A Soldier's Valentine. Jenna Mindel
this contest—and the advertising campaign win—might mean the life or death of her shop!
She crooked her finger at him. “Come with me.”
He gave her a curious look but did as she asked. He followed her through the slider into her store. She slipped behind her counter, where her laptop lay opened, and refreshed her page. He leaned over the counter to see her screen as she clicked around. That wasn’t going to work.
“Come around so I can show you what I’m talking about.” Ginger quickly went through the state of Michigan’s seasonal tourism ads. “See all these little towns? They’re real and I want Maple Springs to be one of them. This year, we have a chance, if I can get everyone on board with the contest.”
He peered over her shoulder as she played several commercials. She felt the warmth of him standing behind her, and every cell in her body seemed to stand at attention and take notice. She’d been on her own for so long, struggling to make something of herself with only Sally’s support. But Sally had not only retired, she moved away to be near her son and grandkids.
What would it feel like to have someone else looking out for her? Helping her succeed instead of laughing at her efforts.
“So, that’s the real prize—statewide recognition?”
“Yeah.” She turned and bumped into his arm.
He quickly stepped back, out of her way.
She looked up at him. “Are you in?”
“In?”
Ginger let out a huff of frustration. “The window contest.”
He sighed. “I don’t know. When does it have to be up?”
“The week before Valentine’s Day.”
He looked really grim then. “That’s right around the corner.”
She clenched her fists. “We’ve got a little over three weeks. Plenty of time.”
He rubbed his chin. “We’ll see.”
Before Ginger could press harder, the door to his shop opened with the ring of the bells he’d installed. From her counter, she had an open view of his retail space, but most of his workshop area was out of sight. Two customers made their way into his studio and looked around.
“Gotta go.” Zach headed for his side and slipped through the slider.
Ginger easily overheard their oohs and ahhs, but once the two young women saw the man responsible for making the glass items, their eyes grew round with interest. Feminine giggles and titters grew louder as they grilled Zach with questions and pretty much fawned all over him.
Ginger shook her head at his one-word answers. The man practically spoke in grunts and growls.
Really, he needed to improve his store-side demeanor lest he get an unwelcoming reputation. Not a good thing for a shop owner dependent on the public’s buying habits. People in Maple Springs talked, and talk spread fast. She should warn Zach about that. But then, he’d grown up here. He should know.
Watching him back away from the two women, she got the impression that Captain Zach wasn’t real comfortable with feminine attention. He’d never be taken for a flirt, that was for sure.
And that made Ginger smile.
Saturday morning, Zach looked over his receipts. His first full week after opening his doors and he’d done pretty well. Even had a couple of custom orders to work on. He spotted his sister Monica taking pictures outside and gritted his teeth. She’d been after him to set up a website.
She popped her head in the door. “Hi.”
He waved her in.
“Wow, nice.” She took a couple more pictures and snapped one of him.
“Must you?”
“Yes. Now show me around.”
Zach glanced at Ginger waiting on an elderly customer in her own shop. He could hear her chipper voice chatting about the weather and so-and-so’s son in college while scooping funny-looking tea leaves into plastic baggies. She hadn’t a care in the world. Ginger was that way. She put her customers at ease and made retail look effortless.
She put him at ease and got under his skin at the same time.
“You two getting along okay?” his sister asked.
“Yeah, why?” Zach opened the wrought iron gate that separated his workspace from the retail portion of his studio.
Monica followed him. “You were scowling at her.”
“That’s just how I look.” Like it or not, Ginger was a fireball of sunny energy who’d pushed her way into his thoughts more often than not. He found her too attractive for his own good but couldn’t quite figure her out. “So, what’s her story?”
“Story?” His sister didn’t understand.
“You know her. And her shop. I haven’t seen many customers in there this week. Does she have a good product?”
Monica shrugged. “Yeah. Good enough, I suppose, but the new coffee shop in town started selling loose tea as well as coffee beans. I think she’s taken a hit from the competition.”
“Huh.” Zach thought about how Ginger never left her store. Even at lunchtime, she’d heat up something in the microwave instead of go out.
They kept the glass slider between their shops open during store hours. And Ginger graciously watched over his place whenever he stepped out, but he’d never had the opportunity to return the favor. Maybe she didn’t trust him to take care of her customers. He couldn’t say he blamed her. He’d never been good at all that inane chatter.
“You’ve done a nice job here, Zach. I’ll do a mock-up for you to review and then we can talk about content.” Monica placed her camera in her purse.
“Thanks.” He meant it, too. He appreciated her doing all this for free.
She looked thoughtful. “You’re my big brother, and I’m glad you came home in one piece. I owe you.”
Zach shifted. He didn’t deserve to be home in one piece. If that RPG had hit only a few inches to the right, he’d have been in a body bag. “You don’t.”
His sister grabbed his arm and squeezed. “We all do.”
He looked up as Ginger entered through the open slider. Her burnished hair had been swooped up into a bouncy tail that swayed when she walked.
“Hi, Monica.” Ginger’s makeup was always applied with a light hand, but this morning her lips were the color of ripe berries.
“Morning.” His sister checked her watch. “Sorry, no time to chat. I have to meet Brady and set up the online voting for the window display contest. You two have fun.”
After his sister left, Zach turned his attention to Ginger. Not hard to do. She caught his eye often enough. “Hey.”
She leaned against his checkout counter. “So, have you thought about the window display?”
He raised the now half-empty mug of coffee that she’d made him before they’d opened. “Is that why you brought me this?”
She grinned, clearly guilty as charged and not a bit sorry. “You don’t like tea, so coffee works better than vinegar.”
“What?”
“You know the old saying about catching more bees with honey than vinegar? That coffee is my honey.”
“I see.” He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to stop dwelling on those plump berry-tinted lips of hers. Honey might pale in sweetness. He’d