The Cottage on Juniper Ridge (18 page)

Chapter Seventeen

The best new beginnings are often the most
terrifying.

—Muriel Sterling, author of
Simplicity

S
tacy signed the lease on the space that
was going to be her new shop and gave Ed his first month’s rent and deposit.
Dean met her at the shop after he was done at school; together they measured and
talked about where and how she could display her merchandise.

They were halfway through when Ed stopped by. “Thought I’d see
how it’s going,” he said.

“Great,” Stacy told him. “I’m excited about this. I still don’t
know what I’m doing but I guess I’ll figure it out.”

“You will,” he assured her. “And just to make sure you start
off on the right foot, maybe you’ll let Pat and me take you to lunch tomorrow.
You can pick our brains and get some pointers on what all you need to do.”

She thanked him, and as promised, the next day Ed and Pat
settled her at a quiet corner table in Schwangau and gave her a crash course in
business. “Have you got a business plan?” Ed asked.

“A business plan?” she repeated.

“Detailing exactly what you want to do.”

She knew what she wanted to do, open a shop and sell pretty
household items. And she was doing it. She and Dean had listed their inventory,
looked up prices at various online sites, made a budget. Wasn’t that plan
enough? “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“He means you need to work out how you’re going to run your
operation,” Pat explained. “Can you afford to hire employees? You’ll probably
have to hire someone at least part-time. You’ll also have to budget for taxes,
get a tax ID and have a plan for marketing the shop.”

“You’ll need a website, of course,” Ed told her. “And you’ll
want to link to the Icicle Falls website and talk to George over at the Chamber
of Commerce about getting included in the list of businesses in town.”

“Oh, and you’ll want to join the Chamber,” Pat added. “It’s a
good way to network.”

“You’ll need to register your business name,” Ed continued.
“And, if you haven’t done it already, you’d better hop on over to city hall and
get a business license.”

Stacy nodded, typing on her iPad as fast as she could. “How
long is all this going to take?”

“Paperwork can be expedited. You should be good to go by next
month,” Ed predicted.

She hoped so. She also hoped she wasn’t biting off more than
she could chew. Was she up to the task?

“It can all be a little overwhelming at first,” Pat said as if
reading her thoughts. “But when you make your to-do list, put the most important
things at the top and then work your way down. You’ll get through it.”

* * *

The rest of the month flew by as she worked her way
through the red tape of opening a business. That part wasn’t so much fun but
with Dean as her partner in paperwork, she managed. Meanwhile, he refinished the
blue drop-leaf table and she started packing boxes of glassware and quilts and
knickknacks to take to the shop.

The Saturday before their grand opening, Charley’s husband,
Dan, helped Dean haul the last of the merchandise and the various shelves and
pieces of furniture over to the shop.

Charley and Cecily helped set everything up. Chita stopped by,
too, for a couple of hours, claiming her kids were both at friends’ houses and
she had nothing else to do. What a lie. But Stacy was both touched and
grateful.

“Oh, I love this,” Charley said, picking up a pink Depression
glass candy dish. “How much are you asking for it?”

“For you? Nothing. It’s yours.”

“No, you can’t be doing that,” Charley protested. “This is your
business.”

“Then consider it a wedding present.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I want you to have it. Same goes for you,” she said to
Chita. “If you see anything you want, tell me. My big goal is to match these
things up with people who are going to love and appreciate them.”

“And to make money,” Chita reminded her.

“That, too, but like I said before, I’m not out to get rich. I
only need to make enough to keep the nice things circulating.”

“You won’t have any trouble doing that,” Chita said. “Look at
this. You’ve got a whole set of these pink glass plates.”

“Hopefully, someone will want them.”

“For sure.” Chita nodded. “I could just see those in a cute
little tearoom.”

“I wish we had a tearoom here in Icicle Falls,” Cecily said
wistfully. “Too bad my sister lives in L.A. I could see her doing something like
that.”

“Is she still catering?” Chita asked.

“Caterer to the stars,” Cecily said with a smile. “She’ll never
come back. She loves it in L.A.”

Chita made a face. “I’ll take Icicle Falls over some big city
any day.”

