Читать книгу The Only One For Me - Bridget Anderson - Страница 12

Chapter 3

“I can’t believe we sold every single tote with the state emblem embossed on it.” Corra pointed to the empty display.

“You don’t have any more in the back?” Kyla asked.

“No, I thought I had enough to get us through the month. But with the Kentucky Derby coming up, I guess I underestimated. I need to order more, quick.” She moved the display around, highlighting other bags.

“Mrs. Rita sent me over here to remind you about the sales guy coming at noon.”

Corra looked at her watch. “Thanks, I forgot all about that.”

“Yeah, she figured as much. She said you’d be at the front desk by now if you’d remembered. Tayler’s not back yet, and Tracee had car trouble this morning, so I’m helping out with lunch today. Got a full house.” Kyla turned to leave.

“Oh, Kyla, let me ask you something. Did Rollin say where he was going?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, normally any time Rollin and Tayler are gone, they’re usually together. Do you know where she went to this morning?”

“Nope. Rollin just said she had some business in town. Why? You think they’re planning on eloping?”

The excitement in Kyla’s eyes made Corra laugh. “Of course not. They wouldn’t do that to us. I’m just curious about where they went to, that’s all. Tell Rita I’m on my way over. I’ll close the shop for a little while.”

As Corra closed up she rethought the idea of Rollin eloping, but quickly dismissed the notion. He wouldn’t deprive her of the joy of watching them take their vows. She only wished her parents were alive to witness the ceremony. Her own courthouse ceremony was not a proper wedding in her opinion. This one they would do up right. She locked the door and hurried over to the house.

The dining room was abuzz with all the guests fixing their plates and discussing this morning’s events. Corra smiled and continued walking until she reached the private quarters of the house. In the office, she kept a pair of high heels she changed into when she worked the front desk. After a quick bathroom check of her makeup, she walked out and took her place behind the counter. She sat on a stool and turned on the computer. First, she answered a few emails, then logged into the program they used to manage guest check-in. Although she didn’t use the program every day, she knew how to use it. She quickly familiarized herself with what she could.

The front door slowly opened and Corra rose. The Coleman House might be small in comparison to other bed-and-breakfasts in the area, but they were known for their first-class hospitality, which had paid off in repeat business and referrals. She’d treat this sales guy like a potential customer.

When the door opened all the way and Christopher Williams stepped in, Corra almost fell backward off her stool. She hadn’t seen Chris since his last visit to her hospital room seven months and three weeks ago, to be exact. Afterward he called her a couple of times, but kept the conversations brief.

He closed the door and glanced around the entrance, smiling, before he noticed first the front desk, and then Corra. The look on his face was priceless. She crossed her arms and couldn’t hold back the sarcasm.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

He recovered quickly and ran a hand over his mouth. “Corra, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, as he approached the front desk.

“Same here.” She tried to hold on to her sarcasm although she wanted to grin from ear to ear. Chris was a six-foot-two-inch, two-hundred-and-something-pound precision-honed man who looked like he could pick up a football today and get back in the game. He was still as handsome as ever. He locked his grayish-brown eyes on her as he crossed the floor, giving her a big smile. Her heartbeat raced.

“I’m scheduled to meet Rollin at noon. But I have a feeling he’s not here.”

She rose from the stool. “Nope. I’m your man, or woman. Whatever you planned to show him, you can now show me.”

Chris jerked his head back. “This is you?” he asked, pointing at the front desk.

She nodded.

“What happened, the grocery story wouldn’t take you back after you recovered?”

“Oh, they took me back. Then I quit. I promised Rollin if he didn’t close down the bed-and-breakfast I would join the staff and work to grow the business.”

Chris set his laptop case down and applauded. “Smart choice. If you can run a grocery store you can run any establishment.”

Corra rubbed her palms along the counter. “Well, I’m not actually running things, yet anyway, but I’ve learned a lot.”

Chris took a step back and widened his stance. “So my business meeting is with you?”

“Yes sir. And if it’s okay with you can we work right here?”

“Sure.” Chris picked up his case and pulled out his laptop.

Corra welcomed him to have a seat behind the counter. She pulled up another stool and they sat side by side while he showed her how he could improve their everyday lives with a simple program.

“Our system is cloud based, so you can access it from anywhere on any device.” He pulled the program up on his computer and Corra’s initial reaction was to move her head closer to the screen and raise one brow.

“Don’t worry, it’s a very approachable, intuitive interface that I can teach you.”

She sat up. “Let’s get started.”

In a little over an hour Chris gave Corra a demo of the system and had his first beta customer. She just had to clear things with Rollin and they would be installing the new test system within the week.

“See, that was painless, wasn’t it?” Chris asked, as he closed out the program.

