The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(58)

“So. If this was, in fact, your last day, and you knew that, what would you do?”

“That’s a tough question,” she replied. “It’s easy to say I’d run off into the sunset, but life isn’t that simple when there are things out of my control, like Gran being sick. I suppose I’d spend the day with the people that mean the most to me. How about you? Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do?”

He took a drink of his wine, his expression making him look like he was solving some sort of algebra problem. Then he set his glass down and pushed back his chair, standing up and walking to Hannah’s side of the table. He took her hand, gently pulling her to a standing position. The only sound between them was the radio playing softly. He put his arm around her and held her hand, swaying to the slow music. “If today were my last day,” he said, looking into her eyes, “I’d dance with you.”

She peered up at him, surprise washing over her like bubbles in champagne. “This is what you’d want to do on your final day—dance with me?” she asked.

“One time, at the bonfire in the field, when we were kids, you and Morgan were dancing in the headlights of one of the trucks. I still remember your long hair falling down the back of your sundress and your hands above your head. The other guys were hooting and hollering, but I thought, ‘I wish I could dance with her.’”

“Why didn’t you?” she asked.

“When I finally got the nerve to jump down from the back of the truck, Ethan had pulled you aside and asked you to go home.” Out of nowhere, Liam dipped her, making her laugh. He pulled her upright. “I think my final day would be about… taking chances.” He twirled her out and then brought her back in to him, making her smile again.

“Can I dance, Daddy?” Noah’s groggy voice came from the doorway, causing both Hannah and Liam to start. “I woke up,” he said, his eyes heavy, a pink line on his cheek from the sheets.

Hannah walked over to him and took his hand. “Of course you can dance,” she said. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll show you how I learned to dance. Your dad has bigger feet than I do, so he’d be the best to do this.” She turned Noah toward Liam. “Step up on your daddy’s feet and hold on to him.” She twisted the knob on the radio slightly so they could hear the music better. “Now, Liam, dance like you were with me, and Noah will learn your steps.”

Liam began to move his feet, Noah gliding along with him. Noah broke out in a look of pure sleepy happiness as he peered up at his father.

“Hannah’s a good teacher, isn’t she?” Liam asked Noah.

“Yes, but you’re good too,” Noah said, wriggling his little toes on Liam’s feet.

Liam lifted him up into his arms. Without warning, Noah put his arms around his father’s neck and gave him a big squeeze. Hannah’s heart pattered. If this were her last day, that, right there, would be on her list of things to see.





Twenty-One





The next morning, Hannah and Georgia had gotten to The Memory Keeper early.

Georgia sat cross-legged in the empty display window. “What if we could make this place great again?” she offered optimistically. “What if we could get enough sales to pay off the debt and turn the shop around?”

“I have to admit, I thought that too after hearing about the new shops Liam’s bringing in.” Hannah opened the back door and set a bowl of milk out for Speckles, although she still hadn’t seen the cat. “But where could we even start?”

Georgia hopped off the window and came up behind her. “You’re too involved in the situation,” she said. “Close your eyes.”

Glad for the distraction, Hannah complied.

“You work at a magazine, right? You’re doing a magazine spread on flowers, and this is a blank page. Just one giant, three-dimensional canvas. What do you put on it?”

Images began filtering into Hannah’s mind. Painted, curling letters in cursive script spelling out “The Memory Keeper” slid onto the back wall in blues and greens like vines, with pink, purple, and yellow bunches of flowers along the tails—all of it swirling over a mural of some sort. The old counter at the back became an oversized whitewashed antique dresser with a marble top, the old record player cornered on it, and cut-glass antique vases of flowers sitting on light disks illuminating the back wall with shimmery sparkles.

Hannah suddenly thought back to what Liam had said about taking chances, his suggestion giving her new perspective. What if she could make a different kind of shop here? If they could make The Memory Keeper inviting for new customers by bringing it into the present, they might have a shot at turning things around.

“We have to paint anyway at the end of the lease,” Hannah said, still thinking about the possibilities. “We need the brightest white paint possible.” She opened her eyes. “The flowers will provide the color.”

“Yes!” Georgia agreed, beginning to bounce around the room. “See all those silver buckets? Let’s replace them with new ones and fill them with flowers from floor to ceiling.”

“But how will we get to them?”

Georgia’s gaze landed on the track at the top of one of the walls. “I’ll bet there was a ladder that used to slide across that wall.”