Halle had discreetly asked around about her and discovered Brooke had purchased the old Haverty homestead a couple of years ago. It was around the time Halle had gotten engaged to James. Had Brooke crossed paths with him during the months that followed?
Brooke set the pie down on the kitchen cabinet, leaving it on the hot pads she’d brought with her, which would give Owen even more items to return to her.
She twirled around like a ballerina to face Halle. “You said Owen is out again?”
“He is.” Halle gestured vaguely. “Errands. You know how it is when you’re new in town.” She didn’t bother mentioning that he would likely be home within the hour. The last thing she wanted was to give the overdressed woman standing in front of her a reason to linger.
“He’s getting a haircut,” Cooper announced between bites, which unfortunately made their guest’s eyes widen with interest.
She turned her head to study him with a look that quickly turned to distaste. “What are you doing?”
“Shlooping.” Cooper glanced up at her, eyes twinkling, without halting his grazing. He’d already eaten more than half of his burrito; and from the look of it, he’d done it with no hands.
At Brooke’s confused expression, Ryder swallowed his bite and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Like a vacuum,” he explained helpfully. “He’s Coop the Shloop.”
Swallowing a sigh, Halle handed him a napkin. “Use this for your mouth, kiddo.”
“Yes, Miss Garrett.” He obligingly scrubbed it over the lower half of his face, then crumpled it into a ball and set it beside his plate.
Brooke returned her attention to Halle, not bothering to mask her disapproval. “It might not hurt to work in a lesson on dining etiquette.”
Halle was so taken aback by the suggestion that she didn’t immediately respond. Number one, she was only the boys’ temporary nanny. Number two, they were five-year-olds. They had plenty of school years ahead of them in which to fine-tune their table manners.
Before she could think of something to say that wouldn’t come across as rude, her gaze latched onto the antique gold ring Brooke was wearing on herright forefinger. A fat pearl cradled in its setting was unmistakable. It had come from a Pismo clam her late father had caught during a fishing expedition off the coast of southern California.
Until this very moment, Brooke had forgotten all about the ring. “Where did you get that?” She pointed at the ring, her throat going dry.
“Oh, this old thing?” Owen’s neighbor lazily held her hand to give it a closer look. “I found it while rummaging through some junk at one of the thrift stores in town.”
Junk?For a moment, Halle couldn’t breathe. It might not be museum quality, but the setting was genuine gold, and the pearl certainly wasn’t fake. There was no way a pinkies-up woman like Brooke Aspen didn’t know its value.
“Which thrift store?” It was difficult for Halle to see her mother’s ring on someone else’s finger. She could hardly tear her gaze away from it.
Brooke eyed her curiously. “Timeless Trinkets. They have a lot more old jewelry on display if you’re into that sort of thing.”
Halle nodded, blinking rapidly to contain her emotion. It was a shock seeing the ring again, but she had no interest in breaking down in front of Brooke or the boys.
“Are you okay?” Brooke’s voice held a breezy quality that fell short of sincere.
Halle nodded again, swallowing hard.
“In that case…” Brooke glanced impatiently at the door, as if unable to believe Owen was still away from home. “I guess I’ll have to come by another time to visit with your employer.”
Halle walked her to the door, cleared her throat, and found her voice. “Thanks for the pie. I’m sure the Tollivers will enjoy it.”
Brooke gave her a princess wave without turning around.
Halle remained at the door, watching until Brooke drove away in her luxury SUV. It was a sparkly shade of metallic silver—a custom paint job for sure.
No sooner had her vehicle disappeared around the corner than Owen rumbled up the driveway in his midnight blue Ford F-150. It had been hitched to the back of his moving truck the day he’d arrived in town.
Catching sight of her at the door, he waved before pulling into the garage. She waved back and shut the front door. It was with a heavy feeling in her heart that she trudged back to the kitchen.
He entered the house, drawing happy shrieks of welcome from his sons. They scrambled off their stools and launched themselves at him, swinging into his arms like a pair of monkeys.
He hugged them close, listening to them babble on and on about how their baseball practice had gone. They were talking at the same time, so it was impossible to make sense of everything they said. However, Owen nodded as if he’d understood every word.
Halle gawked shamelessly at the Norman Rockwell-styled picture they made. The boys’ jerseys were topsy-turvy and their baseball caps were askew, but they couldn’t have cared less. All that mattered to them was being the center of their dad’s attention.
