Captured

{9} Leap of Faith

Sara Beth's POV:

After the Farmer's market and my weird interactions with both Adam and Zach, I am looking forward to an uneventful week. I wake up and do my normal morning routine. I have to work all week at Miller's since he had so graciously given me several days off to prepare for the Farmer's Market expo. I go downstairs to grab a quick breakfast before heading to work. My father is in his recliner, reading the paper.

"Hey dad, I've got to work today from open to close so I won't be home until late. What do you have planned for today?" I state just striking up a light conversation.

"Oh, not much, I'm meeting Mr. Turner, Scott, and Zach to go over a few things with the new IT system and security measures we've put into place. I'm hoping this will be the final test run before we are fully operational." he gives me a proud smile.

"That's great, dad. Do you think you will need me to train some of the workers? I'd be happy to help." One secret my dad and I have always kept under wraps is the apple didn't fall too far from the tree when it came to computers, IT, or security measures. In fact, I got into trouble several times for hacking into systems just because I could. What can I say? I am a curious kid. I chuckle at my memory. My dad wanted to ensure my safety while using technology for my photography, but I was naturally talented, so it gave me multiple options for a career if, for some reason, photography didn't work out.

"Not at the moment. The details of the system and its integration are classified to anyone outside of the top town officials. But, I will probably need you once the system goes fully operational and new personnel is brought in to monitor it." I give him a knowing smile and put my lunch inside my bag.

"Well, I'm off. I'll see you later tonight. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie."

I get to work at 7:30 am, which gives me plenty of time to complete my opening checklist before I open the store. Mr. Miller told me he would be in around lunchtime since he is running errands and needs to go by the bank. After I run the register report and stock some shelves, it is time to open for the day.

The first few hours of the morning go by slowly without any customers. I busy myself with wiping down counters, taking inventory, and readjusting products on the shelves. I hear the front door chime around 10:30 am.

"If you need any assistance, I'll be at the front--" I am cut off at the sight of Adam Walker standing by the register. "Oh hey! What are you doing here? Surely your town has a hardware store?" He gives me a charming smile which causes me to both blush and eye him suspiciously.

"Why, hello again beautiful. Yes, River Ridge does have a hardware store, but I had Richard order me something and he told me to swing by today to pick it up." He winks at my blush and continues to stare at me. I tuck a hair behind my ear, trying not to fidget under his gaze.

"Oh okay, let me check our stock room. All deliveries are placed there. Will it be under your name or some other name?"

"Mine." The way he said that one word caused a shiver to go down my back and not in a good way. For some reason, regardless of how charming and nice he is to me, there's something about him. As I turn toward the stock room, I internally scold myself for making judgments before really getting to know him. Do I want to get to know him? He's definitely good looking and obviously financially stable with a solid career in his town. I try to shake the thoughts from my head and focus on the task at hand, since I have no real reason to not trust him. At least not yet. I will just continue to be nice to him. It's only fair, right?

I sift through several boxes in the stock room until I find the one with Adam's name on it. It's a medium sized box, not very heavy. I wonder what he needed to order from Mr. Miller that his own store couldn't have ordered for him. I make my way back to the counter and begin ringing him up. There's a comfortable silence between us and I try to focus on the register screen instead of meeting his eyes which haven't left my face since I returned.

"That will be $157.39." I finally meet his gaze and flash him a smile. He reaches for his wallet and pulls out two one hundred dollar bills and hands them to me.

"Keep the change as my tip to you for excellent customer service." My eyes widen. I can't accept a $43 dollar tip for simply grabbing a box. No way. Mr. Miller would frown on it.

"I--I cannot accept that, Adam. It's far too much for so little." I try to hand him his change, but he simply grabs my hand and forces me to drop the money into my work apron.

"You pain me with your rejection. So, to make it up to me, I would like you to accompany me to dinner this Friday night." He hasn't released my hand as he leans on the counter with a playful expression on his face.

"Oh, I have to work Friday until 7:30, I--"

"Great, I'll pick you up at 8. See you then." He moves so quickly that I don't get a chance to say anything else. What the hell just happened? How did he dash out of the store so fast? I stand amazed for several minutes before getting back to work. A few hours pass before the door chimes again with Mr. Miller hastily walking through the door with arms filled. I quickly move to assist him.

"What's all this?" I ask while taking some of the bags from his hands.

"Hey, Sara Beth, sorry I'm late. I just needed to pick up some things from the warehouse and then, the bank took forever with the deposit. How was this morning? Any issues?"

