“Do you know that judge?You can’t be on the side of the private equity company.”
“I’m on the side of the law.And yes, Judge Henly and I work together.He made the right choice in throwing the case out.”
Annie was too stunned to counter, and Lauren quickly changed the subject.They had lunch in town, with Lauren insisting on paying before dropping Annie back off at home.
When she walked in the door, her mom was in one piece, and the twins were asleep.
“Now where did she get the money for that car?”her mom asked, staring out the window, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea.
“I have no idea,” Annie said.
Something told her she didn’t want to know.
Fifteen
After the Thanksgiving festivities, Margie’s family cleared out and went their separate ways, leaving the house feeling infinitely too large and entirely too empty.
Thankfully, she had the firefighter fundraiser to focus on, and she threw herself into it.Sheila had asked to join the planning, and that Sunday, they met at the tea shop.
It was a blustery, quiet day, and their table was tucked away in the English-themed tearoom.Patty served a three-tiered stand containing apple oat scones, vanilla cheesecake bites with blueberry compote, and cucumber finger sandwiches.
“From what Clara has told me,” Patty said, leaning in.“Miles has been over there quite a bit.”
Margie tossed an anxious look over her shoulder.“We shouldn’t be talking about this.Annie is going to walk through that door any minute.”
“We should ask her about it!”Patty said.
Margie shot her an admonishing look.“We shouldnot!Poor Clara is suffering from wishful thinking.I amtellingyou, Miles Coleman will not be paired off.I have tried, and he was very clear that he would not be dating anyone until his daughter was out of the house.Or, really, not ever again.”
It was nonsense.Margie even had a few friends who had asked about Miles for their daughters after seeing the ads.Margie assured them it was a worthless case.
Sheila lifted her teacup to her lips.“Maybe he just didn’t like the women you were trying to set him up with.”
Margie let out a huff.“I set him up with perfectly lovely women.He didn’t object tothem, he objected to the concept of romance in general.You know I’m not one to take no for an answer, but I have taken hisNovery seriously!”
Patty and Sheila looked at each other and smiled.
“I know everyone has gone crazy after seeing those dating ads with him in his firefighter getup,” Margie continued, “but if you encourage Clara—or worse, Annie—you’re going to break Annie’s heart all over again.”
“We can’t have that.”Sheila’s expression turned serious.She turned to Patty.“You’d better keep your opinions to yourself.”
“It’s not an opinion.I’m merely reporting the facts,” Patty said, taking a bite of vanilla cheesecake, her tone light and airy.
Sheila watched her for a moment before clearing her throat.“In other news, Lottie has been taking day trips with her mom.”
Margie set her teacup down.She was eager to change the subject.“Has she!But she always comes back at night?”
It was funny to talk about her like an old friend.Lottie was an orca whom Sheila’s father had helped capture many decades ago.In a twist of fate, Sheila’s now-boyfriend Russell had owned a partial stake in the amusement park that housed Lottie.Together, they’d worked to release her to a sea pen next to a neighboring island.Lottie was welcomed back into the family with open arms – or open fins.
“She does,” Sheila nodded.“I guess she’s not ready to say goodbye to her human friends yet.But she seems happy.”
Margie caught a glint of something on Sheila’s finger.“Hang on.What is that?”She rose to her feet.“Sheila!What is that?!”
A smile spread across Sheila’s face.“I was wondering how long it would take you to notice.”
Margie let out a shriek.“Is this an engagement ring?”
Sheila nodded.“It is.Russell popped the question last night.”
