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Stumbling Upon Romance

By Sally Jo Pitts

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STUMBLING UPON ROMANCE
By: Sally Jo Pitts

 
Chapter 1

Would she ever escape misfortune?
Florida’s early morning sun bore down on Claudia Stewart, who was stuck outside her dog grooming shop in downtown Hamilton Harbor.
“Good grief. Now my apron’s caught in the door.” Harvey, her giant schnauzer client, sat down—again—on the sidewalk in front of The Pampered Pooch and cocked his furry head.
“At this rate, we’ll never make it to Elaine’s.”
Shoving Harvey’s leash between her knees, she jiggled the key into the old-fashioned keyhole, opened the door, and freed her grooming apron. The business sign, with clock hands set at 9:00 and 5:00, clunked against the door glass, accenting her pride in being a new-business-owner.
Claudia closed the door behind her a third time. She’d already returned to retrieve her purse. The sun’s rays foreshadowed another hot, humid summer day in the northwest Florida coastal town, and the warm air intensified the scent of vanilla bean coat conditioner on Harvey and her.
“Harvey,” Claudia sniffed her shirt, “I smell like a well-groomed canine.” The big, black dog, sporting a new haircut and bandana, perked up his ears and waggled his stump of a tail.
She squinted to read the time on her wristwatch. “Seven o’clock. Should be plenty of time to walk you, and …” Claudia snapped her fingers. “Before we set out this time, I’d better make sure I have the horseshoe for Elaine’s grand opening.”
Harvey blinked at her with black, shiny eyes beneath neatly trimmed brow fringe and sat back down. Claudia stepped on his leash, freeing her hands to check her purse. She felt the hard, cold metal and held it up for Harvey to see. “Let’s hope this horseshoe brings Elaine good luck with her bistro.”
But Harvey’s focus had gone elsewhere. Pointy ears stood soldier erect, his front shoulders twitched. Claudia turned. The piercing gold eyes of a sleek black cat stared back.
“Harr-veey,” Claudia cautioned.
The cat sprinted.
The big dog lunged, yanking the leash from under Claudia’s foot. His leap sent the horseshoe clattering down the sidewalk and her flip-flop soaring.
“Harvey. You expect me to catch you wearing flip-flops and carrying a purse?” Claudia’s cry did nothing to slow Harvey’s chase. She retrieved her shoe and ran—the rubber soles flapping against her heels.
The cat raced down the sidewalk. Harvey woofed in clumsy pursuit, while Claudia dashed after her runaway. Old brick store fronts, green-striped awnings sheltering rejuvenated stores, and crepe myrtles lining Main Street blurred. Seagulls from the bay harbor at the end of the street circled and squawked. Deep-sea fishing boats she would never dare step foot on bucked in the choppy waters. Past the “Opening Soon” sign at Elaine’s Harbor Town Bagel Bistro, Claudia followed the raucous barks.
“Harvey, stop!”
Harvey let out a high-pitched yip as he ran into the breezeway beside the bistro.
Claudia rounded the corner. A tall stepladder rattled past her, smashed against the corridor’s stucco wall, and crashed on its side. Harvey’s leash wrapped tightly around the ladder base, stopping him just short of the cat. The dog panted, his long tongue dripping wet droplets onto the concrete walkway.
The cat hissed.
Could her morning get any worse?
She heard the ominous sound of glass scraping against stucco and turned just in time to catch a fluorescent light bulb before it hit the pavement.
She’d missed her morning run, but her heart was still getting a workout.
Righting the light bulb against the wall, the sound of a throat clearing made her jump and look up. Dangling above her head were two booted feet. A man, arms stretched taut, clung to an overhead beam. A light fixture swung precariously at his side.
The whole episode took seconds to unfold but would have taken hours to choreograph.
“This is awful.” Claudia wrung her hands.
“How about moving my ladder back.”
“Oh, of course.” Claudia ran to the ladder. Her toe caught on the side of the ladder and pain shot through every nerve of her foot.
“Yikes,” she yelped. “Harvey, how in the world did you manage to get so tangled?”
The acidic taste of her morning coffee inched up the back of Claudia’s throat, and her hands shook as she worked to free the leash.
“Hey,” a woman stepped from the building next door, “let me help.” She stooped down and lifted the ladder for Claudia to free the leash.
“You are a God-send,” Claudia said, breathless.
The dog grumbled.
The cat crouched and sent a hostile look at Harvey.
Claudia gave the dog a quick side tug with the leash. “Harvey, you stay put.”
“Ladies—the ladder?”
“Sorry.” Claudia winced, got a firm grip on Harvey’s leash, and helped her rescuer reposition the ladder.
