Page 20 of Just Add Mistletoe

The other man and the other woman walked toward the building site, hand in hand. So they were together. But blondie lingered with Malcom, and they seemed to be in a vigorous discussion. Lori’s curiosity only grew.

When the man turned back to motion toward Malcom, she saw the resemblance. Several things clicked into place. The man was his brother, Bronson, and that must be the brother’s wife, Kari.

Lori’s mind spun, trying to keep the relationships in order. The blonde woman giving her full attention to Malcom had to be Penny.

And if Lori wasn’t mistaken, Penny was very, very interested in Malcom.

At that moment, he put some distance between him and Penny as he followed after his brother. She did her best to keep up in those heels of hers.

Lori turned away. None of this was her business. She did feel a little sorry for Malcom, but he could handle his own family. He’d been doing it a while. She moved to the counter, where she arranged Halloween lollipops on a graveyard display. The lollipops were surprisingly popular. Maybe not too surprising. Lori loved them as well. She unwrapped one and popped it into her mouth. One of the benefits of being the store owner, she supposed.

She’d bought this store about six months ago, and every day she was grateful. That should say something, right? She couldmake good choices, after all, that didn’t fall under the circle of her parents. Her dad had owned the hardware store most of her life, and when he sold it, Lori had felt out of sorts. She’d been working there since she was a kid—doing odd jobs at first, then given a more official position after a couple years at a community college.

She’d always thought she might take over the store one day.

Instead, her dad sold it, and said if he didn’t, he’d never be able to truly retire. He’d invested a portion of the sale into her own shop. Then her parents were off to Florida. They hadn’t invited her to move with them. Okay, so she should admit it—living with her parents in Everly Falls had been convenient, but not ideal. And maybe it had taken them moving out of state, and wanting to sell their house, to finally get a place of her own.

If that had been their plan, it had worked.

It also, she realized now, might have caused some of her dating hangups. Living with her parents didn’t exactly equate to any romantic nights. But none of that had happened anyway, even once she was on her own. So she couldn’t blame her living situation any longer.

Speaking of parents . . . her phone rang, and her mom’s number lit up the screen. Lori knew better than to ignore the call if she could help it. Her mom only called when there was an emergency—most of which could be taken with a grain of salt. A few days ago, she had called because she’d lost her credit card. What was Lori supposed to do about it?

Regardless, her mom had been in a panic, so Lori looked up the credit card company’s number for her and sent it over. She’d been tempted to tell her it was a good thing for Dad to help out with, but he was terrible at financial stuff and would think there was some sort of conspiracy theory working against them if the credit company asked Mom to verify some personal data.

Okay, maybe Lori was really grateful that she no longer lived with her parents.

“Hi, Mom,” she answered in a cheerful tone, even though her stomach had tightened with trepidation.

“Oh, thank goodness you answered,” her mom said. “I got the strangest text about the post office delivering something, but they didn’t have my address. Dad told me to call and see if you’ve sent us anything?”

Lori swallowed back a sigh. “Mom, if it were me, I’d have your address. The text is a scam. Remember the last one you got from UPS?”

“Yeah, but this was from USPS—they’re different, honey.”

“It’s still a scam.”

“Are you sure?” her mom pressed.

“I’m sure,” Lori insisted. “Just delete it. Don’t open the link or give out any information to a random number, no matter what they claim.”

“I know, you’re right.” Her mom paused. “How is everything going?”

“Just busy at the store—Halloween is coming up.”

“Oh, of course. Any updates on your dating life?”

Lori closed her eyes for a second. “No updates.” Her mom didn’t need to ask the same question every phone call. “If there’s a change, I’ll let you know. I should run—the school crowd will be here soon.”

She hung up, hoping that her mom would stop taking scam texts seriously. But Lori was glad she had called anyway. She picked up the lollipop again.

The bell over the door jangled, and Lori looked over to see Malcom. His tall frame filled the doorway, and he looked a bit hesitant. When their gazes met, he stepped across the threshold. “Hey.”

She popped the lollipop out of her mouth. “Hey.”

“You open?” He looked around at the empty store.

“Yeah, of course.” She glanced at the witch-hat clock on the wall. “Just kind of the dead hour.”

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