Page 8 of The Magical Tea Shop
Lydia raised her eyebrows. “Could be a blessing thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Part of the mystique,” said Hazel in a loud whisper.
“Inspired,” said Marjorie. “I like that. I’ll check the historical writings and see what I can find about singing the blessing.”
“Quite curious,” said Lydia, “My niece is special. She might be the very first to ever put the blessing to music. How delightful. Try to remember it, and we can make a recording of it for posterity.”
“I don’t think it’sthatsignificant.”
But the pillars were nodding, beginning to argue as to the best way to record the song she’d made up and whether to write it down as a score or record her singing it. Ivy left them to discuss the history of the blessing and argue about how exactly to set it to music.
She stumbled through her day, bit by bit, the tune floating in and out of her mind, but never enough to be able to share with anyone. By noon she had her second wind, and she’d given up on remembering the song, instead humming favorite show tunes about dreams coming true. Plans to expand her offerings at the tea shop filled her head. She loved the new recipes she’d typed up the night before. By late afternoon she’d prepped for the next day and planned to come in early. As she set up her menu board for Friday, she fretted about how concerned the pillars were with the blessing being sung. She was especially glad she’d said nothing about adding the nutmeg.
Chapter Four
Jaxon packed uphis work. After a full day of perfecting plans for a kitchen remodel, a site visit, explaining to a stubborn client why he couldn’t demolish a weight-bearing wall, and several hours of invoicing, he looked forward to taking a job with an established firm where he’d get to design single-family homes.
Finally, he could leave Hazard in his rearview mirror. What a name for a town! He was beyond ready to relocate to Boston. Serving as Hazard’s tragic figure was demoralizing. All those pitying glances at Leo’s diner, Throckmorton Grocery, Hopewell Nursery. Why did no one expect him to move on with his life?
He’d caught the ill-concealed whispers. “Poor Jaxon, whose wife fell to her death.” Oh sure, the outpouring of sympathy had helped him right after Candace died, but now? It stung. The community viewed him as broken.
He didn’t want to be broken.
The one place he never sensed any pity was the Ivy Way Tea Shop. The lovely owner of the cozy shop made him feel welcome. He’d even started drinking tea just to have an excuse to go in. The scones didn’t hurt a bit either, especially the blueberry ones. Those were the bomb. But the cheerful demeanor of the curvaceous owner was the real draw. He could spend hours basking in her sunny little shop, the focus of her green-eyed gaze.
The only hitch was that Ivette Wayland was a tenant. He needed to stick to business, and he needed to tell her he was selling the property. He’d had a generous offer from Derrick Cross, the managing director of the H.A.S. Homes, a man motivated to buy up property in Hazard, a Boston developer with plans. Money from the sale would fund Jaxon’s move to city life because, let’s face it, Boston would be a great deal more expensive than Hazard. Plus, his new salary would allow him to save enough to build his dream home. He’d improved his designs over the last three years. One day, he’d be able to afford the land where he could build.
For now, he needed to let his tenants know that they would soon have a new landlord. He especially needed to forewarn Ivy, because he knew she struggled to keep her business up and running. New landlords invariably raised the rent.
He’d put together a binder with all the pertinent information for his tenants. His commercial building had just gone into escrow. A few details remained, but he would likely be signing the final paperwork by the end of the month.
Jaxon glanced at the clock. He needed to get to his community baseball game, but he had just enough time to pop into the shop downstairs. Ivy would still be there, tidying up. He was sure of it. He’d often watched her go through the motions of closing while he walked Montgomery around the square. It took a long time for Montgomery to walk all the way around on those short little legs, stopping to sniff and nibble up every dropped crumb from the diner or the bakery.
For now, the pup was settled in his little bed in the corner with his favorite chew toy, a plastic, purple kitten that squeaked every time he bit down. Jaxon had stopped taking him to ballgames. The little troublemaker always managed to wriggle out of his collar and chase the balls, one time tripping a teammate rounding the bases. Roman had sprained his ankle, they’d lost that game, and everyone had blamed Jaxon.
Jaxon headed down the stairs. The afternoon light was just right to allow him to see through the tea shop’s plate glass window. He paused at the sight of Ivette Wayland.
The woman was perfection. Her honey-blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail that bounced with her when she walked. She stepped lightly, almost like she was waltzing while she swept the floor. He bet that she’d be humming a cheerful melody as she worked.
He opened the door she’d not yet locked, in time to catch the last refrain from “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” before she spotted him. She choked, a blush creeping up her face.
“Sorry, I thought you’d hear the chime on your door.”
“Oh, no, that’s Holly’s door. I don’t have a chime.” She tilted her head. “Guess I should get one. Hope I didn’t burst your eardrums with my warbling.”
“Not at all. Listen, do you have a minute? I need to speak to you about some changes.”
Ivy nodded. With a smile, she produced a pot of tea and a large metal tin that she carried out on a pretty tray to the center table, set with two high-back chairs. All the other chairs had been flipped up on the tables. It was almost as if she’d been expecting him.
She sat and began pouring into teacups, so he followed her lead. “Earl Grey, hot?”
“Your favorite.” She gave him a soft smile, and he relaxed. She had that effect, like there wasn’t anywhere he’d rather be. He pulled himself back to what she was saying. “So, I know we need to negotiate a new lease. Business is picking up for me. I expect it’ll improve significantly by the end of the month.”
Her hands moved swiftly and dropped below the table edge. Jaxon blinked. Had she just crossed her fingers? But when he looked again, she was sweetening his tea with two sugars just how he liked it and setting a white-on-white Lenox teacup in front of him. “I know you’ll need to raise the rent, the way everything else is going up these days, and I don’t mind.” She grimaced a little before her expression smoothed.
Clearly she did mind, but this conversation needed to go in another direction. It was only right. “About that.” Jaxon drew in a breath. Ivy smiled, and Jaxon forgot what he meant to say. Ivy took a delicate sip from her own cup. Jaxon’s eyes landed on her delicate hands, her fingernails painted the palest shade of pink.