Making It Right. Kathy Altman

at Ivy’s farm at the same time.”

      “That was love, jackass. What’s your excuse? We both know you’d rather be anywhere else than here.”

      “We both know that’s you, not me.”

      Seth jerked his head back. “I don’t have anything against the store. It’s what you’re letting the place do to you, for no reason.”

      “No reason?” Gil grabbed a straw broom off the rack behind him. He gave the floor a vicious sweep, enjoying the rattle as roofing nails scattered. He shot Seth a warning glance. “We’re not going there.”

      “Apparently we’re not going anywhere.” Seth stalked out of the store, and moments later Castle Creek’s sole real estate agent sauntered in.

      Gil clutched the broom tighter, momentarily tempted to brush her right back out again. This was shaping up to be one hell of a day and he hadn’t even knocked over his second cup of coffee yet.

      Valerie Flick tossed her jet-black, corkscrew ponytail over her shoulder and glanced out the front window at Seth, who was slamming into his ancient pickup truck.

      “Looks like you two might need couple’s counseling,” she said drily. She turned away from the window and scanned the store. With a delighted “Ooh,” she click-clacked over to the display of paperwhite growing kits. “One of these would look great on my desk.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Know what else would look great on my desk? A contract with your signature on it. Changed your mind about selling yet?”

      Gil concentrated on long, steady strokes of the broom. “Go away, Val.”

      “I came to sweeten the deal.”

      “Yeah?” He didn’t look up. “How?”

      “I’m trying to show you,” she said, voice edged with impatience.

      He raised his head. She was leaning back against the counter, the spread of her elbows pulling her suit jacket open to reveal the lacy, dark pink cups of a barely-there bra. Damn, he hadn’t even realized she wasn’t wearing a shirt under there. She’d kicked off one high heel and was running the ball of her foot up and down the smooth expanse of her other leg.

      He couldn’t deny she was a hot-looking woman. Yet his dick didn’t so much as wiggle.

      Gil stacked his hands on the end of the broom and averted his gaze. When he didn’t speak, Val rolled one shoulder. “Nothing to say?”

      “Only that it’s ridiculous to pretend you’re attracted to someone for the sake of a sale.”

      “It’s more about the commission,” she said, and gave the hem of her jacket a yank. “Anyway, give me a break. Cooper’s has been circling the drain for years. Let me have the building. You won’t recognize it when I’m done.”

      “Therein lies the problem.”

      She huffed hard enough to blow her bangs out of alignment. “At least let me tell you what I have planned for the space.”

      “This is not a space. It’s a piece of history, and I wouldn’t sell it to you if you planned to turn it into a free clinic for kids.” He hesitated. “You’re not planning to turn it into a free clinic for kids, are you?”

      She laughed, genuinely amused. “In Castle Creek? It would be empty half the time.” She tipped her head. “Kind of like your hardware store.”

      Gil propped the broom against the nearest shelf, walked to the door and held it open. “Cooper’s is not for sale.”

      Val advanced slowly, trailing a polished fingernail along the length of the counter. When she reached the cash register, she gave it a pat. “That’s not what Ferrell said.”

      Gil released the door and strode back inside. “When did you talk to him?”

      “Last week. He said he’d reason with you. Help you understand it’s time to negotiate.”

      Gil’s laugh was ugly, even to his own ears. “I haven’t had a conversation with my brother in six years and I don’t intend to start now. I suggest you break the habit yourself. He’s gotten all he’s going to get out of this place. Unless you plan to select something from one of these shelves and lay down money for it, you have, too.”

      He marched back to the door and shoved it open again. He had to raise his voice above the clatter of the yardsticks he knocked over in the process. “Cooper’s is here to stay. Unlike you, Val.”

      She plucked an apple from the basket on the counter and joined him at the door. “You’d better start practicing your social skills, Gilbert. You won’t be able to finance this hideout of yours forever.”

      She tossed the apple up in the air, caught it and sidled out the door.

      Her laugh drifted back down the sidewalk, and for the first time in a long time, Gil let himself wonder what the hell he’d do if he didn’t have Cooper’s Hardware in his life.

      * * *

      KERRY SAT IN the corner booth by the restroom, hands wrapped around her second cup of coffee. She should eat, but swallowing coffee presented enough of a challenge, thanks to the regret clogging her throat.

      It had been two days since she’d met Parker and her daughter, but the girl’s shocked comment to Kerry’s father lingered like the smell of fish reheated in a microwave.

      “You never said anything about a daughter.”

      As much as the words stung, they made sense. Harris Briggs didn’t have a daughter. Not really. Not one he deserved. Not someone like Parker Macfarland, who ran a successful business and a loving household and never took advantage of anyone.

      And had the respect of others.

      Kerry hunched deeper into the roomy, navy knit of her favorite sweater. You have to earn it first, chickie.

      Unfortunately, that was proving more difficult than she’d anticipated. She’d applied for admin work at the courthouse, the grocery store, the animal hospital and Castle Creek’s sole real estate office, each time bracing herself for the inevitable questions about her background. She’d never gotten that far. No one was hiring.

      Not even here at Cal’s Diner, and the fact that she’d checked testified to the strength of her desperation. She’d sworn after waitressing and tending bar in college for infinitesimal tips that often ended up in the bottom of half-full plastic tumblers that she’d never be a server again.

      Famous last words.

      She’d have to spread her net wider. Chances were good she could find something in Erie. That would be counterproductive, though. Kerry wanted to stay close. Show her father she was in earnest. Let his friends see she was making amends.

      At least, that had been her intention. Now it seemed that if she stayed in town her father would avoid her like...well, like he’d been doing since she’d borrowed money from his girlfriend two years ago.

      Prickles of heat swept across her chest. Correction. His ex-girlfriend.

      A metallic crash in the kitchen brought her head up. The diner wasn’t busy, probably because it was a weekday morning, and for that she was grateful. Kerry had fielded a few curious glances, though no one but the server had approached her. Once she’d learned there were no openings, she’d ordered a coffee and claimed a table. Now no one paid her any attention at all.

      She relaxed her shoulders and let her gaze skim the gray Formica L-shaped counter, the alternating mustard-and ketchup-colored stools, the desserts under glass and the old-fashioned, stainless-steel milkshake machine that any other day would have been too much to resist. Same for the friendly smell of sausage, bacon and pancakes. It all seemed so...cozy. Welcoming.

      Homey.

      Why had she never visited? For years her father had made Castle Creek his home and not once had Kerry driven up to see him. Could she blame