Page 50 of Love's Harvest

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Grinning, Aaron tugged her closer.“I want to make sure of that too.”

Sarah’s eyes filled at the tender way he was gazing at her.She’d been so foolish to think she’d have a better life away from Lilac Lake and him.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned up against him, never wanting to leave.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Sunday afternoon, Lucy arrived at the house with her friend, Millie Harriman.Millie was tall and thin with gray hair cut short in a bob that suited her sharp features.But her eyes, a pretty green, held such warmth that Sarah was immediately put at ease.

She called to the girls to come greet the women.

They dashed into the front hall and stopped.

Lucy said, “Mia and Emily, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine, Ms.Millie.She’s going to help me take care of you from time to time.I told her you were wonderful girls.I hope you show her how truly special you are.”

Wide-eyed, the girls said, “Hello,” together.

“Oh, my!That hello sounded musical to my ears,” said Millie.She lifted a harmonica out of her purse.“I bet we can have some fun together.”

Sarah grinned at the two older ladies.“You didn’t tell me there would be music.That’s terrific.”

“We’ll see how it goes,” said Lucy.“Millie and I have a lot of things to share with Mia and Emily.It should be fun.”

“I won’t be gone long.The store closes at five.Enjoy yourselves.The girls and I made cookies for you.”She kissed the girls and said, “Okay, now you can have more cookies.”

“C’mon,” said Mia, tugging on Lucy’s arm.

Emily and Millie followed them into the kitchen.

Before any trouble could begin, Sarah called out, “Goodbye,” and left the house.

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At the store, she spent some time rearranging items, doing a quick look, and making a list of things to order tomorrow.

Dani, who’d opened the store, stood by as Sarah told her what she was doing and why.Display was such a big part of marketing.It was something Sarah loved to do.

Sarah took advantage of this quiet time to talk to Dani about running the store, the changes she’d made since coming to town, and what she envisioned for the future.

Dani listened and made some suggestions of her own.

Sarah realized it was too soon to ask, but she had to know.“Would you be interested in having part of the business?I haven’t spoken to my parents yet, but it might be beneficial to all of us.”

“Do you mean buy into the business?”asked Dani, surprised.

“Maybe,” Sarah said.“I might be thinking too far ahead.But now that Aaron and I are seriously dating and you’re trying for a family, it might be right for me to have another partner going forward.Think about it.I don’t want to mention it to my parents unless I know it’s of interest to you.”

“Wow!It’s something I hadn’t thought about.Bullard’s Hardware Store has been a part of Lilac Lake since I was girl coming here.How would your parents feel about having an outsider in the business?”

“I’m not sure,” Sarah said honestly.“But your family has been part of Lilac Lake longer than mine, so you aren’t exactly an outsider.”

“I’ll talk it over with Brad and get back to you.But initially, I’m excited about the idea,” said Dani, giving Sarah a hug.

“Wonderful.It’s something to think about.That’s all it is at this point,” said Sarah.

“Agreed.In the meantime, a mob of people are headed to the store.”Dani hurried behind the cash register, while Sarah went to usher them inside.

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