Page 49 of The One You Want

These pieces weremine, and the fact that people seemed to like them was a bigger high than anything else I couldimagine.

“Here,” a gruff voice said, and I looked over to see Grant at the side of my booth, shoving a brown lunch bag at me. “I grabbed you a sandwich from Deanna’scart.”

I gave him a grateful smile. Grant learned pretty early on that I would forget to eat entirely if he didn’t remind me. “Thankyou.”

“Sit down for a minute,” he said. “I can ring these guysup.”

“Who’s watching yourbooth?”

“Miss Simone said she’d keep an eye on things.” He winked. “Not that I’m seeing half as much traffic assomepeople.”

I flushed, a wave of pride streaming through me. I was pretty sure this was going to be my most successful market and the fact that Grant noticed warmed me rightup.

“Hello, there, young man,” a familiar voice boomed, and I looked up to see Jerry Brooks, a farmer from the island, browsing my selection. “Did you make allthese?”

Grant shot me a look, a grin tugging up the corners of his mouth, before turning back to Jerry. “I sure did. I’m an expert on jewelry. Ask meanything.”

“Well I’m looking for a piece for my sweetheart,” Jerry said bashfully, and I choked on my sandwich. Jerry Brooks had asweetheart?Well into his sixties, he was the worst flirt I knew. He proposed to Cora at her pub on a weeklybasis.

And he was a good guy, as sweet as they come. He would have been a catch for any of the island’s elderly population—if it weren’t for thechickens.

Grant pounded on my back while I tried not to die. “A sweetheart, eh?” He asked in a jocular tone, leaning across the table towards Jerry with a conspiratorial look in his eyes. “And who might thatbe?”

Was Jerry blushing? “Her name is Sadie,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get her to go out with me for weeks and she finallyagreed.”

I couldn’t help it. “Is Sadie achicken?”

Grant spun around to stare at me, an incredulous expression on his face. But Jerry didn’t seem the slightest bitfazed.

“No, no, Sadie Taylor is the prettiest gal on Lilac Bay. And she makes the best hot chocolate at that bakery of hers. I’ve been sweet on her for decades.” His expression clouded a bit. “But my Jackiehasbeen acting a little off. Do you think I should buy hersomething?”

Grant looked completely baffled by this point and it was all I could do not to burst outlaughing.

“Who the hell isJackie?”

“My favorite chicken,” Jerry said, as if that was a normal answer in any universe. “But don’t let any of my girls know I said that. They’re a jealousbunch.”

Grant opened his mouth and then closed it, clearly at a loss for words. Certain I was going to lose it at any minute, I stood up and joined him at the table. “What were you thinking for Sadie,Jerry?”

He squinted down at the rows of jewelry. “What about a ring? These are mightypretty.”

“Hmm. Well, Sadie doesn’t wear too many rings—they’d get too messy when she’s mixing pastrydough.”

“Good thinking, Jenny,” hesaid.

“You should probably avoid bracelets, too, for the same reason.” I eyed the necklaces but was struck with the horrible fear that the old lady—who wasn’t too steady on her feet these days—could get something stuck in her industrial sized bakingequipment.

“Jerry, what do you think about these?” I asked, pulling out a tray of pearl inlaid hair combs. Sadie had a gorgeous mane of soft white hair that she usually wore up in an elaborate twist. “Can’t you just picture this pearl shining against herhair?”

“Well, that’s a nice idea,” he said, his smile so soft it made something pang in my chest. “I think I’ll takeit.”

I wrapped the comb in paper and stuck it in a small white gift bag. “There you go. That will be twenty dollarseven.”

He handed over the cash than shot another look at the jewelry. “Now what aboutJackie?”

I somehow managed to stifle my laugh. “I’m not sure your chickens would be too impressed by baubles,Jer.”

He frowned. “You sure? I mean, maybe not when they’re out in the yard. But it might be nice for them to have some sparkle when they’reinside.”