Sweet Tea at Sunrise by Sherryl Woods Page B

indeed.”
    “You’ve been off the air for a month or so now, though.”
    “True.”
    She looked from him to Travis. Understanding started to dawn on her face. When Travis opened the door and she stepped inside the studio, her eyes lit up. “Would you look at this,” she exclaimed, her tone awe-struck. “You’re bringing a radio station to Serenity!”
    “I am,” Travis confirmed. He studied her worriedly. “What do you think? It’s not quite up there with sex toys and porno.”
    “And a darn good thing it’s not,” she said, sitting down in front of one of the microphones. “You going on the air today?”
    “Not for another couple of weeks.”
    “What kind of music?”
    “Country.”
    Gesturing to the two microphones. “You planning to invite folks in to talk?”
    “Absolutely.”
    She nodded. “I might want to give that a try one day,” she admitted, clearly trying not to sound too eager. “Seems like fun.”
    “I think you’d be the perfect guest. You could talk about all the changes in downtown Serenity and why Wharton’s has made it through all the economic ups and downs.”
    “Or I could tell who’s been misbehaving around town,” she said, her expression mischievous.
    Travis laughed. “As long as you don’t land me in a pile of you-know-what and get me slapped with a slander suit.”
    She frowned at his joking tone. “Don’t you know by now that I never repeat anything that isn’t gospel truth?”
    “Does the mention of sex toys and porno in connection to this place ring any bells?” he inquired.
    She waved off his remark. “I only said that because you wouldn’t say what you were doing. When there’s a vacuum, gossip will usually fill it.”
    He nodded. “Glad to know how your mind works.”
    “Has nothing to do with my mind,” she said huffily. “It’s a fact.”
    Travis regarded her with wonder. “Grace, you really are a town treasure.”
    “Hush. You make me sound like some statue on the green. I need to get back over to Wharton’s before Sarah goes crazy. Everybody and their brother decided to come in for breakfast this morning before the big announcement.” She grinned at him. “I hate to steal your thunder, but I might have to mention a thing or two about it when I get back there.”
    He feigned dismay. “You’d do that to me?”
    “No more than you deserve after keeping me in the dark for so long,” she told him. “Don’t fret, though. There will be plenty more who won’t have a clue when they show up this morning.”
    “I don’t suppose you could try to keep it quiet around Sarah, could you? I’d kind of like her to hear about this from me.”
    Grace nodded slowly. “So that’s the way it is. I’d wondered. You’re sweet on her, aren’t you?”
    “No, it’s nothing like that,” he said quickly, if not entirely truthfully.
    “Then what is it like?” she asked suspiciously.
    He hesitated, then said, “Okay, I owe it to you to tell you what I have in mind since Sarah works for you. I’m thinking of asking her to go on the air in the mornings. She’s great with all your customers. She shows a real interest in their lives and they all talk a mile a minute when she’s around.”
    Once again, Grace’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “You don’t have to sell me. That’s a wonderful idea. She’d be perfect hosting a talk show right here in town.”
    “You aren’t furious that I want to steal her?”
    “Heavens, no! I love having her there, but her working for me was always temporary.”
    Travis was surprised to hear that. “Why? She isn’t planning to leave town, is she?” He certainly hadn’t heard any rumors to that effect.
    “No, but she’s put in her application to teach in the fall. I think she’s really looking forward to it.”
    “Then I’ll just have to make her see that this opportunity is too good to miss,” Travis said.
    “When are you planning on talking to her?”
    “I wanted to speak to you first, and now that I