Page 15 of Bidding on a Second Chance
“You have to admit, he’s cute.”
Not after she’d spent the last few days trying to convince herself he wasn’t—as if she’d once failed to notice his smoky eyes and broad shoulders. “Attractiveness isn’t everything. He’d have to be indestructible to turn my head.”
Lucy guffawed. “You and I are friends, but I’m not indestructible.”
Friends were different from husbands and from children. But Piper didn’t argue that because she would be devastated if anything happened to Lucy. Thankfully, in all the years they’d been friends, Lucy had never broken a bone, had a fender-bender, or so much as slipped on the ice. She was close with her siblings and parents, ran a great veterinary practice, and had a lovely home. Maybe she was still hoping for Mr. Right, but Piper had no doubt God would soon provide him to round out Lucy’s picture-perfect life. With all the cowboys, wranglers, and ranch owners she interacted with, how could she not eventually find love?
Anyway, compared with Graham, Lucy’s life involved far less danger.
Then again, so did Piper’s. And so had Piper’s parents’ lives.
What if something terrible did happen to Lucy?
“Oh no.” Lucy raised a lecturing finger. “No, you don’t. No worrying about things you can’t control. We can trust God.”
Easy for her to say. Piper pinned the price tag onto the shirt and moved on to the next piece of clothing. “Graham and I aren’t getting close again. We’re working together because he’s the best option I have to get the furniture done while still managing the store. End of story.”
With an unconvinced nod, Lucy turned her attention to the new arrivals near the checkout counter. “Speaking of things we can’t control, Jack Carter needs surgery. He won’t be able to go out on calls at all the week of Thanksgiving.”
“Who’s Jack Carter?”
“Another large animal vet. I was going to refer any emergencies to his practice on Black Friday and the day after so I could help here. Not only is that not an option, but he’s referring his clients to me. Odds are, I’ll be needed.”
“Oh.” Since the shop didn’t do steep discounts, she’d estimated three people ought to be able to handle the post-Thanksgiving shopping rush. Piper and Ally made two. Karen had plans with her family, though, so Piper had recruited Lucy as the third person. Given her broken foot, Piper had been counting on the help, but animals in need of care trumped a bit of a wait at a register. Most locals wouldn’t mind.
The bells in back rang. The tiny jingle of Teddy’s tags advanced down the hallway as Piper pressed her lips into a reassuring smile. “We’ll manage.”
“Sorry.” Lucy gave one more apologetic nod before returning her gaze to the rack she browsed.
Piper busied herself with price tags as Graham returned Teddy to his cardboard pen.
“What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Graham?” Lucy’s question rose light and innocent. Too innocent. “Going home to see your family?”
Panic shuffled Piper’s focus from Graham to Lucy and back again. What was her friend up to?
Graham scratched his cheek and avoided eye contact. “No, I have a shift that evening. It’s too far to go.”
“You’ll be alone? That’s too bad.”
Piper braced for Lucy to try to foist Graham on her gathering with Bryce and her grandparents.
Instead, Lucy moved on. “Any big plans the next day? Going to hit up some Black Friday sales?” Her expression sparked with a little too much mischief for this to be a polite inquiry.
“This isn’t necessary, Lucy.” Piper tried to balance the warning in her tone with enough levity to keep Graham from suspecting what Lucy was building toward.
Uncertainty drew a line across his forehead. He knew something was going on, but for all his observational skills, he wasn’t a mind reader. “I haven’t seen any sales good enough to tempt me to face crowds like that.”
“So you’re free? Maybe you wouldn’t mind working a shift or two here?”
Piper pricked her finger on a safety pin. “Lucy.”
The poor man had just admitted he’d be alone on Thanksgiving, and Lucy wanted to add insult to injury with a Black Friday shift?
Her friend took a hanger off the rack and held up the blouse to block her face from Piper. As if the filmy fabric would block sound. “I was supposed to help, but I have to work. With her injuries and all, Piper’s not up for Black Friday.”
“I am. I’ll be fine. Ally will be on.”
Graham shifted, brows drawn. He shot Piper a pathetic look and gulped.
