Chapter Four

      “No,” Gina said firmly. She was standing on a ladder, tacking up bunches of dried flowers over the cash register. Josh sneezed.

      “You really should take an allergy pill whenever you decide you’re going to stop by and be a nuisance,” she said as she climbed down from the ladder. She had discarded this morning’s smock and put on a short, sleeveless ribbed top. It fit so snugly that he could see her nipples through her bra.

      “You’re right,” he said, unable to tear his eyes away. When he did, they aimed themselves downward and focused on the strip of skin between the top and her jeans. Her belly button showed, a sweet little dimple that put him in mind of intimacies that the two of them had never shared.

      She folded the ladder and shoved it behind a tall screen covered in burlap. Sprigs of various dried herbs were pinned to the screen, all tied up in bright scraps of ribbon. Gina had an artistic bent; he could tell from the way she’d decorated her store. She had draped lace fabric across shelves and scrunched it up to make display places for packages of herbs, and here and there he saw several other original touches.

      A customer walked up to the counter and set several small paper and plastic bags of herbs that she’d selected from bins set into old wine casks arrayed along the side wall. “Hello, Gina. I’m on my monthly run over from St. Helena to stock up on my favorites.”

      “Did your mother try brewing the chamomile tea you took home last month?” Gina asked.

      “Yes, and she’s sleeping much better, thanks.”

      “Wow, Tori, that’s great. Tell her I said hello.”

      “I will.”

      Gina rang the transaction up on the cash register and put all the bags into a larger one with a handle for carrying. During the few minutes it took, Tori looked him over with more than a little curiosity. Josh was sure she recognized him from the TV show—who didn’t? He tried to downplay his presence by wandering off to study a row of cookbooks.

      “I’ll see you next month, Tori,” Gina said as she handed her customer the bag.

      “Oh, I wouldn’t miss my visit to Good Thymes for the world,” Tori said. With a last lingering look at Josh’s back, she left.

      “People don’t want to let the Mr. Moneybags show die,” Josh observed to Gina as her customer’s big SUV jolted out of the parking lot.

      “I certainly do,” Gina said as she began to tick numbers off on a list.

      “Was the experience so bad?” he asked. A shaft of sunlight penetrated the filmy curtain on the nearby window, sparking silvery highlights in Gina’s hair. She wore it combed to one side, and she had braided a small strand and tucked the braid up with the help of a small daisy. The effect was enchanting.

      “I don’t see any need to rehash what happened.” Her head remained bowed over her list.

      “That’s fine. We should pick up where we left off and forget about the past.”

      “Mmm,” Gina said, clearly not paying attention.

      That Gina could ignore his heartfelt friendship and his wish to let bygones be bygones irked him. At the same time he realized that this could be the opportunity he’d been waiting for. “And I’ve heard that polar bears have eaten all the reindeer, so Santa won’t be here for the little boys and girls this Christmas.”

      “Mmm-hmm,” Gina replied.

      “And as far as stocks are concerned, they’ve gone through the roof, so how about if we have lunch together today.” He was talking nonsense, of course, but it might have the desired effect. He held his breath.

      “Mmm…what?” Gina tossed aside the pad of paper and frowned.

      “Lunch. You almost agreed to it.”

      She stood up. “That’s it, Josh Corbett! You’re not going to trick me into something I don’t want to do. Out!”

      She pointed a finger at the door, through which two elderly customers happened to be walking.

      “Us?” quavered the one in front, a violet-haired woman using a cane.

      “Sister and me?” asked the other, wrinkling her powdery brow.

      Gina rushed forward to greet them. “Oh, no, of course not, Miss Tess and Miss Dora. Please come in. What can I get for you today? More goldenseal, or perhaps a bit of catnip for dear little Felix?” Over their heads, she glared at Josh.

      “We don’t need goldenseal, do we, Dora? Catnip would be good. Felix is feeling his age, and it perks him right up.” The one with the cane started down the aisle toward the catnip.

      “I’d like one of those nice cookbooks, you know, the one that benefits the teen center. We’re going to send it to our cousin in Seattle.”

      “Right over here, Miss Tess.” Gina guided her toward the rustic cabinet where the cookbooks were displayed and helped her to pull one down from the shelf.

      Josh realized that he was standing beside a wicker basket piled high with lavender sachets. In addition to buying some for his landlady, he supposed he could send packets to his mother and sister. Their scent made his nose itch, though. Lavender always did.

      Gina rang up the ladies’ order, which took a while because they’d bought a number of items. When she had finished, she turned to Josh. “You’ll help Miss Tess and Miss Dora carry these things out to their car, won’t you, Josh?”

      He stacked the lavender sachets on the counter beside the cash register. “I’d be glad to,” he said easily, scooping up their bag.

      Neither one of the ladies moved particularly fast, so he was treated to a long and drawn-out account of Felix’s last hairball episode, whereupon the two of them became involved in an argument about the best remedies for feline hair-balls. By the time he had installed the women in their elderly compact sedan, Josh was eager to get back inside. Then the sedan backed up, heading straight for him. He jumped out of the way barely before being hit.

      Miss Tess leaned out the window. “Young man, you look a lot like that Mr. Moneybags fellow. Are you?”