Somehow in the mix, she had to finish her Christmas shopping. Although she’d purchased gifts for all her family and wrapped them months ago, one very important gift remained to be bought.
A special gift for an extraordinary man who’d taken her life by storm. She’d laid in bed last night contemplating what to buy him. Every potential present she thought of didn’t seem enough to convey how she felt about him. A generic present of a wallet or scarf would not suffice.
She blew out a breath. An idea would come to her—she had five days still. Her stomach coiled. Five days amounted to the vapor of a breath in her mind, the girl who believed Christmas shopping was best completed in summer so one could enjoy the season without the stress.
Dipping her fork into the salad bowl, she hit plastic. She glanced down and realized she’d finished her lunch while daydreaming about Gabe. That had happened a lot lately. She threw her trash away in a nearby receptacle then drove to Main Street. Parking was sparse and she had to walk a block to Mistletoe Mercantile from the spot she found.
Faith, one of her part-time associates, greeted her with frantic waves. “Miss Cora, Miss Cora, the tree caught on fire.”
“What?” Her blood froze mid-stream and she darted her gaze around the store. She saw an empty spot where one of her display trees had been. “What happened.”
Marie came from the back. “Everything is under control. We had a minor mishap when a young man got bored and decided to play with his lighter while his girlfriend browsed, but it’s all taken care of.”
“Of all the stupid-” She broke off, remembering she had a reputation to uphold. “Was anybody hurt?”
“No.” Marie pointed to the vacant table. “Our tree was the primary casualty. The man did offer to pay for the damage. I have his information if you’d like to contact him.”
The spirit of Christmas fell upon her. “I’m sure he learned his lesson. Was any merchandise damaged other than the tree?”
“Three ornaments and I already marked them out of stock. I also wouldn’t trust the string of lights that was on the tree.” Marie handed her a slip of paper with the stock numbers on them.
“Thank you.” Her mind raced with new tasks added to her list. “There’s an old tree upstairs. The branches need tweaking, and it’s not as tall, but it will do for now.”
Marie lifted a brow. “I thought you got rid of that old thing?”
She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “It has sentimental value.”
“Do you want me to bring it down,” Marie offered.
“I’ll take care of it. I know exactly where it is.” She swept one more gaze over the store, assuring herself the incident truly had been minor, before climbing the stairs.
She dropped her belongings off in the office, then went to the room on the far end of the hallway where she kept items she wouldn’t readily need. Piles of boxes, old fixtures, and things she didn’t remember greeted her. When had the room become such a disaster? Dear goodness, anyone coming in would think she was a hoarder.
Distracted by the mess, she began sorting her way through the room, from front to back. She created two piles, one to throw away and one to sort through later when she had more time. Finally, she reached the rear of the room and found the box that initially called her upstairs.
A framed picture behind the box caught her eye. She’d forgotten all about it. When she’d moved in, she tried to contact the owner but couldn’t find any information other than a business name. Now she knew that was a cover for Frank, and a clever one. His insurance company had been run from an office across town. Who would have known he also owned this building?
She carefully picked up the frame. The glass was cracked from top to bottom, but the print itself was in pristine condition. Taken in black and white, the photo showed the building when it was first built in the sixties. Since she never discovered the building’s owner—it was held as part of a trust—she’d planned to donate it to the city but had long forgotten about it.
Now it belonged to Gabe. With sudden clarity, she realized there existed a good possibility Frank had taken the picture in his younger days. She knew she’d found Gabe’s gift. Even if Frank hadn’t snapped the photo, it was a piece of art that Gabe would appreciate.
She carefully removed the broken glass before it could damage the paper and removed the print from the frame. Sandwiching it between two pieces of cardboard for protection, she caught sight of a signature on the back. A familiar one she’d know anywhere.
Frank had taken the picture.
Running downstairs, she nearly tripped over her excitement. Work called out to her, but she had a more important task. Customized framing took several days, and if she wanted to give it to Gabe, she had to move fast.
Chapter Ten
Mr. Winston’s office had been cleaned and organized since Gabe’s last visit. His secretary sat behind a tidy, well organized desk.
She glanced up from staring at a file. “Mr. Newton?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You can have a seat in Mr. Winston’s office. He had an errand to run at the courthouse but will be back any minute.”
“Thank you.”
