Treacherous Tart (19 page)

What else could she say? They stood awkwardly in the foyer together. She could at least make him breakfast.

“I don't cook much besides pies, but I can make coffee, and I think we have some cookies.”

“Sounds great!” He rubbed his hands together. His eyes held hers. “I love eating cookies for breakfast.”

They sat across from each other at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and eating chocolate chip cookies. They talked about all the memories they shared of growing up here.

“Remember that time when Margaret Winstead was waiting for me after school?” Maggie shook her head at the past. “She was big and mean! She wanted to kick me around the corner a few times.”

He laughed. “Instead, she kicked
me
!”

“She did! We walked home and I put the steak in your mom's fridge on your eye.”

“And then you went back and beat up Margaret Winstead. She never bothered us again!”

She started to refill his cup. He put his hand on hers.

“That's it for me, thanks. I'm not much of a coffee drinker anymore.”

She smiled and filled her own cup instead. “I'm still hooked on the stuff. I lived on it in New York.”

He studied her closely. “You did it, though. You made it to that big job you always wanted.”

“I did,” she agreed. “And I almost lost myself doing it.”

“I never wanted to do anything more than skate-board around the block, and now look at me.”

“How did you end up in Florida?”

He shrugged. “It was a good opportunity. But Mom and Dad aren't as young as they used to be. Dad had a heart attack last year.”

“That's terrible. Are you moving back to Durham?”

“I'm thinking about it. Are you staying?”

“Definitely yes!”

He glanced at his watch. “I guess I should go. I promised Mom a trip to the mall. You're welcome to come along—Aunt Clara too.”

“I guess we have to bring everything home today, but thank you.” Maggie tried her aunt's suggestion about making dinner for him. “When are you going back to Florida? We'd love to have you over for dinner one night.”

“That would be great, thanks. I'll be here for a while, so no rush.” He got to his feet. “Thanks for the cookies, Maggie. It was fun getting caught up.”

She walked him to the back door. “It was fun, David. Just let me know when is good for you. And come by the pie shop sometime. Any pie you want—on the house—for furnace repair.”

“I'll do that.” He bent close to her and kissed her cheek. “You're exactly the way I remember you, Maggie. I hope we can talk more later.”

Maggie touched a hand to her cheek when he was gone. David had grown up very nicely.

A
unt Clara was
thrilled that they were moving their belongings back into the house.

Ryan had gone out again before Maggie got back. He was still trying to figure out some way to save the
Weekly
office. Maggie struggled with the box of kittens. Fanny had jumped down on the stairs on the way in. She was circling Maggie's feet, weaving in and out between her footsteps. It was hard not to trip over her or step on her.

“Well, it was very sweet of David to get the furnace fixed, wasn't it?” Aunt Clara pushed the rest of
their belongings into the foyer. “He was always a very sweet boy. I've missed seeing him.”

“We had a good talk too.” Maggie smiled at the thought of sharing her memories with him. “I think I missed him without even realizing it.”

Aunt Clara slammed the door shut. “You know, he
was
your friend. The two of you were inseparable for a while.”

There was a knock at the door. “May I come in?”

“Oh, Garrett!” Aunt Clara realized she'd slammed the door in his face and quickly opened it. “I'm so sorry. Are you all right?”

“I'm fine.” He wiggled his nose with his fingers. “I've always thought I needed to get my nose bobbed. Too long, you know.”

She giggled. “I think your nose is perfectly fine the way it is. Thank you for bringing in the pie-making equipment.” She took all of her kitchen-ware from him. “Would you like to come in and sit down?”

“I don't mind if I do.”

“I'm going to make lunch,” Aunt Clara said. “Will you stay and eat with us, Garrett?”

“That would be wonderful.”

Maggie heard his reply from upstairs.

She sighed and tried calling Ryan again. Still no answer. She knew he was out there, relentlessly searching for some way to save the office. She supposed she'd have to give him some leeway in his hour
of need. She wished there was something she could do to help.

Her conversation with David bothered her a little. Was it possible she still had feelings for him?

It seemed unlikely. It was only a moment, remembering the past they'd shared. Nothing more. That kiss in the doorway was only something two friends would share.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon for Clara and Maggie. They went out with Garrett after lunch to get a litter box for Fanny and her kittens. They also purchased food bowls and a climbing perch for the cats to scratch on.

When they'd come back, Garrett said he was exhausted and soon fell asleep on the sofa in the parlor. His snores echoed through the house. Maggie hoped he'd be able to keep up with Aunt Clara if the two of them continued to be friends. She was as energetic as a twelve-year-old sometimes. After that, they played with the cats and came up with a purchase order list for Mr. Gino that included what they needed for the chicken potpies.

“Let's also ask him about your ice cream idea,” Aunt Clara said. “It's a long way until next summer, but you know how that goes. One day it's Christmas, and the next it's the Fourth of July.”

Maggie laughed. “I'm glad it doesn't
really
go by that fast.”

Her aunt agreed but was still determined to get
a price quote on a freezer and ice cream for the hot weather. “I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. You realize you'll have to do most of the ice cream scooping, right?”

“I know. If it helps keep our customers happy, I can scoop with the best of them.”

Garrett finally went home after dinner that night when he'd heard they were planning to go to an outdoor winter carnival. He hugged Clara awkwardly and said he'd like to see her again.

