She was in the car again, off to who knew where. “I’m fine. Just fixin’ to jump in the shower. What’s up?”
“I have an appointment in Maple Falls today, and I thought you might like to have lunch.”
“Sure—” He stopped, remembering what he’d admitted to Olivia last night about always saying yes. But this was his mother, and she was impossible to say no to. And lunch wouldn’t derail his plans for the day. He’d decided he was going to call a travel agent and book his vacation today. The idea of flying somewhere tropical still hadn’t left his mind. He couldn’t go now since he was committed to dance lessons, but afterward he’d have two more weeks to fill. He might take off to Hawaii. Or maybe do something completely different and go to Europe. Or Japan.
Once his trip was booked, he’d intended to do some research on a few of the movies Olivia had mentioned last night that he was unfamiliar with. All that could wait until after lunch, though. “Sure, Mom. How about the diner?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you at noon. Ta-ta for now!”
Kingston chuckled and dropped the phone on his bed. Well, lunch with his mother was one way to pass the time. And Tanner and his crew always made good food. He hurried to the shower before he was interrupted again.
***
“The BBs are meeting here this morning?”
Erma nodded at Riley as they worked in the back room of Knots and Tangles. Her granddaughter was unpackaging blank hanks of yarn and setting them near the vats she used to dye the fibers. “For about an hour. Maybe less.” She still had a smidge of hope that Bea would change her mind about meddling with Olivia and Kingston. When Erma had woken up this morning, she’d seen the situation more clearly. Nothing had changed as far as she was concerned, and Olivia and Kingston surely didn’t need a bunch of nosy women getting in the way of whatever there was between them.
Riley frowned. “I’ve got a ton of yarn to dye, and I need to finish it all today.”
“Oh.” That put a pinhole in her planning.
“Can you meet at the café? Or maybe the library?”
“Not the library,” she said quickly. At Riley’s curious look she added, “You know how noisy we can be.”
“That’s true. Olivia would spend all her time shushing y’all.”
Erma nodded. Besides, that girl didn’t need to know she was half of the topic of conversation.
Riley selected three bottles of dye from the shelves bolted into the cinder-block wall above the vats. “This is the first time I’ve heard of the BBs having an emergency meeting. What’s going on?”
“Nothing important.”
“Then why is it an emergency?”
“Oh, you know.” Erma faux chuckled, trying to come up with a viable reason. She should probably tell Riley what was going on since Olivia was one of her BFFs, but Erma hoped today’s conversation would end up in nowheresville and never be spoken of again. If Kingston and Olivia were meant to be, it would happen naturally.
Riley lifted an eyebrow. “No. I don’t. You’re acting a little suspicious, Mimi.”
“Me?” She fiddled with the piping on the lime-green couch Riley had picked up two years ago. “Suspicious? Never!”
“Thanks for proving my point.”
“All we’re doing is shaking things up a little. We’ve been meeting on Thursday nights for forever. It’s getting stale. I thought we could try a morning meeting this time. I should have checked with you first, though. My bad.”
“Well, it’s my fault I’m dyeing this batch at the last minute. I’ve been so busy helping Hayden plan out his campaign. I didn’t realize there was so much involved in running for office. He filed the papers already, so there’s no turning back now. He starts his campaign in January.”
Erma walked over to her granddaughter. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“I always have second thoughts. That’s my MO.” Riley sighed. “Hayden’s so excited, and he has great plans for Maple Falls. I’m thrilled to be a part of all the positive changes he wants to implement. But...”
“But what?” Erma asked gently.
“I don’t like being in the spotlight. Or the center ofattention. Hayden’s not an attention seeker either, but he’s used to pressure. He had a lot of it when he played pro ball. Even before then. He thrives on this. I don’t.”
“Oh, honey. It will be okay. You’ve got mine and the BBs’ support, and your friends’ support too. In fact, I’d be surprised if anyone votes for that slimeball Quickel. And I love attention, so if I can take the heat off you, let me know.”
Riley’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks, Mimi. I’m so grateful you’re always in my corner.”
