“We still require payment for the plans, regardless of whether we implement them.”
“How much are they?” When the woman told her the amount, she almost threw up. “That much?”
“The cost of the plans is listed in the quote.”
She either hadn’t noticed that or had forgotten about it. “All right. I’ll send another check.”
“Please use another form of payment. Do you have a credit card?”
She did, but she thought it was maxed out. Guess shewould find out for sure now. She grabbed her wallet and gave the receptionist her card information.
“Thank you, Ms.Bedford. I’m sorry we couldn’t do business together. You can pick up the plans in our office at your convenience.”
“Can you just mail them to me?”
“We’d be happy to, for a thirty-dollar fee.”
For crying out loud. “Never mind, I’ll come get them.” She hung up the phone, feeling stupid and a little duped, not to mention broke, something she’d never been before. Leaning her head against the drywall, she tried not to cry. She was so exhausted she felt she could fall asleep right there. She hadn’t slept well since Tanner fired her. She was still angry about that.
The sound of hammers and buzz saws breached the thin wall. The noise wasn’t helping, so she got up and went outside. She resisted the urge to look at the diner. Right now she craved a piece of Mabel’s peach pie and a glass of sweet iced tea. But she didn’t want to risk seeing Tanner again. It was bad enough she was paired with him for Riley’s wedding. When Riley had talked to her, shortly after her fight with Tanner, about matching them up in the wedding party, she had told her friend not to worry about anything. She and Tanner were fine, she had lied. They were far from it, but she knew even he wasn’t a big enough jerk to ruin the Riley-Hayden nuptials.
Just a big enough jerk to fire me.
She walked in the opposite direction of the diner, to the end of the sidewalk. The sky was filled with clouds, and the air felt like a damp, heavy blanket. The one time she reallyneeded her mother, she wasn’t available. She tried not to resent Paisley for that. If her sister was thinking about not going through with the wedding, that was a problem. She and her sister weren’t close, so she wasn’t surprised that she’d had no idea how Paisley felt about getting married, but she didn’t want her sister to be unhappy. The world didn’t need another Bedford sister down in the dumps.
Anita didn’t know what to do. When she’d first told Olivia about the café, her friend had offered to help. But as expected, Olivia was busy with summer library programs that were in full swing and better attended than in the past. That was nice, and likely due to Olivia’s complete revamp of the programs. She was also still in graduate school, and two Sundays ago Anita had caught her nodding off during Jared’s sermon—and Jared always gave lively sermons.
That was the last time Anita had been in church. The café was taking up all of her time and energy, and she’d twice had to call in a sub for her class. She had always done everything she could to keep her word, and she hated that she wasn’t fulfilling her commitment.
She stopped in front of Knots and Tangles, sweat beading on her forehead. Harper was busy with her job, and Riley had the store and wedding plans. Only Anita was incapable of handling her life.
The front door opened. “Hi, Anita,” Erma said. “Riley’s not here, if you were looking for her. She and Hayden took off for lunch in Hot Springs today. She’ll be back this afternoon. Maybe.” A sly look crossed her face. “Those two can barely stand to be apart from each other.”
Anita sighed. Riley was so lucky.
“Land’s sake, it’s hot out there.” Erma waved her hand in front of her face. “Come in and get cooled off. You can tell me all about the goings-on with your new café.”
Anita hesitated. She needed to get back to the building site and work on her bookkeeping. She also had a few calls to return to kitchen-supply companies. Or maybe she should give up on buying reusable mugs and just go with paper products...
No. That didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t like the idea of unnecessarily adding more garbage to the landfill.
“Anita?”
“Sorry. Thank you.” She walked into the shop, the cool air a welcome relief and the colorful hanks and skeins of yarn surrounding her a feast for her eyes.
Erma peered at her. “Are you okay, sugar?”
She wanted to tell her yes and pretend everything was perfect. She always enjoyed Erma’s company, and the woman never failed to make her laugh. Riley’s grandmother was a spry woman in her seventies and had been the assistant coach of the church softball team before she broke her leg sliding into third base. Anita thought about how Tanner, who had been up at bat and hit a double, had sped over to Erma to see if she was okay, his lean legs churning, his long ponytail flying behind him—
Darn it. Even Erma managed to remind her of him.
Anita didn’t have the strength to pretend anymore. “I’m not okay, Ms.McAllister,” she said, holding back a sob as moisture gathered in her eyes. “Everything’s going wrong.”
“Oh, honey, come on to the back, and I’ll get you something to drink.”
“I don’t want to bother you.” She wiped away the few tears that had escaped with the back of her hand.
“You’re no bother. We’ve been slower than molasses running uphill today. The last thing people are thinking about on a hot summer day is knitting a sweater.” Erma took her hand. “You look like you need some TLC.”
