Heath's Hope (The Brothers of Beauford Bend Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

room.
    Miss Sticky was the first in the room, and Hope stood to greet them. Miss Julia carried a stack of file folders, which meant this wasn’t a social call after all. At least it was something to do.
    “Ladies.” Hope settled back into her chair. “Who’s minding the shop?”
    Miss Sticky shrugged. “No one really.”
    “Sticky! That isn’t true.” Miss Julia turned to look at Hope. “Vanessa MacKenzie and Lori Shelton are at the shop knitting. If anyone buys anything, they’ll make a note of it, and we’ll settle up later.”
    Hope almost shuddered. Who did that? Left their shop in the hands of customers? Even if one of them was Hope’s aunt and the other the middle school coach’s wife, neither of whom would take so much as a needle that didn’t belong to them. Maybe she’d been in the big city too long. Still, she couldn’t imagine Noel and Neyland doing such a thing.
Or Heath.
She beat the thought back just like she had every time he’d tried to slip into her thoughts since their humiliating encounter on Halloween.
    “Would you ladies like some coffee or iced tea?” Hope asked.
    “Oh, dear me, no,” Miss Sticky said. “But tell us, how is your daddy?”
    “He’s doing well, but thoroughly unhappy with his circumstances.”
    “And your mama?” Miss Julia asked.
    “Good. Daddy has finally convinced her he doesn’t need someone with him all the time, and they’re both better for it.”
And so am I.
    “And we hear you’re living in Noel’s old apartment above Piece by Piece.”
    “I am.” Her parents hadn’t been especially happy about that, but she’d stood her ground.
    “We have always loved Noel,” Miss Sticky said. “We were afraid Nickolai was going to take her off to Nashville to live or, worse, sign up to play for some hockey team up north. It was a shame that Rachelle Mobley had to go into assisted living, but her house is perfect for Noel and Nickolai.”
    “I don’t think it was a shame,” Julia said. “Rachelle was mean as a snake and twice as sneaky. I’m glad they’ve got that wonderful house. Nickolai’s a sweetheart. He comes by to see us almost every day.”
     “He is that,” Hope agreed. At least everyone said so. At one time, people had said that about Heath. “So, is there something I can do for the two of you today?”
    Sticky looked at her hands. “This is hard. It’s tacky to talk about money.”
    “Sticky! Get a grip. This is a bank. Hope’s a banker.” Miss Julia turned to Hope. “We need a loan. For five thousand dollars.”
    It was the small amount that sent up the first red flag. Generally, if a business owner couldn’t come up with an amount like that, they didn’t have any business borrowing it.
    “I see. Is there some kind of emergency?”
    “Yes!” Sticky said.
    “No,” Julia said.
    Hope smiled. “Which is it?”
    “It’s not an emergency in that the roof needs replacing or the plumbing blew up,” Julia said, “but we do have the chance to buy some very special yarn.”
    Sticky nodded enthusiastically. “Qiviut!”
    “What?” Hope said. “I’ve never heard of it.”
    “It comes from the Arctic musk ox,” Miss Julia said.
    Was she in a Dr. Seuss book? “And that’s an animal?”
    “Yes,” Sticky said. “It’s bovine but looks like a sheep. Its undercoat is the most sought after fiber in the world—soft and warm, but very light. Also, it’s not scratchy at all, so those who can’t typically wear wool, can usually wear it.” Miss Sticky folded her hands against her heart and sighed.
    “Qiviut is hard to come by,” Julia said. “We feel like if we can stock a decent amount, we can bring in business from all over.”
    Hope had her doubts, but she wanted to say yes. “Let me see what you’ve brought.” She reached for the files Julia held.
    She was not mentally prepared for the handwriting on the folder tabs. Neat, concise, printed in all uppercase letters. She would have known that penmanship anywhere. Heath