He shrugged. “Well, maybe a teensy bit. But since I volunteered to help with the booth, the least I can do is help set it up.”
“Thanks, TJ. I appreciate that. I just need to grab a few more things from inside.”
He smiled. “How have they been behaving the last couple of days?”
She knew exactly who he meant. “They’ve been fine. No major accidents, and they haven’t set anything on fire. Always a big win as far as Grandma’s concerned.”
He laughed. “Good.” He motioned toward the shop. “Let’s go.”
She followed him inside. Paddy was taking orders as they passed and continued down the hall. “Is what you need back here?” TJ asked.
“Yes, in the storeroom. There’s a box of twinkling lights on the top shelf I can’t reach.” She pointed when they entered. “See?”
“Yeah, I see it.” TJ stood on tiptoe and pulled the box down. He set it on the floor in the hall. “What else do you need?”
Lila studied the shelves. Tilly was good about labeling, but a few boxes had nothing written on them.
“We’d better check the unmarked boxes. Tilly has a small cash box she uses for petty cash and booth money. She said it was in here, but…”
“Never fear, I’ll get them down for you.” TJ grabbed the unmarked boxes and set them beside the lights so they could sort through them.
“Thanks,” Lila said. “It must be nice to be tall.”
He laughed. “Yes, though in England there are a lot of low ceilings I have to contend with.”
She snorted. “I’m sure you do.” Opening the first box, she found the steel cash box. “We’re going to need this.” They gathered the twinkling lights, fall decorations, and a few other things for the booth, and loaded everything into her car.
When they were done, they set off. It didn’t take long to reach Old Town and find the area where everyone was setting up their booths.
“All right, we’re in space number 12,” Lila announced.
TJ gave a curt nod and went to the back of the car. She followed, noticing the breadth of his shoulders. Her gaze traveled lower before she forced herself to look away.Oh, my heavens! Stop ogling his backside!she scolded herself.
She opened the trunk and TJ pulled out the main box. There were also a couple of bags of decorations. Lila grabbed those, and together they carried everything to space 12. That done, they got the poles and canvas out for the actual booth. With TJ’s help, it didn’t take long. She was glad he’d come. She wasn’t the most graceful creature, and who knew how long it would’ve taken alone.
“What do we want to do next?” TJ asked. “Decorate? And what’s being used as a counter area?”
“I’ll have to go to the hotel. We’ve got a portable counter over here,” Lila said.
“Oh?” He glanced down the street toward the Van Cleet Hotel. “Well, all right. As long as this stays safe.”
“Who’s going to steal decorations?” She started toward the hotel at the other end of Old Town. Their booth was located about thirty feet from the museum, closest to the parking lot.
When they reached the hotel, they went inside. Lila led the way down a hall to the back. She pushed through a rear door and crossed the yard to an outbuilding.
“Wow,” TJ said. “I’ve never been back here.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened. “I thought everybody came behind the hotel to make out.”
“What?” His voice cracked. “Make out?”
She nodded. “See those benches back here?” She pointed at several benches lined against the hotel’s back wall. There were more beneath a group of shade trees.
“What about them?”
“Well, when I was in high school, people used to come back here and make out. My dad would chase off kissing couples allthe time. It was funny, actually. He used to threaten me and my siblings, that if he ever caught us back here, we’d have extra dish duty for months.”
TJ laughed. “That’s hilarious.”
