Chapter 10
Lara dropped her off later that evening but not before dragging a promise out of Sassie to come for dinner the following night to meet Grady properly, and her daughter Jo.
Tinker Bell sat waiting for Sassie to open the door before she moved. The cat wrapped itself around her ankles and purred loudly. “Aw, you sweet girl. You missed me and we’ve only been together a day.” She scooped the cat up in her arms and hugged her, scratching the soft ginger ears. “Now that sounds like love to me.” Sassie pushed the back door shut with her foot and walked into her bedroom.
The bed took up almost half of the room, its solid base and headboard hand-carved in oak. The deliveryman had taken great pleasure in telling her that it came from an estate sale, along with other pieces that were still for sale in the secondhand shop she’d passed in town the other day. Sassie had promised herself she would go to see if the other pieces would fit in the room. She needed a chest of drawers and dresser, but she was hopelessly in love with the old bed already, and, it seemed, so was the cat now curled on the patchwork duvet.
After topping up Tinker Bell’s food dish, Sassie brushed her teeth and crawled into bed.
When she woke the next morning, she decided to try to buy the rest of the bedroom setting and see what else they had available. The whole house needed furniture, and if she could get what she wanted at a reasonable price, why go any farther afield than where she now called home? She lay back, thinking about what rooms she wanted to do first, mindlessly rubbing her finger, making a mental note to herself to get the stitches out soon.
Two hours later, she drove into town, intent on getting her hands on the matching accessories for her room. The furniture displayed on the sidewalk stopped her in her tracks and she pulled over. Oh my goodness, a red leather button sofa. She wanted to sink into it then and there. And that coffee table! It definitely had a map of the world carved into the glass. With so many rooms to furnish, this place was looking very promising.
A horn blast made her look up. Riley drove past, his gaze firmly on her and not the road in front of him. Sassie smiled. He was getting under her skin far too quickly, and she wasn’t sure if she should be happy or scared. She blew him a kiss and turned away to try to concentrate on the reason she was here.
The inside of the store was crowded with beds, cabinets, and just about everything else she could have imagined. Shelf upon shelf of kitchen goods lined the back wall, along with row upon row of used books stacked so high they threatened to fall onto the floor. Maybe she should offer a library in the front room for those nights when it would be nice to cozy up in front of the fireplace.
“Can I help you, love?” An older man headed her way between the aisles of household goods. Suspenders held up his gray corduroy pants under his impressive belly, topped by a red-and-black-checkered flannel shirt. A portly face, beaming smile, and flowing gray beard made him look like the country version of Saint Nick.
“Good morning to you. I had a bed delivered yesterday that I believe came from this shop.”
He rubbed his hands on his belly and laughed, the rumble filling the large crowded room. “You’d be the new girl in town, the one who’s doing up the old Barker place.”
“That would be me. Sassie O’Leary. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You would be…?”
“Sam Brody.” He shook her hand, dwarfing her fingers in his. “So, you’re the young lady who has young Riley all in a spin.”
“I think you must be reading that wrong, Mr. Brody. He’s uh…helping me with my house, nothing more.”
He smiled and smoothed his hand over his beard as he took in her excuse. “Right, so what can I do for you, young lady?”
“Well, I was thinking. The bed is just drop-dead gorgeous. I hear there’s matching furniture to go with it. I have a yen for a nice chair for the room as well, if you have one. But I mainly want the matching bedroom set. Would you mind showing me?” She smiled at the jolly man; she might have found a valuable friend.
“I was hoping you’d want to see it. Be such a shame for it to be broken up, but Riley was only interested in the bed. I have a couple of chairs that might suit you too. Follow me and I’ll show you.”
Heat raced up Sassie’s cheeks at the unspoken innuendo, but she brushed it off. They fought their way through stacked cabinets, heavily paneled wardrobes, and dining settings to stand in front of a beautiful chest of drawers. She recognized the carving from the headboard and reached out to run her fingers over the scrolled work adorning the top backing plate.
“It’s good, solid furniture. This was made when furniture was carved by hand, none of that mass production back in those days. Came out of England with some of the first boats, shipped over here for one of those big houses in San Francisco. Can’t buy anything like it nowadays unless you’re prepared to part with a fortune.” Sam shook his head and picked up the tag, a look of concentration on his face. “I’ll do you a deal if you take the whole set. Wardrobe, chest of drawers, and bedside cabinets.” He named a price.
“Sounds fair to me, but here’s the thing, Sam.” She flicked her hair back and glanced at him with what she hoped was a sincere
