Snuffed Out - Tim Myers [36]
She muttered something as she broke for the door. I doubted she’d be back, not with all my “special attention,” but if she did venture in my door again, I was bound and determined that she wouldn’t leave with a single thing she hadn’t paid for.
Things were quiet for most of the afternoon, and I was glad we were just open till five. I knew Erin’s shop didn’t close until six, so if I hurried preparing my deposit, I could drop it off at the bank and still have half an hour on the water. I was eager to get back to it. Seeing the proprietress wouldn’t hurt, either.
At two minutes before five, I bolted the door to At Wick’s End and headed for the bank.
Erin was totaling out her own register when I got there fifteen minutes later. “You’re closing early, too?” I asked, failing to hide the disappointment in my voice.
She smiled. “Don’t look so grim. I decided it was a slow day, and to be honest with you, I thought making those candles might be fun. You can still take a kayak out if you’d like.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a quick lesson in candlemaking first?”
“That’s all you need, teaching candlemaking on your time off.”
“Hey, I’m happy to do it. I really enjoy making them.”
She shook her head. “You go grab a kayak and I’ll muddle through on my own.”
I grabbed a paddle, then asked, “Are you sure? I really don’t mind.”
“Go,” she said, adding a smile to the command.
Erin didn’t have to tell me twice. I untied the kayak nearest to me and a minute later I was gliding through the water. It really was a glorious time to be out. I had that stretch of the river to myself, if I didn’t count the ducks and fish. The opposite bank of the river rose up straight into the mountains, and the patchwork of autumn leaves still clinging to the trees made the reflections shimmer and glow with color. It was stunning, and I found myself wishing I’d brought my camera to capture it. I paddled around, fully enjoying myself when I happened to glance at my watch. It was quarter after six! I’d made Erin stay after work, something I knew she hated. Paddling fiercely back to her dock, I made it in four minutes and noticed that all the other boats had been pulled up onto the dock and chained down.
I lifted the kayak out and headed for her office at a dead run.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” I said as I burst in. “I got lost in my thoughts.”
She was frowning over one of the lumpiest rolled candles I’d ever seen in my life. Beside it were two more, each worse than the one before. She didn’t even glance at the clock. “Okay, I admit it, it’s harder than it looks.”
“Do you mind some advice?” I asked as I stored the paddle in its rack.
“I don’t have much choice, do I?”
I picked up the candle closest to me and said, “It looks like the wax was a little stiff when you started rolling. That’s not your fault at all. You don’t happen to have a hairdryer around here, do you?”
“Are you kidding? I can’t go a week without someone tipping over and getting drenched.” She retrieved one from the bathroom as I rolled her effort back out. The sheet kept a concave shape and refused to flatten, but the wax itself was intact, so I figured it would be fine. I ran the blow-dryer over the wax and stopped as it relaxed into a flat sheet. Taking her wax, I pinched the leading edge over the wick and was satisfied with the way it rolled as I started it.
“Try it now,” I told her, and watched carefully as she finished rolling the candle. It was too loose to burn very well, but it was an absolute improvement over what she’d done before.
“Look, it’s perfect,” she said.
“Not