Aunt Clara didn't make any firm plans. She thanked him for letting them stay at his home and straightened his coat collar. Maggie hid behind the stairs while they were in the foyer, but there was no kiss.

When Garrett was gone, they bundled up and walked to the nearby park where the winter carnival was being held. There were puppet shows, a man-made ice-skating rink, and even an ice sculpture contest.

The tiny white lights in the trees looked beautiful as visitors strolled the paths. College students had used a snow-making machine to enhance the frozen ground, which was brown and bare. There were piles of wet snow everywhere.

Ryan was there taking pictures for the paper.

Maggie almost decided to pretend she hadn't seen him. He'd been ignoring her phone calls and texts all day. She knew he was working, or had been
looking for funding so he could keep the office. Still, he could've taken a moment to get back with her. She knew he was in a bad place, but it still rankled being ignored.

“There you are.” Aunt Clara skipped around two babies being pulled along the park paths in a cute sled. “Where have you been all day? Maggie has been worried sick about you.”

Maggie was thankful for the darkness around them. She couldn't help but smile at Aunt Clara's aggressive questioning on her behalf. She wouldn't have asked those questions the same way. She felt bad for Ryan—even if she was also a little angry.

He slung his camera over his shoulder. “I'm sorry, Aunt Clara. You too, Maggie. I haven't been avoiding you. I think I may have come up with a good idea to save the office. I won't know for a few days if it's going to work. I'd rather not talk about it until then, if you don't mind. I'm a little superstitious. Dad said you moved back to your house. Is the furnace fixed?”

“Yes, it is.” Aunt Clara smiled up at him. “David Walker from next door repaired it for us. He's such a
sweet
man. And now that he may be living in Durham again, we'll be seeing a lot of him.”

“Oh?” Ryan's gaze went to Maggie's. “I guess that's what I get for being out of the loop. You didn't get married while I was gone today, did you?”

“No,” Clara said. “But he did ask her to marry
him when they were fourteen. I can't recall what your answer was, Maggie.”

Maggie was ready to move past her aunt trying to make Ryan jealous. “Nice night, huh?”

“That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm glad you came.”

“I'm going to get some snow cream.” Aunt Clara laughed. “I hope they have banana flavor. That was my favorite when I was a child.”

Ryan took out his camera again and snapped a few pictures of people using chain saws to carve large blocks of ice into bears, horses, and dragons. “I'm sorry, Maggie.”

She could barely hear him over the sound of the chain saws. The smell of gasoline was overpowering. “What?”

He took her hand, and they walked away from the sound and smell. “I'm sorry about being out of touch today and last night. I'm not usually that way, am I?”

“Not usually. A text once in a while would be nice. But I understand.”

Ryan put his arms around her. “I know. I get caught up. I try not to let it happen.”

“I know you do.” She hugged him too. Her eyes narrowed on a familiar form a few yards away, watching them. “This is going to be weird.”

“What?” He started to look around.

She held him tighter. “No. Don't look back. Debbie Blackwelder is watching us.”

“She's watching
us
?” It was all he could do not to look at her. “We must have rattled her cage.”

“So she's going to stalk us? We're nowhere near her salon. She must know we live around here.”

“Well, if she killed Donald and made it look like Clara did it, it's a good bet she's been to the pie shop. It would be easy to follow you from there.”

“Great. I wasn't looking for that when I went with you.”

“Cheer up. Maybe she's following
me
.”

“That makes me feel
so
much better. What do we do?”

“Ignore her—unless she makes a move. We know Frank talked to her. It's not like we're the only ones. Is she still there?”

“No. I don't see her.” She let go of his arm. “It's getting colder. I think I'm going to find Aunt Clara and head home.”

“I'll call you later. Promise.” Ryan grinned and kissed her. “If I'm right, it'll be a much different story later this week—at least about what we can do with the office. I can't wait to show my dad that I can handle problems that come up with the newspaper. He can't armchair quarterback the business anymore.”

They said good night. Maggie found Aunt Clara,
and they linked arms to walk home on the sidewalks that still had thin ice covering them.

“Did they have banana snow cream?” Maggie watched her eat the concoction.

“No. They had watermelon. It's delicious. Want to try some?” Aunt Clara held out a spoon of the frozen sweet.

“Thanks.” Maggie tried it and licked her lips. “Good.”

“Ladies.” A man dressed like an elf, complete with green pointy-toed slippers, stopped them. In the dark—and in costume—it was hard to say how old he was or exactly what he looked like. “My name is Randy Bannister. A man back there at the carnival pointed you out to me. You must be Clara Lowder? I'm a member of Durham Singles.”

Aunt Clara sighed and put her gloved hand on her forehead. “Not again.”

“You're supposed to email,” Maggie told him. “Do none of you understand that?”

He shrugged his elfish green shoulders. “The early bird gets the worm. Would you like to go out for coffee?”

They both put their heads down and walked as quickly as they could away from the elf. Maggie reminded herself that the first thing she had to do when she got home was to remove Aunt Clara from the Durham Singles list.

•  •  •

I
t was cold
and clear on Monday morning when the two women made their trek from the house to the pie shop. Fanny went with them, despite their best efforts to persuade her to stay home with her kittens.

“She might tear up the house trying to get out if we don't bring her with us,” Aunt Clara said. “She knows how long we'll be gone. She knows what her babies need.”

Maggie wasn't quite as convinced that the cat knew what she was doing. She was probably already adapting to their schedule, and she wasn't thinking at all about her hungry babies.