Corra sat back, clasped her hands together and stretched her arms out in front of her. “No, that wasn’t bad at all. Not only does it help with online booking, but I like that it helps us maintain the gift shop, the farm and anything else we want to add on. I can’t believe Rollin wasn’t already using something like this.”

Chris crossed his arms. “Neither can I. Trust me, after you get a chance to experience the software, you’ll want this installed right away.”

“Okay, I’ll go over everything with Rollin and let you know what he says. But, I can’t imagine him saying no, at least to a beta test after I tell him how robust the system is.”

“Thank you. And if he needs a little convincing don’t hesitate to call me.” Chris reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my new information.”

Corra read the card. “3C Evolution has a Danville address.” She tilted her head and stared up at him.

“I moved back two weeks ago and opened our customer service center here. I’m surprised you didn’t read about it in the business section of the paper.”

Corra almost fell off her stool. “I must have missed it. So you’re here permanently now?”

“I don’t know about permanently, but I’ll be living here for quite a while. I’ve made Danville my home again.”

“I bet your parents are happy?” Not to mention how delighted I’m feeling right now.

“They are.”

“What about you? After living away for so long how do you feel about being back here?”

“It was my choice to move the center to Danville. I was ready to come home.”

Corra found it hard to believe he left Philly for Danville. But deep down she knew Chris was a country boy just like Rollin. She rubbed her palms down her pants legs. “Well, I guess I should say, welcome home.” She offered her hand to him.

“Thank you.” He accepted her handshake.

A warm current shot up Corra’s arm, reminding her of how much Chris excited her. She pursed her lips and fought the urge to blush.

“I haven’t been inside this house in a long time,” Chris said as he closed his laptop and slid it back into his carrying case.

“Would you like a quick tour?” she asked.

“That would be nice. Is Mrs. Rita still here?”

“Of course. Come on, we’ll start with the kitchen.”

* * *

As they toured the property fond memories of a young Corra were coming back to Chris.

“Man, I remember taking these steps two at a time,” he said, as he ran his hand along the banister coming from the second floor. “Do you remember how Rollin used to chase you out of his room whenever he had a girl on the phone?”

Corra laughed. “Yes, because I was always listening at the door.”

“You were being a nosy little sister is what you were doing.”

“Hey, that’s what I did best. Shoot, imagine what it was like for me to have football players in the house all the time. My friends came over just so they could watch you all practice in the field. That alone made me very popular in school.”

“Yeah, and what about the time you brought Belinda over here when you knew Rollin had another girl down by the creek. Is that creek still there?” he asked.

Corra shook her head. “It dried up years ago. Rollin deserved that though. I never did like a two-timing man and that’s what Rollin was trying to do to Belinda.”

“He was young. But, man, you were a pistol growing up, you know that?”

“I was your typical little sister, no more no less.”

Chris laughed. “Yeah, I guess you were, because Pamela and Darlene used to give me a hard way to go as well.”

After a tour of the house Corra carried Chris over to the gift shop.

“This place is really growing. I know your parents would be proud.”

“Do you remember my parents?” Corra asked, as she leaned against the counter. Her parents were killed by a drunk driver after Rollin and Chris went off to college, but she hoped he hadn’t forgotten them.

“Sure. I remember your mother used to feed us after games, even when we practiced out in the field. She loved to cook, didn’t she?”

Corra smiled. “The kitchen was her domain.”

“And your dad came to every football game. I remember that vividly because my dad missed a lot of games when my mom was sick. Your dad was a serious football fan.”

“Yeah. He was so proud when Rollin got that football scholarship.”

Chris walked over and stood next to Corra. “I also remember your brother and father giving me hell in high school when I mentioned how cute you were. I wanted to ask you out, but they were very protective of you.”

Corra stared down at her feet before looking up at him. “Maybe you should have tried,” she suggested.

He chuckled. “At the risk of ending my friendship with Rollin, and having your father kick my ass. No thanks. I settled for admiring you from afar.”

She tilted her head and bit her bottom lip. “Too bad I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, what would you have done?” he asked, fighting the urge to lean over and kiss her lips.

The bell over the door jingled and Corra sprang from the counter holding a hand over her heart. Two middle-aged women dressed in comfortable jogging suits and sneakers walked in.

“Customers. I’ll be right back.” She excused herself, and saw to her guests while Chris browsed about the store. It took the women quite some time to settle on their gifts while telling Corra all about their Greek Alumni reunion. Corra was in her element as she listened to their stories and helped them pick out suitable gifts.

After the ladies left, Chris walked back up to the counter. Corra came from behind the register.

“So where were we?” she asked.

“We were about to pick up from seven months ago when I walked into the fund-raiser and saw one of the most beautiful women in Danville. How about that date now?”

“Can I trust you to get me someplace safely this time?”

“I promise. So what are you doing tomorrow night?”

Corra smiled. “Looks like I’m going out with you.”