rolls myself, that’s why I’m here.”
“Not to worry. Give me a list of what you need and I’ll have them ready for pick-up in the morning. Is that all right?”
I chuckled when he produced a list from his back pocket. He’d known I’d help if I could. All of us in the row of shops did that for one another. It kept harmony amongst us. I took his list, gave it a good look, and said, “Right, they’ll be ready in the morning. We open at seven a.m., so any time after that is fine. Seanmhair will be happy to see you.”
He lingered and I waited. Not for long, though.
“I hear BettyJo has a stalker, huh?”
“Really?” I lifted a brow and stared at him.
Carl shuffled his feet a bit and glanced around the kitchen. He finally looked at me and said, “Helena mentioned it. Apparently, BettyJo stopped by her shop earlier this evening to buy cupcakes. They got to talking and when BettyJo went to leave, she said there was a guy skulking about, watching her. BettyJo was slightly unnerved. At least, that’s what Helena said. Who do you think it is?”
“I haven’t a clue and neither does BettyJo. She didn’t say anything about stopping by Helena’s,” I said curiously.
“I guess it was last minute, because she went into the shop by the front entrance, not the back door like we always do.”
I stared at him for a minute and then said his order would be ready and waiting for him. I admit, it was my way of dismissing his intention to gossip, which I refused to do. If BettyJo wanted to share her business, that was up to her, not me.
With a nod, Carl left. I locked the door behind him and returned to work. About an hour later, BettyJo arrived and knocked furiously until I let her in.
“Geez, I thought you were going to keep me out there all night,” BettyJo griped and stopped talking at the look on my face. At least that’s what I thought prompted her silence.
A hand on my hip, I said, “Look, BettyJo, if you want to tell the world you have a stalker, why not take an ad out in the Providence Journal?”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t told the world ,” she mimicked.
“Uh, I beg to differ. Carl Mack came in a while ago and told me you shared your stalker news with Helena, who told him and I daren’t guess how many people he’s told. Duh! What were you thinking?”
Her hands up in a stop motion, BettyJo exclaimed, “I was thinking it might stop this bastard, once and for all. If he knows I’m aware of him, then maybe he’ll find someone else to stalk. It’s driving me crazy. I feel like I’m gonna jump out of my skin any minute.”
I sighed, asked if she wanted a glass of wine, and headed to get the bottle and two glasses when she said yes.
Over wine, we talked about Carl’s news. All the while, I waited for BettyJo to share what she’d learned from her father. When she didn’t speak up and I couldn’t stand the suspense another second, I asked, “Are you planning to tell me about dinner with your dad or what?”
She swallowed her mouthful of wine and gave me a wide smile. “I made a point of mentioning Corinda to him. He got all weird looking.”
“That’s a description I’ve not heard lately,” I said with a laugh. “Explain.”
“His face closed like a book. Snapped shut, bang.” She smacked her palms together.
“No shit. I can’t believe it. How did you approach the subject?”
“We were eating tortellini with a delicious cheese sauce, kind of like an Alfredo sauce. I buttered a roll and casually said how pretty Corinda was and that they made a nice-looking couple. When I looked up, wham, his face was cold as ice, his eyes, too. He even had that pinched look around his mouth. It’s the look he gets when he’s unwilling to discuss a subject and thinks you’ve overstepped your bounds by mentioning it. Cripes.”
“So, your take on the whole thing is?”
“I think there may have been something going on between them, but it’s over, very over. If I had to
“Not to worry. Give me a list of what you need and I’ll have them ready for pick-up in the morning. Is that all right?”
I chuckled when he produced a list from his back pocket. He’d known I’d help if I could. All of us in the row of shops did that for one another. It kept harmony amongst us. I took his list, gave it a good look, and said, “Right, they’ll be ready in the morning. We open at seven a.m., so any time after that is fine. Seanmhair will be happy to see you.”
He lingered and I waited. Not for long, though.
“I hear BettyJo has a stalker, huh?”
“Really?” I lifted a brow and stared at him.
Carl shuffled his feet a bit and glanced around the kitchen. He finally looked at me and said, “Helena mentioned it. Apparently, BettyJo stopped by her shop earlier this evening to buy cupcakes. They got to talking and when BettyJo went to leave, she said there was a guy skulking about, watching her. BettyJo was slightly unnerved. At least, that’s what Helena said. Who do you think it is?”
“I haven’t a clue and neither does BettyJo. She didn’t say anything about stopping by Helena’s,” I said curiously.
“I guess it was last minute, because she went into the shop by the front entrance, not the back door like we always do.”
I stared at him for a minute and then said his order would be ready and waiting for him. I admit, it was my way of dismissing his intention to gossip, which I refused to do. If BettyJo wanted to share her business, that was up to her, not me.
With a nod, Carl left. I locked the door behind him and returned to work. About an hour later, BettyJo arrived and knocked furiously until I let her in.
“Geez, I thought you were going to keep me out there all night,” BettyJo griped and stopped talking at the look on my face. At least that’s what I thought prompted her silence.
A hand on my hip, I said, “Look, BettyJo, if you want to tell the world you have a stalker, why not take an ad out in the Providence Journal?”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t told the world ,” she mimicked.
“Uh, I beg to differ. Carl Mack came in a while ago and told me you shared your stalker news with Helena, who told him and I daren’t guess how many people he’s told. Duh! What were you thinking?”
Her hands up in a stop motion, BettyJo exclaimed, “I was thinking it might stop this bastard, once and for all. If he knows I’m aware of him, then maybe he’ll find someone else to stalk. It’s driving me crazy. I feel like I’m gonna jump out of my skin any minute.”
I sighed, asked if she wanted a glass of wine, and headed to get the bottle and two glasses when she said yes.
Over wine, we talked about Carl’s news. All the while, I waited for BettyJo to share what she’d learned from her father. When she didn’t speak up and I couldn’t stand the suspense another second, I asked, “Are you planning to tell me about dinner with your dad or what?”
She swallowed her mouthful of wine and gave me a wide smile. “I made a point of mentioning Corinda to him. He got all weird looking.”
“That’s a description I’ve not heard lately,” I said with a laugh. “Explain.”
“His face closed like a book. Snapped shut, bang.” She smacked her palms together.
“No shit. I can’t believe it. How did you approach the subject?”
“We were eating tortellini with a delicious cheese sauce, kind of like an Alfredo sauce. I buttered a roll and casually said how pretty Corinda was and that they made a nice-looking couple. When I looked up, wham, his face was cold as ice, his eyes, too. He even had that pinched look around his mouth. It’s the look he gets when he’s unwilling to discuss a subject and thinks you’ve overstepped your bounds by mentioning it. Cripes.”
“So, your take on the whole thing is?”
“I think there may have been something going on between them, but it’s over, very over. If I had to
Similar Books
