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Kate shook her head indulgently. “And I ran into another stranger in town.”
Aunt Penney turned, curiosity written all over her face. “Do tell.”
“It’s no big deal.” Although in a town this small, a new face stood out. “I literally bumped into him twice in a matter of a few minutes. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on where I knew him from. Maybe he just looks like someone I know, or maybe we met once. I know it’ll eventually come to me.”
“You’re that curious about a stranger?” Aunt Penney picked up a dish towel to dry the bowl.
“It’s not like that,” Kate said, even though she wasn’t sure she believed her own words. “Besides, I’m sure he’ll be moving on quickly.”
“You’re so sure of that? What if he finds he likes it here in Bayberry and decides to stay?”
Kate wasn’t going to play her aunt’s games. “Then I definitely wouldn’t be interested.”
“Ah, yes, your rule about not dating Bayberry residents.”
She shouldn’t have said anything. Kate finished the muffin. Aunt Penney was always encouraging her to date this person or that person. Kate did date, but it was never anyone from Bayberry. The town was just too small to get involved with someone and have it go wrong.
After all, there was only one grocery store, one pharmacy, one movie theatre. There was one of just about everything. Running into people you knew was just a fact of life in Bayberry. She didn’t want to ruin the comfort and ease she felt around town.
“It’s a good rul
e.” Kate crinkled up the muffin liner. “It keeps things uncomplicated.”
“Uh-huh. And it means you spend a lot of Friday nights at home curled up with a book.”
Kate shrugged. “I like to read.”
“I know. But you’re young. You have your whole life ahead of you. You need to do more than work and read.”
“I do. I was just out visiting with everyone in town today.”
“Because you were passing out flyers about the sale. To my way of thinking, that’s work.”
“But fun work.”
“Listen Kate, I’ve been meaning to talk to you—”
Deck the halls…
Kate’s ringtone sounded. She withdrew her phone from her pocket, checked the caller ID, and then looked apologetically at her aunt. “I’m sorry. I need to get this.”
“No problem.”
Kate had been waiting to hear from Carrie. She and her friends were having trouble getting their schedules lined up in order to plan the Candlelight Dance—Bayberry’s biggest event of the year.
Kate pressed the phone to her ear. “Hey, Carrie.”
Carrie told her that everyone was available this evening. Kate didn’t want to run out on her aunt, but if she and her friends didn’t firm up some plans for the dance, there wouldn’t be one. And once they all got together, they’d start talking about this and that. Before they knew it, the hour would be late.
Kate asked Carrie to hang on a second. “Aunt Penney, I’m really sorry, but Carrie, Abby and Sadie are available to talk about the dance. Would you mind if I go meet up with them?”
“Not at all.” Aunt Penney smiled. “If you need any help with the planning, just let me know.”
“Thanks. We will.”
Kate took off out the back door, resuming the phone conversation. “I’ll be over to your place as soon as I grab my binder and laptop.” When Carrie offered to order pizza for everyone, Kate said, “Sounds good. See you soon.”
Kate climbed the steps to her garage apartment. It was nothing fancy. In fact, Aunt Penney was horrified that Kate would want to live out here instead of in the house where she’d been living since she was fifteen. But Kate wanted her own space. The cozy apartment had one bedroom, one bathroom, a small kitchenette and a living room. Kate knew someday soon she’d have to get a bigger place, but this arrangement worked for now.
