Ready to Wed (22 page)

Chapter Eighteen

J
ane Howard!” exclaimed Ethel as she burst into the kitchen early Thursday morning without bothering to knock. “I have a bone to pick with you.”

“Good morning to you, too, Auntie,” said Jane pleasantly. “I thought you were Belle’s friend,” snapped her aunt as she pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down with a loud
harrumph.

“I thought I was too.” She continued cracking eggs.

“Belle told me that you snatched a perfectly lovely man right out from under her nose yesterday.”

“I did
what?”
Jane turned around and stared at her aunt.

“She said that she and Clive Fagler, that columnist from the
Inquirer
, were getting along famously until you swept in and stole him from her.”

Jane tossed an eggshell into the sink. “She said that?”

Ethel shrugged. “Those weren’t her exact words.”

“Well, if you’re going to go around repeating what others have said, you might at least attempt to use their exact words.”

Ethel gave her head an impatient shake. “She simply said that she felt that she might’ve had a chance with Mr. Fagler until you entered the picture. And, in Belle’s defense, she was very forgiving.”

“Forgiving?” Jane frowned. “What would she be forgiving of?”

“Being hurt.”

“Well, I’m sorry she was hurt. But when I registered Clive, I told him I’d give him a tour of the inn. I was sidetracked by Louise when Belle made his acquaintance. Then, when I was finished speaking to Louise, I went out and found them. That’s when Clive asked me to give him the promised tour.”

“Why didn’t you suggest that Belle give him a tour?”

“Actually, I think she suggested something like that herself. Clive was not interested.”

“Well!”

“I invited Belle to join us and she did for a while.”

“Until she realized it was useless.”

Jane held up her hands in a helpless gesture. “Maybe it
was
useless, Auntie. Clive is not her type. Not in the least.”

“Perhaps you should’ve allowed him to figure that out for himself, Jane.”

“He did.”

Ethel stood. “Well, I thought you were on our side, Jane. I can see I was mistaken.”

“This isn’t about sides, Aunt Ethel. I like Belle and I hope the best for her. But I know that Clive Fagler would not be the best match for her.”

Her aunt’s eyebrows shot up. “Why? Do you know something negative about the man?”

“No, of course not. I simply mean that he and Belle would be a bad match.”

“In your opinion.”

“And his.”

“Fine, fine,” said her aunt in a weary tone. “I suppose I can’t expect any help from you.”

Jane leaned forward on the kitchen table between them. “You know, Auntie, it wasn’t long ago that you were on my case, trying to get me to have some interest in meeting a man. Now I happen to meet one that I like and you act as if—”

“Oh, Jane!” Ethel slapped her hand over her mouth with a shocked look. “You are absolutely right.” Now she leaned forward over the kitchen table, her face just inches from Jane’s and a hopeful expression in her eyes. “Are you interested in Clive Fagler?”

Jane shrugged. “He’s a nice man. We have a lot in common.”

Ethel smiled. “Well, isn’t that wonderful, Jane. Please, forgive me for being slow on the uptake. I suppose I can be a little gung ho sometimes. Lloyd says that I tend to think
with my heart more than with my head.” She rubbed her hands together with enthusiasm. “Goodness, I cannot wait to meet this literary man. He does sound most interesting.”

Jane knew she’d made a mistake, but at least Ethel was pacified for the moment. Jane hoped that Ethel wouldn’t overwhelm Clive. Perhaps it would be well to warn him that he’d landed in a place where feminine folly was becoming epidemic.

“I’m sorry I can’t discuss this further,” said Jane, “but Alice has gone to work and Louise is talking to Cynthia on the phone, and I need to get busy with breakfast right now.”

“Would you like any help?” offered Ethel.

Jane was too busy to accept help from Ethel, who usually slowed things down. “Thanks, Auntie,” she said. “I think I have it under control. But if you’d like to join us for breakfast and perhaps play hostess until Louise gets off the phone, you are more than welcome.”

“Oh, that would be lovely.” She winked at Jane. “And now I can meet Mr. Fagler.”

Suddenly Jane questioned the wisdom of inviting her aunt to breakfast. “Do take it easy on him, Auntie. He is our guest.”

Ethel feigned a wounded expression. “Goodness, Jane, you make it sound as if I plan to chew the poor man up and have him for breakfast.” She straightened her shoulders and
turned toward the swinging door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and marched into the dining room.

As Jane worked on breakfast, she could hear Clive, Belle and her aunt conversing. She couldn’t make out the words, but it sounded congenial. If nothing else, Clive should be amused by the two of them. Perhaps he was gathering humorous material for his writing. Before long, Louise joined her. “Cynthia needed advice,” she said as she arranged pastries on a warmed platter.

“What sort of advice?” asked Jane.

“Nothing terribly important,” said Louise. “She can’t make up her mind where to go on vacation. She wants to go to New Zealand with a friend but can’t afford it. And the more we talked the more it sounded like she can’t afford to take that much time off from work either. So she was considering the Bahamas but thinks it will be too hot in July.”

“Tell her to come here,” suggested Jane.

“I tried that, but she said, ‘No offense, but Acorn Hill is not exactly a vacation destination for singles.’”

“Did you tell her about Belle?”

“I did.” Louise laughed. “And that’s probably what kept us on the phone for so long. Cynthia was so amused that she suggested she might come down for the weekend.”

“Did you tell her we were booked?”

“Yes, but she could stay with me in my room,” said Louise.

