LITMIR.BIZ

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first.”

      When the man had seen the gift his wife wanted and signed the paper, paying his thirty-five dollars today and taking his gift with him, Sally returned to her lunch.

      The request from Mr Sanders had reminded her again of the importance of the service they provided here at the store. Her father had first introduced a long payment plan about fifteen years ago. Since then, he let it be known that he could trust a few people to pay out their Christmas gifts. After all, her father had said it served the Spirit of Christmas.

      It wasn’t something that regular stores did. They would let someone pay out the cost of the gift, but they didn’t let a customer take home a gift until it was completely paid for.

      Sally felt sure Mr Sanders would pay his debt. And she felt good about following in her father’s footsteps.

      She’d been disappointed that the man waiting for her wasn’t Hunter Bedford. She’d thought about him a lot this morning and especially when she had been serving Mr Sanders. She had been sure that a man from the city like Hunter wouldn’t have approved of the paying out plan and she would have liked to have talked to him about it. Too bad she wouldn’t be able to do that now. That was the only reason she was sad that he hadn’t come back, of course.

      When the store closed at eight o’clock, Sally went home. She hadn’t been in the house more than fifteen minutes when the phone rang. It was probably Penny. She hadn’t talked to her since she’d gone out to the ranch for dinner. She moved to the phone. “Hello?”

      “Sally?”

      “Yes, who’s speaking please?”

      “It’s Hunter. I just wanted to apologize for not coming in today. I had to drive back to Denver today to pick up the non-compete agreement signed by my grandfather. I thought you’d need it in hand before you agreed for me to work in the store. Anyway, I’ll be in tomorrow bright and early.”

      “Hunter, I haven’t agreed—”

      “Wait until you read what Granddad wrote you and then make your decision.”

      “Fine. I can certainly find jobs for you if you’re willing to work.”

      “I’m willing. There’s just one problem. Your dad was going to provide me with a place to stay. I know that won’t work now with just you in the house so I was wondering if there is anywhere in town that I can stay?”

      Sally thought for a moment about Hunter moving in here with her. She knew the idea was absurd, but part of her thought about recommending it. But Bailey was a small town and people would certainly talk so instead she said, “There’s a bed-and-breakfast in town. It’s the only place, but it’s very friendly.”

      “Good. I’ll see if they can get me a room, then I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Sally.”

      “Good night, Hunter.”

      Sally hung up the phone, feeling a little breathless at the thought of Hunter returning in the morning. She knew that his visit was only business and to prove this she began to make a list of possible tasks for Hunter to do. She stayed up a little later than normal and got totally involved in thinking up jobs for Hunter. It was an enjoyable thing to think about.

      When she finally crawled into bed, she was pleasantly tired and immediately fell asleep. The ringing of the alarm clock the next morning didn’t really wake her up. Until the thought of Hunter arriving this morning told her she needed to get out of bed.

      Unfortunately this was half an hour after the alarm had gone off and Sally had to dress hurriedly and make her lunch and dinner in less than half the time she usually took. She simply tied back her hair after hastily brushing it and ran the short distance to the store.

      Billy was waiting at the back door to get in, and had been for half an hour.

      “I’m sorry, Billy. I overslept. You must be cold.”

      “Naw, I’m wearing a coat,” he answered, rubbing his gloved hands together.

      “Yes, but take some time to warm up. Make yourself a cup of coffee,” Sally replied, feeling bad for keeping the elderly man waiting in the cold.

      “Okay, Sally. Would you like one, too?”

      “No, thanks, Billy. I’ll get one a little later,” Sally said as she hurried through the store. Quickly Sally began raising the shade on the front door, ready to start the day. Hunter was standing there.

      “I thought you might be here a little earlier than this?”

      “I’m sorry, Hunter. I overslept this morning,” Sally answered, a little annoyed that his first day had started so badly. What would he think of how she ran things around here?

      “Not a problem. I got here a little early, anyway. Are you all right?”

      “Yes, I’m fine.”

      He followed Sally into the store. “So, what needs to be done first?”

      “Well, I usually tidy the store from the previous day. You know, straighten all the goods, make sure the dressing rooms are empty and rehang any clothing left in them.”

      “All right. I’ll check the dressing rooms first,” he said and made his way over to the other side of the store.

      Sally stood looking at him as he walked toward the dressing rooms. Could she have expected him to do the menial tasks as well as the more important ones? She didn’t think so, but she began straightening the shelves to make the store look neat and attractive.

      Half an hour later, the store was in pristine condition. Sally invited Hunter to join her in a cup of coffee.

      “I’d love a cup. I didn’t know if you were a coffee drinker,” Hunter said with a grin. “But, what if someone comes in to shop?”

      “We’ll hear the bell over the front door.”

      “That’s something we don’t have in a big store,” Hunter said.

      “I know. But you usually have more customers than I do.”

      “True.”

      When they reached the break room, they found Billy still there nursing his cup of coffee.

      “Billy, this is Hunter Bedford. He’s going to be working here in the store for a couple of weeks. Hunter, this is Billy Johnson. Billy has been with us for a long time and handles most of the heavy work for the store. We couldn’t be without him.”

      “Hi,” Billy said, holding out his hand.

      “Hello, Billy,” Hunter said, returning the man’s handshake. “It’s good to meet you, too.”

      “Okay,” Billy said. Then he tipped his coffee mug up and finished off the coffee. “I’m going to work now, Sally.”

      “Thanks, Billy.”

      Once Billy went back to the delivery area, she said softly, “My dad and Billy were old friends and he always said that Billy was the hardest worker he knew. He’s been here for a long time.”

      “Yeah, I could tell. He seems able to handle almost any delivery all by himself. It’s good to have someone like that around, someone you can trust,” Hunter said, looking at Sally.

      “Yes, it is.” For a tiny, short second their gazes locked and Sally found herself melting into his deep blue eyes and a tiny shiver of electricity ran down her spine.

      The jingle of the bell interrupted them. Sally automatically stood.

      “Let me go,” Hunter said.

      “No. No one would recognize you just yet. I’ll go.” She walked out into the store, finally spotting the shopper. Sally had waited on him before.

      “Hello, Mr Jackson. How may I help you?”

      “Hi, Sally, I need to find a gift for my boss.”

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