Hollyhock Ridge Read Online Free PDF Page B

belong
together. You and Claire looked good together, walking down the aisle
afterward. I noticed you disappeared for a while.”
    “We’re just friends,” Ed said. “Maggie says she needs time
to adjust to being back here, and I need to be patient.”
    “Easier said than done,” Kay said. “I think it might be hard
for Claire to adjust to small town life after traveling all over the world.
Rose Hill is as far from Hollywood life as you can get.”
    “She says she’s ready to settle down, and her parents need
her.”
    “How’s Ian doing?”
    “His dementia’s getting worse. He’s upset about Delia going
to the beach for a week. He keeps telling people she’s left him.”
    Ian and Delia were Claire’s parents.
    “Poor Delia, she needs the time away. How is Claire coping?”
    “We’re all pitching in,” Ed said. “I take him to breakfast
and then to the service station, where Patrick watches him all morning. Patrick
then takes him to the Rose and Thorn for the afternoon, and Melissa takes him
home for dinner. Claire gets off work at five and then watches him all
evening.”
    “How’s Claire’s new job?”
    “It’s just temporary,” he said. “She interviewed for an
associate professor position in the drama department at Eldridge. They want
her; they just need board approval in order to hire her.”
    “Meanwhile, I’m sure Sean appreciates her running his new
office while he gets on his feet.”
    “I’m not sure how suited Claire is to a desk job,” he said.
“I think she’ll be happier at Eldridge.”
    “As will you be, too, I’m sure.”
    “I’m nervous about it,” Ed said. “It’s one thing to edit a
small town newspaper, and quite another thing to teach journalism to college
kids.”
    “You’ll be a great teacher,” Kay said. “How’s Melissa coping
with the bakery while Bonnie’s at the beach?”
    “She’s doing great,” Ed said. “I think Bonnie might resent
how well she’s doing without her. She’s added some things to the menu that
Bonnie would never allow.”
    “I’ll have to go down there,” Kay said. “I’d love to support
her and I never pass up the opportunity to try a new treat.”
    “Anything I can do to help with dinner?” he asked
    “You’re my guest,” Kay said. “I wouldn’t hear of it.”
    Laurie arrived with another bottle of wine, and the two men
settled into Kay’s deep arm chairs in the small living room. Kay tended to
dinner as she enjoyed hearing them get to know each other. It felt so good to
have people in the house; why didn’t she do this more often?
    Sonny arrived bearing an apple pie from Fitzpatrick’s
bakery.
    “It’s apple streusel,” he said.
    “Sounds delicious,” Kay said.
    “It was the prettiest,” he said, and then more quietly, “just
like you.”
    Kay felt herself blush.
    “I saw my big pink present out on the front porch,” she
said.
    “I came over this afternoon and had a peek under the house,”
he said. “There’s a drainage issue I need to address right away. After that
I’ll work on your roof and gutters, and then get up in the attic and insulate.
After everything above it is ship-shape, I’ll winterize the crawl space.”
    “Just between you and me, I may be able to pay you for your
work after all,” Kay said. “I found out today that Grace’s trust is going to
pay me for taking care of her.”
    “So they should,” he said. “It won’t be expensive; you can
pay for the supplies and I’ll do the labor for free.”
    “I should pay for your labor,” Kay said.
    “It’s easy for me,” he said. “Plus your house is so small,
there’s not a lot of square footage to work on.”
    “I appreciate it,” Kay said. “I’m ashamed at how I’ve let
things go.”
    “Don’t give it another thought,” Sonny said. “This is what
I’m good at. You’ve got a whole town to run.”
    Claire arrived, and Kay was immediately struck by her facial
expression when she saw Laurie and Ed together in the