The Love Knot (3 page)

“I will. I . . . overheard her talking with her mother several weeks ago. I have an . . . she’s coming back. So, what kind of progress have you made with the store’s interior?” Jeff asked, sitting back.

“Quite a bit, actually. Claire has an eye for design and she picked out some paint colors that complement each other well. She’s hired a muralist from the university, who’s  painting several crafting scenes on two walls inside. We’ve ordered shelves, lined baskets –
 
which I think were a stroke of genius – and the stock of supplies. Claire, there’s light at the end of the tunnel!”

Claire smiled with excitement as she sat back in the booth. “Thanks, dad. The store is really starting to shape up. I’ll be starting to interview a manager and assistant manager tomorrow and I’d like to have them hired next week, so they can help me interview cashiers and stockers. I want to start small and hire, maybe, four of each –
 
I don’t want to run out of funds.”

“About that, Claire – you’re doing very well on money. Hire as many staff as you need. I get the feeling The Love Knot is going to take hold quickly,” Jeff said with an encouraging smile.

One month later

Claire moved through the crowded store, giving quiet directions to her new staff. She smiled, no longer feeling the exhaustion as she saw her new customers filling baskets and carts with patterns, yarn, knitting needles, notions and crochet hooks.

“Excuse me, miss? Will you be having any promotions soon? I’d love to buy, but I’m on a real budget,” said one woman.

“Have you seen our grand opening flier? It lists all the promotions we’re running to celebrate the opening of our store.”

“Oh, no! I hadn’t1 Thank you!” said the woman with a smile.

Claire and her managers answered these and other questions, guiding customers to patterns, yarns and supplies. “If you look at this pattern, you’ll see that you can change up or down in needle size, depending on your swatch gauge,” recommended the manager.

At the end of the day, Claire locked the door once the final customer had left.
             
“Let’s count the day’s sales. Becky, you, Renee and Ann can leave. We’ll see you tomorrow at 9 a.m. Thank you for working so hard!” Claire said.

After the day’s receipts were counted, Claire wrote up a deposit slip and slipped it into the deposit bag, then put the money and bag into the store’s safe.

That weekend, she was busy working with customers when she saw Jeff Travers walk in. Remembering what he had said about being a crocheter, she sent a professional smile to him. “Ma’am, if you’ll excuse me, I have another customer . . . Ann, would you please help Mrs. Lujan?”

Claire walked over to Jeff, who was looking through the stock of crochet hooks. As she neared him, she felt a tingling in her arms and legs. Stop it! He’s only your investment manager!

“Good morning! Are you looking for anything in particular?” she asked Jeff.

“I need several skeins of blue, red and yellow yarns and size H crochet hooks. I can’t find my stitch markers, so I’ll need them as well,” said Jeff with a wide smile.

“I can help you with all of that –
 
here’s a basket. Are you looking for wool or cotton yarn?”

“Wool-blend. They’re going to be gifts. I’m making scarves – whoa, these colors are perfect!” Jeff grabbed two yarn skeins of each color, dropped them into his basket and added a crochet hook and the stitch markers.

Claire showed him pattern booklets, giving scarf instructions. Jeff read through several, then chose two booklets.

“Claire, it looks like you’re doing really well with this. You had a fantastic idea – it seems that crafters can never have too many stores that stock their needs.”

“True. What one store doesn’t have, another store’s likely to stock. That’s my aim, anyway. I want to provide what other stores don’t.”

After assisting Jeff and chatting with him for several minutes, she returned to walking around the store to ensure that her customers were satisfied with their experiences. As she walked, she thought. That wasn’t too hard, talking to . . . Jeff. Maybe all he intended the other night was to make sure that I’m getting enough rest. She jumped when she felt Jeff’s hand on her shoulder.

“Claire, I’d like to sit down with you this evening – to discuss your store’s first week, that’s all. Would you meet me at, oh, International Delights after you close?”

“That’s not until 9 tonight,” she said, gulping and hoping he would give up on his idea.

