Velvet and Lace(35)

“What was Grandpa like?” Daphne didn’t bring the topic up often, because Grams didn’t like to talk about him much. He had died in the same accident her parents did. They had all been returning from town. Daphne had been with Grams at the grocery store, while her parents and Grandpa had gone to run other errands. Daphne couldn't remember him much, because her parents had just chosen to move back to Ambrosia so that Daphne could grow up in the same small town that they did. They had only been in town for about a week before the accident.

Grams set the dishes down in the soap water and then dried her hands, before she came back to sit at the table.

“Your Grandpa was the love of my life, Magnolia.” She took a deep breath, and Daphne almost regretted asking. She opened her mouth to tell her that she didn’t need to talk about it but her Grams silenced her with a look. “You’re fine. It’s okay. Rick was a very loving man. He worked hard so that I didn’t have to. He loved to dance and have fun. He loved to take care of me and I enjoyed taking care of him.” Her eyes were slightly misty, but the tears never fell.

“Why did you never remarry?” Daphne had wondered that for many years. It wasn’t like there were no men interested. It just seemed that Grams never had any interest in them.

“Do you believe in soul mates, Daphne?” It was rare that Grams used that name for her.

“I’m not sure.”

“I do. And I know Rick was my soul mate. After his accident, I knew that there was never going to be another person who could fill the void that was created. I didn’t want someone to fill that void. I had you to raise and don’t think that that was a bad thing. You helped me get through a rough time. I loved raising you even though the cost was great.” She paused and it seemed like she was trying to keep the tears at bay. Daphne felt her own emotions rise. “I miss him, every day. But I’ve had a good life without any other man. I’m glad for my decision. Why did you ask?” She returned to washing dishes. Daphne knew that doing something as simple as the dishes or laundry had always calmed her grandmother.

“I think I’m in love with Trent. But that doesn’t make sense to me. It’s only been a few weeks. We’ve been on two dates. It feels silly to me.”

“Love is never silly, my dear, nor does it always make sense.” Grams smiled over her shoulder.

Daphne sat for a while, thinking and just listening to the sounds of Grams washing the dishes and the birds chirping outside.

“Why don’t you go lay down for a while? I bet you got dragged out of bed to go to that terrible scene and you’ve had a lot happen since then. Maybe your brain just needs a break. I can wake you up in a few hours.” Grams had finished the dishes and was now leaning up against the counter. Daphne nodded in agreement and headed up the stairs.





Chapter 8



Daphne had just got in her car, when her cell phone rang. She smiled at the name on the screen. “Hey. How is everything going?”

“Hello to you too, beautiful. Everything is wrapping up nicely here. We are putting the last coat of paint on now. You coming by to check on things?” Trent’s voice whispered into her ear. Daphne smiled at how happy he sounded.

It had been about three days since the fire and Trent had been a miracle worker. They had torn up everything that had been damaged and started over. Daphne hadn’t been by the shop yet but Trent wanted her to come make sure everything matched and was okay for her standards.

She pulled the Camaro into the parking lot and was surprised by the change. The parking lot was clear and empty, other than a few trucks she recognized as the crew’s. She couldn’t see any visible smoke damage like she had before. The window had been replaced and the store sign had been hung. “Velvet and Lace: May All Your Fantasies Come True.” Daphne smiled, feeling better than she had in days.

She stepped inside the shop and was instantly greeted by the crew. Owen and Carson were the only two working up front, painting over the sheet rock with the light lavender color she had picked out. The dark, cherry hardwood floor had been restored and there weren’t any more burn marks on the ceiling. It looked like they had cleaned and repainted it.

“You guys do amazing work.” She went over and kissed each man’s cheek, causing them to blush in turn. She didn’t see Trent so she headed back to where the stock room would be and found him sorting through the display boxes. She closed the door to the small room behind her.

“Hey, handsome, what are you doing?”

Trent jerked his head up at her voice, and dropped the box he was holding. “I was getting ready to start putting the displays together. The floor is all done and we can put displays up against the walls that are dry. The other two walls should be dry by tomorrow. So we might be able to have everything up and ready in two days.” He smiled and bent down to kiss her. She easily moved up onto her tip toes to meet his lips. His tongue delved inside and she gave up control to him, loving when he took control.