The Soldier's Sweetheart

“Much,” he agreed, shifting from one foot to another and rustling the tips of his hair with his free hand. His lips pursed as he glanced from Samantha to Genevieve and back. She had the notion that he wanted to say something more, but he turned away without a word.

The man was already getting antsy. How on earth was she going to keep him busy? He was used to an exciting, fast-paced military lifestyle, not front-facing cans of green beans on a grocery shelf.

“I’ll bring out the boxes of vegetables then.” Without another word, he moved into the back room. She could hear him stacking boxes of cans onto a cart, and after a moment, he brought them to the shelves.

Samantha continued to play with Genevieve. She was glad to see the little girl coming out of her shell. School would be starting soon. The small, close-knit Serendipity classroom might be exactly what the girl needed to help her get past the trauma she’d experienced with her mother’s death. Samantha hoped so, for Will’s sake as well as Genevieve’s.

She served the few customers who came and went, greeting each by name and asking about their lives. Often she could guess what they’d come in after without them having to say. That was what it was like living and working in Serendipity, and a big part of what Samantha loved about serving people as the grocery manager.

To her surprise, Will enjoyed speaking to the folks who’d stopped by. Though she’d expected him to be ruffled by the intimacy, the small-town dynamic didn’t appear to be affecting him at all. He greeted everyone who came through the store with a friendly smile, taking the time to introduce himself and relay the brief story of how he came to be in Serendipity. Oddly, he didn’t seem to mind repeating the tale over and over again.

Folks were curious, and Samantha knew that by the end of this week, if they didn’t know already, most of the town would be aware she had a new employee. She was certain Mary and Alexis had already spread the word, igniting interest in the handsome, quiet, widowed soldier. Once the news reached Jo Spencer—the woman who ran the local café, and the town’s biggest gossip—the blaze would turn into a wildfire. She’d have to fight off the horde of single women who’d be lining up at the door to the shop, making up reasons to visit the grocery while waiting for Will to notice them. There had already been more than a few who’d come in with nothing more than a pack of chewing gum on their lists.

Well, maybe Will would be good for business. Samantha snorted and gave her head a quick shake. That kind of business she really didn’t need, but she supposed beggars couldn’t be choosers.

At the moment, any business was good business, however it came about.

Thoughts of Stay-n-Shop loomed in her mind, but Samantha pushed them back. She was still praying about what course of action to take on that matter. She didn’t have a lot of time, but she knew better than to act rashly without first seeking God’s wisdom in the Word and in prayer.

What do I do, Lord? Please make Your will clear to me.

Those were the same words she’d silently repeated dozens of times over the past week, and she knew she was running out of time. Make Your will known.

It wasn’t long before Samantha’s parents stopped by and picked up Genevieve, and the store seemed too quiet without the little girl around. Odd, since before Will and Genevieve, she’d often been the only one in the grocery. She’d never noticed the silence before.

Samantha hunkered over the dry-goods inventory—the one she hadn’t finished on Saturday due to Will’s arrival—looking up only when one of her neighbors, Delia Bowden, appeared outside the door. Delia’s right arm was laden with her newborn daughter, Faith, in an infant car seat while she managed her active toddler, James, with the other.

Delia usually brought her teenage son, Riley, to help out with the groceries, but today he was nowhere to be seen. No big surprise, Samantha supposed. The boy was getting to that age where he didn’t want to be seen shopping with his mother.

Will opened the door for Delia, welcoming her into the store with a smile and procuring a cart for her so she could set Faith’s car seat in the front. Samantha was still marveling at the way he turned into a different person when he was around the customers. It was odd—and unsettling—that he could turn the charm on and off like a light switch. Especially since it was usually off around her.

“Hey, Will?” she called, waving him forward.

He strode toward her, his smile disappearing. She was beginning to wonder if he just didn’t like her. It wasn’t that she thought he was purposefully trying to hurt her feelings, but she wasn’t sure how she would be able to keep working with him every day if he didn’t lighten up a bit. Her heart wasn’t made of stone. And it did hurt.

