Without hesitating, he sprinted toward the piece of dried Alaskan cod in her hand.
Diana shook her head.“Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You would have.The only reason I remembered was because I left the treat in my pocket from our walk last night.I’ll take Charlie into the kitchen and shut the door.”
The sound of the doorbell pealed through the house and Penny shook her head.“If this carries on for much longer, I’m staying with Wyatt.”
“You’ll have to fight everyone else for his spare bed,” Barbara muttered as she uploaded their website’s backup system.After making sure it was working, she sat back in the chair, waiting for the next calamity.
When someone knocked on the door, she looked at her sisters.
“Not me,” Penny said.“You’re much better than I am at telling people to go away.”
“You could tell them to come back another day?”
“They don’t listen.”
Barbara sighed.“Isn’t there a rule that says the eldest sister has to look after her little sisters?”
“That expired when everyone hit twenty.”
Diana sent Barbara a cheeky grin.“We have complete faith in you.”
“Hiding in the kitchen isn’t allowed!”
“It is today.”And with a pointed stare at the door, Diana left the room.
Barbara couldn’t believe she’d been left to sort out this mess.Apart from finishing a report for a client in San Diego, Theo was arriving soon to talk about his social media accounts.When she’d told him to meet her here, she had no idea this would be happening.At this rate, he’d be lucky to make it to the front door before being mobbed by the masses.
Her dad’s voice came from the other side of the door.“It’s me.Is someone going to let me in?”
Barbara smiled and opened the door.After everything that was happening, it was good to see him.
Allan wrapped his arms around her.“Thank goodness you’re home.I got a lot of annoyed stares when I ignored the line of people waiting outside.”
“There’s a line?”
“It starts at the mailbox and winds around the property.”
Barbara sighed.“It’s worse than I thought.I might have to call the police.”
“You won’t have to do that,” Allan said as he handed her a basket of muffins.“They’re already at the beginning of the lane, turning people away.”
Theo walked into the entranceway from the living room.“In case you’re wondering, I parked my truck in Main Street and walked here.Katie let me in through the back door.”
“I’m amazed you made it inside in one piece,” Allan said.“It’s crazy out there.”
“I told everyone I was the gardener,” he said with a smile.“If I didn’t know better, I’d say a movie star lived here.”
Barbara bit her bottom lip.“I’m sorry about all the people.We didn’t think it would be this bad.”
“Don’t worry about it.In a couple of days, something else will happen to take everyone’s attention away from the letter.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Allan said.“A major television network is telling its viewers you’ve sold the movie rights to a big Hollywood producer.”
“We have?”Katie said from the doorway.
“No, we haven’t,” Barbara assured her.“The reporters are making up stories.”
