Page 99 of The Love Shack

The guys joined them a minute later, and no more was said about Chad.

Together they walked the short distance to the restaurant. Along the way, Lark opened her phone, did a quick search, then said to Lawson, “Ta-da.”

One quick look and he snorted. “What the hell is that supposed to be?”

“Kathleen’s new boyfriend.”

They all stopped to crowd closer, gazes on the screen, where a cheesy-looking plastic guy—smooth as any Ken doll and with plastic molded hair—posed in a way to show off his not-so-impressive muscles.

Of course, he had the same dead stare as Kathleen.

Oliver snickered.

Berkley grinned.

Lawson gave a dramatic shudder. “He’s even creepier than Kathleen.”

Elbowing him, Lark said, “I’m naming him Kingston, and he’s going toloveKathleen, andyouare going to add new revenue to...well, everywhere probably. See, with him joining Kathleen by the wishing well, there will be more opportunities for photos, and that equals even more money for the shelter.”

“Hear, hear!” Hugging his arm, Berkley said, “You’re used to Kathleen being there now. And you have to admit, vacationers adore her.”

Oliver agreed. “They often come into your shop for a souvenir T-shirt.”

Lawson shrugged at Oliver. “That, at least, is a perk.”

“I was thinking that if anyone put in a big enough print order, you could offer to have Kathleen and Kingston wear their stuff for a day.”

“They’re not my dummies.” Still with dislike, Lawson eyed the picture again. “The town enjoys playing with them.”

“So in the evening, you can throw their regular gear back on them.”

“Meaning I’ll spend every morning and every evening dressing dummies?”

Feigning indignation, Lark stopped. “Quit calling Kathleen that.”

“It’s what she is.”

“It sounds insulting.” Putting her nose in the air, she affected a chiding tone. “If you can’t refer to her by name, call her a mannequin.”

Taking her side, Berkley said, “I seriously thought you were getting used to her.”

Trying and failing to maintain his scowl, Lawson gave up. “Guess I could put Will in charge of changing out the clothes.”

“Oh!” Another great idea occurred to Lark. “Announce what time they’ll be changed. Folks would love to see that.”

Appearing truly scandalized, he shook his head. “No way. Betty would have a fit and you know it.”

Yeah, she probably would. Still, the idea made Lark chuckle.

Oliver draped his arm over her shoulders and got them all walking again. “I love the idea of a plastic man wearing my fitness center’s logo gear.”

“Or a Love Shack T-shirt, like the ones we’re selling at the shelter,” Berkley said. “We could put one style on Kathleen, the other on Kingston.”

Wincing, Lawson took her phone to study the image once more. “I’ll have two dummies—er,mannequins—staring at me all day.”

“Nope.” Lark knew she’d already won him over, but to tease him, she clasped her hands beneath her chin. “They’ll be staring lovingly at each other.”

Even Lawson had to laugh at that, and during their dinner, he went ahead and ordered a male mannequin, but he bypassed the one Lark liked and went for one of higher quality.

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