With his next words, he dashed her one hope. “That’s fine. We can order tea and dessert while we talk. I am your investment manager and I’d like to see how your first week’s receipts are providing a return on your investment.”

Claire looked at him, desperately casting about for a reasonable excuse she could use to get out of his proposed meeting. “Uh.”

“Please. If I see an area where you might be losing money, I can pinpoint that early.”

“Business? Only?” That was all Claire could manage to say.

“Only business. Promise. So, about 9:45 or thereabouts?”

“I guess so,” Claire said with a gusty sigh.

“Claire. I’m not a bad guy. I’ll see you tonight.”

***

Claire eventually got used to having weekly meetings with Jeff to discuss her store’s revenues. Her mother and father occasionally came in to help with customers. On one busy Saturday, Mindy came in and started looking for items to buy. Unaware that Ben was in the back, working on the stock, she looked around at Claire, running from customer to customer.

“Claire, you need a man’s help in here. I’m calling Scott. You need to talk to him.”

Claire’s face went white as she heard her mother’s words. Ben also heard what Mindy said. Raising one finger to let the stocker know he’d be back, he walked out to the sales floor.

“Mindy, go home with me now. Claire, I’ll be back later on.” At home, Ben sat Mindy down. “Melinda, are you aware of exactly why Claire broke up with Scott? Do you know what she found and what it did to her?”

“She said he was messing around on her, Ben. But .  .  .”

“No, Mindy, no ‘buts.‘ That low-life cheated on her. They were supposed to go to a movie and he was supposed to pick her up at her dorm. He didn’t show, so she went to his dorm. Where she found him in bed with, what did she say, ‘one of the university skanks.‘ She realized that the warnings her friends had been giving her were true – that he was in love with her inheritance, not her. It destroyed her. Now, if you decide you STILL want to bring that loser back into her life, tell me right now. Because if you do, I’m history.”

“My God! I didn’t know it was that bad, Ben! I thought they had just had some kind of bad argument and that she decided to keep him out of her life. No wonder. You don’t have to worry –
 
I won’t meddle any more. He’s history. I won’t bring him back here.”

“Good,” Ben said, breathing heavily. “You stay here. I’m going back to help with stocking. The employees are still getting used to their new jobs.”

At Bluestone Travers, Luci called Bobbie.

“Hey, that yarn store is open. I’ve been Googling that woman’s ex-boyfriend and I think I’ve found him. I’m going to call her and bring him back to Las Cruces. He needs to know just what she’s accomplished – you know – for old times‘ sake.”

Bobbie grinned sycophantically. “So, what do you think she’ll do?”

“Heh! She’ll fall apart . . . and so will her lame store! So, that’s what I’ll do. I think I’ve found the right Scott. I’ll call him and let him know that his ‘beloved ex-girlfriend‘ has made a real coup for herself.”

***

Two weeks later, Claire was in the store, feeling good because the employees had found their groove. They were comfortable using the register, working with customers and stocking the store the way Claire wanted it done. Ben and Mindy were there as well. Mindy was stocking up on supplies so she could make gifts for the coming holidays and other celebrations. Claire had just walked with a customer to the cash register when she turned around . . . and saw Scott looking around.

Everything slowed down and all sound ceased. Her breath froze in her lungs and her heart crashed to the floor.

“Well, Claire, it looks like you have made a real success of your store. Would you . . . like to go get some drinks so we could talk . . . about it?” Scott asked.

Claire struggled to find a response. Any response, even if it consisted of one profanity, screamed at top volume. Her body seemed to have lost its skeleton – her parents bumped into her as they raced to place themselves between their daughter and her faithless betrayer. She was unable to move.

“You! You’d better get out of here, you slimy bastard, before I throw you out!” growled Ben. He and Mindy grabbed Scott’s arms, one on each side and propelled him quickly out of the store. The three of them were nearly to the exit when Jeff strolled in. He was intent on asking Claire for her bookkeeping paperwork, so when he saw a tall, thin man being pulled backwards out of the store, he was confused. He followed Ben out of the store.