“Here you go, Pete,” the woman said to the guy overhead.
The rubber soles of the man’s work boots squeaked a sigh of relief against the metal ladder as he regained firm footing.
“I’m Kali Reppen,” the woman said holding out her hand to Claudia. “I work for Southern Life Realty.” She nodded toward the business next door.
“Claudia Stewart. Thanks so much for the help.”
Kali had a confident grip, blonde precision-cut, shoulder-length hair with bright highlights, sparkly white teeth suitable for a tooth-whitening commercial, and stylish high-heeled shoes—probably a size six.
“I’m a friend of Elaine’s, the one who is opening the bistro.” Claudia pointed to the door across the breezeway from the realty office.
“I, for one, will be glad when she’s officially open. Fresh bagel and brewed coffee smells coming out of the bistro have been torturing me for days.” Kali closed her eyes to sniff the aromas escaping the café.
“I, for another one, could use some help up here.”
“Sorry, Pete.” Kali directed her comments upward. “These smells keep me mesmerized.” To Claudia she said, “That guy up there, whose feet you knocked out from under him, is Pete Cullen.”
Pete peered down at her. She’d rather have met him eye-to-eye with a nice handshake. With him towering high above her, Claudia felt like a little kid called to the principal’s office for misbehavior. “I’m so sorry for this disturbance.”
“I’m just glad to get my feet back on something solid. Do you see a couple of bolts down there?”
“Hold on.” Kali said.
“I’ve been doing that,” Pete muttered.
Claudia looked up. He had a light fixture propped on his shoulder.
“I’ll help.” Desperate to salvage the situation, Claudia tied Harvey to the wrought iron railing near the pet watering fountain Elaine had installed and set her purse in a chair beside him.
With Harvey secured, the black cat emerged.
The feline raised her whiskered face and, as if sufficiently satisfied with the upheaval she’d created, gave a regal farewell wave with her tail, and trotted down the corridor to the alley behind.
Harvey protested with a low growl. “Harvey,” Claudia used her pointed index finger, “shush.”
The dog tilted his head to one side. Claudia lowered her finger in defeat. “Gotta’ love ya’.” She shrugged and patted his big head. Harvey responded with a sloppy, wet lick on her arm.
“Good heavens,” She wiped her arm with the bottom of her apron and joined Kali to search on hands and knees for the bolts.
“Found one.” Kali climbed a few steps up the ladder. “Here you go, Pete.”
“Maybe you should have asked for hazard pay with this job,” Kali told Pete, flashing a teasing smile Claudia’s way.
“You run The Pampered Pooch down the street.” Kali made the remark more as a statement of fact than a question.
“Yes. How did you know?”
Kali nodded toward Harvey and Claudia’s apron printed with romping puppies. “Good guess?”
“Oh.” Claudia laughed. “You are a good guesser. I opened for business last month.” Claudia knelt and began sweeping her hands over the pavement. “This is so embarrassing. Not the way I wanted to meet people.”
In Atlanta, the incident wouldn’t have mattered much—just another oddity in a sea of many. But life had brought her to this small Florida Panhandle town where anonymity wouldn’t be so easy. She only had one chance to make a good first impression. Creating havoc wasn’t what she had in mind.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Kali said. “I think you’ve come up with a novel way to get introduced. Where are you from?”
Easy to answer for most, but not Claudia. She’d lived several places since she lost her parents at age nine. “Long story, but most recently Atlanta.”
“Wow. I’d love to move to a big city like Atlanta if I had the right job opportunity.”
“The city can offer opportunity if you’re willing to sacrifice the small-town community you have here. I used to have an hour-long commute to work. Now I’m just seconds away. Moving here has been a blessing.”
Claudia’s knee crunched against something hard. “Ouch.”
“Your knee found the bolt?” Kali asked.
Claudia smiled, grasped the bolt, and swept her hand high in the air as if displaying a winning trophy. “Teamwork.”
But triumph was short-lived when the bolt took flight. Claudia watched in disbelief as the hard projectile zeroed in, like a programmed missile, on the fluorescent bulb she had just saved.
“Nooo.” Claudia moaned the word in hopes of undoing the inevitable.
The bolt evaded Kali’s grab attempt and hit its target. The bulb exploded and crashed to the pavement. Shattered bits of glass and powder lay scattered along the corridor walkway.
Pete let out a grunt.
Claudia covered her mouth with her hands. Disaster, her hallmark, reared its head. Would these broken bits of glass shatter her new beginning? Fresh starts were supposed to go well, but for Claudia, not so much.

