Page 14 of Lighting Up Christmas

“How much?”

Duh.

She should have thought about that when she’d been wrapping up the lights. Or driving up here. But no. She’d been more focused on pitching her electrical services, and that seemed to be a bust. He practically vibrated with the need to usher her out.

“Five hundred each,” she said, thinking that it was an easy number but maybe too high, and perhaps she should factor in a discount since he was buying multiple. “And free installation, of course.”

“I know Bear Creek is a small, unremarkable town, but with the wineries, Ashland theater schedule, and Jacksonville’s music festival so close this year, and all the hiking and river activities,the area’s overrun with tourists. You could double your prices,” he said, pulling out his phone to make the payment.

“Three thousand then,” she countered, stung by his Bear Creek diss and amused by his upsell. “And free installation and a complimentary examination of your power grid and electrical for the property,” she added with, hopefully, her best innocent expression.

“Not necessary.”

She gave him her Venmo account, feeling a bit shocked when he paid the three thousand.

“I was joking.”

“I wasn’t.”

Riley carried the two boxes out to her truck and loaded them in the back while she wrestled with the temptation to ask him if any of the old vines were still on the property. They’d likely been mulched or burned years ago. And if he didn’t want her looking at his electrical system, he surely didn’t want her tromping over his property.

“I like your name. It sounds pretty,” she said trying to make conversation. “I looked it up to see what it means and sometimes Zhang is a surname. Was it your mother’s…?”

“Choice? Obviously,” he said curtly stalking back to the barn.

Riley sighed. She’d ‘obviously’ irritated two successful men today. She was on a roll. She followed him to ensure she hadn’t left anything and for a last look around and slapped another card on his bar. He’d likely circular filed her last one, and he probably was going to struggle with the installation and call her while biting back his irritation and manly embarrassment.

Not her first rodeo with ruffled male egos.

But as Riley took one last, longing look around the small barn that years ago she’d hoped to convert into a workshop if Leah received permission from the county to subdivide fiveacres to sell, she couldn’t stifle the spurt of hope, born from determination that someday soon she’d be back.

And she’d install the light where it belonged.

“If you’re going to use this for a tasting room, you could have an outdoor patio area with a pergola with grapevines on each post winding up and over the top and add potted evergreens strung with lights. That would be beautiful in all seasons, especially if you are having any late harvest or ice wine events around the holidays.”

Zhang Shi rolled the door shut in her face.

*

“You should tryit on.” Sophia pushed a deep royal-blue sheath-style wrap dress at Riley after they’d split a chicken teriyaki bowl and a salmon and ginger and veggie bowl from their favorite food truck down on River Road near the park.

“Yeah, right. I’m going to try on a dress.” Riley laughed as she assiduously folded hand-knit sweaters a local artisan had supplied today. Riley had sanded and stained the reclaimed lumber from a barn teardown last week and had hung up the shelves in the empty shop next to Sophia’s store that was going to be a holiday co-op pop-up for December and January.

“You wear dresses.”

“Hardly ever, but I’m objecting more to the fact that I have been working all day and now most of the evening helping you. I’m tired and sweaty and stuffed from the late feast. Not conducive to modeling a beautiful vintage dress.”

“We’ve definitely worked off all calories tonight, even the speedy ones that like to hide and sneak onto my hips when I’m not looking,” Sophia said. “Thanks for coming. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up. The otherwomen who said they’d help with the pop-up took off early or had conflicts.”

“I’ll always show up, Soph. Always. And stay to the end.”

Sophia blinked hard, and Riley turned back to the shelves. The store next to Sophia’s had been empty for a few months, and Sophia had come up with the idea for a few local artisans to pool their money to rent the space at a discount for a couple of months. Sophia had offered to coordinate the inventory and purchases and supervise the high school interns who were helping as part of their business and marketing class. They had designed a website for the pop-up with Riley’s help and recruited friends to volunteer after school to help with the sales and restocking.

Unfortunately, because they were kids, they couldn’t work too late. So Riley had helped Sophia unpack the merchandise, check it in on the computer system, and then put it up for display.

It was nearly midnight, and they were both punchy tired.

And not finished.

---