Grace had a shadow. She could feel it as much as she could see it. In fact, she thought she might have three. She used an old suitcase to prop open the glass door of her antique shop, and then stepped out onto the sidewalk to feel the early spring warmth on her face. It was a beautiful day for the beginning of April.
A fat bumblebee made its way lazily around her head. Grace froze. She didn’t even consider backing up, let alone swatting at it. Bees were bad news. She’d been allergic since she was a child, so she’d learned to hold still and wait for the buzzing to disappear.
She let out a quiet breath when the bee vanished. She shielded her eyes against the sun and peered across the northernmost intersection of downtown Serenity Falls, sweeping a few strands of hair behind her ear.
Grace frowned. I see you over there, Nathan.
His car sat in the parking lot at Serendipity. She narrowed her gaze even further. In fact…that looked like him out on the patio having a cup of coffee. And it looked like he was sitting there with Kara. Shadow number two.
The third one, who went by the name of Elliot, was no doubt keeping busy inside–when he wasn’t stopping by to check on her.
Kara didn’t really bother her so much because she’d been helpful with making signs and moving around the items in Moore’s Antiques. She’d mostly stop by to keep Grace company and to receive a little company herself. Besides, she was one of Grace’s oldest friends. Elliot was a close friend as well and he always brought her coffee so she couldn’t put any of the blame there.
But Nathan, being neither helpful nor in the good friend category, simply irritated her. She knew he’d been over at Serendipity at least twice his normal amount in the last week. He thought she needed help, needed support, but he didn’t know her as well as he thought.
Grace eyed the cloudless sky once more and gave a sigh. Riley and Maddy would return from their honeymoon in two days and then maybe everyone would give her a little space.
She jumped, a startled gasp springing to her lips when she turned back toward the store and felt someone grab her arm.
“Oh, Elliot!” She slapped a hand to her chest. “What are you doing?”
He grinned. “Thought I’d come by to say hi.” He held up his hand, revealing a Styrofoam cup. “I brought you coffee.”
“It’s too warm out here for coffee.”
“It’s iced.”
“Oh.” She frowned, then accepted it. “Was it your turn?”
He raised a brow and settled his arms across his chest. “What do you mean?”
Grace nodded her head in the direction of Serendipity. “I see Nathan and Kara over there. You’ve all gotten pretty cozy lately.”
He gave her a slow, charming smile.
“That’s not going to distract me. I know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?”
“You’re keeping an eye on me,” she murmured, and she knew there was accusation in her narrowed eyes but she couldn’t seem to help it. “All of you.”
His smile flashed again and he reached out to give her hair a playful tug. “Of course we are. That’s what friends do.”
She swatted his hand away and walked in the store. “You don’t have to, you know.”
Elliot followed her. “I know that. But we’re going to do it anyway.”
She pursed her lips, turned, and prepared to make another comment when she saw his face.
His gaze traveled the length of the store. Over boxes and bare corners and discount signs. Then those gray-blue eyes landed on her. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Kara said you were having a sale. I didn’t really…” Elliot shook his head. “I didn’t really pay that much attention. Are you closing the store, Grace?”
She opened her mouth to deny it, because she’d been avoiding telling the truth about it for the last two weeks. But she couldn’t lie to Elliot. And Moore’s Antiques was going to be gone by the end of the month. It was about time everyone knew the truth. “Yes.”
He closed the rest of the distance between them. “Why?”
Trust Elliot to be blunt about it. She set the coffee on the counter.
“Because the store wasn’t doing very well and…” Grace let her voice trail off, hating that she sounded so unsure. Hating that she felt like a failure. She couldn’t make Moore’s Antiques work like her grandfather had. Despite all her hard work, the outcome had still been the same.
“You haven’t told Riley yet,” Elliot deduced.
Great, now there’s the guilt, too.
Elliot reached out and touched her arm, reading the expression on her face. “I understand. There was a lot going on before the wedding.”
She crossed her arms. “There was.”
His gaze traveled around the store again. She’d shipped off a lot of furniture to antique or specialty shops and felt fortunate at finding so many buyers on such a short notice. There was little left and the store looked nothing like it had last month. Nothing like the charming little place Grandpa had made.
“Everything else is okay, though, right?”
Grace knew precisely what he was talking about. It was the reason why he and Kara and Nathan had been keeping such a close eye on her. The Wishing Star. Kara had found her piece of the star last month, which meant there was only one piece left to find. Grace’s piece.
Elliot would be reassured to hear that nothing had happened concerning the star. But not reassured to know she was trying to get something to happen. Trying to get a clue as to where her piece lay. All to no avail.
“Yes. Everything else is okay.” She gave him a pointed look. “You can tell Nathan he can go home now.”
Elliot’s smile caused another flicker of frustration. “I can try, but he’s tenacious.”
“Did Riley tell him to keep hanging around?”
“That I don’t know.”
Grace sighed. She’d talk to Nathan herself, then. Get him to back off some and give her space. “I need to do some more work. Thank you for the coffee.”
“Kara said she’d come by this evening when you close.”
Grace gave an absentminded nod. “Okay, Elliot. I’ll wait for her.”
He left the store and she snatched the coffee off the counter, putting her lips to the straw.
