Her sister wanted to rinse out her hair? She liked it here enough to come out from hiding? Why not, that small voice asked. You did, recalling how she’d rinsed the pink soon after arriving because she’d wanted to be herself. Kendall blinked, startled at the similarities between the sisters. And a positive one this time.
“Well, Kendall?”
Hannah’s voice interrupted her thoughts and Kendall glanced at her sister. “Yes, yes, and no.”
Her bright eyes opened wide, clearly upset. “That’s so unfair. Just because I slept at Charlotte’s last night doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to sleep out again tonight and I earned money helping Charlotte all morning, so—”
“Whoa.” Kendall held up a hand, cutting her sister off. “Yes, you can definitely have the purple washed out of your hair. My treat. Yes, you can sleep at Jeannie’s house if it’s okay with her mother.” She paused, an idea hitting her. “Actually, why don’t the two of you sleep at our house and give her parents a break after the movies and dinner? And no, I didn’t know Greg lived next door to Jeannie,” Kendall finished on a laugh.
Hannah blushed. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay.” At least Hannah was acting like a typical teenager and not an angry young girl. “So what does everyone think?” Kendall asked about the idea of the girls sleeping at her place.
The girls looked first at each other, then at poor Grace McKeever.
“Please, Mom, please can I sleep at Kendall’s?” Jeannie tugged on her mother’s sleeve. “They’re staying in Ms. Sutton’s old guest house. Hannah said it’s so cool. She has her own room and there’s an attic where Kendall set up all her jewelry designs. Hannah said it’s awesome. Please?”
Hannah said anything about Kendall or the house was awesome? Kendall had to blink back tears. She turned and wiped her eyes, intending to blame the sun if anyone called her on it.
“It’s fine with me, girls. We’ll stop at the house before we leave for Harrington so you can pack up your things.”
“Cool!” The girls shot each other conspiratorial grins, as if they’d accomplished some covert deal.
“Don’t forget a blanket or sleeping bag of some kind,” Kendall said to Jeannie. “We don’t have extra beds and furniture.”
“Double cool!” Jeannie said as Grace jotted down her cell and home phone number and Kendall did the same so they could exchange. Then Grace excused herself to do some more shopping. The girls turned to run back to their crowd of friends, but Hannah pivoted back and leaned across the table, meeting Kendall’s gaze.
“Thanks.”
The appreciation in Hannah’s eyes told Kendall more than anything her sister could possibly say. “My pleasure.” Reaching into her jeans pocket, Kendall pulled out spare money and gave it to her sister. “Spend wisely,” she joked.
Hannah shoved the bills into her front pocket. “Kendall?”
“Yes?”
Hannah swallowed hard.
“Hannah, come on. They’re waiting for us,” Jeannie called out.
“I . . . I love you. Bye.” Before Kendall could reply, Hannah turned and ran to join her friends.
“I love you too.” And this time, a tear really did fall, dripping down her cheek.
As the sidewalk sale drew to a close, so did Rick’s shift. He was free to do as he pleased and seeing Kendall pleased him greatly. He caught up with her as she was exiting Charlotte’s Attic, a briefcase in hand.
Matching her stride, he fell into step with her. “Hey there.”
Her eyes flashed a genuine greeting. “Hi yourself.”
“Successful day?” He gestured to the briefcase.
“Amazing. I sold much of what we had out and took special orders for dozens of others.” She shook her head in awe. “It’s just been great.”
“I know how to make it even better.”
She paused and turned toward him. “Oh, yeah?” A smile pulled at her lips.
After their serious conversation the night before, he’d deliberately kept things light between them and judging by her welcome now, his tactics were working. Instead of running scared, she was moving closer.
He wanted her closer still. “Did you ever make out at a drive-in movie?” he asked her.
Her lips pulled up in a smile. “Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure, why?”
“Tonight’s the annual slide show. It coincides with the sidewalk sale every year. They turn the football field into a makeshift amphitheater and recount town history. It’s not the most exciting thing to see but everyone shows up anyway. And I just happen to know a secluded place with the best view. Want to be my date?”
“You’re not working?”
“I’m officially off duty and all yours,” he said, leaning closer.
“I like the sound of that.”
Her voice dropped a husky octave and he liked that even more. But before he could concentrate on tonight, he had something he needed to discuss with Kendall. “I stopped by my mother’s this morning on the way to work.”
“All cleaned up from the party?”
He nodded. “Except the stack of gifts left over. I had no idea that everyone who showed up last night brought presents.” He felt ridiculous accepting gifts for his birthday and he wished he could return all of them.
All except one. He pulled the collar of his shirt down slightly to reveal the thin black piece Kendall and Hannah had made for him. He wasn’t a jewelry kind of guy, but this wasn’t a typical piece of jewelry. It was masculine and unobtrusive enough to make him comfortable wearing it. But most importantly, the necklace was a gift from the heart, Kendall’s heart.
“You like it?”
The hesitancy in her voice surprised him. When it came to her work, she was confident or so she’d seemed as he’d observed her from afar all afternoon. He hadn’t
