He chuckled. “Jasper and I were having lunch at the Orange Bluebird—”
“What a coincidence! I’m here too,” Erma said. “If I’d known you were coming, I would have saved you some seats.”
“It was, uh, a last-minute decision. Can you give him a ride home? I have to leave early.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“Um, no. I just had some... business to attend to. Campaign stuff.”
Hmm. It wasn’t like Hayden to be cagey. Then again, Erma didn’t have a clue how running for office worked. “Sure.” She stood and glanced around the packed restaurant. “Where were y’all sitting—” As if on cue, she saw Jasper Mathis amble toward the buffet. “Never mind. I see him.”
“Thanks, Erma,” Hayden said, sounding relieved. “I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” She watched as Jasper perused the buffet selections. “Did y’all get a chance to eat?”
“No, we’d just sat down when I got the phone call.”
Phone call? She was tempted to ask him who had called, but it was none of her business. Phooey, now her curiosity was up.
“Gotta go, Erma. Again, thanks for taking him home.”
“You’re welcome.” She hung up and counted the chairs situated around the large table. There was an extra one since they had half expected Karen to show up.
“Is that Jasper over there?” Bea asked, craning her neck to see around the person standing in front of the table.
“Yes.” Erma realized she was in a bit of a pickle. Herfriends would be here any minute, plates of food in hand and ready to celebrate. If she invited Jasper to join them, the BBs couldn’t be open about their matchmaking scheme. But she couldn’t abide him eating alone either. He did enough of that at the diner.
“Yoo-hoo!” Bea waved her paper napkin in the air. “Over here, Jasper.”
He startled and looked in their direction, pausing when he met Erma’s gaze. He frowned.
She frowned right back. Just because they’d shared sweet tea and hummingbird cake didn’t mean they were going to be chummy.
“I don’t think he heard me, Erma,” Bea said. “Go tell him to join us.”
Well, at least her conundrum was solved. She threaded her way through the crowd. Good grief, had everyone from Hot Spring County come here today? She finally reached Jasper after dodging someone with a mountain of mashed potatoes on his plate.
“Jasper.”
“Erma.”
She didn’t respond, waiting for the flutter she’d experienced the other night to return. When it didn’t, she almost sighed with relief. “Hayden asked me to take you home after lunch.”
He scowled. “I can catch a cab.”
“You won’t pay to get your car fixed, but you’ll waste money on unnecessary cab fare?”
Averting his gaze, he said, “Don’t want anyone to go to any trouble on my behalf.”
Lord, give me strength.“It’s no trouble. We’re going to the same town.”
Jasper tugged on the collar of his dress shirt. His black jacket, while appearing almost new, hung on his slim frame, half covering his old jeans. “Let’s get some meat on those bones,” she said and headed for the buffet, glancing over her shoulder to see if he was following her. When he didn’t, she crooked her finger at him. With another scowl, he joined her at the buffet. She passed him a warm plate.
“Ain’t never been here before,” he said, taking it from her.
“You haven’t?” She thought everyone in Maple Falls had been to the Orange Bluebird at least once. It, along with the Sunshine Diner, was one of the few dine-in establishments between Maple Falls and Malvern. There was a pizza place down the road, but they were closed on Sundays.
“No. What’s good?”
