“Well, if it isn’t Lance Major.” The man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and straightened up from his task. “Nice to see you this morning.”
A year ago, Lance wouldn’t have expected such a warm reception. Certainly not after he and Holden had sneaked onto the Joy property in the dead of night to measure their noble fir during that crazy Christmas tree competition. To Stewart, Lance had been an accomplice to mischief. But he supposed all of that was different now that Stewart’s daughter was engaged to be married to Holden, Lance’s best friend. Small-town life definitely had its way of entwining relationships and shifting perspectives.
“Morning, Mr. Joy,” Lance replied, taking advantage of the slush-free path to step up to the storefront. “How’s business treating you?”
“Can’t complain. Been busier than ever.” Stewart propped the shovel against the building and reached for the door handleto hold it open for Lance to enter. “Although Paula and I do daydream about retiring one of these days.”
That wasn’t a surprise, but it did leave Lance wondering what might become of the market should they make good on those dreams. He loved the convenience of being able to make a quick trip to pick up his weekly groceries, avoiding the need to venture down the mountain to shop at a bigger, more commercialized store.
“Well, you two deserve whatever future you desire,” Lance said. “You’ve put in your time, and I know the community is grateful for it.”
“Appreciate that, Lance.” Stewart moved into the store, following on Lance’s heels. “You know? You just missed your grandma. She was in to stock up on carrots for the horses. Now, that’s a woman thatneverplans to retire.”
“She’s a dynamo, for sure. There’s no slowing her down.”
“If only we could all have just a little bit of her boundless energy.” Another customer came through the doors, and Stewart lifted a hand in greeting before returning his attention to Lance. “What brings you in today? Thought you did most of your weekly shopping on Mondays.”
“I do, but I’m actually here to pick up a few last-minute things. I’m cooking for a friend tomorrow night.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it then. I’ve got some items in the back that I need to get into the cold cases. Just holler if you need help finding anything.”
“Will do.” Lance picked up a red basket by the door, figuring he didn’t need a cart for the small amount of shopping he had to do. But as he kept adding item after item, his shoulder began to pinch under the weight of it. By the time he got to the register, the basket was filled to the brim, nearly to the point of overflowing.
The young man with a mullet behind the counter began emptying the basket to scan the items. “Dude, these are so good.” He held up a can of hot-dog SpaghettiO’s. “My mom used to make these for me all the time when I was a kid.”
To Lance, the guywasstill a kid with his fresh face and youthful demeanor. But his seal of approval did mean something. Lance had no idea what to cook for little Laney, and Sarah’s depiction of the toddler outright refusing to eat certain meals made him feel as though he’d bitten off more than he could chew.
“You know what’s really good?” The cashier scanned a box of animal crackers and then moved them to the bagging area. “Spaghetti spiders.”
“You’re going to have to elaborate,” Lance said, chuckling. “Never heard of those.”
“It’s where you take a hot dog, slice it into a bunch of pieces, and skewer those with uncooked pasta. Then you boil it all up and, wham-o! You’ve got yourself a batch of spaghetti spiders.”
The kid reached for another item, delighted to discover it was actually a package of noodles. “Dude, you’ve already got all the ingredients right here. You should totally try it.”
It was kismet that Lance already had the hot dogs and the noodles in his basket. Honestly, he had put every ingredient from his favorite childhood meals in there, hoping something might appeal to Laney. It was truly one of thosethrow spaghetti at the wall and see what sticksscenarios.
And he had to laugh that it was literally spaghetti that seemed to fit the bill.
CHAPTER 11
“Nana Jo?” Sarah locked the wheels on the book cart and doubled back to peer down the long library aisle. “Is that you?”
“Goodness, Sarah.” Nana Jo slipped a book with a green cover back on the shelf, spinning around. “You startled me.”
“I’m sorry,” Sarah said in a much quieter volume this time, realizing she’d spoken too loudly in the serene library setting. “It’s such a nice surprise to see you here. Looking for something in particular?”
“Just thought I’d do a little browsing. Getting all those books down from the attic the other day made me realize it’s been quite some time since I’ve visited our little library. Thought I’d come by to check it out.”
“I’ve actually got several of the books you donated in my stack to shelve.” Sarah glanced over at the pile of well-loved novels on the pushcart. “Just entered them into the system.”
“I’m so glad to hear it. Always like to pass things down once I’ve gotten my use. Speaking of, how is little Laney liking those cowgirl boots?”
“She adores them, just as much as she loves her new snow boots. When I left the house this morning, she had one on each foot.”
“A very bold fashion choice.” Nana Jo beamed. “I was just about to check this out.” She motioned toward a leatherbound book tucked up under her arm. “And after that, I was going to head over to Joyful Blooms to pick up my weekly bouquet. Any chance you would care to join me? I’m an old lady and I could use some help walking down these slushy streets.”
Sarah doubted that was the full truth. She knew Nana Jo was often out in knee deep snow, tending to the animals on her ranch with no sort of assistance.
