Reflection Point: An Eternity Springs Novel (4 page)

The dog pounced on the ball, then plopped down on her belly and started chewing at it. Savannah snapped her fingers. “Bring the ball back, Inny.”

When the dog ignored her, Zach smirked.

She sighed and strolled over to wrestle the ball away from the mutt. “He should be charged with police brutality. I’m going to have a bruise where his bony shoulder poked my belly.”

She rolled the ball again while muttering indistinctly, so the only word he picked up was “manhandler.” Zach
scowled. That was plenty enough to hear. Ungrateful witch.

The dog started toward the tennis ball but suddenly veered away on a scent. As she dashed into the trees opposite him and Savannah chased after her, Zach saw his chance and hurried to retrieve his rod and tackle box. Five minutes later, he climbed into his truck and twisted the key in the ignition with more force than was necessary.

He was pissed. He didn’t expect every woman who crossed his path to like him, but the truth was that most all of them did. Female acquaintances viewed him favorably, and some of his closest friends were women. He’d never had trouble getting dates. He remained on good terms with most of his former lovers. He liked women. Women liked him.

And, dammit, he was a good cop!
Barney Fife, my ass
, he thought.

So what put the pit in the Georgia peach?

He mentally reviewed their exchange, attempting to pinpoint the moment when her mood went cold. As he braked to a stop at the intersection to the main road into town, he figured it out. The woman had bristled when he’d identified himself and asked for her ID.

“Well, well, well,” Zach murmured. Savannah Sophia Moore had a secret.

Guess he’d just have to put on his detective hat and discover what it was.

THREE
 

Savannah spent most of her time in the week following her unexpected meeting with the sheriff in her workshop, creating product, ordering supplies, and squeezing every possible bit of buying power from each penny she spent. When Jim Brand presented his under-budget invoice upon completion of the renovations of the retail space, she’d been hard-pressed not to do handsprings. Overall, start-up costs hadn’t been as onerous as she’d anticipated, and as she double-checked the balance in her checkbook, she noted that she had plenty of wiggle room in her budget. The regular pounding of a hammer out in her workshop reminded her that her good fortune was due in no small part to her new Eternity Springs neighbors. They’d all proven quick to offer a helping hand.

At this moment, Colt Rafferty was building the shelves for her workshop. His wife was due to come by any moment with her baby and the balance of their housewarming gift. It felt like Christmas morning to Savannah.

The town of Eternity Springs was an eclectic mix of commercial and residential space with most business properties aligned along one of the four “tree” streets, Cottonwood, Pinyon, Spruce, and Aspen, with most but not all of the houses in town located on the numbered
streets, First through Eighth. Apparently zoning had never been a consideration. Since Savannah’s place was on Fourth between Spruce and Pinyon, the retail shop she planned needed something eye-catching to lure tourists down the side street.

Impressed by the signage across the street at Vistas, Savannah had asked for the name of the graphic designer responsible for the art gallery’s logo. After claiming the design as her own, Sage had offered to do the logos that Savannah needed as a gift. What Savannah hadn’t known at the time she accepted her new friend’s largesse was that in addition to being the gallery’s business owner and manager, Sage was a renowned artist with a studio above her shop.

The generosity overwhelmed Savannah. She’d seen so little of it in recent years, and she didn’t quite know how to react. She knew she came across as standoffish and perhaps even unfriendly, and she was working on improving that impression. Maybe in time she could actually make friends with some of these people—as long as they didn’t find out about her, of course. People who knew what she was, where she’d been, wouldn’t want to count her as a friend. The nice people of Eternity Springs would run her out of town.

She was saved from going down that particular dark path by a knock on the door. Sage stood on the front porch with nine-month-old Colton Alexander strapped into a stroller. The boy was a darling little butterball with red hair and rosy cheeks, and he gnawed happily on the handle of a green plastic toy hammer. Savannah couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Her arms ached to lift him out of the stroller.

