“Let me know what you think.”
“I will.” Sawyer stopped at the door. “I mean, it’s not like I can avoid you.”
Jenna’s smile—a genuine one this time—was the last thing she saw as she pushed back out onto the street, feeling lighter than she had in days.
Chapter Six
Jenna loved the fall. She loved the cooler weather and the gorgeous oranges and reds and yellows of the falling leaves and the earthy scent of the world and the coziness of the atmosphere. There was only one thing about the season she hated, and that was that fall meant winter was coming.
She strolled around the neighborhood with Arnold, letting him sniff whatever he wanted to—and what Arnold wanted to sniff was pretty much everything. Every blade of grass, all the trees and fire hydrants, and since garbage went out tonight, he had to stop at every little thing out on the curb. Old furniture, worn boxes, random wood. Arnold needed to check it all out, including the contents of each and every recycling bin. Jenna did her best to let him. She tried not to rush him too much, and since he didn’t hear well, she’d give a little tug on his leash to let him know they needed to get moving. He was small but solid, and if he was particularly interested in whatever he was sniffing at the time she tugged, he’d lean away from her so his weight would keep the leash taut. His subtle protest. Jenna would grin and shake her head and sometimes, mutter an apology to “his royal highness,” because God forbid she hurry him along.
As he was lost in the sniffing of the corner of an old, worn-out, scratched-up ottoman—she suspected the owner had cats, judging by the shredded corners—she inhaled deeply through her nose, taking in the scent of crushed leaves and crisp fresh air. October was around the corner, her favorite month of the year. She needed to plan a trip to the public market to get her fresh fall decorations—corn stalks, pumpkins, maybe even a bale of hay this year—for both the house and the shop.She needed to dig some of her other decorations out of the basement, and she had the sudden, overwhelming urge to bake a pie, which made her smile.
Yup, fall was just about here.
She and Arnold wandered back to their street, waving at various neighbors and saying hi to Mr. Creeley two doors down.
“Can Arnold have a treat?” he asked, the same question he asked every single time they saw him. Jenna never had the heart to say no.
“He’d love one.”
Mr. Creeley’s smile was wide as he held up a finger for her to wait, then shuffled into his garage and came out with a box of Milk Bones. Arnold sat patiently, his tail wagging the whole time because he knew this routine.
“Chilly today,” Mr. Creeley said as he handed Arnold a biscuit.
“Definitely starting to feel like fall,” Jenna agreed. “Especially after the past week or two of warmer weather.”
“I used to love winter,” he said, a slightly dreamy quality to his voice. “I skied and went sledding and had snowball fights.”
She grinned at his nostalgia. “Sounds like you had fun.”
He nodded, handing Arnold a second biscuit. “Now the cold is hard on my joints.”
“I get that. And I wish I didn’t have to drive in it. The cold and snow.” Arnold finished chewing. “Say thanks, Arnie,” she said to signal that was enough treats.
Mr. Creeley patted Arnold’s head. “I see you got yourself a new neighbor.”
“I did.”
“She nice?”
Jenna thought about it, as she glanced at her house. “Let me get back to you on that.”
He gave a soft chuckle. “Understood.”
They said their goodbyes, and she and Arnold were just at the bottom step of the front porch when Sawyer’s door opened and she stepped out.
“Oh, hey,” she said, locking the door behind her.
“Hi there.” Arnold, the traitor, insisted on getting attention from Sawyer, so Jenna stood there at her own door, no slack in the leash whatsoever, and watched Sawyer squat down and lavish him with pets.She was always dressed so nicely, very put together, and today was no different. She wore jeans and black ankle boots with a black sweater Jenna could see in the V of her wool peacoat. A plaid scarf in black and lavender hung around her neck under the collar of the coat. “So, what did you think of the book?” she asked to make conversation.
Sawyer glanced up with a frown. “Oh, I haven’t had a chance to start it yet. Life has been crazy.” As their gazes held, Sawyer’s phone rang and she pulled it out, looked at the screen, and her brow furrowed. With a final pet to Arnold’s head and an apologetic wave to Jenna, she headed down the stairs toward her car. Jenna heard her answer pleasantly, then say, “What is this number? I told you to stop calling me,” before giving her head a shake and letting herself back into her own place.
It was Monday evening, the first day of Jenna’s “weekend.” She remembered when Dakota had first opened her café and told her that retail knew no weekends. Bankers’ hours were not a thing for a shop owner, but salon hours were. BookLove was open Wednesday through Sunday, and she had Monday and Tuesday off. That had taken a lot of getting used to, but eventually, when she’d become successful enough to hire some help, she’d given herself a few Saturdays or Sundays off here and there, which had kept her sane by allowing her to see her family members who worked normal Monday through Friday schedules. Owning a retail business was a good way to lose every other aspect of your life—friends, family, partners. Dakota had helped.
Speaking of her friends, both Dakota and Veronica were due to show up in a little over an hour, so she fed Arnold, Wallace, and Gromit, then went to work on a charcuterie board she’d been excited to put together. The trio of friends had made a game of board creation, choosing a theme for each time they got together. Tonight’s theme was, appropriately, fall.
She sliced up blocks of cheese—she’d chosen a goat cheese with cranberries, as well as a wheel of brie she was going to bake until melty and cover with a candied pecan compote. She put apple butter into a small dish, laid out crackers, and preheated the oven for the tiny pumpkin pies she’d found at the store the other day.
