“No problem. How was your weekend?”
“Full. A little work at my office, a ballet class, a call from my sister, church this morning. How about yours?”
“Low key. I did have a long chat with my parents. And I went to church too.” A long overdue return that had lifted his spirits. “I also spent a fair amount of the weekend thinking about you.”
“Can I admit I thought about you too? Or should I be more coy?”
“I prefer people who are straightforward.”
“In that case, I thought about you alot. Also about our dinner this week.”
His smile morphed into a flat-out grin. “Same here. That’s why I called. Would Thursday night work? The restaurant I have in mind is closed on Monday, I have a presentation at the city council meeting in Potosi on Tuesday night, and I’m on duty Wednesday until late.”
“You’re one busy guy.”
“It keeps me out of trouble.” And too occupied to mope around.
“Busyness can also help keep unhappy memories at bay.”
At her soft comment, he leaned a shoulder against the wall and watched a male and female cardinal sail onto a branch and nestle up side by side in the twilight.
Professor Cara Tucker’s intuitive abilities were impressive.
“Yeah. That too.” May as well admit the truth, after everything else they’d shared.
“Been there, done that. Let’s hope dinner together will accomplish the same end and create new, happy memories in the process.”
“I think that’s a given. May I pick you up at five thirty?”
“I’ll be ready.”
With the date set, his excuse for calling was gone. But he wasn’t ready to hang up.
“How’s Natalie doing?”
“Healthwise, fine. She lost her housekeeper, though, which was upsetting.”
That was news. As far as he knew, the woman had been with her for years.
“Why would she quit?”
“She didn’t. Natalie let her go.”
“Out of the blue?” That didn’t sound like the Natalie he’d come to know. She seemed like a measured, thoughtful, levelheaded person who wasn’t prone to rash decisions.
A few seconds ticked by. “Can I tell you this in confidence?”
“Yes.”
“She has pretty solid circumstantial evidence that Lydia stole a valuable stamp from one of her father’s albums.”
Brad frowned. “Do you know why she didn’t contact me to report it?”
“She said she didn’t want to make a big issue out of it because only one stamp was missing and it appeared Lydia had a hard enough life as it was. I honestly think she would have let her stay on if Lydia had admitted the theft when Natalie gave her the chance, but she didn’t.”
What a missed opportunity for the housekeeper.
But who knew what had happened in the woman’s life to shape her character? From what he’d heard, the brother she lived with was no great shakes, and her husband had dumped her. Someone like that could have difficulty with trust—and with believing in the goodness of others.
