both, but it seemed to Laura that it came back and settled on her, lingering over her dress. She was convinced that he'd been expecting to greet two clodhoppers in overalls and carrying pitchforks.
He came around to the front of his desk to shake their hands. Laura, who had scrubbed her nails during her shower until her skin hurt, was caught and held in his warm, callused grasp. Again she was surprised: he had the grip of a lumberjack.
"Have a seat," he said to her, snatching up the navy blazer that had been thrown across the chair nearest his desk. "The air-conditioning's on the fritz again. Historic building, lousy systems," he explained. "It's like a sauna in here, I know; sorry about that."
Laura was glad to hear that she wasn't the only one feeling the heat.
Nerdy, geeky, skinny Kendall Barclay. What happened? From his squared jaw to his broad, easy grin, he was nothing—nothing!—like the kid who'd gone to her school. She had to force herself not to stare at the new and improved version of him, so she glanced around the room as if she were considering making an offer on its contents, leaving her sister to open with whatever small talk she could scrape together.
In a scarily eager voice, Corinne said, "Y'know ... I remember back when the o utside of the bank was mustard- colored! But ... I like the red much better!"
"Thanks for your vote," Barclay said amiably. "After my father died and I took over his desk, I thought it would be useful to do something dramatic—but not too dramatic—to announce it. A color change was all I dared," he added with a wry smile. "I dropped the idea of building a new facility; Chepaquit would never have stood for it. Hence today's sauna."
"Oh, that's all right; we'd rather sweat buckets and have our old bank," Corinne quipped, and then slapped her hand over her mouth, obviously afraid that she'd already said something wrong.
Still smiling, Barclay said smoothly, "I assume that you'd like to keep things just the way they are, as well. Keep the nursery a nursery, in other words."
"Yes! And we're doing that, only better. You should see the main shop now. Laura has a real gift. She just ... well! If you could just see ... it's nothing like ... everywhere you look, it's just so really, really ... full," she said, slowing down but nowhere near a halt. "We've never looked like that before. Ever! I don't know why. Maybe because we were there so long and couldn't really step back and see. Because you have to have a fresh eye, and Laura went off—I mean, she didn't really run off, that's not what I meant, it's more like she just moved—and when she came back, well, she just had a really, really ... fresh ... eye."
She looked ready to burst into tears.
Yikes.
"What I think my sister recognizes is that my brother and I have brought a huge amount of enthusiasm with us to revitalize the nursery," Laura said in a monumental lie. "We have an excellent facility, a perfect location, and we're a brand name in the area." (They were more like a branded name, but never mind.) "All Shore Gardens really needs," she said, "is some simple updating. And then it'll be a landmark facility."
"It's interesting to hear you say that. I've been wondering what would happen now that Mr. Shore has ... passed on," Barclay said, using the old-fashioned phrase.
It annoyed Laura. Did he think they didn't understand that all living things died? They worked in a nursery, for crying out loud. They could handle the word "die."
Turning to Corinne, he said, "I thought maybe you'd be feeling overwhelmed, having so much responsibility now. I didn't realize that your brother and your sister were both returning to help you run the business."
Back to Laura he came, with brows upraised in mild query.
Ah, shit . Was he just calling her bluff?
"Well, we're here for the foreseeable future, anyway," she said pleasantly. A month was foreseeable enough for her.
She was impatient with their back-and-forthing. If Kendall Barclay
He came around to the front of his desk to shake their hands. Laura, who had scrubbed her nails during her shower until her skin hurt, was caught and held in his warm, callused grasp. Again she was surprised: he had the grip of a lumberjack.
"Have a seat," he said to her, snatching up the navy blazer that had been thrown across the chair nearest his desk. "The air-conditioning's on the fritz again. Historic building, lousy systems," he explained. "It's like a sauna in here, I know; sorry about that."
Laura was glad to hear that she wasn't the only one feeling the heat.
Nerdy, geeky, skinny Kendall Barclay. What happened? From his squared jaw to his broad, easy grin, he was nothing—nothing!—like the kid who'd gone to her school. She had to force herself not to stare at the new and improved version of him, so she glanced around the room as if she were considering making an offer on its contents, leaving her sister to open with whatever small talk she could scrape together.
In a scarily eager voice, Corinne said, "Y'know ... I remember back when the o utside of the bank was mustard- colored! But ... I like the red much better!"
"Thanks for your vote," Barclay said amiably. "After my father died and I took over his desk, I thought it would be useful to do something dramatic—but not too dramatic—to announce it. A color change was all I dared," he added with a wry smile. "I dropped the idea of building a new facility; Chepaquit would never have stood for it. Hence today's sauna."
"Oh, that's all right; we'd rather sweat buckets and have our old bank," Corinne quipped, and then slapped her hand over her mouth, obviously afraid that she'd already said something wrong.
Still smiling, Barclay said smoothly, "I assume that you'd like to keep things just the way they are, as well. Keep the nursery a nursery, in other words."
"Yes! And we're doing that, only better. You should see the main shop now. Laura has a real gift. She just ... well! If you could just see ... it's nothing like ... everywhere you look, it's just so really, really ... full," she said, slowing down but nowhere near a halt. "We've never looked like that before. Ever! I don't know why. Maybe because we were there so long and couldn't really step back and see. Because you have to have a fresh eye, and Laura went off—I mean, she didn't really run off, that's not what I meant, it's more like she just moved—and when she came back, well, she just had a really, really ... fresh ... eye."
She looked ready to burst into tears.
Yikes.
"What I think my sister recognizes is that my brother and I have brought a huge amount of enthusiasm with us to revitalize the nursery," Laura said in a monumental lie. "We have an excellent facility, a perfect location, and we're a brand name in the area." (They were more like a branded name, but never mind.) "All Shore Gardens really needs," she said, "is some simple updating. And then it'll be a landmark facility."
"It's interesting to hear you say that. I've been wondering what would happen now that Mr. Shore has ... passed on," Barclay said, using the old-fashioned phrase.
It annoyed Laura. Did he think they didn't understand that all living things died? They worked in a nursery, for crying out loud. They could handle the word "die."
Turning to Corinne, he said, "I thought maybe you'd be feeling overwhelmed, having so much responsibility now. I didn't realize that your brother and your sister were both returning to help you run the business."
Back to Laura he came, with brows upraised in mild query.
Ah, shit . Was he just calling her bluff?
"Well, we're here for the foreseeable future, anyway," she said pleasantly. A month was foreseeable enough for her.
She was impatient with their back-and-forthing. If Kendall Barclay
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