Chapter 1
Ty eyed the items in her shopping basket as she headed to the checkout of Earth Tones, her favorite natural health market. A soothing flute melody played throughout the space, reminding her of the many days she’d worked the register there. She eyed the charming display of tiny succulent plants toward the front of the store and the windpipe chimes that dangled overhead, waiting for the rotating fan to stir them into action once more.
The owner, Holly, stood behind the counter, her bracelets jangling as she rearranged the display of natural oils, turning each label so it faced the customer. Ty felt her nerves calm at the mere sight. Holly was like a second mother to her, which was just one of the reasons Ty loved this place so much. Earth Tones reflected the woman’s authentic nature, her gentle qualities, and her healing traits. She was also the reason Ty had made the quick stop before heading to the most important job interview she’d had to date.
At the counter, Ty pulled the items from her basket. Two small jars of therapeutic oils, a package of hemp cord, and a calming stone for little Lucas.Not-so-little Lucas,she corrected herself. He had started the first grade last month, and nothing said growing up like full days away from Mom.
“Are you holding it together?” Holly asked from behind the register. She eyed the ticking clock on the wall, a polished cut of wood from a tree trunk, and looked back at Ty. “What time are you supposed to be at The Homestead Inn?”
Just hearing the name of the inn filled Ty’s mind with gorgeous images of the bed and breakfast where she hoped to score a job. Pitched peaks over the top-floor windows, wreaths hanging on every door, and a wraparound porch decorated to the hilt for every season. Talk about charming.
Ty sucked in a nervous breath. “In less than an hour.” She wasn’t naturally one to get caught up in worry, but there was an awful lot riding on the interview. In fact, Ty had decided that if she didn’t get the massage therapist position at the Homestead Inn, shemayhave to say goodbye to life in North Carolina and move to Boston where her parents lived. It would be easier to find work in a big city.
Holly tucked a strand of her long, silver hair behind one ear and reached for her hands over the counter. “Here,” she said, nodding for Ty to take them. Ty rested her hands in Holly’s and set her eyes on her.Thiswas what she needed, Holly’s hope-infused encouragement.
“You were blessed with these hands. They’re the outlet for that need in your heart to bless others. You’re a natural born healer. You’re a bright light no matter how dark the path. And you, my dear, are going to nail this audition. Do you hear me?”
Warm affirmation settled over Ty as she nodded and sniffed. “Yes. Thank you.”
Holly gave her hands a squeeze before releasing them, then reached for the items Ty had placed on the counter. “Is this calming stone for Lucas?”
She nodded.
Holly rang up the item and reached for the hemp cord as her bracelets dangled with soft clinks and clanks. “I hope he’s making some nice friends,” she said. “I’m looking forward to a firsthand update at dinner tonight. From thebothof you. It just so happens that Lucas’s favorite sloppy joe meat is simmering in my crockpot as we speak.”
Just so happens, huh? Holly and her daughter Margo, who was in her late twenties like Ty, were her closest friends. Friends who just-so-happened to make her and Lucas’s favorites every time they had them over for dinner. “We’ll be ready,” she assured. “Should I make the coleslaw?”
Holly shook her head. “You and I both know that might be a stretch today with your audition and all. You’re giving sample massages, right?”
As Holly rang up the scented oils, Ty’s nerves threatened to come back once more. “Right. Two of them. I did a brief phone interview already, and that went really well. So today will help determine whether or not I’m a good fit for their new spa.”
“Oh, you’ll be a good fit, alright. I just know it.” The cash register swooshed as Ty’s total came into view.
“You know you don’t have to keep giving me that discount,” Ty said as she tapped the credit card reader with her card. “I’m not an employee anymore.”
Holly tore off the receipt and handed it to her. “Who else am I going to give the family discount to?” She winked. “Why don’t you pick up a dessert from Drew’s Bakery? I have a credit there, and I’ll never use it unless I’m having company.”
“Sounds great.” She wouldn’t use Holly’s credit, but there was no use arguing the subject with her. Ty tugged her reusable bag from the shopping basket and tucked the items inside. “Six o’clock good?” It was more of a confirmation than a question; they always ate at six on weeknights unless Margo got stuck filling a late shift at the Pub & Grill.
“Six is perfect,” Holly said.
Ty’s phone let out a buzz from her purse, and then another. She looped the shopping bag around her wrist and tugged the phone from her purse, cringing as she caught a glimpse of the screen.
“Your mother?” Holly guessed.
Ty only nodded in response.
“I’m sorry, hon.” Holly let out a sympathetic sigh.
“And she wonders why I moved away,” Ty said. If Holly was a dose of hope and encouragement for Ty, her mother was a dose of doom and discouragement, thelastthing she needed before such an important interview.
Ty tucked the phone back into her purse. “At least with a few states between us I don’t have to hear it every day. Her latest gripe has to do with the fact that my so-called profession—her term, not mine—keeps me from finding a man.”
Holly tipped her head back in enlightenment. “Ah, she knows about the ethics code.”
“Only because she tried to talk me into flying back to Boston to massage my ex-husband as a means of luring him back into my web.” Ty summoned her mother’s salty tone and echoed her latest sentiment,“At least that way you could actually makeuseof that useless license of yours.”
“You know,” Holly said, the nostrils of her slender nose starting to flare. “I like to make peace, not war. But that woman is certifiable. Why she would ever want you to go back to the scumbag who abandoned you and his unborn child…I’ll never know.”
