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“Me too! Do you remember? That was the day Mom was sick in bed and Dad promised he would go read for her.”
Del laughed. “When it buckled under his weight and his butt hit the floor…he looked so mad I thought Pops was gonna breathe fire on those poor little kids. Never have seen him turn that shade of red before.”
“Me either.” Mia doubled over with laughter. “Dad went out and bought her a new rocker the very next day.”
“I remember. I helped him pick it out. Mom never asked for anything, but I knew she wanted that fancy blue one. She stared at it in the window of the furniture store every time we had to go into Warsaw for something.”
The pair fell quiet.
“We’ll find a way to keep it open,” Mia said softly.
“You think so?”
“The answer we need will come,” she said with a nod. “I can feel it. Just like I can feel you needing to tell me more about this Isaac Manning guy.”
Del groaned. “I knew this talk would be coming.”
“Then you should have had plenty of time to get your answers straight.”
Darn it.This was the trouble with having an older sister with a mind like a steel trap. Though, in all fairness, it was good that she had Mia looking out for her. Who else would have been clever enough to unearth the truth about Jonathan? Had it not been for Mia, Del would have made an even bigger fool out of herself with all those brewing plans of beachside honeymoons.
That memory alone was reason to take a good long drink.
“Well, he’s not another Jonathan Schumacher, that’s for sure,” Del said. “The guy rarely leaves his house. Though, I did bump into him at Grissom’s late last night.”
“Really? I’d heard he never goes out.”
Del shrugged. “Apparently, hermits have to eat, too. Though, I really don’t get the feeling he’s an actual hermit. I mean, he was a little grouchy with us at first, but I would have been too if some teenager had just plowed into my landscaping.”
Mia’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I can imagine how that might be a little upsetting.”
“Hey, now, we told you eventually.”
“Only because I happened to walk in on your conversation!”
Del raised her hands in surrender. “I made sure she was safe and unhurt—that was my primary concern.”
“Fair enough. Continue.”
She sighed. Sometimes, Mia could be incorrigible. “Anyway, each time I’ve seen him since, he’s been fairly pleasant to be around.”
In fact, last night he’d almost seemed glad to see her. Though, why she’d found him staring at the products in aisle eight she still wasn’t sure. The memory of him blushing when she called him out on it made her grin anew.
“So,” Mia prodded. “When do you see him next?”
Del smoothed the grin from her face and shrugged. “Tomorrow. I promised to help correct the modifications Brooklyn made to his yard.”
“Thank you again for that. Though I don’t understand why you’re doing the work without her. Wasn’t that the original plan? To make her help and teach her a lesson?”
“Yes, but that was before I remembered she had marching band practice all day. I want to get this buttoned up so I can go back to focusing on the bookstore. Who knows how much work we’ll have ahead of us with whatever the fundraising plan will be?”
“True. But I still feel like we should contribute toward the cleanup somehow. Maybe I should tag along.”
“Oh no. I see what you’re trying to do here, and it’s not happening.”
Mia’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Look, I know you worry about me, and I’m sure you’ve already been online stalking the poor guy, but if I didn’t feel safe going over there on my own, I wouldn’t. Besides, we’re going to be out in broad daylight. What could possibly go wrong?”
