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as to what was happening. I’m still sorting through it all, trying to figure it out.”
    Understanding dawned. “Now I know why Helena suddenly invited me to dinner tonight.” Not that I’ll ever get to eat. “And here I thought the false pretense was the grill.”
    “I didn’t know this was her plan. She invited me over saying she, I, and Ms. Louise could brainstorm and figure it all out.” There was an apology in Molly’s big coffee-colored eyes. “She never said she’d be dragging you into this.”
    “I believe you. This is just typical of Helena.” He sighed. “So what’s the problem?”
    Molly seemed to be debating with herself. “I’m in way over my head,” she finally confessed.
    I’m going to regret asking this . . . “ How so?”
    “Honestly, I can’t make heads or tails of Mrs. K’s notes. I’ve never even been to one of the Children’s Fairs, so I don’t have a clue what’s even supposed to happen there.”
    He’d agreed to serve on Mrs. K’s “committee” in the first place only because it was really a committee of one, and Mrs. K micromanaged every detail. At the same time, there was an edge of desperation in Molly’s voice that was impossible to ignore. And since the thing had been dumped on her without warning, he’d have to be a real ass to not at least offer what assistance he could. “I can meet you tomorrow if you’d like, and see if I can help sort it out and point you in the right direction. I confess I’m mainly a rubber stamp for Mrs. K, but I do have a basic understanding of how it all works.”
    “That would be awesome.” The relief that crossed her face as the tension left her shoulders made him feel like Superman saving the day. “Come to Latte Dah? I’ll buy you a cup of coffee . . .”
    “I’ll have to double-check my schedule at the clinic, but maybe around ten or so?”
    “I’m available at your convenience. You’re doing me the favor, after all.”
    He rolled his eyes at their current project. “Well, I’ll owe you since you’re helping with this.”
    To his surprise, Molly dropped the piece she was holding and dramatically dusted off her hands. “Oh, screw this. I’m going to declare that piece E-17 does not exist, therefore this grill is not going to be put together today. Helena can cook chicken breasts in theoven the way God and the creators of kitchen appliances intended us to do.”
    He laughed. “All-righty, then.”
    “Unless . . .” she backtracked.
    “Unless what?”
    “Unless your ego is caught up in this now and you have something you need to prove by completing it.”
    Molly was clever. Even if his ego had been invested, there’d be no way to admit that now without sounding like a complete tool. “Not in the least,” he assured her. “Ryan can deal with this mess.”
    “Good.” She pushed to her feet and dusted off the seat of her jeans. “I’m going to go give Helena our verdict.”
    He wasn’t going to argue with that. Chivalry didn’t include sacrificing his head to Helena when Molly was willing to take one for the team. Friendship had its boundaries.
    Helena and Molly were an odd pair. Molly was sweet and sunny and perky, and Helena was . . . well, she was none of those things. Helena had sharp edges to her personality and could be downright prickly, whereas he’d never seen Molly with anything other than a smile on her face. What they had in common, he didn’t know, and how they managed to get along so well was beyond him, but he was glad to see Helena with a girlfriend for once. And while most people were still a little afraid to get on Helena’s bad side, it seemed odd that perky little Molly was not cowed by Helena at all.
    He put the grill parts back into the box and made it back onto the porch about the same time Helena came outside. “Quitter,” she said, shaking her head at him in disappointment.
    “I gave it my best shot. Your poor planning isn’t my fault.”
    “Poor