“Me, too,” Cecily agreed.

“Me, three,” Stacy said. As far as she was concerned, Icicle
Falls was the perfect place to live. Here people really cared about you.

Her friends all proved it. As her grand-opening day approached,
everyone helped, both with setup and various contributions. Cass had connected
her to a customer who had an old kitchen queen cupboard to sell, giving Stacy
her first consignment piece, one she knew would walk out the door in no time.
Charley was busy combining two households and had donated an oak bookcase for
displaying items. Jen had brought over several ornate candle stands. Charley’s
husband had helped Dean install shelves in her backroom and the two men had
fixed up an old desk scrounged from Juliet’s mom so Stacy would have a place to
do her paperwork.

In the days before the grand opening, Stacy’s moods alternated
between excitement and trepidation. This was such a good idea. This was such a
lame idea. The business would do well. The business would flop. Everything was
ready. She’d forgotten something. What if her window display didn’t attract any
customers?

Maybe no one would be interested in handmade quilts, antiques
and vintage decorations.

The night before the big day, she lay in bed staring at the
ceiling. Finally, when the clock hit 2:00 a.m. she got up and went to the
kitchen to heat some milk.

She was just pouring some flavored syrup into it when Dean
joined her. “Can’t sleep?” he asked, coming up behind her and slipping his arms
around her waist.

After nearly twenty-four years of marriage he could read her
mind. Not that it was hard to do tonight. “I keep wondering if this was a dumb
thing to do.”

“You had the money. God knows you had the merchandise.”

She turned around to face him. “But what if nobody buys
it?”

“In that case we’ll pull the plug and take the stuff to the
Kindness Cupboard. Or sell everything on eBay.”

Then she’d be a failure and would have wasted Nana’s money. She
could feel the sting of encroaching tears.

“But it’s going to be okay,” he insisted as if sensing he’d
said the wrong thing.

“I just hope we get a lot of people tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry. We will,” he said, and kissed her. “Come on back
to bed.”

“I can’t sleep,” she reminded him.

“Me, neither, and since we’re both awake...” He waggled his
eyebrows.

“You are such a horn toad.”

“And you love it,” he retorted. “I promise by the time I’m done
with you, you’ll sleep like a baby.”

And he was right. She was still sleeping soundly when the alarm
went off at eight.

“Come on, Sleeping Beauty,” Dean said, giving her shoulder a
rub. “Time to wake up and carpe diem.”

This was it. She was ready. She hoped.

* * *

Before Stacy had even opened the store, family, friends
and neighbors were gathering outside Timeless Treasures.

“Better let them in before they break down the door,” Dean
said, pointing to where her mother stood in front of the window, waving.

She turned from Nana’s old china hutch where she’d been
rearranging her Depression glass display yet again. Suddenly, her heart was
thumping like a blender on high speed.

Okay, time to introduce Icicle Falls to its newest shop.

She unlocked the door and threw it open. “Welcome,
everyone!”

“Oh, darling, it all looks so lovely,” her mother said, taking
in the walls Stacy and Dean had painted a pale rose color.

Vintage lamps and two crystal chandeliers bathed glassware and
knickknacks in a romantic glow.
The shop is lovely,
Stacy thought with a satisfied smile.

“Thanks,” she said.
And thanks, Nana, for
making this possible.

“Surprise!” cried her daughter, poking her head around the
door.

“Autumn!”

And there was Ethan right behind her.

“What are you two doing here?” Stacy demanded. “Don’t you have
tests to study for or parties to go to?”

“We can study anytime,” said her son, whose less-than-stellar
grades showed how well that philosophy was working.

“We didn’t want to miss your big opening,” Autumn said, coming
up to hug her. She gazed around. “Was some of this stuff Nana’s?”

Stacy nodded. “I’m finding good homes for all of it.”

“Looks like it’s all girl stuff,” Ethan said.

“It pretty much is,” Stacy admitted. “Go see if you can find
something for your girlfriend.”

“Yeah, great idea,” he said. “Will you give me a deal?”

“Maybe,” Stacy answered with a smile.

Pat Wilder and Ed York were the next in line to say hi. Pat
handed Stacy a huge flower arrangement. “This is from everyone at the
Chamber.”

