Hometown Princess

“Working on it.” She wondered if the local banker would even talk to her. Doreen carried a lot of weight in town. But the Duncan name still stood for something. At least Cari had that. That and about two nickels to rub together.

Rick looked up and down the alley then back up at her. “Well, maybe it’ll work out for you. What about your business? What kind of establishment will this be? And what exactly is shabby-chic?”

That was a subject she could talk about for hours. “I design jewelry. I take old estate jewelry and rework it then resell it. I also carry unique women’s clothing and I fix up picture frames and jewelry boxes, trinkets—I like to take old things and make them pretty again. Sometimes I redesign tote bags and purses.”

“Purses?” He grinned up at her again. “Maybe you can make one to go with those red shoes in my window.”

“I told you, I can’t afford those shoes.”

He pushed off the steps. “Nobody can. My mother ordered them at market on an impulse and now they’re just sitting there waiting for the right feet—and the right amount of money. Maybe those pumps have been waiting for you. And something tells me you’ll work hard until you can afford them.”

Cari’s heart soared. It had been a while since anyone had expressed belief in her. A very long time. “You think so?”

He tipped a finger to his temple in salute. “If you can take on this old house then I’d say you can do anything.” Then he smiled and walked back toward the open double doors of the general store’s stockroom. But he turned and gave her a long, studied look. “Good to have you back. And if you need anything, anything at all, you call me, okay, Princess?”

“Thanks.” Cari watched him go back inside then looked up at the mountain vista just beyond town. The Blue Ridge Mountains had always brought her peace. Even while she’d lived in Athens and later in Atlanta, she’d often come up here to the mountains just to get away. Of course, she’d never come back here to Knotwood Mountain, but there were other spots nearby she loved, where the rhododendrons bloomed in bright whites and pinks and grew six feet tall. She stood listening and silent, the sound of the river gurgling through the middle of town continuing to bring her a sense of peace and comfort.

“Can I do this, Lord?” she asked. Had she made the right decision, leaving Atlanta to come home? What choice did she have? she wondered.

After all, this old house was all she had now.

She’d pretty much wasted away her bank account and she’d maxed out her charge cards. All in the name of looking good, looking up-to-date and in style while trying to keep up with a man who never intended to settle down and marry her. All in the name of a facade that could never quite fill the void inside her heart.

Turning to head back inside, she thought about the red shoes and all they represented. Once, she would have marched inside the store and bought them without giving it a second thought. Just to make herself feel better.

Looking over at the general store, she whispered, “Sorry, Rick, but I’m not a princess anymore.”

Once, when she’d been frivolous and impulsive and careless, she would have spent money she didn’t have. But that Cari was gone, just like the passive, shy Cari from high school. This new, more assertive Cari was going to have to reinvent herself, one step at a time and on her own two feet.

Only this time, she wouldn’t be wearing fabulous shoes or be hiding behind a carefully controlled facade when she did it.

Chapter Two

The next morning, Cari opened the door to Jolena’s Diner and smiled at her friend. “Hello.”

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Jolena, big, black and beautiful, said with a white, toothy grin, reaching to give Cari a tight hug. “How was your first day home, suga’?”

Cari sat down on one of the bright red stools at the long white counter. “Different.” She’d managed to get the kitchen clean enough to boil water and make toast and she’d slept on an air mattress in a small room upstairs. “I cleaned all day and unpacked enough clothes and essentials to get me through for a while. I’m going to pick up a few groceries and toiletry items. And I’m praying the bathroom upstairs will stay in working order until I can have a plumber check the whole place.”

Jolena looked doubtful. “You could have stayed with us, you know.”

Cari took the coffee Jolena automatically handed her, the hustle and bustle of this bright, popular diner making her feel alive. The smell of bacon and eggs reminded her she hadn’t eaten much since early yesterday. The buzz of conversation reminded her how lonely and isolated she’d become in the past few weeks. But Jolena’s smile held Cari together.

“I appreciate the offer, but I didn’t want to put your girls out of their bedrooms.”

Jolena grunted. “Those four—honey, they’re always in each other’s way so one more wouldn’t even be noticed. Even a cute one with freckles like you.”

“I did just fine on my own last night,” Cari said. Never mind that she hadn’t actually slept very much. But the moonlight coming through the old sheers in the room had given her a sense of security at least. “I have a bed and I scrubbed the kitchen and the storage room yesterday. Of course, I need a new stove and a refrigerator. That ice chest isn’t going to work in this summer heat.”

