Page 78 of A Texas Hero

Maybe the landlord was here, which would make this a whole lot easier.

To his surprise, when he opened the door, Patch Lambert was standing there.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Zoey had been humming Ed Sheeran love songs all morning. Last night with Archer had been incredible. He was tender, passionate, kissing her and taking her to bed like she was a precious piece of china he couldn’t drop. She’d never connected with someone like this, not just physically but a heart connection.

She had a little spring in her step when she opened the door to Glamtique. Pumpkin spice latte in hand, she flipped her sign from Closed to Open and went to work. She had a big day planned. Ophelia would get a new outfit: a bright orange-and-yellow plaid skirt with brown tights and kickass boots. It would scream “Autumn” in the best way. She had brought silk faux leaves with her to scatter on the floor of the window box and near the apple barrel. A tiny detail, but one that mattered. She’d fill some orders that had come in online and unbox items she’d received from an estate sale. By then it would be time to go home.

After, she’d stop by the market and get the ingredients to fix Archer a five-star meal. This time, she was stepping away from the pumpkin-infused theme, because she had the distinct impression it wasn’t Archer’s favorite. And face it, you could only put pumpkin in so much. It felt like time to pull back a little.

He would arrive around seven, and they were going to have a late dinner and then…whatever materialized. Five days! She and Archer had five days together before he had to leave for Asia. They would make use of every spare minute they could be together. If it wasn’t her busiest season, Zoey would close the shop, but that would be bananas. She didn’t want love to make her irresponsible.

Good thing she was open, too, because Valerie Kinsella came in just before closing time, dragging her two children with her. The little girl was in a stroller, but her two-year-old son, Wade, toddled beside her, holding her hand. He was the image of his father and had that same wicked smile and glint in his eyes that spelled trouble.

“Help,” Valerie said. “We have a Halloween party to go to, and I can’t find a black dress to save my life. I’m going as a witch. Keeping it simple.”

Zoey smothered a laugh. Valerie was the furthest thing from a witch Zoey could imagine. She was a third-grade teacher, and all-around saint in general. But she did appear flustered now, her hair wild and unruly, probably due to the wind that had kicked up outside. Yep, on top of everything else going right in Zoey’s life, the weatherman had predicted rain. Tonight, she and Archer would have a fire.

“Mama, me want candy!” Wade wailed, but when he noticed Zoey looking at him, he quieted, bashfully smiled and lowered his head.

“If you’re good, we’ll stop by the boardwalk after,” Valerie said. “Daddy will meet us after he gets off work.”

“Daddy!” Wade jumped up and down.

Zoey bent down to tweak Wade’s little nose. “Hello, cutie.”

“Hewo,” he said, then turned and buried his face in his mother’s skirt.

“You’re in luck,” Zoey said. “I believe I have just the right dress for you.”

“If you do, that makes you a lifesaver. I can’t buy anything online anymore because my size is different. I don’t even know my size anymore!”

“Say no more.” Zoey led her to the dress she had in mind, and she held it up to Valerie.

“Something with a longer hem?” Valerie asked hopefully.

“Let me see.” Zoey searched through dresses.

After her third try, she found one that met with Valerie’s approval. Just then, a loud crack of thunder sounded, and rain started to fall as if someone had just emptied an Olympic-sized pool on the roof. The water came down in sheets, making it difficult to see outside the clear glass windows.

“Uh-oh. I don’t think God likes this dress,” Zoey joked, since the timing was nearly perfect.

“That rain wasn’t supposed to come until tonight!” Valerie said.

The sudden downpour had folks scurrying into her store, seeking shelter. South Texans weren’t always prepared for the rain since it came so infrequently. Zoey would bet no one had an umbrella, except possibly in their car.

“I shouldn’t have come today but I was worried you’d run out of inventory. Everyone keeps talking about your new assistant and how he gives the best fashion advice.” Valerie’s head swiveled around. “Is he here?”

“No, I’m sorry. He actually…um, he quit.” She couldn’t bring herself to say she’d fired him.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I never got a chance to meet him!” Valerie shushed her baby, who’d started to fuss.

“Yeah, it is too bad. He was a great help around here.”

“Mama, I wanna go spawsh puddles!” Wade began to jump up and down and tug on Valerie’s skirt.

“No, sweetie, it’s too wet out there to find a puddle,” Valerie said. “We need to stay in here until it stops raining buckets. Then we’ll scoot on out of here and go get that candy.”