Lone Star Holiday Proposal

All in all, her December sales had been very strong. Factoring in the success of her craft lessons, things were definitely looking up for the New Year. Which reminded her, she needed to finalize the newsletter she’d be sending out with the new classes and timetables for January.

Outside the store, a car pulled up in the parking area and Raina noticed a young woman alight. She recognized the petite blonde instantly—Clare Connelly. Raina waved as Clare started to walk toward Priceless.

“Good morning,” Raina said with a welcoming smile as she opened the door for her. “Have a day off?”

Clare’s role as chief pediatric nurse at Royal Memorial Hospital kept her very busy but if anyone could handle busyness with a liberal dose of chaos, it was Clare. Her no-nonsense approach to her work was well-known around Royal and she held the respect of everyone who’d had babies under her care.

“I’m on a late shift tonight but I needed to get some last-minute Christmas shopping done. I need something special for my elderly neighbor. She’s such a darling.”

“Does she collect anything in particular?” Raina asked as they walked deeper into the store.

Clare wrinkled her brow in concentration. “Not anything specific. Do you mind if I look around for a bit? I’m not 100 percent sure of what I want but I’m hoping I’ll recognize what I’m looking for when I see it.”

“Sure,” Raina said with a smile. “Holler if you need me. I’ll just be out back, okay?”

“Thanks,” Clare answered as she turned away with a distracted look on her face.

It wasn’t like Clare to be indecisive, Raina thought as she pottered around in the back of the store, wielding her dusting cloth and giving some of the larger pieces of furniture a rub with furniture oil. After a few minutes, she looked up at Clare, who’d barely moved from where she left her. The other woman was staring blankly at a Royal Albert tea set as if she was waiting for some genie to waft out of the teapot’s spout or something.

Raina worked her way back toward Clare.

“Are you sure I can’t help you find something?”

Clare started and gasped in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was a million miles away. Yes,” she said on a sigh. “I would be glad of your help. I know my neighbor has a thimble collection that she’s added to ever since she was a little girl. She used to be quite skillful with a needle and thread from what I understand, and most of the thimbles are well used, but her eyesight’s deteriorated as she’s grown older, and she’s developed arthritis and can’t work with her hands anymore.”

“That’s a shame,” Raina sympathized. “We have some beautiful handcrafted lace and linen doilies here from the early 1900s. Do you think she’d be interested in them?”

“They sound gorgeous. Show me.”

Raina brought Clare over to a large mahogany sideboard and glass-fronted hutch that she used to showcase several of her better pieces of china. She slid open a drawer and removed a tissue-wrapped package. Her hand shook a little as she remembered the last time she’d handled the doilies, and how she’d almost used one to mop ice cream off the front of Nolan’s trousers. A smile curved her lips at the memory. How much further had they come since then? Raina unwrapped the tissue and spread the doilies on the gleaming wooden surface of the sideboard.

“They’re rather beautiful, don’t you think?”

Each one had a round, finely woven linen center and a painstakingly created lace edge. There were four in total, each one slightly different in pattern from the other but with a floral theme that took Raina’s breath away every time she looked at them. Such craftsmanship, such patience. She envied the woman who’d created them because she doubted she would ever have been able to have produced such exquisite work.

“They’re gorgeous! And they’re perfect. Thank you. I should have known you’d find exactly what I needed,” Clare said on a note of relief.

“It’s my job to make sure you do.” Raina smiled back at her. “Clare, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you don’t seem yourself. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing in particular. I’m just really stressed with the reorganization of the neonatal unit at the hospital. I’m sure the pressure will drop a little once the new wing is open next month. It’s been a tough year.”

Raina nodded. “But we’re getting through it.”

Clare looked at her and smiled. “Yes, we are. We’re nothing if not determined, right?”