“As you can see, Delia has her hands full with her kiddos,” she said, gesturing to the woman and her children.

“Yeah. I noticed.”

“It would be a great kindness to her if you could help her with her shopping.”

“Help her?” He shook his head. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. I already got her a cart.”

“I noticed. It was very thoughtful of you. I was thinking you could, you know, push the cart for her, retrieve groceries from the shelves, especially the high ones. Just give her a hand in general—whatever she needs.”

“Wow,” he said, whistling under his breath. He almost smiled at her. “Talk about customer service.”

Samantha laughed. “That’s how we do it in the country. Up close and personal.”

“I’ll say.” Now he was teasing her. Honestly! The man was jerking her strings. “As I’m sure you’re becoming increasingly aware, everything is more difficult with children in tow.”

“Tell me about it. I can’t seem to get anything done when Genevieve is with me. It’s all I can do just to keep up with her.”

There it was. Finally. A real half smile. He shrugged one shoulder and strode toward Delia and her children, and offered his assistance with a grin.

Samantha’s breath caught in her throat. Will was quite attractive when he relaxed—which he never seemed to do around her.

“You’re staring,” said a high-pitched voice from beside her. Samantha started, audibly gasping and laying a hand to her racing heart as she turned.

“Where did you come from?” she asked Alexis, who was grinning like the cat who ate the canary. Mary stood beside her, a smirk on her face that said she shared Alexis’s good humor—at Samantha’s expense.

“Back door,” Alexis replied with an offhanded wave. “Same as always.”

That was the problem with back doors, Samantha decided. They could allow best friends to sneak up on her. There was no bell to announce them, although with the twitter they usually made, she was surprised she hadn’t heard them coming.

“Did you ever think about knocking?” she groused.

Alexis hoisted one dark blond brow. “And why would we do that?”

She was right, of course, though Samantha was loath to admit it. There was no good reason for her friends to all of a sudden start knocking when they stopped by. They’d been visiting the shop unannounced since they were all in kindergarten together. This had to be the one and only time they hadn’t made enough noise to be a circus parade—and of course it was when she’d really needed them to broadcast themselves.

This time, they’d come in on the sly and caught her staring at Will—which, of course, Alexis had announced in a none-too-quiet voice. It was unlikely that he hadn’t heard her outburst.

“We’ve been here for a while now,” Mary added. “We were eavesdropping on you and Will from the back room. That little girl Genevieve sure is a cutie. And Will is—” She broke off her statement with a sigh. “If you ask me, there’s potential.”

Samantha did not want to ask what kind of potential her dear friends had in mind.

“How is Sergeant Sweetheart working out for you?” Alexis asked with a loud chuckle. “Have you set a date yet?”

Will glanced in their direction, his brown eyes flickering with surprise. Samantha knew the best part of valor in this instance would be retreat.

Quickly.

“Sidebar,” Samantha hissed, shaking her head. She grabbed each of her friends by an elbow and propelled them into the back room. “He was a corporal. And would you mind not bringing attention to him?”

“He’s handsome,” Mary disputed. “And single. You’re single. I don’t see the problem with it.”

“Okay, there are a lot of problems,” Samantha said, “but let me just start with three. One, he isn’t single—he’s a widower. Quite recently, I might add. Two, he is shy. And three, he is here to build a relationship with his daughter, not to have a romantic tryst with me, or any other woman in Serendipity, for that matter.”

“Strong and silent,” Alexis said, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

“What?”

“Not shy. Strong and silent. That’s more poetic.”

“More romantic, you mean,” Samantha corrected. “And I don’t like the insinuation in your tone, thank you very much.”

“Will lost his wife, but that doesn’t mean he has to be alone forever,” Mary protested. “He deserves someone special in his life. I’m not saying you’re going to marry him tomorrow or anything, but you could at least give him a chance when he’s ready to move on.”