***

Pete watched from his overhead perch. The nerves in his arms still tingled after hanging from the beam. His shoulder carried the weight of the light fixture while the bedlam from the broken light bulb played out.
“What’s going on out here?” Elaine Robinson poked her head with its pixie haircut out of the bistro entrance. Flour dotted her face and apron.
“Come on out, you’re missing all the action,” Kali said.
Claudia groaned.
Pete’s eyes strayed from the shattered bulb to the girl below with the fiery red hair. Her gestures, explaining the fiasco to Elaine, sparked his interest. The kind of spark he made a vow to extinguish like a bucket of water on hot embers if the urge ever came up again.
Kali diverted his attention. “Here’s the other bolt.”
“Tell Elaine that powder is an environmental hazard. It needs to be bagged up properly.”
“She knows,” Kali said. “Elaine explained the same thing to me. Claudia’s bringing another bulb.”
“Think she can handle it?” Pete said.
“Sure. Just a bad break.” She sent Pete a wink. “No pun intended.”
Pete squinted his eyes at Kali. “Cute.”
Claudia returned, grasping in both hands a fluorescent bulb protected by its cardboard cover. Kali’s cell phone buzzed, and she checked the caller ID. “I’d better take this in the office. Good meeting you, Claudia. I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”
Claudia nodded. “Thanks for your help.”
Pete secured the fixture with the bolts as Kali went back in her office. Little wonder Kali wound up in sales after high school. It was a lucrative way to use her knack for maneuvering whatever—and whomever—she wanted to suit her whims.
“I’m not leaving this to chance. I’m handing the bulb to you in the package,” Claudia said.
The look of determination on her face pricked Pete’s heart, surprising him. He gave her a heavy nod. Her expression softened, then brightened, as she successfully transferred the bulb to him.
“Did it!” She let out a huge breath, as if she’d achieved a huge milestone.
“Thanks.” Pete tested the fixture with a tug to make sure it was secure and added the fluorescent bulb.
Elaine returned with heavy cardboard, duct tape, and a plastic bag for clean-up.
“Elaine, would you flip the switch inside the door?” Pete called down.
“I’ll do it.” Claudia said. She stepped toward the door and collided with Elaine. The duct tape went flying and landed right in front of Harvey. He clamped it in his teeth, as if holding a fat Frisbee.
Claudia scurried to retrieve the tape. “Good boy.”
Harvey responded by wagging his rear end, making the wrought iron chairs clang together.
Pete shook his head.
She handed Elaine the tape and grabbed the bistro doorknob. “Which switch do you want turned on?”
“Far right.”
The light flickered and came to its full brightness, illuminating the corridor.
“Yay!” Claudia clapped her hands.
Harvey barked.
Elaine looked at Pete. “Jeff will be proud of the increased lighting in the breezeway.”
Pete started to say that installing the fixture could be like training for her husband’s SWAT team but opted for, “You need good lighting for security.” He climbed down the ladder, thankful to reach solid ground.
“I wanted the two of you to meet. I guess you have now.” Elaine said.
“Indeed, I guess we have.”
Claudia winced. “Sorry for the crash meeting.”
She had amazing green eyes.
“It’s all over now.”
She bit at her lower lip and turned to finish helping Elaine with the clean-up.
Pete folded and leaned his ladder against the wall. What an inane remark—it’s all over now. Couldn’t he have come up with something better than that?
“Why don’t you two come in,” Elaine said. “I have a new recipe I want you to test. Pete, I set aside This Old House magazines that were donated to the lending library for you.”
“I’ll help.” Claudia said. She grabbed her purse, told Harvey to “hang-in there,” then tripped over the threshold while entering the bistro.
Elaine might be wise to turn down assistance from this girl.
Inside, the tantalizing smell of baking dough flavored the air. Today’s experiment carried a spicy scent. His role as a tester had been a fringe benefit while he worked getting the bistro ready to open. After washing up, he picked up a This Old House magazine and settled into a pub chair at one of the counter-height tables.
Claudia emerged from the kitchen drying her hands. “I’m really sorry about knocking you off your ladder. That wasn’t a very good way to introduce myself.” A sincere smile lit up her eyes.
To divert his gaze, Pete did all he knew to do. He looked down and said, “No problem.”
Uneasiness took over. Why couldn’t he just relax? He could handle listening better than holding a conversation. Opening his mouth meant running the risk of saying the wrong thing.
He tried to focus on the table of contents in the magazine but still heard Elaine talking to Claudia.
“How do you like the shelves Pete built for the lending library you suggested?”
“They’re perfect.”
“I distributed flyers to merchants on Main Street asking for library donations. The response has been wonderful.”
“I’m afraid the library idea is a little self-serving. It has helped me whittle down my overgrown book collection that threatens to take over my little apartment.”
