“Of course, but that doesn’t mean she should shirk the wedding planning. I managed to work full time and get my master’s degree in counseling and raise the three of you, all while being voted president of the PTA six years running. It’s all about time management. I’ll be happy to show you my planner. I couldn’t live without it.”
“I thought we were talking about Paisley?”
“Ah, yes, we were. I’ll have to showhermy planner.Again. I have every wedding planning appointment scheduled. Inink.”
Anita rolled her eyes.Ifshe ever got married, she was totally going to elope.
Fortunately, her mother switched the conversation to her latest volunteering venture at Garvan Gardens, a large, beautiful botanical garden in Hot Springs National Park that was a popular attraction with both Arkansans and tourists.
“All right, dear,” she said after describing several of the items she had helped sell in the garden’s gift shop. “I’m eager to see you next Sunday. So is your father.”
Anita’s heart softened. Her mother was overbearing and a little high-strung, but she meant well. And Anita was happy she’d see her father, who was often as booked as Kingston was. Both were doctors—her father a cardiologist and Kingston a pediatrician. “I can’t wait,” she said sincerely.
“Ta-ta for now.”
“Bye, Mom.” She hung up, shaking her head at hermother’s trademark sign-off. She had to admit she felt a little better after talking to her. That wasn’t always the case, since her mother could be insensitive at times too. She meant well, but her delivery system wasn’t always the best, despite her master’s degree.
She walked over to the calendar hanging on the wall. The picture for the month was a set of colorful teacups perched on a bleached wooden shelf. She looked at her work schedule for the rest of April, prefilled because her shifts rarely changed. Time management. She needed to get some if she was going to work at Sunshineandopen the café. While she had a large amount in savings, she couldn’t afford to buy and renovate #3 outright. She’d have to get a loan, and she wouldn’t be able to do that without an income stream coming in. She wasn’t great with numbers, but she knew that much.
Eventually she’d have to leave Sunshine. The thought saddened her. She had worked there for such a long time, and George was a good boss, even though he hadn’t been around much lately. She would miss chatting with the customers and working with Mabel and Fred.
And Tanner.
That thought launched another attack of nerves, but she resisted the chocolate this time.I can do this. I will do this.Not only opening the café but getting rid of her feelings for Tanner.
She was doing the right thing, for herself and for Maple Falls.
As long as she kept telling herself that, she would eventually believe it.
Chapter5
On Thursday Tanner arrived at the diner and walked into the office, ready to punch his time card. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see George sitting at his old desk. “Hey,” he said, heading over to the time clock. “Long time no see.”
George turned around in the squeaky office chair. “Hey, Tanner. Good job with the books this month. I see we’ve turned a little profit over the winter.”
“The catering business helped.” He inserted his card in the time clock, then stuck it in the nearby holder.
“Don’t go to the kitchen yet. I need to talk to you.” George squinted at him. “You look different today.”
Tanner almost laughed. Leave it to George not to notice the obvious. “I got a haircut.”
“That’s it. Suits you. Close the door for me, will ya?”
Tanner closed the door, a little uneasy. George rarely wanted to talk to him privately.
“Yep. I gotta admit, the catering business was a good idea,” George said.
His tense shoulders relaxed. He was more than happy to talk about catering. “Even though I had to twist your arm?”
“You didn’t have to twist it much.” George frowned. “I should have thought of it a long time ago.”
That was as close as he’d ever heard George come to admitting a mistake.
“You’ve got a good business head on your shoulders,” his boss continued. “You’re the best assistant manager I’ve ever had. I never have to worry about payroll, scheduling, making sure supplies are ordered and the bills paid on time. You’ve pretty much put me out of a job.”
George ran his palms over his baggy jeans. “I gotta admit, my heart hasn’t been in this place for a long while now. The other day I realized Sunshine is almost eighty years old. Did you know it started as a hot-dog cart on the corner here?”
Tanner nodded. He’d heard this story more than once, but not in a long while. The unease returned.
