beam of hope piercing the dark clouds that had lingered since the tragedy.
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