Then Jane filled her in on Ethel’s accusation that Jane had snatched an available male from Belle. “I really don’t think Belle is Clive’s type.”

“No, I wouldn’t think so.” Louise studied Jane with a curious expression. “Although you might be.”

“He’s an interesting man.” Jane picked up the fruit platter she’d just prepared and nodded toward the dining room. “Our guests are waiting.”

The five of them visited pleasantly during breakfast. Ethel asked Clive a few personal questions about his marital status and family situation, but in such a way that he was probably not aware of her intent. And the truth was that Jane was interested to hear that he had been married for nearly twenty years, but that his wife left him for another man about ten years ago, accusing him of being married to his career instead of her, which he admitted was partially true. He had two grown sons, one just finishing law school and the other working in investment banking.

“Why, you just don’t look old enough to have two full-grown sons,” said Belle. “You must’ve started your family when you were a teenager.”

“Mandy and I were young by today’s standards, but we had just graduated college and thought we were grown-up.” He chuckled. “Now I’m not so sure that was the case.”

“Funny how our perspectives change with age,” said Jane as she refilled his coffee cup.

“Yes,” he agreed, “instead of getting wiser in my old age, I realize how little I actually know about almost everything.”

“But you do not come across like that in your column,” said Louise.

He frowned. “No, I suppose not. Unfortunately, I was still fairly young when I started that column. I set myself up as being much smarter than I really am.”

Jane laughed. “Well, it’s an act you seem to be pulling off rather convincingly.”

“Maybe it’s time to change that.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps I should let my readers know that I’m nearly not as bright as I appear on paper.”

“Maybe your readers enjoy the illusion,” suggested Louise.

“Sort of like that little man behind the curtain in
The Wizard of Oz,”
Belle suggested.

Clive nodded. “Yes, I suppose I’m a bit like that. Although I think the professor at Oz was much smarter than he gets credit for.”

“Hello?” called a male voice from the kitchen. “Who can that be?” asked Louise.

Jane was just getting up when Craig Tracy pushed open the swinging door and grinned in an embarrassed way. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“That’s okay,” said Jane. “We’re just finishing up. Want to join us for coffee or a pastry?”

“I came to get you for our planting project at the City Hall,” he said, still standing in the doorway. “Remember, I said Thursday morning?”

She slapped her forehead. “I totally forgot.”

He nodded. “You still want to help?”

“You go ahead, Jane,” said Louise. “I’ll take care of the breakfast things.”

“Okay.” She turned to Craig. “Just let me go put on some jeans and my gardening shoes.”

“Please sit down, Craig,” said Louise. “I know you have a weakness for Jane’s cinnamon rolls.”

Then Jane hurried up the stairs to do a quick change. As much as she wanted to help Craig this morning, she was disappointed that this would mean less time to spend with Clive. Not that she expected Clive to spend his time with her, but she had hoped to get to know him a little better today. And who knew what would happen tomorrow, the day when Justin was scheduled to show up.

Sprucing up the town hall planters turned out to be a bigger project than either Craig or Jane had expected. The packed and neglected dirt needed a lot of enrichment,
which entailed several trips for bags of potting soil. It was nearly two by the time they finished, and Craig offered to buy her lunch as a thank-you.

“I am starving,” Jane admitted as she paused from sweeping spilled soil off the sidewalk. “But I think we better wash up first.”

“These planters look wonderful,” said Lloyd as he emerged from the building in a crisp blue suit, sparkling white shirt and a gold bow tie. “You two do excellent work.”

Jane turned around to admire their efforts. The long cedar boxes were overflowing with cheerful red and white petunias as well as bright blue Lithodora and the silver tones of dusty miller. “It is an improvement.”

“And very patriotic,” added Craig.

“It is generous citizens like you who keep Acorn Hill the kind of town we all like to call home,” said Lloyd.

“Do you mind if we use your restroom to clean up a bit?” asked Jane as she brushed some soil from her jeans.

“Of course not.” He smiled. “Make yourselves at home.”

Before long, Jane and Craig were seated at the Coffee Shop. They both ordered the lunch special: turkey sandwiches and cream of broccoli soup.

“You didn’t tell me that a celebrity was coming to town,” said Craig as he sipped his iced tea.

“Oh, you mean Clive?”

He nodded. “I’ve read his column for years. It was fantastic to meet such a noted writer.”

“He seems genuinely nice.” Jane picked up the second half of her sandwich. “Not at all stuffy or pretentious.”

“Did you expect him to be?”

She shrugged. “He can come across pompous in his column at times. Sort of a know-it-all. I didn’t think I’d like him.”

He chuckled. “It’s obvious that Belle likes him. Does he have any idea what that woman is up to?”

“I haven’t warned him, if that’s what you mean.” Jane felt defensive. She wasn’t sure if the feeling was for Belle’s benefit or Clive’s. “He’s a pretty smart guy. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”

“I’d say that he’s also too old for her, but age doesn’t seem to matter to that woman.”

“Craig,” said Jane. “You don’t need to keep calling her ‘that woman’ like she’s some kind of criminal or lowlife or something.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I suppose that is juvenile on my part.” He winked as he nodded toward the door. “Speak of the devil.” Then he put his hand over his mouth. “I mean
she
devil.”

She gave him a warning look, then glanced up in time to see not only Belle, but also Clive walking toward them.

“Oh, hello, you two,” said Belle cheerfully. “I’m giving
Clive the tour of the town and I told him he simply had to come to the Coffee Shop for pie.”