I drop my gaze down to the counter as Willow slips her hand beneath one of the box flaps. She gives it a pull, attempting to tear through the tape that secures it closed.
The tape doesn’t budge. Her eyebrows draw downward in determination as she gives the cardboard another tug. Nothing happens. She tries once more, her jaw clenched, muscles in her arms tightening as she uses all her strength to no avail. “Damn, what kind of tape did they use?”
Willow lets out a frustrated huff as she drops the box back down onto the counter.
“Here,” I offer, reaching for it. “Let me get it.”
Willow pushes it in my direction, rubbing her thumbs over the indents left in her pointer fingers from where the edge of the cardboard was digging in. “Thanks,” she whispers, shifting her weight on her feet as she half turns her body to watch.
I don’t have a knife, but I angle the box just right and jerk hard on it. As if it took no effort at all, the tape tears. A smirk lifts the corner of my lips as I lift my gaze to hers.
“What the heck!” she says, her eyes widening as she gives me an incredulous look. Her lips roll inward again and she bites down on them like she’s holding back more than she wants tosay. I push the flaps open and slide it back over to her. She slips her hands past the cardboard sides and removes the space heater. “I swear I’m not that weak.”
“I know,” I say, with a low chuckle. Willow shakes her head at herself as she walks around the back of the checkout counter and sets the space heater up on the floor. “All right, boss. I’m here at your disposal. Tell me what you want me to do.”
Willow stands back upright, her hands planting on her hips as she surveys the space. Her eyes find mine for a single heartbeat before she looks past me. I study her features while she scans the room, her high cheekbones and the soft dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. The tip of her nose has a slight curve to it.
She doesn’t seem to notice me staring at her, creating a checklist inside her mind. My gaze catches on her full lips with their deep pinkish tint, before moving along her jaw line.
She’s so beautiful.
“Since I’m a little vertically challenged, how would you feel about getting all the cobwebs up high? I think I just want to clean the floors and windows for today.”
Her eyes travel back to mine and I quickly divert my gaze, tipping my head back to look up at the ceiling. There’s one lone cobweb in the far left corner. “I’ll get everything up high if you want to get everything down low.”
“Okay,” she agrees, tipping her chin as she comes back to the counter and starts to get the cleaning supplies together. She pulls out a duster from under the counter and hands it to me. “I think there’s a step ladder in the back closet.”
“I’ll go check.”
Willow grabs a roll of paper towels and makes her way to the front of the store, where the wall is made of only glass. In the back closet, I find the ladder tucked away in the corner and drag it out to the main floor. I start with the cobweb first, runningthe duster along the top perimeter of the walls as Willow sprays some glass cleaner on the windows.
Dusting doesn’t take me long and I grab the ladder before moving on to the front of the store. The metal hinges groan as I pull it open and slowly climb up to reach the top of the windows. Willow sprays her area and hands me the bottle, along with a few paper towels.
“So, do you have any ideas of what you want to do with the space here?”
Willow doesn’t turn to me, keeping her focus on the window, her hand slowing while she contemplates her response before she continues to clean the dirt from the glass. “I want to keep some of the original items my grandma had here, like the syrup and maple candies. She had always talked about doing infused syrups, so I think that would be a cool addition.”
“That sounds really good.” I spray and wipe, my actions mimicking hers. “Tell me more.”
“Well, I don’t know that I have more than that,” she says with a soft laugh, ducking her head as she takes a step to the right and washes that area. “I know it needs a serious update, to make it more trendy and modernized. I think I’ll need to come up with a new name and some fresh branding. I’m hoping that if we do the grand opening during Harvest Fest, it will draw in new people.”
I slowly nod, even though she isn’t looking at me. “You should talk to Miss Maggie and see if she’ll make some maple cookies or something.”
Willow is silent for a moment. “That’s a really good idea.” She pauses, turning to look at me on the ladder. “What else do you have?”
A chuckle rumbles in my chest. “I don’t know. You have these resources with some of the other stores here, so it might be beneficial to utilize them.”
“I’m sure Maggie is making her own things for Harvest Fest. Same with Sweet Grounds.”
My shoulders lift before I relax them and turn back to the front of the store. “It doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“You’re right,” she says quietly, her eyes lingering on the side of my face for two heartbeats before she turns back to the glass. “I need to sit down and draw up some kind of plan or something.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t already.”
Willow huffs out a little laugh, moving to the next pane. “I haven’t gotten that far yet. This whole thing just happened a few days ago.” She blows out a breath, spraying the glass again. “Honestly, it didn’t feel like such a big task when I decided to take it on. Now, I feel a bit overwhelmed, considering the fact that my brothers decided to clean the whole place out.”
“Try and think of it like a fresh canvas. You can do whatever you want with it.” I climb down from the ladder and shift it over to clean the area above her. “Let me help you.”
