Carolina Moon

dear!”
    She snatched the oil lamp Tory had just placed on the shelf. “I just love things that sit around the house. Dust catchers, Dwight calls them, but it’s those touches that make a home, isn’t it?”
    Tory took a deep breath. Just one more of those annoying traits was Lissy’s habit of turning every sentence into an exclamation. “Yes, I think so. If dust doesn’t have someplace to catch, it’ll just fall on an empty table.”
    “Why, that’s so true!” Discreetly, Lissy turned the price tag over, then rounded her mouth into an O of surprise. “My, it’s dear, isn’t it?”
    “It’s handcrafted and signed,” Tory began, but Faith rolled right over her.
    “You get what you pay for, don’t you, Lissy? And Dwight makes enough to indulge you, especially since you’re about to pop with another baby. I swear if I ever carried a weight around for nine months, the man who planted it there would have to buy me the moon and the stars.”
    Not entirely sure if she was being complimented or insulted, Lissy frowned. “Dwight just spoils me rotten.”
    “‘Course he does. I just bought me these earrings.” She gave the one still in her ear a spin with a fingertip. “And a pendant, too. Tory’s giving me a little jump on her Saturday opening.”
    “Really?” Lissy’s eyes went sharp and narrow.
    As Faith knew, she wasn’t one to tolerate anyone getting ahead of her. She clutched the lamp greedily to her breasts. “Tory, you just have to let me have this now. My heart’s just set on it. I don’t know if I can get in here first thing on Saturday, and somebody else might snap it up. Be a doll, won’t you, and let me buy it today?”
    Tory circled Faith’s total so that she could begin calculating. “It’ll have to be cash or check, Lissy. I’m not set up for credit cards today. But I’d be happy to set it aside for you if—”
    “No, no, I can write you a check. Maybe, since I’m here and all, I could just poke about for a bit? It’s just like playing store.”
    “Yeah.” Tory took the lamp, set it on the counter.
    It looked like she was open for business after all.
    “Oh! Are these mirrors for sale?”
    “Everything’s for sale.” Tory got a small navy blue box from under the counter, placed Faith’s earrings inside. “I’m going to put the artist’s card in with your old earrings.”
    “Fine. You don’t have to thank me,” she added under her breath.
    “I’m debating whether you did it to be helpful or to irritate me,” Tory said equably. “Or irritate her. But…” She noted down the price of the lamp. “A sale’s a sale, so I will thank you. You knew just which button to push.”
    “On that one?” Faith glanced over to where Lissy was oohing and aahing and chattering. “She’s as simple as they come.”
    “She buys one of those mirrors, and she can be my new best friend.”
    “Well, I like that.” Enjoying herself more than she’d imagined, Faith pulled out her checkbook. “I get shoved aside, and after I gave you your first sale, too.”
    “I just have to have this mirror, Tory. The oval one with the lilies going up the side. I’ve just never seen anything like it. It’ll look so sweet in my little sitting room.”
    Tory’s eyes met Faith’s over the counter, gleamed. “Sorry, she just outbought you.” To Lissy, she called out, “I’ll get the box out of the back room.”
    “I appreciate that. I swear there’s just so much to choose from already, and I guess you’re not half set up. I was telling Dwight just the other night that I don’t see where you find the time. Between moving into the house, setting things up here, handling deliveries, and spending evenings with Cade, you must’ve found yourself a twenty-six-hour day.”
    “Cade?”
    The name popped simultaneously from Tory’s and Faith’s lips.
    “That man moved faster than I gave him credit for.” Lissy wandered back. “I have to say, I never pictured the two of you together, as a couple. But you know what they say about still waters.”
    “Yes. No.” Tory held up a hand. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Cade and I aren’t together.”
    “Oh, there’s no need to be coy when it’s just us girls. Dwight told me all about it, explained you’d probably want to keep it quiet awhile. I haven’t told a soul, don’t you worry.”
    “There’s nothing to tell. Absolutely nothing to tell. We just…” She saw two pair of eyes sharpen, and felt her tongue go