Discovery (33 page)

“I always do,” said Nadine as she sat down in front of her computer again. “I'm just shocked you're actually leaving the office on time.”

“Chalk it up to family guilt,” Livi joked as she headed out the door.

• • •

Livi parked near her favorite store but decided to walk around downtown Millersville before hitting her beloved antique shop. A fall breeze helped push her along as she strolled, and while most of the trees had not yet reached their full color potential, Livi was already keyed up for the season to come. Fall was her favorite time of year, and she especially loved a Millersville fall. Set in the mountains of Virginia, Millersville was founded in the late 1800s by Livi's great-great grandfather, James Bradford Miller.

The town began as the only railway stop for miles, but GranPa Miller, as he was known, had positioned the town on the map when he established the first department store in the area. Even though any money her ancestors had was long gone, and Miller's Department Store closed in the 1960s, the Miller name was still prevalent throughout the area as evidenced by the faded paint on several downtown buildings. The Miller and Sons Dry Goods building now housed the local pub and Miller First National Bank had been remodeled into Nell's, Livi's favorite antique store.

In more recent years, a downtown resurgence had produced new, unique shops and restaurants, once again positioning Millersville as
the
place to be in the region. The town spent thousands of dollars on new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping in the downtown area, and today's busy streets were evidence of a successful investment. Tax breaks were granted to businesses that moved into town, and, thus, Hampton Steel, Livi's employer, made the astute decision to relocate its headquarters in Millersville.

These tax breaks, combined with the local non-union workforce, had helped the company become Millersville's primary employer as well as one of the top steel fabricating plants in the country. Hampton Steel's move also provided Livi the opportunity to practice what her father called “big city” corporate law while maintaining her hometown roots.

Olivia Grace “Livi” Miller was born and raised in Millersville and she loved everything about it. Familiarity of sidewalk smells and the knowledge that she recognized almost everyone in town gave her a comfort level living here on her own. Livi was fascinated with her hometown's history, and she had recently lucked into buying a home in the older, established section of town just blocks from where she was now walking. The home was not large, but it was not a cottage either and had enough room for her and her large mutt, Gatsby, to have their own space when needed. It had been built by some long-forgotten ancestor of Livi's and, overall, was still in fairly good shape. She was slowly filling it with the English antiques she loved and hoped to have her dining room complete in time to host her family's Christmas dinner.

After browsing a few of the other downtown stores, Livi finally found herself at Nell's. With her limited free time spent decorating, the antique store had become her new home away from home. She took a deep breath as she walked into the store and immediately began to forget today's stresses. She knew she would leave Nell's with more shopping bags than she needed, filled with more items for herself than for her sister.

The bank building's smell still permeated the shop's plastered walls and the dark hardwood floors creaked with history. Bank teller windows had been uniquely converted to display cases showcasing Nell's latest acquisitions from her contacts in the antiques world, and upon a quick review of today's displays, Livi immediately saw something she wanted for herself. There, propped up in the center teller window, was the most gorgeous Imari platter she had ever seen. The blue and orange details intricately woven on the large porcelain oval popped out at her screaming,
Take me home
— or so Livi envisioned until a little voice from the back of her head whispered,
Remember your sister
.

With one quick look at the price tag and a small choke as she realized her checkbook would not allow her this luxury right now, Livi began browsing for her sister's gift. The antique platter's perfect spot on her dining room wall would remain empty for now.

“I saw your heart flutter at that one.” Nell Cooper Harris laughed as she came out of the back storeroom wiping sweat off her brow and hair out of her eyes with hands gloved in a workman's dirty suede. “I just got that in from Atlanta.”

“Well, my heart may be fluttering but if I don't get Elizabeth's birthday present before six o'clock tonight, my butt will be burning with my dad's boot print. By the way, you look a mess,” Livi joked as she headed to the next display case.

“Inventory.” Nell sighed and smiled. “Did you have anything in mind?”

“No. You know Elizabeth. She's hard to buy for. She flits from one interest to another so it's hard to know what this week's passion is.” Livi loved her younger sister but her own Type A personality never understood Elizabeth's artsy side.

Nell walked over to Livi and gave her the usual welcoming hug. “I think I might have just the thing for our Elizabeth,” she said, motioning for Livi to follow her.

