Shiver(35)
Tern entered the room, sucking in her breath when she recognized Aidan. “You have a lot of balls showing up here.” She swivelled toward Raven and demanded, “What the hell are you doing with him?”
“Didn’t Mom call you?” She really didn’t want to go into explanations.
“Yeah, but it was busy so I let her call go to voicemail.”
“Great.” Raven sighed. “Earl’s dead. Aidan returned to take care of his things, stepped into a bear trap, Fox saved his life, we’re here seeing the doctor.”
“Hey ya, Tern. It’s really good to see you too.” Aidan pointed to Tern’s hair. “I like the red. Very becoming.”
Tern frowned and looked from Aidan to Raven. “Can I talk to you please? Alone.” Tern grabbed Raven’s arm and pulled her out of the storeroom, across the sales floor, and right out of the building to the parking lot. She must have been steaming, because she marched to the back of the Suburban without stopping for a coat. her only protection against the cold was a thin silk teal blouse. A very good color for her, which complemented her plum skirt and black killer knee-high boots.
“What are you doing with him?” she asked, grabbing one of the boxes.
“Your brother’s fault.” Raven picked up another box, explaining how she’d come to town with Aidan in tow, as they returned to the storeroom.
Aidan was still sitting where she’d left him, but he was holding a tea pot in his hand. “This is beautiful, Raven. You made this?”
“Of course she did,” Tern said. “She’s an artist.” Tern went to grab it from his hands, but Aidan pulled back, holding the tea pot next to his chest.
“No, I want this.”
“What?” Raven asked.
“I want to buy it.”
“You can’t buy it.”
“Why not? Isn’t it for sale? Aren’t these all for sale?”
“Y-yes,” she sputtered. But she didn’t want Aidan buying her tea pot. She loved to make tea pots, but they were labor intensive. A lot of time and energy, thought and love went into each one. This particular one was a favorite. The glaze had turned out exceptionally well, running into greens and purples over a midnight blue base. To her it was like the dancing of the Northern Lights.
“Then I want to buy it.” He leaned over, looking through the items in the box. “Do you have any mugs that go with it?”
She did, but didn’t want to say so. The thought of Aidan drinking out of one of her mugs, making tea in her tea pot when he left here and returned home, disturbed her.
Tern, always willing to make a sale, rummaged through the box and produced the four matching mugs.
“I just need the one. There’s only me.”
“Sorry, they come as a set,” Tern said. “If you want one, you’ll have to buy all four.”
That wasn’t true. Each mug was individually priced, and Raven bet Aidan knew it.
“Done.” He pulled out his wallet. “Can you wrap them up for me?”
“Of course.” Tern took his credit card and the tea pot. “Want to grab those mugs for me, Raven?” While it was a question, Tern wasn’t excepting an answer.
Raven gave Aidan a confused look before she gathered up the mugs and followed her sister to the counter to wrap them up.
“At least you got a great sale out of taking him to the doctor.” Tern nudged her with an elbow. “More than covered your time and gas money.”
Raven didn’t like it when she saw the total Tern had rung up. “Give him the friends and family discount for buying the set.”
“Really?” Tern cocked a perfectly shaped brow. “You didn’t want to sell them to him in the first place.”
“Make it right.”
Tern sighed. “Fine. I really hate that good-girl streak of yours.” She prepared a new sales slip for Aidan. “Happy with that?”
No. She wasn’t. She still had a problem with Aidan drinking tea from something she’d made. His mouth sipping from the rim she’d carefully molded, taking care to make sure it was smooth and comfortable against the lips.
The bell on the door dinged as a customer entered the store. “Here—” Tern handed her the sales slip, “—get him to sign this, and I’ll finish wrapping his items.”
Raven took Aidan’s credit card and the sales slip into the backroom. In her absence, he had proceeded to unpack the rest of the boxes. Her pottery was all lined up on the table. Pitchers, pie plates, casserole dishes, bowls, platters, mugs, and another tea pot. “What are you doing?”
“You made all of these?” He looked at her, amazement reflected in his eyes.