Page 69 of Our Now and Forever

Caleb hadn’t planned on taking out a mortgage, but he kept the fact to himself. “I’ll do that, thanks.”

He’d taken two steps toward the door when Hattie asked, “Does that mean we’ll be having a wedding soon?”

Preferring to keep any wedding talk between him and Snow, he said, “You never know,” and made his exit before the older woman could push for a better answer.

Snow hummed a Beatles tune while she worked, pulling items that had been in the inventory long enough to earn a steep discount for the holiday season. Business had already picked up, forcing her to officially add Lorelei to the sales staff. The baker was proving to be an asset, holding down the entire store while Snow went back and forth between the sales floor and the stockroom.

“There you are,” said a familiar voice as Snow was gathering a collection of Christmas-themed dishes. “Let me see your finger.” Hattie looked as excited as a child about to open her favorite toy, but Snow had no idea what the woman was talking about.

“It’s nice to see you, Miss Hattie. You have something for me to try on?” Her landlady maintained a booth in the store with small antiques for sale, but she’d never offered a piece of jewelry before.

“Don’t be silly.” Propping her reading glasses on the end of her nose, she said, “Come on. Let me see it.”

There was definitely a miscommunication here. “Let you see what?” Snow asked, holding out her hands to show her bare fingers.

“But ...” Hattie took Snow’s left hand, turning it over as if whatever she expected to be there might appear with a flip and a shake. “Why aren’t you wearing it?”

“Wearing what?” Had Miss Hattie’s age caught up to her? Was the woman suddenly imagining conversations that never happened?

Dropping Snow’s hand, Miss Hattie barked, “I don’t understand. Why did he—”

“Is there a problem?” Lorelei asked as she joined them.

“This little lady’s supposed to have a ring on her finger.”

“We haven’t gotten around to that yet,” Snow said, feeling as if she were somehow disappointing the older woman. Maybe she should see if there was a ring in the store that would suffice until she and Caleb could pick out something new. While she was distracted, trying to remember what she had available in the jewelry display, Lorelei whispered something in Miss Hattie’s ear that Snow couldn’t make out.

The older woman’s eyes went wide at the same moment her mouth clamped shut.

“You think?” Hattie said.

With lips pressed tight, Lorelei nodded that she did indeed think.

“Think what?” Snow asked.

“I’ve got to go,” Hattie said, backing away. “Don’t mind me, my dear. I’m old.” She made the universal sign for crazy next to her ear.

“Okay,” she said as the older woman beat a hasty retreat. What exactly just happened? “Lorelei,” she said, turning her attention to the person who seemed to know something Snow didn’t. “What was that about?”

“Like she said. She’s old.” Waving to an invisible customer, Lorelei added, “I’d better get back to work,” and bid a farewell of her own.

Snow wasn’t an idiot. Miss Hattie had expected her to be wearing a ring, which was fair enough, since Caleb had told the older woman that they were engaged back when he first arrived. But what had Lorelei whispered in the woman’s ear that would make her take off like that? It wasn’t as if her fiancé needed to spring a proposal on her. They’d crossed that bridge nearly two years ago.

Something fishy was going on, and Snow intended to find out exactly what it was.

The day had been a success. Cooper agreed, with less arm twisting than Caleb had expected, to become the cruise-in guru on the Ruby Restoration Committee. They set a goal kickoff date of late March and locked down enough details for Spencer to present the idea at the next committee meeting, which wouldn’t be for two weeks due to the Thanksgiving holiday. By the time Caleb had driven off for his next appointment, Cooper had created a contact list of every old car enthusiast he knew. Without a doubt, this would give the cause massive publicity while creating a steady income stream.

All they had to do was sell the rest of the committee on the idea, and among the three of them, that would not be a problem. He hoped. There was always Jebediah Winkle and his cronies, who attempted to stifle any idea they didn’t come up with on their own. Not that they’d offered a single suggestion that Caleb knew of.

His afternoon meeting was the real victory of the day. Not that anything was decided until Snow had her say, but he’d liked the house and hoped she would, too. Buying a home in Ardent Springs was the perfect solution to keep Caleb’s parents’ negative attitudes out of his marriage.

“You’ve been cooking again,” Snow said as she stepped into the house. “I could smell it before I reached the porch.”

“I didn’t soak those beans overnight for nothing.” Caleb gave the sausage and beans a stir. “This is authentic Louisiana red beans and rice. Prepare to lose your mind.”

He scooped a piece of andouille sausage onto the wooden spoon and offered her a bite. The moment it hit her tongue, amber eyes closed with sheer pleasure.

“That is delicious,” she said around the food. “How long have you been working on this?”

---