Carolina Moon

artist lives outside of Charleston. She does beautiful work.”
    As Faith walked to a trio of mirrors framed in bronze and copper, Tory slipped a long pendant out of the case. Why make one sale if you could make two? “This is one of my favorite pieces of hers. It’d go well with those.”
    Trying not to be overly interested, Faith glanced down. The pendant was a thick barrel of lapis clasped in silver hands. “Unusual.” She switched her earrings for the new ones, then gave in and took the necklace. “You won’t see this walking back at you down the street.”
    “No.” Tory allowed herself a smile. “I plan to offer the unique.”
    “I suppose I should have both. Haven’t treated myself in ages. Seems like everything you see around Progress is the same as the other.”
    Quietly, Tory closed the top of the display. “Not anymore.”
    Lips pursed, Faith swiveled the chain around to look at the tag. “Some people will say you’re outpricing yourself.” She skimmed her finger down the chain as she looked back at Tory. “They’d be wrong. This is fair enough. Fact is, you could charge more if you were in Charleston.”
    “But I’m not. I’ll get your boxes.”
    “Don’t bother, I’ll just wear them out.” She opened her purse, dropped her other earrings carelessly inside. “You just cut the tags off for me, and ring it up.”
    “Add it up,” Tory corrected. “I don’t have the cash register set up yet.”
    “Whatever.” She slipped off the necklace, the tagged earring. “I’ll write you a check.” Faith lifted her eyebrows when Tory held out a hand. “I can’t write it until you give me the total.”
    “No, give me your other earrings. That’s no way to treat them. I’ll give you a box.”
    With a short laugh, Faith dug them out again. “All right, little mother.”
    Sex and shopping, Faith thought, as she wandered again. There couldn’t be a better way to spend the day. And from the looks of things she could spend a lot of pleasant time in Tory’s shop.
    Who’d have thought little, spook-eyed Tory Bodeen would grow into such fine taste? And learn how to use it so cleverly.
    It must’ve been a powerful lot of work to hunt up the right things, to find the people who made those things, to calculate what to charge for them, to design the space to display them.
    Likely more to it than that, Faith mused. Bookkeeping and that kind of nasty thing.
    She found herself impressed, and a little envious, by the idea of having the gumption and the skill to create a business from nothing.
    Not that she’d want any part of such an undertaking, and all that responsibility, herself. A shop like this would tie you down tighter than a coil of hemp. But wasn’t it nice the shop was so convenient to Wade? Maybe life in Progress was about to pick up for a while.
    “You ought to tip this bowl up on a stand.” She stopped, tipped the big serving bowl herself. “So people can see the inside design from across the room.”
    Tory had intended to, once she’d unpacked her stands. Adding figures, she barely glanced up. “Want a job? I’ve got your total here, tax included, but you should check my math.”
    “You always got better grades there than I did.” She started over, and the shop door opened. Faith would have sworn she heard Tory groan.
    Lissy’s squeal was, in Tory’s opinion, only one of her annoying habits. Among the others were her tendency to douse herself in a lily-of-the-valley scent that entered the room before she did, and remained in it long after she’d left.
    As both the scent and the squeal entered her shop, Tory gritted her teeth in what she hoped would be mistaken for a smile.
    “Oh, isn’t this fun! I just got my hair done and was walking on down to the office when I saw y’all in here.”
    As Lissy clapped her hands together and took a turn around, Tory shot Faith a single, deadly look. It was answered by a lightning grin of perfect understanding, and a coy flutter of lashes.
    “I happened along just after Tory’s sign was finished.”
    “And it looks just fine, too. Everything’s coming right along, isn’t it?” With one hand on the weight of her belly, Lissy turned back to scan the shelves. “It’s all looking so pretty, Tory. Why, you must’ve worked like six mules to get so much done in so little time. And didn’t my Dwight do a fine job.”
    “Yes, I couldn’t be happier with the work.”
    “‘Course not. He’s the best there is. Oh, isn’t this