Page 2 of Beautiful Harmony

Mrs. Walters waved her cane dismissively. “Don’t matter to me. I’ll be there. I’d rather watch idiots try to knit than another damn rerun ofCriminal Minds. Arthur’s obsessed with that dumb show. I swear we’ve seen every episode twice already.”

Emma walked Mrs. Walters to the door. “All right. See you tomorrow night.”

“I’ll bring some cookies,” Mrs. Walters said. “My famous oatmeal chocolate chip ones.”

“Looking forward to it. The wind is cold. You should button your coat,” Emma said.

“Fingers can’t manage it today,” Mrs. Walters said.

As Emma buttoned her jacket for her, Mrs. Walters studied her face. “Do you not date men on account of your birthmark or because you’re gay?”

“Neither,” Emma said. “I’m very busy with the store, and I have an active social life as it is. No time for dating.”

“Right,” Mrs. Walters said. “Well, if you ain’t gay, I thought maybe you and my grandson could go for dinner. He’s not the best looking fellow in town, but as soon as he was out of prison, he got a part-time job over at the Sip and Gulp, and he’s real close to having enough money for his own car. He’s got a good heart, and he won’t care that your face is messed up some.”

“I’m not looking to date anyone right now, but thank you,” Emma said.

“If you change your mind, just let me know.”

“I will.” Emma pushed open the heavy door. “Goodbye, Mrs. Walters.”

Mrs. Walters thumped her way down the sidewalk without a backward glance.

“So, is it the just got out of prison or almost having his own car that has you potentially hot and bothered for Mrs. Walters’ grandson?” Nora grinned at Emma as she joined her at the front door.

“It’s the part-time at the Sip and Gulp, actually,” Emma said. “I’m addicted to their Slurpees. The chance to get one at a discount is a real turn-on.”

Nora laughed. “Nice. Hey, I just finished restocking the sock yarn. There isn’t any of the Malabrigo left in the back.”

“I’m not surprised,” Emma said. “It’s our most popular brand for sock yarns. I’ll add it to the reorder list right now.”

She ducked behind the counter, pulled out her binder, and flipped the pages to the order section. It was a bit old school to keep track of what she needed to reorder, but she’d always been an old-fashioned list person.

The bell over the door jingled, and she glanced up, smiling when she saw Nora’s niece, a six-year-old named Eva, bounce into the store, followed by her father, James.

“Hi, Aunt Nora!”

“Hey, cutie.” Nora had moved to the rack of patterns near the front door and was neatening them up. “How was school today?”

“It was good! Ms. Moore gave us a special treat for doing so well on our spelling test yesterday.”

“Cool,” Nora said. “What did you get?”

“A chocolate bar. Just the fun size ones, though, not a big one,” Eva said. “Is Emma here?”

“Hi, Eva,” Emma said.

Eva spun around, her eyes lighting up. “Emma!”

She ran across the store and behind the counter, wrapping her arms around Emma’s thigh. “Hi, Emma!”

“Hi, sweetie.” Emma couldn’t resist picking her up. She loved kids, and Eva was a sweetheart.

Eva slung her arm around her shoulders as James said, “Eva, you’re not allowed behind the counter.”

“Sure, I am,” Eva said. “Emma and I are best friends. Best friends go behind the counter, Daddy.”

Emma laughed, and Eva grinned at her. “You look pretty today, Emma. I like your hair.” She touched Emma’s dark braid. “I wish Daddy could braid my hair like this.”

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