Yuletide Treasure by Jillian Hart & Lauraine Snelling

Author:Jillian Hart & Lauraine Snelling [Hart, Jillian]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2008-10-23T04:00:00+00:00

Cora Sims felt the oddest sensation, standing alone behind the counter of her dress shop. The front door was closed and locked, her business done for the day. She felt watched, and she couldn’t say precisely why. The dark boardwalks teemed with folks hurrying about their last business of the day—she could see them past the image of the store reflected in the front windows—and no one stood on her step to be let in for a last-minute purchase.

Perhaps this was all the aftereffects of a long day. She tucked the last of her deposit money into her reticule. There. She would stop by the bank on her way home. She didn’t have anyone waiting for her these days. She’d taken in her nephews years ago, but they were young men out on their own now. Her cozy house on the edge of town felt empty without them. Thinking of her vacant home, she found her feet dragging a bit as she extinguished the last lamp by the door and let herself out into the cold December air.

“Evening, Miss Sims!” Rhett Jorgenson called out from a few storefronts down, where he was sweeping his stretch of boardwalk. He looked dashing in his fur coat and cap. “I noticed your shop was busier than mine today.”

“Yes, it was, thank the Lord. Have a good evening.” She waggled her fingers in a wave as she locked her door and headed out, leaving the handsome shoemaker without a backward glance.

Oh, she’d long stopped hoping that the man would take more than polite notice of her. And if her heart painfully squeezed a bit, she no longer noticed such things. She was officially a spinster now, today, her thirtieth birthday. How had she gotten so old so fast?

Another male voice called out, “Evening, Miss Sims.”

It was Mr. Dorian, the land-office agent, middle-aged and happily married, who had always been a good neighbor to her. “Good evening, Abe. I set aside a velvet-encased sewing kit. I noticed your wife admiring it when she was in last week.”

“Did she now?”

“No obligation.” She stopped by his front door. “I will tuck it out of sight just in case you want to consider it. Tell Maryanne hello for me.”

“Will do.” He checked his lock. “You be careful walking alone. It’s dark this time of year and there are plenty of strangers in town.”

Cora mentally rolled her eyes. She was quite used to the men of this town treating her like an old spinster in need of advice. She thanked Mr. Dorian politely and continued on to the end of the block. In her sensible brown wool coat, hat and shoes, she knew what everyone in this town saw—a plain woman beyond her prime.

The trouble was, she was starting to feel that way about herself. She caught her reflection in the hardware-store window. A woman too tall and too slim to be considered fashionable stared back at her. It was a blessing she couldn’t see the tiny lines on her face.

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