Why can’t something happen? It’s my turn to find the star, why can’t it just start already?
The phone rang, and Grace tried to refocus her thoughts on Moore’s Antiques. Only a few more weeks and it would be closed. She’d have her hands full with the youth center and, if nothing happened with the star before then, she’d try harder to figure out how she planned on finding her piece.
~ ~ ~
Nathan saw amusement on Elliot’s face when he returned. He leaned back in his chair, cast a wink in Kara’s direction and reached for his coffee.
“If you keep bringing her drinks, Elliot, she’s going to be so sick of coffee she’s never going to come into Serendipity again,” Kara said with a tender smile in his direction.
Elliot touched her shoulder briefly before joining them at the table.
“She saw you over here, Nathan,” Elliot told him with a grin.
“I know. It’s not like I’ve been stealthy about it.” He gave a wry smile. “And she’s going to be mad at me regardless. I might as well be closer in case something goes wrong, than further away.”
“Well, there is logic in that.” Kara looked thoughtful. “I don’t think anything has happened yet. She probably would have told me.”
“She said everything else is okay.”
“Everything else?” Nathan questioned.
Elliot averted his eyes briefly then looked to Kara. “The store.”
Kara gripped his hand. “She told you?”
“It wasn’t too hard to guess.”
She blew out a breath, looking relieved. “I told her I wouldn’t say anything, but it was really hard.”
“Hold on.” Nathan leaned forward in his seat, his eyes going to Kara. “What about the store?”
Her gaze traveled across the patio over to the antique store, but she didn’t answer.
“Is she closing the store?” he asked.
“I told you it wasn’t hard to guess.”
“No, not hard.” Nathan sat back again. He wasn’t that surprised either. It was clear something was going on over there. He hadn’t been inside the store in a few days, but even the last time he’d seen it, much had changed. She’d cleared out some of the furniture. She’d marked down prices. A major overhaul was going on. But he hadn’t asked. She’d been irritated enough to see him let alone answer his questions about why everything looked so different.
Grace was doing her best to avoid him and she was doing a good job. If he hadn’t made a point of stopping by the store earlier in the week, he probably wouldn’t have had the chance to talk to her at all since the wedding. Once Kara had found her piece of the star, Grace had gotten more and more distant. Not from everyone else, just him.
And he knew exactly why.
He was part of this. He’d helped with the star, seen things he shouldn’t have seen, and he couldn’t help the interest he had in her either. Basically, he knew he needed to help Grace. That was his part to play. He just couldn’t figure out why it terrified her so much.
“I’m guessing Riley doesn’t know.” Nathan resituated himself in his seat and grabbed his coffee again. “That’s why she’s been so quiet.”
“No, Riley doesn’t know.”
“Do you know why she decided to close the store?”
Kara grimaced and tapped her hands on the table. “I don’t know if I should tell you, Nathan, I kind of promised I wouldn’t say anything. It’s really Grace’s place to let everyone know what’s going on.”
That was part of the problem. She wouldn’t talk to him. Wouldn’t tell him what was going on.
“You’re right, Kara. I’m sorry.”
She cast him a smile touched with sympathy. “I don’t think we should be worried. Not yet. It wasn’t that long ago that I found the star. It might be a while before anything happens with her. And I don’t think the store has anything to do with it.”
It was reassuring to hear her say that. But it just meant one more stressor in Grace’s life. Something he wished he could help with but doubted she’d let him.
“All the same,” Nathan murmured, “I’d rather be too vigilant than miss something.”
Elliot gave a nod of agreement and Nathan knew Elliot was on the same page. He’d already dealt with the same thing, worrying about Kara and wanting to be there for her in case the worst of scenarios happened. Kara’s journey to discovering the star had been a rocky and dangerous one. He expected Grace’s would be just as difficult.
Kara cast Elliot a knowing smile. “We’re stronger than you think. Us women.”
He chuckled. “I’ve never doubted that for a second.”
“But…” She looked back to Nathan. “Sometimes we can be kind of stubborn. This includes Grace.”
Nathan’s lips turned up in a smile. “So it’s not just me who sees this.”
“No, it’s not just you.”
He sighed and scratched his chin. “It’s just mostly me.”
Kara’s laughter was contagious. She pulled her auburn hair up to clip with a barrette she’d retrieved from her pocket. Her gaze traveled across the street to Moore’s Antiques again before she leaned her arms on the table and moved closer in a conspiratorial fashion. “Don’t worry, though. If nothing else, she needs a distraction, which you can give her. And I think in her own time she’ll come around.”
The twinkle in her eye implied more than a simple friendship–which was exactly what he wanted with Grace. Something about her independence intrigued him. Something about how she looked so slight and fragile but really had so much strength, amazed him. He liked that contradiction.
“We’re going to meet at the youth center tonight to do some cleaning,” Kara said, lightening the conversation. “Not the most glamorous work, I know, but you could both come if you want.”
Nathan raised his brow and shrugged. “I’m up for it.”
Elliot stood. “Me, too. Which means I should get back to work.”
Nathan stood as well. He glanced to the antique store. He would have liked to have stopped by. But he’d see Grace tonight.
He gave an inward smile. Let the games begin.