A Soldier's Valentine. Jenna Mindel
making the state campaign.” Brady stood, looking thoughtful. “Yes, yes, that’s our theme—Maple Springs Is for Lovers. Ginger, get the word out. Sandy, draft a newsletter today and email it. Let’s get this done now!”
Ginger held up her hand. “Whoa, Brady. When will we announce the winner and how?”
He was pacing the floor of the small boardroom, clearly excited. “Maple Springs is the place for lovers. Let’s prove that on Valentine’s Day. We need something to draw couples downtown other than restaurant specials. But what?”
“Something romantic,” Sandy said.
“I’m stumped.” Ginger wasn’t one for romantic daydreams. Men on white horses didn’t exist in her world.
Brady laughed. “I rely on you ladies for that insight.”
“My brother has one of those fancy horse-drawn carriages. Maybe we can hire him for the weekend.” The treasurer yawned.
Brady grinned. “Perfect. Let’s make it so.”
Ginger shared a look with Sandy. This might actually work.
The area restaurants usually ran Valentine’s Day specials, but they could ramp it up this year. And if the town’s merchants cleared away their old Christmas greenery in exchange for hearts and cherubs, downtown would look fresh and pretty. With a town made over in time for Valentine’s Day, they might even lure skiers away from the hills and into the shops. She’d have to find a Valentine’s Day tea blend sure to spark romance.
Thoughts of Captain Zach and the way he’d held her tight this morning sent a shiver through her. Surely Zach’s shop would open soon. Even so, Ginger needed to convince him along with the other merchants to decorate their storefronts in time for Valentine’s Day with the theme that Maple Springs Is for Lovers.
She was used to cajoling store owners to buy into chamber-sponsored programs. But Zach Zelinsky was a much harder nut to crack. And grumpy, besides. If nothing else, her childhood had taught her to steer clear of men like him.
She’d have a greater chance of winning the grand prize if his window was decorated like hers. Both had to be good. And that meant they’d have to work together.
Her belly flipped. Anticipating that conversation wasn’t pleasant. She might get a fight or all-out agreement, and she didn’t know which one scared her more.
Ginger entered her store through the back. Flicking on the lights, she heard muffled voices and froze, listening. The sound came from next door. She strode into her shop and peered through the sliding glass door that separated their respective spaces. Opened boxes were strewn everywhere and Bubble Wrap and packing peanuts puddled on the newly refinished wide-plank floor.
Curious for a peek at the kind of work an ex-army captain might make, Ginger couldn’t stand it. Flicking the lock on her side, she tried the slider and it gave way to her touch. He hadn’t locked his side. Her heels clicked on the wood floor as she entered, announcing her presence.
And Zach appeared from around a corner. “Oh, it’s you.”
Could he sound less enthused?
“It’s me.” She grinned at him. “The door was open and I, um, really wanted to see your work.”
He cocked one eyebrow.
And Ginger felt her cheeks burn. Didn’t he believe her? She wasn’t being nosy without reason. She heard the sound of machine tinkering and looked beyond him. “Oh, but you have people. I’ll just head back the way I came.”
Zach waved them off. “Inspectors. I can show you around.”
Ginger stepped forward and hit a piece of Bubble Wrap, causing a loud snap and pop.
Zach ducked. His gaze homed in sharp and deadly while his whole body tensed. He coiled like a spring ready for action. But this wasn’t combat, nor was he under fire.
“Sorry.” Ginger tried to shake off her unease, but his reaction proved his training must be hard to forget.
Maybe he carried things, dangerous things, deep inside still. She’d seen the documentaries on TV. Captain Zach was a civilian now, yet the sound of popping Bubble Wrap had gotten to him. Was that normal? Was he?
He called to the two inspectors who’d stepped out to see about the noise, as well. “Just Bubble Wrap.” Then Zach gave her his hand. “Come on, there are obstacles through here.”
Okay, maybe she made too much of his reaction. She slipped her hand into his. His skin felt cold, clammy even, before heat radiated between them. It wasn’t comforting. Not by a mile. It was all she could do to keep holding on. And holding on was a must because wide steps in the slim wool skirt she wore over black tights and heels was impossible.
He steered her around the cardboard land mines, but she still stumbled against the edge of a box. His grip tightened and he growled, “Careful.”
Ginger’s pulse sped and she pulled her hand away. Maybe if he hadn’t dragged her like some caveman. She straightened and breathed deep. “I’ll walk slower.”
“Hmmph.”
Seriously? She lifted her chin and glared right into his eyes. Big mistake. Captain Zach’s eyes were blue. Really, really blue and mesmerizing. And he hadn’t shaved, making him look even more rugged.
And powerful.
Ginger shivered. She needed to focus on the reasons why she didn’t want to find him attractive. She forced a smile. But once she looked around, she forgot everything else. “Wow, you’ve really made a lot of changes.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, and then he was all business. “This is where it happens, or will once I’m given the A-OK.”
The changes to Sally’s shop had been huge. Walls had been taken out and the glassblowing studio part took up most of the space, leaving only a small area for retail displays. A wrought iron safety fence separated the two.
Her heart pinched. No more Sally, the elderly woman who’d taken Ginger under her wing. And no potter’s wheel in the corner by the back window. She was used to seeing Sally there, her hands covered with clay. In its place was a big steel table, a heavy workbench with rails and some freaky-looking tools and hot ovens. This place now looked like something out of an old horror movie.
“Scary.” She meant it.
Zach chuckled. “Hence the partition to keep my customers from wandering too close to the hot work.”
“Why more than one furnace?”
Zach pointed. “The large one is the tank furnace where the molten glass is kept. Next, the smaller round one is the glory hole. That’s used to reheat pieces I’m working on to keep the glass malleable. And then that over there is called an annealing oven. I’ll use that once a piece is finished, to slowly cool it down to prevent shattering. That’s the plan, anyway. And that’s Sally’s kiln. I’m not sure yet how I’ll use it.”
Apparently to get Captain Zach talking, all she needed to do was ask about his craft. “Have you unpacked any of your work?”
“Not yet.”
Ginger glanced toward the men who must have interrupted him while he’d been opening boxes. “What about a name for your store?”
“ZZ Glassworks.”
“Good ring to it.” Ginger nodded. “Do you have a sign?”
He shrugged. “I might etch it on the window or door.”
Ginger scanned the empty window that was exactly like hers and shook her head. “It’ll get lost in your display.”
“My display?”
“Your