A Seagrove Christmas (South Carolina Sunsets #6) - Rachel Hanna Page 0,4

get home, eat dinner and crash into her bed. Having a small child, she knew the likelihood of going to bed early was slim to none.

Hatcher had recently started having nightmares, so she was waking up multiple times at night. Her husband, with his crazy work schedule, did his best to help, but he was often out of town, leaving Darcy to do most of the work with their son.

She locked the front door and turned to head back to the register, eager to balance it and get out of there. Covered in flour and smelling like straight sugar, she needed a hot bath and a nice cup of gingerbread hot tea to end her long day. Just as she was tallying up the day’s profits, she heard someone tap on the glass door. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but she couldn’t quite see who was there until she walked closer.

An older gentleman, wearing a hat and a long coat, was standing there. He looked like something out of a movie, maybe a private investigator or sleuth. He had a white beard, reminding her a bit of Santa Claus, especially at this time of the year. She leaned a little to make sure he wasn’t hiding a large bag of toys behind him.

Feeling a little worried that this random stranger was knocking on the door, she got as close as possible and spoke loudly. “Sorry, we’re closed.”

He smiled, which was a good sign that maybe he wasn’t there to kill her. “I know, and I’m sorry to bother. I’m looking for SuAnn.”

Maybe he was a private investigator. If anyone would have one chasing them, it would be SuAnn. There was no telling what that woman had done in her past.

“She’s gone for the day,” Darcy called back. He looked dejected by the idea that she wasn’t there, and against Darcy’s better judgment, she unlocked the door and opened it. “She left a few hours ago.”

“Oh, darn! I’d hoped to see her. Will she be in tomorrow?”

Darcy chuckled. “Honestly, I never know. She’s a bit… unpredictable.”

Again, he smiled. “That sounds familiar.”

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing. I guess I’ll check back tomorrow and see if she’s around.” He started to walk away.

“Hey, wait! What’s your name?”

The man turned and smiled again. “Just tell her Nick stopped by.”

Nick? She watched him walk down the street and around the corner, and she had to wonder who this mysterious stranger was and what did he want with SuAnn?

* * *

SuAnn stared at her. “I don’t know anyone named Nick.” She continued kneading the dough to make her cinnamon apple bread.

“Well, he knows you, and he’s coming back today to see you.”

“That’s creepy.”

“He looked a lot like Santa Claus, actually,” Darcy said, wiping down one of the tables.

SuAnn stopped and looked at her. “So, a guy named Nick came looking for me, and he looks like Santa? Are you sure someone wasn’t playing a joke?”

“I don’t think so. He seemed pretty serious about it.” Darcy walked over and turned the sign from closed to open.

“Well, if Santa is coming to kidnap me, I guess there are worse things,” SuAnn said, rolling her eyes.

Darcy walked around the counter and picked up her purse. “Okay, I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Wait. Where are you going?”

Darcy sighed and shook her head. “You need to get your memory checked. I have a dentist appointment this morning, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right,” SuAnn said. She wasn’t worried about her memory. It wasn’t that she couldn’t remember things; it was that she often wasn’t interested in what people were talking about. A bad personality trait, yes. A memory problem, no. “Are you getting them whitened?”

Darcy glared at her. “No, SuAnn. I’m getting a cavity filled. Working at this place is going to make my teeth fall out from all the sugar.” She walked toward the door.

“Still, a good whitening wouldn’t be a waste of time!” SuAnn called behind her. She wasn’t sure, but Darcy may have made a crude hand gesture at her through the plate-glass window.

“I was just trying to help,” she muttered to herself. As she turned to pick up her ball of dough, her hip hit the counter and knocked an entire bowl of flour all over the floor. “Oh, good Lord!”

SuAnn hurriedly walked to the back room to get the broom and dustpan. She hated a mess, and since she was the only one working, she needed to get it cleaned up quickly. As soon as she crouched down