“There’s pure maple syrup for those hotcakes.” Bea’s extra-wide grin had a nervous edge to it.
Guilt broke through her numbness. Obviously, her presence upset Bea, even though she was trying to hide it under Southern hospitality and rich cooking. Riley cut into the eggs, both scrambled and sunny side.
She’d made plans to stay with Harper tonight, and Harper had also agreed to take her to the airport. Funny that out of the group of three friends, Riley had formed a bond with the one who couldn’t be more opposite from her. But since the first time they met, Harper was the one to reach out to her. They had clicked somehow, and while she liked Anita and Olivia, too, she would miss Harper the most. She also knew Harper would probably ask her a million questions, but she would handle them when they came. Right now she needed to focus on eating enough food to make Bea happy.
“Remember, honey, today’s the day I have lunch with Pastor Jared and the men’s ministry,” Billy said, already half finished with his meal fit for two.
“Oh good, because I have plans for lunch too.” Bea poured syrup on her hotcakes. “I’ve already got a ham cooking in the oven.”
Riley blanched. “Harper’s picking me up at eleven,” she said. “I’m staying with her tonight.”
Bea set the syrup on the table with careful, slow motions. “I see.”
“But I appreciate you letting me stay last night and the wonderful meals.”
Bea nodded, but she still wasn’t looking at Riley. Instead, she was slowly cutting her hotcakes into tiny pieces.
“When I get back to New York, I can send you some money for the food and lodging,” Riley said.
“Uh-oh.” Billy wiped his mouth with his napkin. “That’s my cue to leave.” He got up and kissed Bea again. “Go easy on her, dear.”
Riley looked at Billy, then at Bea. Her stomach sank at the sight of Bea’s red face and narrowed eyes. After Billy left, she said, “Bea, I—”
“Now you listen to me, young lady. First of all, I take offense that you think I would accept a single penny from you for keeping you here and feeding you. Do you think Erma paid me when you stayed over all those times?”
“I—”
“No, she did not. And secondly”—she held up two plump fingers—“you are part of my lunch plans today. Call Harper and reschedule.”
“But...” Riley didn’t have the strength to argue with her. Besides, Bea kept her attention on her food and didn’t spare a glance for Riley, even when she finished her meal and got up from the table. “Can I help with the dishes?” Riley asked meekly.
“No.”
Riley shot up from the chair and went to brush her teeth in the spare bathroom, which was next to the spare bedroom down the hallway. She ran her fingers through her hair, then sighed as she peered at her reflection in the mirror. She looked nearly as bad as Tracey, minus the almost emaciated frame and missing teeth. But the dark circles beneath her eyes and her pale complexion revealed that all was not well within her. And it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
She holed up in the guest bedroom, not wanting to risk Bea’s wrath, for the rest of the morning. Harper had been fine with picking her up later that day. All Riley had to do was kill a couple of hours, have lunch with Bea, and then head back with Harper. By tomorrow evening she would be back in New York, where she belonged.
It wasn’t long before she grew bored, and she pulled the sketchbook out of her duffel bag. She quickly moved past her drawings of the shop, ignoring the pang in her chest, and the renderings of what would have been her first piece of original art for Knots and Tangles.
Then she landed on Hayden’s portrait. It was almost finished, and he’d even posed for her, in a joking way, one time. She touched the corner of the page, ready to rip it out. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The drawing wasn’t a masterpiece, but the subject was as close as anyone could get to being one. Riley felt a tightness in her chest, and she slammed the book shut, shoving it back into her bag. She spent the rest of the time playing pointless games on her phone until Bea called her into the kitchen.
When she entered, she had expected the expansive meal taking up almost every inch of table space—and Bea didn’t have a small table. What she had not expected was Peg, Madge, Viola, Myrtle, and Gwen sitting around it, all with their arms across their chests as if they had choreographed the position. Their furious expressions could burn a block of ice. Behind them were Harper, Anita, and Olivia, who appeared just as upset.
She froze. She was in big trouble now.
Chapter17
“Sit down, Riley Jean.”
Riley nodded at Myrtle’s command and sat in the lone empty chair on the other side of the table from the women. She folded her hands in her lap, unable to bring herself to look at any of the Bosom Buddies.
Bea started to get up. “Let me get you some tea—”
Gwen put her hand on Bea’s forearm and shook her head. Bea remained in her chair.
Finding her steel, Riley lifted her chin. “I guess Mimi called you all and blabbed everything. Say what you have to say, and I’ll move on.”
“You will move on when we tell you to, young lady.” Madge’s razor-sharp tone could’ve sliced through diamonds. “And for your information, Erma didn’t call any of us.”
