Christmas in Bayberry

“What are you doing here?” Kate strode over to her desk.

Her hand hovered near the edge of it. The phone was within reach. The sheriff wasn’t far away.

When the stranger turned around, she gasped. She recognized him as the good-looking stranger from yesterday. He certainly hadn’t struck her as a criminal. After all, would a thief introduce himself before breaking in?

He certainly looked comfortable in her seat. He had papers and files spread across her desk like he’d just moved in. But this was her office, not his.

She opened her mouth to say so when he held up a finger. “I’ll be with you in just a second. I just have to—”

“You’ll be with me right now.” Kate put her hands on her hips, waiting for an explanation.

He obviously wasn’t intimidated by her outraged tone as he finished typing some numbers into the spreadsheet on the screen of his laptop. “There we go.” He pressed Enter, set aside a stack of papers, and then turned his full attention to her. “Sorry about that.”

“And who would you be?”

A puzzled look crossed his face as he got to his feet and held out his hand. “I’m Wes Adams.”

She didn’t mean his name. She remembered his name and how much of a hurry he’d been in. She wondered if he was always in such a rush. But there was one other thing she recalled from their earlier meeting—his baby blue eyes.

They were the shade of a warm sunny afternoon—the kind where you could let yourself relax and just take in the beauty of the day. And then she realized she’d been standing there staring into his eyes for a bit too long. As heat climbed to her cheeks, she glanced down at the gray tiled floor.

With effort, she shoved aside her unwanted attraction. She didn’t make any move to accept his extended hand. “What are you doing at my desk? No one is supposed to be in here but me.”

Wes lowered his hand. “You must be the niece.”

The niece? “So, you’ve spoken with my aunt?”

“Yes, I have. She’s the one who showed me to this office. You must have been out with your flyers and coupons.”

Aunt Penney had done this? Without consulting her? Kate’s lips pressed into a firm line. And then she recalled Aunt Penney mentioning she wanted to talk. Was this what she’d had on her mind last night?

The man had made a mess of her desk. There wasn’t even room for her coffee or the muffin she’d snagged from Aunt Penney’s kitchen. With a frustrated sigh, she headed for the doorway.

She paused and glanced at him. “I’ll be back.”

He flashed her a brilliant smile. “I look forward to it.”

Really? She strode away. Once she spoke to Aunt Penney, this would be all cleared up.

Her aunt hadn’t said so, but everyone expected when she retired that Kate would take over the candle company. After all, she was the last living Taylor. There was no one else to take over.

Unless the company was sold.

But that was never going to happen. The candle company was as much a part of her as it was a part of Bayberry, and that’s how it would remain.

She marched into her aunt’s office. “Why is there a stranger in—”

Her words faltered. There was no one in her aunt’s office. Her aunt wasn’t at home. So where was she?

Kate walked through the office, glancing in cubicles and saying good morning to everyone. No one knew where to find Aunt Penney. Kate checked the kitchen and the factory. At last, she made it to the warehouse, which was all aflutter with activity as pallets were being rearranged, making way for the annual holiday sale.

And there was Aunt Penney in the middle of everything. She was pointing this way and then that way. Employees, wearing white hard hats, were following her instructions as the forklift lifted a pallet and hauled it toward the back of the enormous building.

The sale had always been one of her aunt’s pet projects. She liked to do something a little extra special each year. It wasn’t just a sale. It was more like a holiday party, with baked goods and hot apple cider. Something told Kate this year would be no different.

The only thing that was different was the increased discount. That had been Kate’s idea. Without a large influx of cash, they wouldn’t be able to make the necessary updates. Their supply would dwindle and sales would evaporate as customers flocked to suppliers with ready inventory.

If they could draw in more people, then hopefully, they could add those people to their new email list. That way people wouldn’t forget about the Bayberry Candle Company when the holidays were over. Any time customers needed a special gift, they’d go to their website or stop by their gift shop at the front of their office building.