Like Livi, Nell had grown up in Millersville and moved away for college, but after graduating with a degree in art history, she and her college sweetheart had settled back into her familiar Millersville life. Nell's husband, Richard, was an entry-level bookkeeper at Hampton Steel, so Livi saw at least one of them almost every day and considered the couple two of her closest friends. Nell appeared to effectively balance her sole proprietor image with that of soccer mom to her three children, and, at times, Livi envied her. Nell had succeeded with the two-sided life Livi envisioned for herself, maintaining a career on one side and a family on the other. But being raised Baptist in a small southern town meant that before Livi could check “having children” off her Life List, she needed to check off “find true love and get married.” So, while she had maintained control of the career side of her life, Livi had been unable to find the socially acceptable order of her life's personal side. Nevertheless, whenever she felt her envy of Nell creeping back in, Livi rationalized to herself that Nell was a few years older and had had more time to develop her perfect life. Livi liked to believe she still had a few more years for her Life List to establish its own proper order.

“What about this?” Nell said, holding up an antique brooch enameled in candy-apple red — an appropriate gift for an elementary school teacher.

“Perfect.” Livi smiled.

As Nell wrapped the gift at the front counter, Livi's eyes glanced at the framed photo hanging over the cash register. It never failed. Every time she stood at that counter, her heart beat faster as she tried not to look at his green eyes. The photo showed Nell's younger brother, Jake, dressed in his desert camouflage posing with his friend, Ben, both grinning from ear to ear despite their obvious surroundings. The dust on Jake's face made the green of his eyes more intense and, although the photo appeared to be somewhat recent, Livi thought Jake's eyes looked just as they did in high school.

The military and rugged sands of Iraq had not dimmed the sparkle and mischief radiating from those eyes, and they still revealed an old soul that held a special place in Livi's heart. Today especially, with the barrage of reminders of what Livi's life lacked, these green eyes attacked Livi's heart more than usual and she allowed herself to wander through her minefield of memories while she waited on Elizabeth's gift to be wrapped.

By all accounts, Jake Cooper was Livi's first love, and except for a mistaken stint with a fellow law student that truly did not count, Livi probably considered Jake her only love. All of Livi's other beaus had been measured by her “Jake” standard and, unfortunately for them, none had ever reached Jake's level in Livi's heart. They began dating at the end of their sophomore year of high school, and the following summer taught Livi the joys of young, carefree love with a boy who admired her as much as he adored her. They spent that summer swimming in the lake, hiking the local hills and learning how to hold hands in a way that made Livi's heart take precedence over her mind's legal ambitions. Over time, Jake taught her to fly-fish and she taught him which fork to use with shrimp at her graduation dinner. For their senior prom, they even learned to dance the shag together just like Livi's parents used to dance on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk in their younger days.

The two teenagers made a beautiful couple. Livi had long, dark hair and “girl-next-door” looks. Jake was ruggedly handsome with his green eyes and tall, broad build. His obvious strength contrasted with the sweetness he showered on Livi, and her blue eyes melted whenever he gave her that special look. Their relationship was the envy of the high school gossip mill, for they met the clichéd definition of opposites attract. He was star player of the football team. She was star member of the debate team. While Jake spent his afternoons in the gym, Livi spent her time in the library. However, for whatever reason, when they were together it was as if heaven had thrown a star around the two of them and each one glowed brighter than when they were apart. The laughter they accumulated over the two and a half years they dated was immeasurable, and Livi's memories of their time together had become more romanticized in recent years, pushing aside the realities of why their time together had ended.

When all was said and done, Livi blamed herself for their break up. The summer after their high school graduation had been a confusing mix of plans and memories. Both fully intended to stay together but each knew that fall was closing in on them. As summer ended and Livi packed her bags for Charlottesville, she and Jake told each other that distance would not affect what they had.

However, time had different intentions and, while they tried to keep in touch, the calls and visits became fewer and fewer. Livi worked to maintain her grades and Jake searched for his lot in life assuming Livi was quickly leaving him behind. By the time her exams were over that first semester and she returned home for Christmas, Jake had already left for California with Ben. He had told her that he had a line on a great job but that he had to be out west before the first of December. Thus, Livi came home to an empty holiday realizing she and Jake had broken up without either really saying the words.

Deciding to ask the question that had never been asked in all her time spent in Nell's store, Livi's remembrances forced her to blurt out, “So, how's Jake?”

Nell stopped wrapping the gift and looked up with a grin that competed with the Cheshire Cat's. “Do you have ESP or something?” she said.

“No.” Livi was confused.

“Then why don't you ask him yourself?” Nell loudly called out, “Jake!”

And with that one word, Livi turned to see her past rounding the corner out of the back storeroom and looking better than anything she had seen in quite a while.

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