Determinedly she quashed the maternal ache and lifted her gaze. Spying the sketchbook in Sage’s arm, Savannah’s pulse accelerated. Despite all the planning and work she’d done to get her business up and running,
Savannah Soap Company and Heavenscents didn’t seem real to her yet. She suspected that having logos might change that.

“Welcome,” she said, opening the screen door. “Please come on in, you two.”

Sage tucked an errant strand of wavy red hair behind her ear, then gestured toward the porch steps. “It’s the three of us. Snowdrop is hoping that Inny would like a play date.”

“Of course. Inny would love …” Savannah’s voice trailed off as she got a good look at her neighbor’s dog. “Oh, my. What is that dog wearing?”

Sage flashed an unapologetic grin. “It’s her Easter dress. And hat, of course.”

The ensemble worn by the white ball of fur—a bichon frise—consisted of something that looked like a knit sweater with an attached tutu in pastel pink netting. The hat was a little straw bonnet tied with a ribbon. “Okay, then,” Savannah said, amused. “Guess you were hoping for a girl when you had your boy?”

Sage laughed. “No, Snowdrop’s outfits predate my marriage. They started as a joke between Colt and me, but now she wouldn’t be Snowdrop without her finery. Besides, she’s an excellent marketing tool because she draws children along with their parents into the gallery. She’s never as happy as when she is sitting in someone’s lap being petted. Everybody is relaxed, and I end up selling more.”

“Hmm …” Savannah cast a considering glance toward Inny. “I’ll have to keep that in mind. Maybe I could have a T-shirt made for Inny to wear that says ‘Smell me’ to advertise my pet shampoo.”

Interest lit Sage’s eyes. “You make pet shampoo, too?”

“I do. My grandmother loved her pets, and she had one dog that lived to get dirty and stinky. She figured out
a recipe that worked to her standards, and she sent it off to the University of Georgia to make sure it was safe.”

“You’ll have to tell Nic. She’ll stock it at the clinic if you’d like. We like to do cross-marketing whenever possible.”

“I noticed the VISIT VISTAS sign beneath the portrait of the Callahans’ boxer hanging in her vet office.”

“Clarence. He’s so ugly that he’s cute. And he has the sweetest disposition. I can’t say the same about Cam’s Boston terrier, though. Have you crossed paths with Mortimer yet?”

“No.”

“Cam calls him the ‘Boston terrorist’ for good reason. He—”

Sage broke off abruptly when the baby let out a squeal, waved his arm, and the hammer went flying. “Dada! Dada!”

“Alex!” Sage scolded. “Don’t throw your toys.”

“My fault.” Colt Rafferty opened the back door and stepped into Savannah’s kitchen. “He saw me standing on the stoop and he was saying hello.”

Savannah watched with a twinge of emotion she refused to name as envy when Colt greeted his wife with a casual kiss, then bent to release the safety strap on the carriage and lift his babbling son into his arms. “Hey, Racer. Have you been a good boy for Mommy this morning?”

“Racer?” Savannah asked, curious.

“His initials are CAR,” Sage explained with a sigh.

“Racer Rafferty. He crawls at light speed,” Colt added. He nipped playfully at the boy’s fingers, then lifted his voice to speak above the giggles. “Your shelves are finished, Savannah. The paint needs the rest of today to dry, but tomorrow you’ll be good to go.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Colt.”

“Glad to help. We do that here in Eternity Springs. It’s
the most neighborly place I’ve ever lived.” He glanced at his wife. “I need to stop by the Callahans’ and talk to Gabe about the rocking chair he wants me to build for one of his sisters-in-law. Want me to take the little man? You know Meg and Cari will want to play with him.”

“The Callahan twins are almost four. Alex is their own living, breathing doll,” Sage explained to Savannah. “I’ll be thrilled if you take him, Colt. I need to do some paperwork this afternoon, and that would make it so much easier.”

