Key of Valor
Page 17

So what did she want? Zoe asked herself as she prepared for bed. An afternoon in a hammock? Sometimes it was just as simple as that. To know she’d shoved her way out of the door of that trailer and moved on? No question about that. And that she’d found her way out of that terrifying forest, and given her child not only life but a good life.
She needed to know those things, and to know that she would keep building that life for Simon, and herself. She needed Indulgence to be a success. That was partly pride.
Her mother had always said she was too proud.
Maybe she had been, and maybe that pride had made things harder than they might have been. But it had also carried her through the hard times.
She hadn’t gotten everything she’d dreamed of, but what she had would do just fine.
She turned off the light. If there was a pang that there was no one there, in the dark, she could turn to, there was the satisfaction, even the pride, of knowing she could always rely on herself.
SHE was working upstairs at Indulgence the next day, screwing the hardware onto her completed stations, when she heard the shouts from below. Excited shouts, she noted immediately, not distressed ones. So she finished the station she was working on before going down to see what was causing the commotion.
Following the voices, she walked into Dana’s section, then let out a shout of her own when she saw the book display rack lining one wall and the two huge cartons in the middle of the floor.
“They came! Your shelves came. Oh, they look great. You were right to go with these. They look so good with your colors.”
“They do, don’t they? I’ve got the diagram I worked out, the one I changed six dozen times. But I’m wondering if I should switch the kids’ section with the nonfiction.”
“Why don’t we just open the next one, put it where you have it planned, then see?” Malory wielded her box cutter.
The deliveryman wheeled in the next carton. “Lady, where do you want this one?”
“Oh, God,” was all Dana could manage.
“Just leave it here,” Zoe told him. “We’ll figure it out. How many did you get?” she asked Dana.
“A lot. Maybe too many, but I wanted to be sure I could showcase everything the way I had in my head. But now . . . Jesus, my heart’s pounding. Is it excitement? Is it terror? You be the judge.”
“It’s excitement.” Gleefully, Malory ripped open another carton. “Come on, let’s get this one set up, too. Let’s get them all set up, then you’ll see how wonderful it is.”
“It’s real,” Dana murmured as yet another carton was wheeled in. “It’s really real. It’s not just going to be empty rooms now.”
“Shelves, books, tables, chairs.” Zoe tore cardboard away. “In a few weeks we’ll sit down in here and have our first cup of tea.”
“Yeah.” Bracing herself, Dana helped them move the next section into place. “Then we’ll wander over and admire all the pretty things in Malory’s gallery.”
“And finish it off with a tour of Zoe’s salon.” Malory stepped back. “Look what we’ve done already. Can you get over what we’ve done?”
Zoe looked at the next carton to come in. “Right now, I can’t get over what we’re about to do. Get that box cutter going, Mal. We’ve got work to do.”
They were still carrying bookcases when the next delivery truck pulled up.
“It’s from HomeMakers.” Malory looked back at them from the window. “Are we expecting a delivery from HomeMakers today?”
“We’ve got some things on order,” Zoe told her. “I didn’t think any of it was in yet. I’ll go check.”
She went to the front door and met the driver on the porch. “This Indulgence?” he asked her.
Hearing someone else say the name made her feel so good inside. “It will be.”
“Got some windows on the truck.” He handed her the invoice to check. “Got a list here, which one’s we’re replacing. If that’s right, we’ll get started. We’ll have them in for you today.”
“In? We didn’t order installation, just the windows.”
“Installation comes along with them. Got a note here.” He dug into his pocket. “From Mr. Vane for a Ms. McCourt.”
“I’m Ms. McCourt.” Frowning, she took the envelope, ripped it open. Inside was a single sheet of letterhead, with a single line of message.
Don’t argue.
She opened her mouth, shut it again, then looked back at the driver. She saw two other men now, getting out of the truck to lean against the hood.
“Mr. Vane, he said you should give him a call if there was any trouble with this. You want us to get started, or you want us to wait?”
“No. No, go ahead and get started. Thank you.”
She walked back inside, rubbing the back of her neck as she watched Dana and Malory set another section in place. “The replacement windows are here.”
“That’s great. Maybe we should angle this,” Dana suggested.
“There’s a crew here to install them,” Zoe continued. “Bradley—HomeMakers—included installation.”
“Brad’s such a sweetie,” Malory commented.
“Pays to know the owner.” Dana stepped back, shook her head. “No, let’s keep this one flush.”
Unsettled, Zoe nudged a sheet of cardboard with her toe. “Don’t you think we should pay for it?”
“Gift horse, Zoe.” Huffing a bit, Dana muscled the shelf into position. “I’d rather kiss it on the lips than look it in the mouth.” She glanced back, added a quick leer. “Of course, this particular horse would rather you be the one giving out the smoochies.”
“He’s coming to dinner tonight.”
“Good. Give him a big, wet one.”
“I’m afraid.”
Malory set the box cutter aside. “Of Brad?”
“Yes. Of him, of me.” She rubbed a fist between her br**sts as if something inside ached a little. “Of what’s going to happen.”
“Oh, honey.”
“I don’t know what to do, or what to think. It’s one thing if it’s just for the fun, the excitement. But I’m not looking for fun and excitement. Not this kind.”