“Self-serving or not, having books and magazines available for customers is a great idea. Right Pete?”
Pete grunted his reply and tried to study the magazine in front of him.
Elaine headed back to the kitchen. “The new bagel samples are coming up.”
Nothing on the page in front of him registered. He was aware only of the sweet scent of vanilla as Claudia approached his table. She lifted one of the magazines, and when she opened the cover, a bookmark fluttered to the floor.
Picking up the marker, she read out loud, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” She handed the item to Pete. “That’s a good idea, don’t you think?”
Pete fingered the bookmark made of blue construction paper with neat black calligraphy print. “Depends on what you think of yourself,” he said and handed the bookmark back to her. He tried to concentrate on a table-refinishing article but few words penetrated. Silence emanated from Claudia—the kind that anticipates chitchat. Not his strong suit.
Elaine came out of the kitchen bringing blessed, aromatic relief to his discomfort.
“Try these.” She placed a plate of bite-size bagel samples on the table. “These treats are my version of the Czech Klobasnek. That’s sausage wrapped in bread dough.”
The word Czech evoked a memory of Pete’s one-time serious relationship. A memory that left him resolved to stay away from any romantic attachments. He sampled the fresh bagel spiced with a juicy hot dog center.
“Klo-bas-what?” Claudia asked. “I call them pigs in a blanket.” She bit into one, gave a moan of delight, and gestured with her hands. “You’ve got a winner here. Call them whatever you like.”
Pete agreed. “They’ll be a big hit.”
“Thanks, guinea pigs. How about something to drink?”
“A latté for me.”
“Coffee, black, please.”
“Plain black?” Claudia said. “How uninteresting.”
She made the remark with a hint of laughter that put a chink in Pete’s armor. He raised one eyebrow and said, “Suits me.” He meant his return as a flat comment.
She responded with an anxious, “Just kidding,” and turned away to help Elaine.
Had he come across too hard? He didn’t mean to. But that was his manner, and short responses did serve to … to what? Give him a safe wall to hide behind? Probably.
Claudia returned with coffees in hand. “Here you go, sir.” She presented his coffee as if the drink was an award. “No frills, no extras, just the pure, unadulterated java.”
Coffee sloshed out as she set the cup down.
“Oops.” She dabbed at the spill. “I always bring extra napkins.”
Pete looked up and puzzled over the clumsy girl who seemed determined to engage him. With a nod, he accepted the coffee and attempted to return to his article.
Claudia picked up the bookmark. “Since we tend to look out for our own interests, maybe we should do the same thing for others?”
She made the comment as if they’d been discussing the meaning. He should make some response. “Suppose so,” was all his reserve allowed but enough for Claudia to take a seat at the table.
Pete needed a place to focus his eyes and reached for the bookmark. He knew the scripture, had heard the sentiment taught in Sunday school and preached in the pulpit. But the verse had always confused him and seemed self-centered—the notion of loving yourself. And what if you were unlovable? What then? Was it even possible to love your neighbor?
Pete took a deep breath and pushed the bookmark back in Claudia’s direction. He sipped his coffee and wished the warmth could soothe his edginess. Oh, to relax and enjoy a good brewed cup of coffee—not like the strong stuff served when he worked on the oil rigs. But that desire was proving hard in the presence of this bright-eyed girl with the curly hair.
“Do you suppose black cats come into our lives to push us into thinking of someone other than ourselves?” Claudia asked.
Her question blindsided him. “Black cats?”
“Like the one Harvey chased. Instead of being bad luck, what if they were meant to keep us from dwelling on ourselves?”
“So you could concentrate on the poor guy that was about to make a twenty-foot drop?”
“Yeah, like that.”
He stared at her a second. Cute as a puppy. Her sage-green eyes complimented her coppery-red hair and fair skin sprinkled with freckles. He shook his head and managed a sip of coffee. “I always heard black cats brought either good or bad luck. Not that I believe in that sort of thing.”
“Luck.” She slammed her coffee down, spilling some. “The horseshoe.”
Elaine was busy polishing the glass on the display case.
“Elaine, I dropped the horseshoe I was bringing you for good luck.”
Elaine twirled her cleaning rag and smiled. “I don’t want to miss out on anything good sent my way.”
Claudia picked up a napkin from her stockpile and wiped up the spilled coffee.
“Watch my coffee and keep an eye on Harvey.” Claudia spoke to Pete as if they were a twosome, then rushed out the door.
Baffled, Pete stared after her. He glanced out the bistro window and saw that Harvey was snoozing in the shade of a green-striped table umbrella. What had he done to warrant Claudia’s interest? He’d tried not to encourage her, yet she seemed bent on including him. And something deep inside him—he hated to admit—kind of liked the attention.

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