“I’ll check the schedule. I’m sure we can make it work.”
Savannah’s face was a mask. He wished he knew what was going on inside her head. If she didn’t want to go to the carnival, he would make up an excuse and they’d watchThe Three Amigos.
“How’d your date go last night?” asked Savannah.
“Date?” Quin perked up, ready to tease his brother mercilessly.
“Don’t get excited.” Ben lounged casually in the corner. “It was awful.”
Quin opened his laptop. Now that Savannah was safely inside the car, his mind wandered back to work. He may never retire, not when the job called to him like a siren. “You win some, you lose some.”
Ben had lost more than Quin knew.
Savannah picked at a seam in the leather seat. “Did she look like her picture?”
“Yes. Better, actually.” He thought back to that first moment when he’d stumbled in and caught sight of her. His breath had caught in his throat, and he’d been speechless.
“At least she was honest.”
“She was that.” Honest enough to tell him it was no picnic being on a date with him. Honest enough not to hide her shock at his behavior. He hadn’t freaked out over an allergic reaction like that in a long time. His nerves had been all lit up because it was adate,and he hadn’t handled himself well. Who was he kidding? He’d been a complete and utter disaster of a man.
“Can we go shopping this weekend?” asked Savannah.
“Sure,” he replied, his thoughts replaying the moment when he’d spit partially chewed fries all over Avery, recalling details he’d rather not.
Savannah reached for her backpack and pulled out a granola bar. “Hey, is that the new coaster?” She reached for the goggles, and soon she was virtually whisked away and literally screaming and weaving in her seat.
Ben considered sending Avery flowers to apologize, but decided it was better if he left her alone and never showed his face in Hattie’s Hat again.
Chapter Eight
Avery
The department store was full of shoppers—women in trench coats and men in casual attire. Gold chandeliers lit the walkways dividing sections, and snooty salespeople pretended they didn’t want the hearty commission they earned by telling shoppers they looked fabulous, darling.
Avery didn’t normally shop here except to buy Landon’s school clothes, and he’d torn a hole in his khaki pants at recess yesterday. She’d been limping them along by starching and ironing the thinning cotton, as if the fabric of the universe would rip right along with the threads. She’d already bought him two new pair of pants since school started because of an ill-timed growth spurt. Because she worked at the school, Landon had free tuition, which was a huge blessing. She’d been able to provide him with a better education than she or Luke could have hoped for, but it came at a cost. A hundred-and-twelve-dollars-for-pants cost.
Could she have picked up a pair on Amazon? Yes. But Landon’s friends all had pants from this store. While she knew there were lessons to be learned from not letting your wealth define you, she didn’t want her kid to be the weirdo. Besides, they didn’t have any wealth, so there wasn’t much definition going on there.
Since Landon hated pants shopping more than taking out the garbage, she’d planned this trip with Evelyn, her next-door neighbor and good friend, while he was at a birthday party.
“Can we stop in the unmentionables?” Evelyn whispered as if the words were forbidden in polite society. She’d worn her best pair of brown slacks and a light pink sweater. She’d curled her graying hair but didn’t wear any makeup. She said that at her age, the color slipped into the wrinkles like a daily Covergirl landslide.
“Of course, but you just bought a pack of six a couple of weeks ago.” Sometimes Evelyn forgot where she put things, or that she’d bought them.
“Honey, I’m at the age where I sneeze my pants at least once a day. I can’t have too many options in the drawer.”
Avery shook off that mental image. The things she had to look forward to … “All righty, then.” She hooked elbows with Evelyn, and they wandered in the direction of lace and satin. A small sniff caught her attention, and she turned to find Savannah huddled near a display of ladies’ nightwear. “Evelyn, you go on ahead. I need to take care of something.”
Evelyn glanced around Avery to see what had caught her attention. The deep lines around her eyes softened. She patted Avery’s arm even as she slipped her other arm free. “I’ll be that way when you’re ready.”
Avery approached slowly so as not to startle the girl. “Savannah? Is everything all right?”
Savannah rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. At the sniffing sounds that she made, Avery immediately retrieved a tissue and pressed it into her empty hand. The other was hiding something behind her back.
“What’s that?” Avery asked carefully.
“Ugh!” Savannah practically wailed. Her arm slowly came around, revealing a bra with rainbows and unicorns. It must have been made for a two-year-old, because it was tiny. “My dad told me to try this on.”
