Page 40 of Tangled Memories
Liane frowned. “What price would that be?”
“Sell two items for the price of one. Makes shoppers feel like they’re getting something for free.”
The child brightened. “I think I’ll sell everything in twofers.” She glanced around at the still empty aisles. “Now, if customers would just come!”
“They will,” Stormy replied with more hope than certainty in her voice.
Down the aisles, other vendors were setting up displays. Nearby, an old radio played a lively country-western tune.
The early-morning fog had dissipated, revealing a clear blue sky that promised a soft spring day—not too hot, not too cold—just right for a trip to the flea market.
The food kiosks were gearing up. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted in the air.
Stormy felt a thread of anticipation coiling deep within her.This has got to work, she prayed silently.It has got to.
The smell of coffee lured her. In the bustle of loading the car, she’d forgotten their bagged lunches and thermos. “Listen, sweetheart, I’m going to get us something to drink. You stay put.”
“Suppose somebody wants to buy something?”
“Sell it to them. Everything is marked…see?” She lifted the floppy ear of a rabbit and pointed out the gummed tag. “You’ll be all right, sweetie.” She pointed to the food kiosk. “I’m just going over there. I won’t be out of sight. Back in a flash.”
She was as good as her word. On the return down the aisle, she could not keep from admiring her table as she approached it. Shoppers, she decided, would not be able to pass it by. And once they noted the prices, surely they’d make a purchase.
Two heads bobbed at the end of the table. Stormy grinned. Liane was making her first sale.
But then the shopper rose up oft bended knee.
Tyler!
A sudden weakness in her knees sideswiped Stormy’s balance. She hesitated a moment. Joy and dismay collided within her, the contradictory feelings seeming to declare war inside her.
As if he had an antenna tuned to her arrival, Tyler lifted his gaze and stared at her gravely, feasting his eyes on her as a sailor long at sea might gaze at land on the horizon. He seemed to take pleasure in watching her approach.
His eyes, though subtly, took her in from her held-high neck to her sandal-enclosed feet.
“You look…healthy,” Tyler said. “Been getting your daily sun, I see.”
Stormy couldn’t keep from smiling. Not a single ornery epithet found its way to her mind or tongue.
Carefully, so as not to spill her coffee, she gestured toward the display, reaching for composure in her most nonchalant voice. “Well, what do you think?”
“That was a mean thing you did.”
Stormy was nonplussed. “What?”
“Going off and leaving me sleeping in my car on a strange road. You could’ve had the courtesy to wake me.”
“Oh. I do feel bad about that.” Stormy’s pseudo irritation was her only defense against the emotions coursing through her. Some livethinghad broken free and begun to pound violently in her rib cage.
Tyler seemed to notice her unease. “Inconsiderate behavior like that is never without its day of reckoning, you know.”
“Oh? And what do you call your behavior? You went away without so much as a by-your-leave.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you missed having me around?”
“Goodness, no. But if your investigation is finished, I’d like to know it.” She opened the carton of milk and gave it to Liane.
“Tyler thinks I ought to sell my stuff for more money. Twofera dollar instead of a quarter,” Liane said.