Page 45 of Just One Spark

I sat at one of the tables with Clara and the other shop owners.This was supposed to be a soft opening, so she'd invited the other shop owners in Christmas Town to partake in the night's activities.

I sipped the holiday brew that Rowan said would put his brewery on the map and listened to the women talk.

Eventually, Beck stopped by with trays of pizzas and a soft pretzel with an assortment of dips.The food was good, the brew was delicious, and the company even better.

Over the years, I'd stopped myself from forming meaningful relationships, but I could see the appeal of friends.It was fun.They joked around, relaying stories about bad dates, but also, they shared their business struggles.

We were all going through similar things, no matter what level we were at, and it was fascinating to hear that I wasn't the only one questioning everything.Was this dip in sales permanent?Was it the economy?Were people not shopping and saving their money?

For once, I didn't feel so alone.I was connecting with these women on a different level.Only Clara was a Hart, so the others didn't have easy paths to entrepreneurship.

I'd always felt like an outsider in this group of friends because I owned a truck and not a storefront.

"Hattie, when are you two going to get married?I bet it's tough with the brewery opening soon," Belle asked.

"We haven't really talked about dates or anything.Rowan is preoccupied with the grand opening.Maybe once everything calms down," I said lamely.I could see that Rowan was going to be busy for a while.There wouldn't be time for our wedding, even if we were engaged.There certainly wouldn't be time and space for a relationship.I enjoyed the time we'd spent together.But from now on, he'd be focused on the brewery, and that was understandable.

"I bet you can't wait to start planning," Angela added.

"I've never been a plan-your-wedding kind of girl.So I don't even know where to start," I said honestly.

The women's eyes all widened, and a few mouths dropped open.

"We'd be happy to help.Just let us know when you're ready to start planning," Reina offered.

"That's sweet, but I'm sure I'll be fine," I said.My instinct was always to not accept help.If I was engaged to Rowan, I was sure his mother would want to be involved.Then a chill ran through my chest at the idea of my mother being involved.Maybe a happy occasion could snap her out of the depression she'd been feeling ever since Dad died?I doubted it.

"How's your mom doing?She wasn't at the engagement party," Clara asked, almost reading my mind.

"She’s not a fan of crowds.But she’s doing okay."She almost never left her house, and she refused to even draw the blinds to allow light inside.I wanted to mention how tough things had been for her, but I couldn't seem to form the words.It was easier to pretend that everything was fine than to tell them the truth.

Rowan approached, standing between Claire's chair and mine."Are you done eating?I wanted to show you something."

I stood, placing my napkin on my plate."I'm done."

There was a chorus of goodbyes from the girls, most of them smiling at how sweet it was that Rowan wanted to take me somewhere by myself.

He engulfed my hand in his.

"Where are we going?"

"Like I said, I wanted to show you something."He guided me up a set of stairs at the back of the building, near the newly installed restrooms.

"I didn't realize there was a second floor."

"It's more of an access for the roof."

"Ah," I said, even though I didn't know why we were going to the roof.When I read the information about the building, it said that this one was built to be used for storage.It wasn't one of the houses that had been built for the family to reside in.

He pushed open a door and waited for me to step onto the roof next to him.The roof came to a peek but on the side facing the mountains, there was a porch where you could sit and look out.

"Did you know this was here when you were kids?"

"It wasn't even accessible.We installed the stairs when we did the renovation."

"Are you planning on using this space?"I asked.

There wasn't any furniture, but he'd brought large pillows and blankets up here at some point.There were even battery-operated candles dotting the floor.