"Uh, no issues, it's been kind of slow today. Oh, Mr. Walker came by and picked up his order. He also left me a $43 dollar tip. I told him I couldn't accept it, but he refused to take his change." I see anger flash across Mr. Miller's face for the first time since we've met and I'm not sure if it's directed toward me or Adam. "Here's the money. I don't want to keep it, but wasn't sure if I needed to put it in the register or somewhere else." He closes his eyes a moment before speaking.

"I'm so sorry Sara Beth, my expression is not directed toward you in any way. You did nothing wrong. I have to be honest with you. Mr. Walker has a tendency to overstep his boundaries and he can sometimes come across as arrogant and pushy, which allows him to get what he wants from people, myself included." he lets out an annoyed sigh. "I just want you to be careful around him, okay? He's not what he seems. I have a feeling you are the real reason behind his order." My eyes snap to his.

"What do you mean?"

"For starters, River Ridge has a larger hardware store than mine and could have easily ordered his supplies. Secondly, he's not really supposed to come into our territory unannounced and without permission. We have an unspoken rule between our communities to request permission to enter the town limits. We are a small community and we like for everyone to feel safe and secure. This is why the Farmer's Market and other blended community events are held on neutral ground," he explains.

"Makes sense, but what does all of this have to do with me?" still confused about my role in all of this.

"I can only speculate, but seeing as you are a beautiful, talented young woman, I'd say he is smitten with you." Realization hits me. I place my hand on my forehead and let out my own sigh of frustration. "What? What is it?"

"He asked me out to dinner on Friday night. Well, he sort of decided for me before I could really respond." Mr. Miller gives me a knowing nod and begins to unpack his bags.

"You're a brilliant girl. Go out and have fun, but keep your wits about you. Decide for yourself the type of man he is. I would never persuade you to judge based on my opinion alone. He may be completely different with me than he is with you." I appreciate Mr. Miller's honesty. I decide then that I will go on the date. This would give me a chance to see if my gut is playing tricks on me or if he truly has something underneath his sheep's clothing. Another chime of the door brings me out of my thoughts. I am surrounded by my new friends.

"Whoa, hey, where's the fire? What in the world are you all doing here?" I joke, looking at Mr. Miller as he seems amused at their entrance, too.

"Sorry, Mr. Miller, we don't mean to disturb SB at work, but we just came from market square and we have some exciting news!!" Leah is practically bursting. I giggle at my friend's actions and her new nickname for me.

"What are you talking about?" My curiosity peaks.

"Well, the were—" I see Ally jab Leah in the side with her elbow. I c**k my eyebrow suspiciously at her before Leah continues. "Oh goddess, listen to me fumbling over my words." She takes a deep breath to calm down. "Let's try this again. We were in market square doing some shopping when we noticed there was a gathering. Some of our town council members were handing out these flyers." I'm still not following, so I look at the rest of the group, hoping for further explanation.

"The council is hosting a charity auction and are asking the surrounding towns to donate items to be auctioned off." Penny jumps in with a much needed explanation.

"The council uses the money to help promote and support various charities or causes as well as bring our communities together." Chloe continues.

"And there is usually a charity ball where all town officials and their mates as well as those who donate are invited. It's a grand affair!" Ally all but squeals in excitement.

"So, we thought..." Leah turns to the girls and then back at me. "You should enter one of your best art pieces!"

"What?!" I whisper. Not only am I stunned at my friends' request, but feel a wave of love and support from them. I'm speechless for a moment. "I—I—I don't know what to say. I've never been so surrounded by this type of friendship." I blush, but it's the truth.

"Awwwwwww!" Chloe says. As the girls all rush around me to put me in the biggest group hug ever. After being released, they patiently wait for me to get my thoughts together.

"I don't know why you're thinking so hard about this. You already have the perfect piece to donate." Mr. Miller boasts, referring to my wolf picture. A silent smile graces my face as I remember telling him how proud I was at how it turned out. No one has seen it because, honestly, it's one of my favorite pictures, but he was right. This would be the perfect time to put it on display. I turn to him and nod before returning to my friends.

"I'll do it." The store fills with screams and cheers which cause some customers to flinch and move to another aisle. "Sssssshhh! I am still at work!" I shake my head. Leah then hands me the flyer.

"I will go and get you a donation application so you can get it filled out and turned back in. We only have a few weeks to get everything in." I nod and look at the bright orange flyer in my hand announcing the charity auction. Time. Place. Details. I take a deep breath. Another leap of faith for me.