Marianne shook her head. “Only two. I’ll go take them down right now. I put them on the light poles in front of the copy shop.” She handed Edward her still-ringing phone.
“Who is this?” Edward said in greeting, inwardly cursing the male species he belonged to. Not that Edward wasn’t his own brand of stupid when it came to women.
“Um, Will Abley.”
“Will? This is Edward Ferrars. Please tell me I don’t have to hunt you down now. Is this about the flier?”
Marianne squealed and reached for her phone. “It’s not about the flier,” she mouthed. Taking the phone from his hands, she walked off, giggling in response to whatever Will was saying.
Elinor blew out a long breath in obvious frustration. “I guessI’llgo take down the fliers. And who is Will?”
“Will Abley. The single guy visiting his aunt.”
“Ah, yes. I wonder where she ran into him.” Elinor hopped up and jogged into her house, coming back moments later with the keys to her mother’s car. “Are you coming with me or staying here, Greta?”
Greta looked at Edward. “Is he coming?”
“No,” Elinor said at the exact moment that he said, “yes.”
“Yes, come,” Greta said. “But wait for me while I put away Babbity.” She snuggled the rabbit as she carefully walked up the steps.
“Why don’t I drive us?” Edward offered. “I know exactly where Marianne is talking about.”
Elinor gazed at the Mazda 3 sitting in his driveway and then at her mom’s old Civic and dropped her shoulders in defeat. “Okay, thanks.”
***
Elinor glanced over her shoulder at Greta, who was guarding the fliers while they drove. Greta gave a salute before gripping them tightly in her hands like they might attempt an escape. All of them had thought it best not to leave the fliers back at the house with Marianne, who had still been on the phone with Will when they left.
Edward cleared his throat. “So, do I dare ask about this running club? What’s the real story?”
Elinor studied him, not sure how she wanted to answer. After their disastrous start, maybe it was best to shelve the project altogether.
“If she tells you, she’ll have to kill you,” Greta so helpfully added from the back seat.
Edward sat up straighter, as if trying to look trustworthy. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Why did he have to be so charming? And why, oh, why was she here in his car when that was exactly what she’d gone out of her way to avoid today?
Elinor sighed. “Okay, fine. I started a night-time running club back in Tucson for people who were amateurs like me. Twice a week we’d jog for a couple miles, with whoever needed to walk bringing up the rear, and we’d end at a park and just chat. Eventually, we all got comfortable enough that we’d sometimes turn on music and dance. Most of us wore glow sticks so we could see each other and cars could see us while we jogged.” Just talking about it brought up a longing in her for where they used to live. The group could have gotten out of control, but everyone looked out for each other. Going jogging became something she looked forward to, something she was proud of.
“No wonder Marianne’s pressing you to start it up again. It sounds like a lot of fun.”
“She misses it.” Elinor met Edward’s gaze. It was obvious he saw right through her. She missed it just as much as Marianne. Maybe more.
“So, do I get an invite? I could definitely use the motivation to exercise instead of sitting in front of my TV at night.”
It was a question she’d been expecting from him, and maybe one of the reasons she’d put off starting up the running club again. Elinor didn’t need more ways to spend time with Edward.
Her phone rang again, saving her from having to answer him. It was another number she didn’t recognize, so she handed him the phone. “It’s for you.”
Edward answered with his most brusque hello, and after listening for a few seconds, firmly told whoever it was that they had the wrong number. She was too relieved to be embarrassed about making Edward act as her personal secretary for the moment.
The copy shop was just up ahead, and as soon as Edward parked, she jumped out and ran to the nearest pole, ripping down the flier stuck to it. Edward stepped out and took care of the other one. Mission accomplished. Unless, of course, someone took a picture of the flier and posted it on social media, in which case Marianne’s talent for unintended innuendo could live forever in infamy.
Greta bounced in her seat when they got back in. “Now to shred and burn these. I was thinking we could do campfire dinners tonight in the backyard. Elinor, let me call Mom and ask.”
Elinor handed back her phone, glad someone saw an upside to all this.