“Ben, what’s going on?”

“Jeff, meet Scott, the ‘man’ who cheated on my daughter while they were both still university students. I don’t know how he found out that Claire’s got a store – but you can damn sure bet I’d like to find out! Now you! Get the hell out of here and don’t you ever come back!” As Ben finished speaking, he and Mindy both gave him a hearty shove, sending him flying down the walkway.

“Ben, I’ll be right back. I’m going to need the bookkeeping paperwork. I want to take care of this goof first,” Jeff said, following an angry and confused Scott down the walkway just outside the stores in the plaza.

“Hey! You! Come here! I want to talk to you. How’d you find out about Ms. Simms’ store?”

“Uh. I don’t think . . .”

“No, I don’t think you think. That’s right. But you’re gonna tell me. If you know what’s good for you. How and why did you come back to Las Cruces right now?”

Scott looked around, trying to find an avenue of escape. There was none. “Uh. I found out, that’s all.”

“Have you been living in Las Cruces all this time?”

“No, no, man. I’ve been living in Colorado. Vail,” said Scott.

“So, how’d you find out about a fiber craft store opening up in Las Cruces, New Mexico? That little item of news surely didn’t plant itself into the paper up in Vail, now, did it?”

“N-no. I was thinking of her and just wanted to . . .”

“Bullshit. If you’d been thinking of her, you wouldn’t have cheated on her all those years ago. Someone told you about her store
 
– who was it?”

“Okay, okay! Some woman named Luci called me and said I needed to see Claire now that she had opened her own store. She’s lookin’ good!” Scott said with a greedy gleam in his eyes.

“The hell with that! You were willing to string her along because of her coming inheritance. You cheated on her. And now that she’s using that inheritance to build something for herself – you come back? No, no, no. I don’t think so. You destroyed her when she caught you in bed with that girl. What did Luci tell you?”

“Aww, man, I gotta tell you? Come on! I been struggling at Vail to keep a job! All I want’s to make it and she can help me, man! Okay, okay, man! I’ll tell you!” Scott backed up quickly with his hands upraised. “She told me I could wiggle my way back into Claire’s life . . . she’s always been really cute . . .”

“I see where you’re headed . . . as far as you and your greed are concerned, her inheritance is even more cute. You know, the best thing for her is if you were to disappear for good. Leave Las Cruces and don’t ever come back. Now, go.” Jeff stood outside on the hot sidewalk, watching as Scott jogged to a rental car, slipped in and disappeared. Before he drove off, Jeff ran to the car for one last warning – “If you try to come back, you will pay. Your reputation is trashed here. I’ll find out you’ve come back and I’ll help Claire find the best attorney possible to button up her inheritance so you and your kind don’t get your slimy mitts on it. Now, get the hell outta here!” Scott peeled out and left, fast.

Returning to the store, Jeff found Claire, with her parents supporting her. “Ben, I’ll talk to her. Claire, let’s go into your office.”

Jeff slipped a comforting arm around Claire’s shoulders. She was in too much shock to shove his hand off her shoulder. She followed him, walking mechanically.

“Honey, he’s gone. I read him the riot act and he won’t be back. We will have to get legal paperwork in place that keeps pond scum like him from getting to your money. Are you okay?”

Claire heard bits and pieces of Jeff’s words . . . “gone . . . riot act . . . paperwork . . . pond scum . . .”

At the words, “pond scum,” she got an irresistible image of Scott as a tiny tadpole with red hair and she began to giggle. Every time she got control of the giggles, the image came back and she broke out into new giggles.

Jeff, thinking she was dissolving into hysterics, pulled her into his arms. She went easily and her forehead rested on the front of his shoulder. Finally, she stopped giggling, so he pulled back slightly and looked at her – and was caught by the deep blue of her eyes. He felt himself being pulled closer . . . closer to her lips until his lips had covered and caressed her own. He felt her arms go around him as she responded, kissing him
back.