a fear early on that whatever made Christians talk that way somehow would infect him and trickle into his writing.
Still, he’d joined the men’s group, and it hadn’t been all bad. Had things with Janet not taken such a downward turn with the revelation of her affair, he might have even been able to use some of what these more seasoned Christians were teaching him to win her back. He’d thought about giving Stan a call but had decided against it. It had been nice to pretend that he didn’t have another life waiting for him hundreds of miles away—one with a mortgage, an editor, a litigious reviewer, a men’s group, and a blank computer screen just waiting to parrot back his words. And the prospect of writing the article about Graham allowed him to stay where he was without feeling too guilty about it. Maybe it would give him time to get his head straight despite the ghosts from his past that tormented him, and those had shown themselves to be no respecter of geography anyway.
The gardening supplies were next on his list. The first time CJ worked at Kaddy’s, he would never have considered rearranging Artie’s shelves, even though the setup seemed counterintuitive even to a teenager. Now he worked under the philosophy that it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. He was halfway through the project, organizing the lawn maintenance supplies in one section, the gardening supplies in another area, with the fertilizers and weed killers between them, followed by mulch and landscape rock samples near the front to catch the eye of those entering the store, when the front door creaked open.
Artie took two steps into his store, careful to avoid kicking or stepping on Thor, and stopped to assess the work of his only employee. CJ gave his boss a wink before proceeding to pull a handful of pine mulch from a bag and dropping it into a shallow tray, where he smoothed it before sliding the tray into position.
Finally, after what seemed like a long time, Artie said, “That’s certainly eye-catching.”
CJ took a step back to admire his handiwork, brushing his hands clean on his work pants. “That’s exactly what I was going for.”
Artie nodded and took another few seconds to peruse the display with a critical eye. Then, almost hesitantly, he said, “I sell quite a bit of mulch.”
“True, but now you’ll sell more of it out of season.” When Artie didn’t respond, CJ turned to look at him. “See, in season you lower your prices to compete with the big-box stores. So you sell a lot but your profit margin is low. This way, you treat mulch as an impulse purchase. More people buying it out of season when the price is higher.”
Artie appeared to be digesting this explanation, perhaps even appreciating it. Then he just shrugged and aimed his next words to Cadbury. “The boy leaves town and becomes a famous writer, and along the way he picks up skills in product placement. How about that?”
CJ looked over at Cadbury, half expecting some kind of response. He had to do a double take because, for just an instant, it looked as if the scarecrow had winked at him.
Artie crossed the floor, stopping next to CJ and taking a closer look at his afternoon’s work.
“I suppose it will work,” he said.
“Give it a try. If it doesn’t increase sales in a month, I’ll put it back the way it was.”
That earned him a raised eyebrow from Artie. “So are you saying you’re going to be here a month from now?”
CJ frowned. He opened his mouth as if he would say something, but then shut it. Instead he stood next to his boss, who had returned to admiring a few square feet of entrepreneurial fancy with a good deal more interest than the thing deserved. After a time, CJ said, “I’d better go finish that cabinet.”
Artie nodded, a smile on his face, but before CJ could grab a broom, the door opened and CJ turned when he heard Thor give a low growl.
“Hello, little brother,” Graham said, after giving the dog a look to be sure it wasn’t going to bite. “You think it’s smart to have a vicious animal around customers?”
CJ shrugged. “He’s never growled at anyone else.”
If that bothered Graham, he chose not to show it.
“Do you have a few minutes? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“I have some work to do in the back. You