Jolena nodded. “I can hook you up with my friend down at the appliance store. He’ll make you a deal.”

Cari laughed at the woman who’d been friends with her mother, Natalie, since they were both little girls. Finding pen and paper, she wrote down the name and number. “You always have connections.”

Jolena let out a belly laugh then waved to two departing fishermen. “Yes, I sure do. And speaking of that—you need a makeover, honey. You look a little peaked.”

Cari pushed at her hair. “I guess I do look bad, but I wasn’t too concerned with my appearance this morning. I don’t have any groceries yet and I just needed coffee, badly.”

“And so do I,” said a masculine voice behind her.

Cari pivoted so fast she almost fell off her perch. “Rick, good morning.” Pushing at her hair again, she wished she’d at least bothered to put on lipstick.

Jolena leaned over the counter, her long thin braids tapping her robust shoulders. “Rick, you remember our Cari, don’t you?”

Rick sat down next to Cari and took the cup of coffee a waitress brought him. “I do now. Didn’t at first but we talked a bit yesterday afternoon. Good to see you again, Cari. Hope you had a good first night home.”

“It was okay,” she said, the warmth of his dark blue eyes washing over her. Could it be possible that he had matured into an even better looking man than the boy she remembered? Highly possible.

Jolena’s gaze shifted from Rick to Cari, her grin growing with each blink. “You two went to school together, right?”

Cari felt the crimson moving over her freckles. “Yes, we did but Rick was the big man on campus. He…we…didn’t hang out together too much.”

“And that’s a shame,” Rick replied, winking at Cari. “But high school’s always hard, you know. I’m sure we’ve both changed since those days.”

When Jolena’s overly interested eyebrows shot up, Cari slumped on her stool, wishing she could just dive under the counter. Did the man know the effect he had on women? Or did he just do this to her? She felt all mushy and soft-kneed. Which was just plain crazy. She wasn’t in high school anymore. And she had changed. She didn’t trust pretty boys anymore and she sure didn’t indulge in adolescent crushes these days.

Finally, because he was still smiling at her, she said, “So why’d you come back to Knotwood Mountain, Rick?”

The smile softened and his rich blue eyes went black. “That’s a long story and, unfortunately, I don’t have time to tell it right now. I’ve got people waiting to rent tubes for the day.” He got up, took his to-go cup of coffee and lifted it toward Jolena. “Put it on my tab.” Then he turned to Cari. “I’ll see you around, neighbor.”

Cari waited until she heard the screen door slap back on its hinges then looked at Jolena. “What? Did I ask the wrong question?”

Jolena, known as much for her gossip as her soul food, leaned close, her dimples deepening. “I heard it had something to do with a bad breakup. I think the man was heartbroken and hurting when he came limping into town. But he’s good now, real good. And real available.”

Cari almost spit out her sip of coffee. “Yes, so available that he practically ran out of here. If he can’t talk about her, then he ain’t over her.”

“He might get over her better if he had someone sweet to talk to, know what I mean?”

“I do know what you mean, but I’m not here to find a man, Jolena. Just like Rick there, I, too, went through a bad breakup—with the man and with my money that the man took.” She pointed across the street. “You see that wilted wedding cake of a house sitting over there. I’m here to fix that house up and get my boutique going. That’s about all I have any time or energy for. And I don’t want a man standing around telling me what to do and making me feel guilty about everything from the shoes I wear to the friends I have. I want to do this my way.”

Jolena wasn’t to be hushed. “You got a point there, honey. But you need to take time to be friendly to the other merchants along the street. We stick together around here. You’ll see. Don’t be all mean and stand-offish with Rick Adams. You might need a friend, too. But that attitude will surely scare people away.”

Cari couldn’t deny that she needed to make a connection. But with Rick? Friend and neighboring merchant, maybe. But that would have to be it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to know more about him—just so she’d know what not to ask him next time she saw him.

“Okay, so he is good-looking,” she admitted on a low whisper. “It won’t be very hard to be nice to him. But that’s as far as it goes.”

Jolena made an exaggerated frown. “Girl, that man is so pretty, well, as my mama used to say, you could spoon him up like sugar.”

Cari had to laugh. “Your mama would tell you to put your big brown eyes right back inside your head, too, if she were here—since you’re married and have four children.”