told himself.
And, he hoped, the end would be more than worth it.
15
Clem was poring over bills behind the counter at Wicke Salvage, back to work after three days spent in the hospital. Her leg was in a heavy cast that made it uncomfortable to stand, so she had her left foot propped on a chair. Bells jangled as the door to the shop swung open, and a man in his mid-thirties dressed in brown corduroys pants and an argyle sweater vest swept inside. He looked hungry to buy as he surveyed items in the aisles, picking up random things here and there and studying them.
Clem chastised herself for the disorganization. Wicke Salvage was usually in tip-top shape, but Uncle Stoddard and her father had let things go a bit in her absence. She hoped the shoddy placement didn’t discourage the man from making a buy.
“Can I help you?” she asked and used the crutches the doctor had given her to emerge from behind the counter.
On spotting her, the man’s face broke into a sympathetic smile. “You look like you could use some help, yourself,” he said. “What happened?”
Clem rolled her eyes and answered him. “Dangerous job, salvaging,” she said, and he laughed. “Are you looking for something specific?”
“Well, I stopped in to inquire about some barn wood, actually,” he said. “My wife and I are building a brand-new house, but we want to give it a rustic feel.” His eyes lit up. “One of the ideas we had was to install barn doors throughout the home, rather than traditional knobbed doors.
Clem nodded wistfully. “That sounds like an amazing plan,” she said, imagining what it would have been like if she’d accepted Edward’s offer of building her a dream home. They could have designed it together, as this man was doing with his wife. “We have quite a stack of barn wood out back, and we even work with a guy who builds and installs barn doors if you’d like his number.”
“Thanks, but my wife is a real do-it-yourself kind of gal,” he said and laughed. Clem could tell this man adored his partner and was proud of her. “Me, I have no patience or talent for it, but my wife loves using creative materials to make something that’s unique. She’s going to build the barn doors herself. Sent me here to pick out a specific type of wood. I have pictures.”
Clem couldn’t hide how impressed she was. “That sounds like a big job. Good for her!” She led the man to the storage yard out back and showed him their display of barn wood. He thanked her and took his phone from his pocket.
“Got to take pics for the wife, so she can choose!” he said, and Clem told him to make himself at home. She left him to it and started back inside, feeling deflated and filled with regret.
She hadn’t expected to miss Edward this much. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself that they were too different, that it never would have worked. The problems just kept getting smaller in her memory while the reasons to be with him got bigger. She had pushed love away because she was too afraid it would take too much work to make it right. Wasn’t that completely against her philosophy in life? Beautiful things, like the relationship she and Edward had begun to build, were worth the time and effort it took to make them work. Sure, they didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything, but that didn’t mean they weren’t a good team. Just look at what they’d accomplished at the Kawell Castle and the old mill. They’d found compromises and had figured out how to make things work for both of them. That was something. Maybe opposites could make a go of it.
It wasn’t his fault his father had purchased the farm without telling him. He’d felt awful about it and tried to apologize. She saw his sincerity now, but was it too late?
She knew she had to go to him.
She waited until the man out back was finished inspecting the barn wood then hurried as best she could with her crutches to the front door. Placing the Be Right Back sign in the window, she pulled the door closed, but before it latched, a hand was on the outside, pulling it back open. She looked up and there he was.
Edward. As if he’d heard the call of her heart.
“Is it too late? Do you need to close the