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“Who?” she asked.
“Scott Anderson,” Lauren said.
“Lauren.” Joy shook her head, clearly annoyed. “He’s not my backup anything. We’ve never been out.”
“He asked,” Lauren said.
“Yes,” Joy said. “Two months ago, and no, I didn’t go out with him. He’s not interested, and frankly, I’m not. Doesn’t anyone remember that I live in Sweet Water Falls?” She glared Lauren into silence as she opened her mouth yet again, and Bea was impressed by that.
“Scott Anderson,” she looked at Cass. “He’s the guy who bought Harrison’s landscaping company from him, right?”
“Right.” Cass didn’t say anything else, and Bea found that interesting.
“I’m going to look for something to rent here,” Sage said. “My house in Texas is too big, and I’ve already asked my kids if any of them want the hobby farm.”
All attention flew to her, and she raised one hand. “I don’t want a bunch of questions. Joy, don’t look at me like that. You know you’re going to end up here too.”
“I donotknow that,” Joy said. “My house is there. I’ve lived in Texas my whole life. I don’twantto leave.”
She did want to be happy, however, and Bea suspected she wouldn’t be if she lived in Sweet Water Falls without the Supper Club. Without someone to love.
“What are you going to do here?” Cass asked Sage, who gave her a wry look.
“I just said I don’t want to answer questions.” She stood and adjusted the towel she’d spread across the seat and back of her chair. “I don’t have the answers right now, and you know what? I’m getting quite the alimony payment, so I don’tneedto have the answers right now.” She sat back down and looked at Bessie. “Your turn.”
Bea hated being on the outside of news, but she couldn’t be in the inner circles anymore. Grant came first, and she’d so enjoyed her summer with him and Shelby. Her friends too, but that meant that Sage knew Bessie’s news before everyone else, when that role usually fell to Bea.
“I talked to Wynona,” Bessie said. “She said she thought opening a bakery would be really fun, and she’s willing to talk to me more about it once I get home.” She looked extremely apprehensive, and Bessie wouldn’t do anything in a short amount of time. She needed to examine things from every angle, make charts and lists, and then talk to as many experts as possible.
“That’s amazing,” Joy said. “You and Wynona running the bakery. Does she not want to work with animals anymore?”
“She said there are farms and ranches here.” Bessie licked her lips and reached for a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. The plastic crinkled and crackled as she poked her hand inside. “She’d help me run it on the administrative side, the way Cherry does for The Bread Boy in Sweet Water Falls.”
“What about Cherry?” Bea asked. She’d come to their Supper Club several times, but not the ones here on the island, and a twinge of regret fired through Bea that the whole thing was basically going to disband before Cherry really got started.
“I’ve talked to her,” Joy said. “She said she’s okay. She said she might try to find a group of ladies to do a Supper Club with. She’s got three sisters-in-law, and her sister, and that’s five people right there.”
Bea nodded and looked at Cass, but all the eyes on the beach came to her. “Your news?” Cass asked oh-so-coolly.
“Oh, I don’t have news.” Bea waved her hand. “Nothing ever changes with me.”
“That’s not true,” Lauren said
“False,” Joy said.
“Liar,” Bessie coughed under her breath.
Sage said nothing, and Bea stared at Bessie. “I am not a liar.”
“Then tell the truth,” she challenged.
Bea didn’t know how to let the precious things inside her mind come out. She shook her head as her chin started to tremble. “I’m going to miss Shelby terribly,” she said, not caring that her voice came out like a cartoon chipmunk. “I love that girl and having her leave this year is very hard for me.”
No one said anything, but Lauren wore compassion in her eyes, and Cass nodded.
“You know what you should do?” Bessie asked.
“What?” Bea wiped quickly at her eyes, being careful not to smear sunscreen in them.
