Promises Under the Peach Tree (Harlequin Superromance) by Joanne Rock Page B
Authors: Joanne Rock
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when Nina lived in town.
“Unofficially? Yes, he comes in and helps with deliveries now and again.” Bethany’s posture turned stiff and she crossed her arms. “But he hasn’t collected a paycheck in years. The owners of the company—Scott and his siblings—only make money if the business realizes a profit, so you can bet I’m motivated to see that we operate in the black. Since I left teaching, the store is our only source of income.”
“You’re obviously doing an incredible job. I wish I had half your business smarts. Maybe I’d still have a bakery business.”
“Well, thank you.” Bethany gave a clipped nod while twisting the antenna on her walkie-talkie. “I appreciate that. I did have a lot of help from Scott when I was starting out. He taught me so much in the early years about what makes a successful business. Although, if I had it to do over again, I don’t think I would have chosen to run a hardware store.”
Nina couldn’t miss the wistful note in her voice.
“If Scott came back to the store, you could open a business of your own.” She remembered the thrill of those early days at Cupcake Romance, setting up all the social-media sites and deciding how the logo should look. Every day had been a new challenge and she’d worked from sunup to midnight for months straight, running on adrenaline and enthusiasm, utterly invested in her dream.
“That would be...amazing.” Bethany came close to smiling. “Amazing but impossible.”
Nina wanted to ask why, but maybe the problems in their marriage were too deep for Bethany to contemplate making any other changes in her life right now. It was a shame that she had worked so hard toward her husband’s dream while the whole Finley family benefitted and she grew resentful.
“Well, I won’t press you about it. But I’ll bet your husband would come back to the store if you chose to do something else. I remember him being here all the time when I was younger. He’s such a hard worker.” Nina had admired that in the whole Finley family. She and Mack had served on student government together long before the days when he’d helped Nina pick peaches for her grandmother’s homemade jam. Mack and Scott both took after their father, a man who had run a business before he ran the town. Their sisters also owned a business, a second-hand boutique in town, turning their love of flea market shopping into a money-making venture.
There was no stopping the Finleys.
Bethany’s smile was tight. “And he still works hard. He helps anyone in town who’s building a house, for example, giving out advice for free that used to be part of the contracting side of the business.” She shrugged. “Between you and me, I think Scott’s been lobbying for that mayor job since the day his father started to cut his hours at the county courthouse.”
Nina’s vision of Scott shifted as she tried to picture the arrangement in their household. Bethany worked twice as hard to get Scott to notice her contribution. Meanwhile Scott seemed content to let her so he could do good works.
“Sounds like being the perfect couple is taking a toll,” Nina said before she edited it in her mind. Crap. “Sorry. What I mean is that you two are both working so hard, making a positive difference in the community. But when you’re striving in opposite directions, it must be hard to reconnect.”
She knew she was oversimplifying. Yet she felt compelled to point out something positive about their relationship. Scott and Bethany weren’t the kind of people who should split up. They had always been such a force to be reckoned with, organizing family reunions or fun-runs to raise money for local families who fell on hard times.
“I’m sure it would be difficult—if we tried. ” Bethany’s voice broke, a small sob escaping. “But when we don’t try, of course, it’s totally impossible.” She clamped her lips shut as if to hold back another outburst. Then she stuffed a big bite of
“Unofficially? Yes, he comes in and helps with deliveries now and again.” Bethany’s posture turned stiff and she crossed her arms. “But he hasn’t collected a paycheck in years. The owners of the company—Scott and his siblings—only make money if the business realizes a profit, so you can bet I’m motivated to see that we operate in the black. Since I left teaching, the store is our only source of income.”
“You’re obviously doing an incredible job. I wish I had half your business smarts. Maybe I’d still have a bakery business.”
“Well, thank you.” Bethany gave a clipped nod while twisting the antenna on her walkie-talkie. “I appreciate that. I did have a lot of help from Scott when I was starting out. He taught me so much in the early years about what makes a successful business. Although, if I had it to do over again, I don’t think I would have chosen to run a hardware store.”
Nina couldn’t miss the wistful note in her voice.
“If Scott came back to the store, you could open a business of your own.” She remembered the thrill of those early days at Cupcake Romance, setting up all the social-media sites and deciding how the logo should look. Every day had been a new challenge and she’d worked from sunup to midnight for months straight, running on adrenaline and enthusiasm, utterly invested in her dream.
“That would be...amazing.” Bethany came close to smiling. “Amazing but impossible.”
Nina wanted to ask why, but maybe the problems in their marriage were too deep for Bethany to contemplate making any other changes in her life right now. It was a shame that she had worked so hard toward her husband’s dream while the whole Finley family benefitted and she grew resentful.
“Well, I won’t press you about it. But I’ll bet your husband would come back to the store if you chose to do something else. I remember him being here all the time when I was younger. He’s such a hard worker.” Nina had admired that in the whole Finley family. She and Mack had served on student government together long before the days when he’d helped Nina pick peaches for her grandmother’s homemade jam. Mack and Scott both took after their father, a man who had run a business before he ran the town. Their sisters also owned a business, a second-hand boutique in town, turning their love of flea market shopping into a money-making venture.
There was no stopping the Finleys.
Bethany’s smile was tight. “And he still works hard. He helps anyone in town who’s building a house, for example, giving out advice for free that used to be part of the contracting side of the business.” She shrugged. “Between you and me, I think Scott’s been lobbying for that mayor job since the day his father started to cut his hours at the county courthouse.”
Nina’s vision of Scott shifted as she tried to picture the arrangement in their household. Bethany worked twice as hard to get Scott to notice her contribution. Meanwhile Scott seemed content to let her so he could do good works.
“Sounds like being the perfect couple is taking a toll,” Nina said before she edited it in her mind. Crap. “Sorry. What I mean is that you two are both working so hard, making a positive difference in the community. But when you’re striving in opposite directions, it must be hard to reconnect.”
She knew she was oversimplifying. Yet she felt compelled to point out something positive about their relationship. Scott and Bethany weren’t the kind of people who should split up. They had always been such a force to be reckoned with, organizing family reunions or fun-runs to raise money for local families who fell on hard times.
“I’m sure it would be difficult—if we tried. ” Bethany’s voice broke, a small sob escaping. “But when we don’t try, of course, it’s totally impossible.” She clamped her lips shut as if to hold back another outburst. Then she stuffed a big bite of
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