home-cooked meal.” Olivia’s string
bean of a brother could lose weight eating six meals a day. “I promised to help Maddie
decorate cookies for the store tomorrow, but I could probably get there by seven.
You can start dinner without me. I’d feel responsible if Jason passed out from hunger.”
“I’ll feed Jason while I’m cooking dinner, and he can eat a second meal with the rest
of us. That should hold him till breakfast. Allan is consumed by yet another new Internet
business he’s developing, so he won’t linger at the table. Honestly, I think that
man is happy only when he’s starting up a business. Once it’s humming along nicely,
he gets bored and sells it.”
“He seems to be good at it,” Olivia said.
“That he is.” Ellie finished her second cookie, and said, “Gotta tap-dance away. See
you sevenish.” But she didn’t move. She stared at the sales counter with a thoughtful
expression.
Olivia followed her gaze and saw their new clerk, Jennifer, pushing a large box across
the counter toward the young couple to whom she’d been demonstrating the wonders of
the fancy red mixer. Olivia had come to think of that mixer as her worst-ever business
decision. She checked the shelf the mixer had dominated for so long. It wasn’t there.
“I don’t believe it,” Olivia said. “Did Jennifer actually sell that red mixer?”
“I watched her box it up and run the credit card,” Ellie said. “But I keep wondering…”
Olivia felt a flicker of anxiety. “What? What are you wondering? Because if that credit
card is bogus, I’m out a lot of—”
“Take a deep breath, Livie.”
“But—”
“I was only wondering about Jennifer. Does she have family around here? She reminds
me of someone, but I can’t think who.”
“Maddie hired her,” Olivia said. “All I know is she recently moved here from DC, and
she has a great deal of knowledge about cookie cutters and baking. And she sold the
red mixer, which makes her a goddess in my eyes.”
“Understandable, dear. Anyway, I’m now officially late, no matter how we interpret
the Hansel and Gretel clock.” Munching on a cookie, Ellie tap-danced toward the front
door. She wove flawlessly around display tables and two of the customers. When she
reached the front of the store, she tapped around to face Olivia, blew her a kiss,
and danced backward out the door.
The customers followed Ellie’s performance in startled silence. As the door closed
behind her mother, all five faces turned toward Olivia. Their reactions ranged from
puzzlement to outright amusement. One customer giggled.
Olivia shrugged. “I’ve never seen that woman before in my life.”
Chapter Four
Promptly at seven p.m., Olivia arrived at the front door of her childhood home. Spunky
wiggled in her arms, eager to be back on his own four paws. He recognized the Greyson-Meyers
house and yapped with excitement. Olivia had recently begun taking her little Yorkie
with her when she visited her family and friends. He didn’t do well with long periods
of apartment arrest, and he was a popular guest. In fact, Olivia had received more
invitations than usual lately. The reason, she suspected, was Spunky’s adorable nature,
not hers. It was no accident that Spunky had survived so long on the streets of Baltimore
after escaping from the puppy mill. The little con artist could really turn on the
charm.
Jason, Olivia’s brother, opened the door holding a half-eaten ham sandwich. “Hey Olive
Oyl, you’re on time. And you brought my buddy. Hey, Spunks.” Jason tore a piece of
ham from his sandwich and fed it to Spunky.
“He isn’t starving, you know,” Olivia said. “You don’t have to share your dinner with
him.”
“Mom already fixed me some ham and potatoes, but she didn’t think you’d be here on
time, so she made me a sandwich to help tide me over. Come on in. Mom’s in the kitchen.
We ran out of ham,
bean of a brother could lose weight eating six meals a day. “I promised to help Maddie
decorate cookies for the store tomorrow, but I could probably get there by seven.
You can start dinner without me. I’d feel responsible if Jason passed out from hunger.”
“I’ll feed Jason while I’m cooking dinner, and he can eat a second meal with the rest
of us. That should hold him till breakfast. Allan is consumed by yet another new Internet
business he’s developing, so he won’t linger at the table. Honestly, I think that
man is happy only when he’s starting up a business. Once it’s humming along nicely,
he gets bored and sells it.”
“He seems to be good at it,” Olivia said.
“That he is.” Ellie finished her second cookie, and said, “Gotta tap-dance away. See
you sevenish.” But she didn’t move. She stared at the sales counter with a thoughtful
expression.
Olivia followed her gaze and saw their new clerk, Jennifer, pushing a large box across
the counter toward the young couple to whom she’d been demonstrating the wonders of
the fancy red mixer. Olivia had come to think of that mixer as her worst-ever business
decision. She checked the shelf the mixer had dominated for so long. It wasn’t there.
“I don’t believe it,” Olivia said. “Did Jennifer actually sell that red mixer?”
“I watched her box it up and run the credit card,” Ellie said. “But I keep wondering…”
Olivia felt a flicker of anxiety. “What? What are you wondering? Because if that credit
card is bogus, I’m out a lot of—”
“Take a deep breath, Livie.”
“But—”
“I was only wondering about Jennifer. Does she have family around here? She reminds
me of someone, but I can’t think who.”
“Maddie hired her,” Olivia said. “All I know is she recently moved here from DC, and
she has a great deal of knowledge about cookie cutters and baking. And she sold the
red mixer, which makes her a goddess in my eyes.”
“Understandable, dear. Anyway, I’m now officially late, no matter how we interpret
the Hansel and Gretel clock.” Munching on a cookie, Ellie tap-danced toward the front
door. She wove flawlessly around display tables and two of the customers. When she
reached the front of the store, she tapped around to face Olivia, blew her a kiss,
and danced backward out the door.
The customers followed Ellie’s performance in startled silence. As the door closed
behind her mother, all five faces turned toward Olivia. Their reactions ranged from
puzzlement to outright amusement. One customer giggled.
Olivia shrugged. “I’ve never seen that woman before in my life.”
Chapter Four
Promptly at seven p.m., Olivia arrived at the front door of her childhood home. Spunky
wiggled in her arms, eager to be back on his own four paws. He recognized the Greyson-Meyers
house and yapped with excitement. Olivia had recently begun taking her little Yorkie
with her when she visited her family and friends. He didn’t do well with long periods
of apartment arrest, and he was a popular guest. In fact, Olivia had received more
invitations than usual lately. The reason, she suspected, was Spunky’s adorable nature,
not hers. It was no accident that Spunky had survived so long on the streets of Baltimore
after escaping from the puppy mill. The little con artist could really turn on the
charm.
Jason, Olivia’s brother, opened the door holding a half-eaten ham sandwich. “Hey Olive
Oyl, you’re on time. And you brought my buddy. Hey, Spunks.” Jason tore a piece of
ham from his sandwich and fed it to Spunky.
“He isn’t starving, you know,” Olivia said. “You don’t have to share your dinner with
him.”
“Mom already fixed me some ham and potatoes, but she didn’t think you’d be here on
time, so she made me a sandwich to help tide me over. Come on in. Mom’s in the kitchen.
We ran out of ham,
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