straightened a few more. The shop was closed Sundays and Mondays, but twice a month she got a shipment of new merchandise. She didn’t mind. It was quiet today and she could sing her heart out if she wanted to. Besides, she loved to go through new shipments when she got them and redo her displays.
Holly didn’t have to wait long before the truck came in. After going over the purchase order with the driver, she signed it and went to open boxes. “Ohhhh,” she sighed in admiration. “How beautiful.” She held up a sequined blouse. “I bet Mavis Cooke will want to try this on.” She pulled out a similar blouse only a different color, then another. “Let’s see, where should I put you?” She went through the rest of her order then worked on her displays. “Here’s another one Mavis will like, and oh, Mrs. Blackstall will love this!” She pulled out a gorgeous silver and gold dress. “Oh dear, every woman in town will be fighting over this one.”
Holly was the town fashionista and could outfit anyone. Yes, there were more expensive boutiques in town with higher-quality clothing. But they didn’t have Holly. She was a master at mixing and matching and made anyone she worked with look fabulous. It was one of the reasons Katie asked her to be a business partner when she opened Beauty and More a few years ago. But Katie didn’t stop with a combination beauty salon and clothing boutique. She wanted more and got it when she brought their friend Crystal Jones on board a few months ago.
Holly sighed. Crystal and John Turner were happily winding their way through Europe. It was a surprise honeymoon gift from his parents. “Sometimes I think I should get married just to take the honeymoon,” she told the dress. Holly hung it up, stepped back and admired it. She’d thought of ordering two but made sure each shipment had a one-of-a-kind garment. This way no two women in town would end up wearing the same thing to a party or other festive event. Heaven forbid that should happen.
She continued to play with her displays and tried her best not to think about Zane. It was bad enough she’d lost sleep over him. Maybe if she stayed busy enough, she wouldn’t have the same problem tonight. But thoughts of Zane weren’t what bothered her. It was the fact her heart seemed to have forgotten there were eight years between them. The traitorous thing had forgotten that distance and years had taken him away long ago. The silly thing didn’t know what was good for it.
“Silly, silly, heart,” she said as she hung up another dress. The last thing she needed was to give it the notion there was anything between them after all this time. What they had years ago was long gone. Besides, they were teenagers then. What do teenagers know? They don’t have brains. At least that’s what she’d keep telling herself.
She whistled while she worked and ignored thoughts of Crystal and John and the years they hadn’t seen each other. Both had wound up back in Clear Creek and the rest was history.
She started to break down the empty boxes. “Don’t think about it. Don’t go there. You know what will happen if you do…”
She ripped a box apart with her box cutter, folded it and tossed it on the floor. She reached for another. “He’s going back to New York. He’s not staying. And you are not going anywhere.”
With every box she came up with another reason not to get involved with Zane Brody. “Wait a minute, what am I doing?” She tossed the last box on the pile. “What makes me think he’ll be interested in me anyway? He sure wasn’t yesterday.” Her heart sank at the thought. “Wow, talk about getting ahead of myself.” She rolled her eyes, picked up the stack of boxes and headed for the back door of the shop.
By the time she returned from dumping them into the recycle bin, Katie was upfront with the kids. “What are you doing here?” Holly asked in surprise.
“Hi, I came to cut Jack’s hair. I discovered I don’t have any shears at home.” She turned to her son. “Okay buddy, hop into my chair.”
Jack did as she asked. “Not too short, Mom.”
Holly giggled at the determined look on his face. “I take it your mother cut it too short the last time?”
“Uh-huh. The girls made fun of me at