“He’s a great kid. I’m hoping to get this done today and tomorrow, but next job I get working over the weekend I’ll call him up.”
“Thanks, Josh. See you soon.” Theo handed the bag and bucket of stain to Josh.
“Thanks Theo. Tell Vivian hello for me,” Josh said as he headed to the door.
“Will do!” he called back.
He knew some people didn't like small town life, they found it suffocating. Josh, on the other hand, enjoyed it. It comforted him that people here knew him, and that people here looked out for one another. He enjoyed that if he walked into The Corner Cafe, Mae would ask him if he wanted his usual and bring him French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, or give him a cinnamon muffin and coffee to go. He liked that when he went into Fipps Market, Mr. Fipps would stop and talk to him and ask about his sister. If he went into Mystic Falls Books, Katie McPhee would ask him to get something off the top shelf and give him a free cup of coffee. This town was predictable and often called on him to help, and he was more than happy to do so.
Turning the block, he saw someone he didn't recognize moving a table into an empty storefront. It was a woman struggling with a table that was about the same size as she was. Josh set down his supplies and rushed to hold the door and take the table from her.
"Let me help you with that, ma'am," he said.
"Why thank ye, Laddie. It is appreciated,” she answered back.
Josh entered the empty storefront and saw that it was full of boxes and a couple chairs. He couldn't tell what type of business she was moving in.
"Where do you want this?" he asked as he easily maneuvered the table into the small store.
"Oh, just set it down right there for now, I still need to figure out where things are going."
"What kind of business are you starting?" he asked looking around the room. Setting down the table he noticed a little wobble to it.
"A magic shop," said the woman plain as day.
Josh stopped and finally took note of the woman. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. She was short and round with a head full of wild red hair that was starting to gray. She smiled right at him, and Josh could almost sense a magic twinkle in her eye.
"A magic shop? like a magic and joke shop?" he asked.
"No, a real magic store. I tell fortunes and sell herbs and spells to people who need them," she said.
"Huh..." he said, taking it all in with a gentle nod. "I didn't know our little town needed a magic shop, but the best of luck to you. Do you need help with anything else?"
"Well, if ye don't mind, I do have some shelves out there that are mighty heavy for me. Would you mind bringing them in?"
"Of course." Josh found the purple VW bus and got to work unloading shelves.
Once he had them all unloaded, he looked around.
"Your accent, Are you Scottish?"
"Aye, but I left Scotland a long time ago."
"Well, whenever they get back in town I will have Graham stop by. He just moved to the area from Scotland."
"Oh, I am very familiar with Hannah and Graham," the woman said with a smile.
"Yes! That is where I recognize you from. You were at their wedding."
"Aye, I was."
Josh suddenly remembered the gazebo and the time schedule. He needed to get started.
"Well, ma'am, I need to get going, but if you need help with anything else. I'm pretty easy to find. My name is Josh Turner," he said as he flashed his notoriously friendly smile and held out his hand. She took it and gave it a gentle shake.
"Well, Josh Turner," she said knowingly. "I expect I will be seeing ye around. Ye may call me Bridget."
"Nice to meet you, Bridget."
He gave one last look at the table he brought in and gave it a gentle nudge. “Your table seems to have a loose leg.” On closer inspection he could see the leg had been fixed, but not well. “I can get this fixed for you if you want. I think it just needs a new leg.”
“Oh, don’t trouble yerself, lad.”
“No trouble at all, consider it a welcome to town. I’ll get it in a couple days.”
“Well thank ye very much,” she said.
“It’s my pleasure ma’am. I’ll see you later.”
Bridget gave him a smile and Josh turned and left. As he walked to car, he couldn't stop thinking about the woman. He couldn't help feeling like there was more to her than meets the eye. He was definitely going to keep an eye on her, she seemed like someone who could shake things up around here.
Josh’s shoulders and arms felt heavy after spending most of the day sanding. He was ready to call it quits for the day and head home to take a nice hot shower before rehearsal. Cleaning up his tools and heading in to find his sister to say goodbye, he found her behind the front desk.
"Hey Lexi, I'm taking off. I’ll be back tomorrow to finish it up."
"That sounds good. I’ll be home probably around ten."
"Working both shifts again?" he asked.
"Yeah, with Brandy out on maternity leave we are trying to make it work."
His sister was quite possibly the hardest worker he had ever known. He worried about the toll it would take on her, she had been working full time since she was sixteen. It did pay off last year when she got the promotion to manager of the inn, but she worked hard for it. He tried to lighten her load where he could.
"Okay, I’ll bring you some dinner when I head back in town for rehearsal tonight," he said.
"How is the play going? I haven't really had a chance to ask you about it. I know that Damien St. Cloud is here for a few weeks. How’s that?" she asked.
Josh sighed and fought the eye roll. Damien St. Cloud. Where to even begin? Josh didn't like the guy, and Josh liked everybody.
"He's... something."
"You don't like him?" she asked. She smiled at him, already knowing the answer.
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't need to. I get it. He keeps asking for turn down service. He actually snapped his fingers at Aggie while she was cleaning his room. Who does that?"
"Damien St. Cloud does that," he said.
Josh was normally a happy-go-lucky sunny kind of guy, but that man was a dark cloud hanging over Josh’s head. Maybe it was him, or maybe it was because he had interrupted something that felt like an important moment between him and Poppy. He thought something was finally happening between them after all this time, and now nothing. Josh was ready for him to leave. The show went up next week and he would be gone, and that couldn't happen soon enough.
CHAPTER 6
Josh
Josh pulled the theater door open. He was tired from the day, but he was excited to see Poppy. There was still a small part of him that hoped they could get back to that moment they had before Damien St. Cloud had arrived. Josh had felt the pull to her his entire life, but in that moment, that magnetic pull between them had been so palpable it took all of his self-control to not slide his hand into her long sleek hair and kiss her perfectly kissable mouth.
But that glimmer of hope was gone when he walked in and found Poppy. She was sitting down in the front row, leaning close to Damien, her hand rested on his arm and the light she gave off shining directly on Damien St. fucking Cloud. Shoving down his disappointment, he took a breath and put a smile on his face. That familiar jovial Josh smile masked his feelings as he walked down to join the rest of the cast.