given she could very likely be the answer to all of Holly’s fervent prayers, that was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.
“There is another reason I’ve waited.”
“Oh?”
“This place, the contents, were your mother’s passion. Clearly she was of no mind to see it sold off, bit by bit. I don’t know that she held out any true hope you’d take it over, but she just wanted to leave it as it was, so that her memories of the place remain intact. I respect that.”
“Okay.” Holly wished her mother had made Holly feel that sure about things, but hearing it from Mrs. Gillespie actually gave her a great deal more confidence in her growing certainty of where she was going to go with her inheritance. Mrs. Gillespie was right about one thing. Holly might not have found a way to pursue her own dreams, but she did know that this wasn’t her path.
“I waited because, while I admire your mother, both her business acumen, and her eye for a good piece, I don’t hold with her fondness for the Christmas holiday.”
Holly knew the surprise was clear on her face. “But, you’ve worked here for—”
“I love antiques. I love the history, the workmanship…” She drifted off, as if suddenly overtaken by her own passion. It was only a momentary blip, but an important one.
Holly’s first real glimpse, she thought, of the woman behind the ever-present clasped hands and oh-so-serious expression.
“Back in the day, had your mother taken even so much as a few weeks longer to make an offer on Mrs. Haversham’s place, I would have been the one making the offer.”
Holly’s mouth dropped open. “You wanted to run a shop? Did my mother—”
“She knew. We discussed a partnership, but her vision for the store’s content was wildly divergent from my own.”
“So, you settled for, what, working here? Why?”
“The town was far too small then for more than one decent antiques store. It’s because of me that we branched out as much as we did, with some of the larger pieces. I talked your mother into using those to display her collectibles and we both found a bit of a balance, I suppose. We were both newlyweds back then, but I began my family straight off, and working at all back then was simply…well, let’s just say our arrangement was a good fit. Your mother and father saw eye-to-eye with their dreams. My husband, God rest his soul, did not. So, I accepted the way of it, and we made it work.”
Holly was absolutely dumbstruck. First off, she couldn’t even picture Mrs. Gillespie as a young newlywed, much less a young mother. Holly knew she had two grown children, both of whom had children close to Holly’s age, and had lived out of state for most of Holly’s life. “Later, when times changed, and the town became more of a tourist destination, with the history and the battlefields…did you ever consider opening a shop then?” There weren’t any other antiques stores directly on Main Street, but within ten to twenty miles, there were a few collectible and antiques establishments, as was fairly common now, in the more rural, picturesque Virginia countryside.
“The die was cast, as they say, and I accepted the way of it. I had other pursuits, and Mr. Gillespie and I did our fair share of traveling.”
“I’m sorry,” Holly said, “about his passing.” She had heard through her mother that Mr. Gillespie had passed away from a heart condition several years back.
Mrs. Gillespie straightened her shoulders, her posture becoming even more rigid, if that were possible. “Thank you,” she said, clearly uncomfortable with any display of actual emotion. “When can we schedule a meeting?”
“What, exactly, are we discussing? You said you weren’t interested in buying—”
“I’m not. What I’d like to discuss with you is a lease arrangement. You do own this building, do you not?” When Holly nodded, she continued. “Clearly, at my age, purchasing the place would make no sense. Both of my children have done quite well for themselves, and while I could afford something of a late-in-life folly, as they call it, they don’t need to be saddled with it after I’m gone.”
Unlike what Holly’s mother had done to her, she might as well have said. She didn’t have to.
“I thought perhaps we could discuss a purchase price of the pieces I’d like to keep, and I can help you arrange to sell the rest, for a brokering fee, of course, which I