While the Raffertys spent the next few minutes making child care arrangements, Savannah led Snowdrop to the backyard. Inny barked an excited hello and the two dogs began to scamper. Savannah returned to the front room just as Colt and his son departed.

“We are still trying to find our way when it comes to balancing parenting and work,” Sage said, watching them go. “Nic and Gabe make it look so easy—with twins—that I thought Colt and I would have smooth sailing. Boy, was I naive.”

“Have you considered putting him into day care?”

“We have a babysitter lined up for him once tourist season starts and I need to spend more time at the gallery. The problem is that the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has called Colt in to consult about last week’s plant explosion in Ohio.”

“Oh, the one that killed so many people?”

Sage nodded. “It’s just horrible. Thirty-three dead, sixty-seven hospitalized. He’s leaving tomorrow, and I’ll be on full-time mommy duty for at least the next two weeks, which is fine with me—except that I need to spend most of my time in the studio or I won’t be ready for my next show.”

“I’ll be happy to watch this little bit of sugar for you some while Colt is out of town, Sage.” A bittersweet
memory washed over Savannah as she added, “I do have some experience with toddlers. My nephew lived with me when he was the same age as Alex.”

“Really? I’ll be thrilled to take you up on it. Thank you.” Sage reached out and gave Savannah a quick, friendly hug.

Instinctively Savannah stiffened. She didn’t like being touched—a remnant of the Emmanuel years.

Luckily, Sage didn’t appear to notice, and Savannah felt a wave of relief. The last thing she wanted to do was to offend her new friend.

“Now,” Sage continued, “let me show you what I’ve come up with for your logos. They’re only sketches, mind you, and if they’re not what you had in mind, don’t hesitate to say so. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

“I love your work, Sage,” Savannah said as the other woman flipped open her sketchbook. “I can’t imagine not … oh, wow.” In front of her were three different conceptualizations of the word
Heavenscents
done in shades of peach and blue. Each of them was wonderful, but Savannah’s eyes were immediately drawn to one with a halo hovering over the
t
. “I love them all, but the halo … it’s perfect. Just perfect.”

Sage beamed. “It’s my favorite, too. The font gives it a floaty feel, and the halo is fun. It’s inviting, and it suits a shop in Eternity Springs.”

“It suits me.”

“I figured it would. After all, you named your dog Innocent.” Sage flipped the page and continued, “I went with a different look for the Savannah Soap Company. Clean and natural, feminine but not frilly.”

“Simple. I love it, too, Sage.” The artist had taken her vague ideas and created something special and unique. Excitement swelled inside Savannah. After months—actually years—of planning, her dream was about to come true. “Again, I can’t thank you enough. These are
wonderful, and you are wonderful, and your husband is wonderful. Your baby and dog are wonderful. Eternity Springs is the most wonderful place in the world.”

Laughing, Sage said, “Tell me what you really think.”

Savannah gave a bashful smile. “A little over the top, hmm?”

“Maybe a little. That’s okay, though. We are pretty wonderful, if I say so myself.” Sage glanced around the room and added, “Speaking of wonderful, I love the colors you’ve chosen to represent your business. Peach is so warm and inviting—it looks great on the walls. The complementary shade of blue you’ve used is the perfect accent color. With the fresh scents … I predict that people will come into your shop and linger. And buy.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you think so. That’s the idea.” Savannah couldn’t contain her enthusiasm as she outlined her plans for the store. “The entire downstairs will be open to the public. Most of my space will be devoted to the mail order portion of the business, since that’s where I’ll have most of my sales, but I’m not going to segregate the two aspects. I want retail customers to be aware of the mail order operation.”

Sage nodded thoughtfully. “For repeat business. The tourist who purchases your bath soap while on vacation and falls in love with it at home will know it’s easy to replenish her stock.”

“That’s the idea.”

“An excellent one. How do you intend to set up your displays?”

“I’m going to keep the look and feel of a residence, with home products displayed inside the home. I’m in the market for Victorian antiques, so if you know of a source …”