Those weren’t the only flowers to arrive. Lupine Floral
delivered another arrangement of spring flowers, this one from her book
club.

“They’re gorgeous,” she said later to Juliet when she and her
husband, Neil, came in with baby Jon.

“I wish I could take credit for it,” Juliet said. “It was
actually Jen’s idea. She’ll be over later, by the way, as soon as she’s done
with her morning shift at the bakery. Cass is coming in after she closes up and
everyone else should be here pretty soon.”

“You guys are the best,” Stacy said.

“Hey, girlfriends support one another. Oh, and I think I found
just what I want,” she said, looking past Stacy, her eyes getting big. “That cat
clock with the moving tail and eyes will be perfect for Jon’s room. I’m going to
snag it before anyone else does.” And with that she was gone and another
well-wisher took her place.

“This is so nice,” Olivia Wallace gushed. “I know I’ll find
something here I can use in the lodge.”

Stacy couldn’t imagine the Icicle Creek Lodge needing anything.
The place had a fully functioning kitchen and was decorated beautifully, but she
encouraged Olivia to look to her heart’s content.

She smiled as she watched people moving from display to
display, admiring things. Nana would be so proud.

Dot Morrison stood at the counter where Stacy and Dean had set
up their cash register, getting out her credit card while Dean rang up a tin
sign advertising Yakima apples. The counter’s glass display case held costume
and fine jewelry, which Stacy had figured would make tempting impulse buys.

Right now two people were being tempted. Darla Stone, Mayor
Stone’s sister, and Hildy Johnson, who owned Johnson’s Drugs with her husband,
Nils, stood peering in, pointing to their favorite bits of bling. Both women had
a reputation for being shopping buzzards, always trying to get something for a
steal.

She went over to them, figuring Dean would need help
withstanding their collective bargaining power. “Hi, ladies. I see you found the
best stuff in the place.”

“You have some lovely things here,” Darla said.

“A little pricey,” added Hildy.

“Oh, not really,” Stacy told her. “We researched everything
online and these are all reasonably priced.”

“Well, you can ask whatever you want for something online. That
doesn’t mean you’ll get it,” Hildy said.

“Is there anything in particular that interests you?” Stacy
asked.

Darla pointed to a designer sterling estate ring with
amethyst-and-marcasite accents that Stacy had purchased online. “I’d love to see
that.”

Seeing was about all she’d be able to do. That ring would never
fit on Darla’s pudgy finger. Stacy reached into the case and brought it out,
anyway.

Sure enough, it didn’t fit, although Darla did her best to
force it over her knuckle.

“Let me try,” said Hildy, whose fingers weren’t any
smaller.

Stacy watched and thought of Cinderella’s stepsisters. “You
know, rings can be a challenge,” she said diplomatically. “Have you seen this?”
She pulled out an antique art deco filigree necklace with a pink glass
stone.

“Oh, that’s so pretty,” Darla raved.

Stacy walked around the corner. “Here, try it on.”

Darla took the necklace and her bargain buddy helped her clasp
it around her neck. Darla’s neck wasn’t exactly swanlike and the pendant
instantly became a choker.

“I don’t think it flatters you,” Hildy said, sparing Stacy from
having to choose between being truthful and making a sale. “Let me try it.”

Darla pouted but removed the necklace and handed it over. It
hung better on Hildy but somehow it didn’t seem like a fit. Once more, Stacy
felt torn. “Gosh, I don’t know,” she said dubiously.

“Let me see the mirror,” Hildy demanded, and Stacy gave her the
vintage sterling silver mirror.

Hildy frowned at her reflection, and Stacy glanced around the
display case for another piece. She found it in a large necklace with
silver-and-copper bangles. “Now, this would look great.”

Hildy exchanged the delicate necklace for the larger piece and
slipped it on.

“Oh, yes,” Darla approved, “that’s you.”

Hildy regarded herself in the mirror. With her thin lips, beaky
nose and practically nonexistent chin she was something to regard. “Yes, this is
lovely.” She took it off and examined the price tag. And frowned again. “It’s
overpriced.”