Free Falling for Owen by Jennifer Ryan Page A

girls can be very distracting.”
    “That’s for sure.”
    “Next time you go in, take a look around. Everything in the shop is observed, down to the tiniest detail. As a whole, you don’t notice all the little things about the shop, but look closer and there are surprises here and there. It’s a treasure trove of things you don’t know you need or want until you see them.
    “I’ve been in the store a few times and discovered one gift or another that was just perfect for a friend’s birthday, wedding, or a get-well present. At Christmas it’s not uncommon to see ladies sipping tea and filling out their Christmas cards from the lovely selection of cards and handmade paper she sells.”
    “It isn’t just one shop, it’s several little ones tucked inside that building. She gives people a place to gather, talk, read, write a letter, buy a gift, and share a meal.” Owen summed up Janine’s observations and thought he understood Claire a bit better. She may have kept to herself over the last year, but she’d made a place for people to come and gather around her.
    “Ask me, she’s looking for friends. She keeps herself apart while drawing people to her. She still doesn’t feel quite a part of this community, but she’s getting there. Meeting you, being a part of your life and the vast number of people you know in this town will anchor her here even more, if that is what you want.”
    “She hasn’t decided to stay. That’s why she’s quiet and distant. She’s afraid people won’t accept her.”
    “This town is growing, but it still has a small-town mentality. They don’t know her people back to her great-greats. Word will spread about what happened last night and that you brought her home from the hospital. People will talk. If you start seeing her, they’ll talk more.”
    “I dropped her off at work. You’d think I walked her down the aisle.”
    Janine laughed. “Small towns.”
    “I don’t know what to do.”
    “Ask Brody. He’s got a couple of little girls. I’m sure he can fill you in on the mechanics.”
    She said it with a straight face, which only made it all the more funny. He busted up laughing, realizing she’d done it on purpose to make him relax and stop being so serious. After the night he had, the lost hours of sleep, he needed the levity.
    “Watch it, or I may just have to show you my moves to prove to you I know exactly what I’m doing.”
    “Not before I sue your ass for sexual harassment. I’ve seen the way you look at me,” she teased.
    “You’d lose. I’ve seen the way you stare at my ass every time I walk past your desk.”
    “You’ve got a great ass.”
    Unable to help himself, he laughed again. “I have work to do.”
    “I checked in with the sheriff’s office. They still have no leads on Dale’s whereabouts.”
    “He’s probably holed up in some dive motel outside of town with a bottle and a prostitute.”
    “What Shannon ever saw in him.”
    “People aren’t always who we think they are when we first meet them. Sometimes they change over time. Or maybe it’s they can’t hide who they truly are forever.”
    He thought of Claire’s asshole ex.
    “Let’s hope Shannon has wised up.”
    “Keep checking in with the cops about Dale.”
    “I will. I’ll check on Claire at lunch.”
    “Thanks. Do you have the number for Madeira’s?”
    She clicked a few keys on her keyboard and wrote the number on a sticky note. She held it up to him, but didn’t let him take it. “Hot date.”
    “First date of many.”
    She handed him the slip of paper. “Good answer.”

 
    Chapter Eleven
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    C LAIRE WIPED THE counter down. Her last customer left ten minutes ago. The store hadn’t been this busy since last Christmas. Gayle stayed an extra hour to help her with folks who came in for a light dinner or dessert and coffee. Many bought books. Others bought some of the new collectibles she’d ordered and stocked on the shelves this afternoon. Pleased with the day,