Secrets in the Shadows (4 page)

“She’s good. I think you’ll enjoy her.” Glancing at his watch, he winced. “I hate to run, but I’ve got to get to work. It’s nice to finally meet you, to be able to put a face to the name.”

Lauren agreed as they walked up to the circulation desk. “Yes, it is. You’re working at the Lighthouse?”

“I am, at least for a few more weeks, until Sonny doesn’t need me any longer.”

“How is he?” The restaurant’s owner had recently undergone bypass surgery.

“Much better than his doctors anticipated.” Charlie handed his library card to Stella, who efficiently scanned his books.

“I’ll see you around?” he asked Lauren. “You have to let me know what you think about that author.”

“I’ll do that.”

He smiled and tipped an imaginary hat toward her and Stella, then turned and headed out the door. They watched him walk away, and the older woman let out a sigh as he disappeared. Lauren looked at her, eyebrows raised.

Stella shrugged and grinned. “What can I say? I like tall, lanky, dark-haired men. Just because I’m old enough to be his mother doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the way he wears his clothes.”

Lauren laughed, blushing. “He does wear those jeans awfully well.” She handed Stella the books she’d chosen.

“Didn’t he buy the house next to your parents?”

“Apparently he did, but this is the first time I’ve met him. Between his work schedule and mine, well, we’ve been missing each other for weeks now. You know how that goes.”

“I do know how that goes.” She slid the books back across the counter, and Lauren returned them to her bag.

“Maybe you should make him some homemade cookies or a pie or something,” Stella suggested, waggling her eyebrows.

Lauren shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not going there. I have Ava to raise and a business to run; I don’t have time for a man.” Wishing Stella a good evening, she headed out the door. As she reached her vehicle, her cell phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she saw that it was her mother.

“Hey, Mom.” She tossed her bag into the passenger seat and got inside.

“Hey, honey. What time are we meeting in the morning? Seven-thirty?”

“That’s what we agreed on. Are you sure you don’t need me to help you load up at the house?”

“No, Charlie helped with most of it today. Thanks for asking, though.”

Lauren squirmed in her seat. “I met him. Mom, why didn’t you tell me he was so young? He’s probably only a few years older than me.”

“You know what they say about making assumptions.”

“Mom! He probably thinks I’m a crazy lady.” Lauren told her about what she’d said. “It was a little embarrassing, to tell the truth. I hope I didn’t offend him.”

Molly laughed. “Don’t worry about it, honey. That won’t offend Charlie. He probably got a kick out of it.”

Lauren snorted, giving in and laughing with her mother. They talked for another minute before hanging up and, as she started the engine and pulled out of the parking space, she tried to forget the way Charlie Clark’s face lit up when he smiled.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, promising to be a beautiful day. At seven-thirty, however, it was still a little cool, and the breeze blowing off the river made light sweaters and long sleeves a necessity.

Lauren parked next to the town square and yawned. Grabbing her coffee, she got out and leaned against the side of her SUV as she waited for her parents. Other vendors began setting up their tables and tents, and soon the large park was filled with sound as tent spikes were driven into the ground and instructions were shouted to helpers.

A Native American craftsman set up a jewelry booth selling silver and gold worked into stunning pieces around semi-precious stones. Old Mrs. McCullogh, eighty years old if she was a day, still had her tent, under which she lovingly placed the quilts she had sewn by machine and hand-quilted during the winter. She often received hundreds of dollars for each blanket. The new-age crowd was drawn to the Shangri-La booth full of candles, incense, salt rock lamps, and dream catchers. Booths full of books, antiques, dishes, used junk from people’s attics, cosmetics, and a large assortment of other goods were open for a diverse shopping crowd.

Molly had chosen to set up her booth on the side of the two-acre park nearest the Brown Bag, knowing the location would be convenient if someone needed to run over to the shop and grab something. Looking around the park, Lauren smiled, proud of her mother’s enterprise. A successful insurance agent, Molly was just as well known for her talent in the kitchen. Though she had sold her wares at the farmer’s markets for years, she had decided a couple years earlier to slow down at the insurance agency she co-owned with two other agents and focus on her homemade goods. She did a thriving business, usually selling every item she’d brought. It wasn’t unusual for her to end up giving rain checks to customers, then filling those orders during the week.

Lauren was just finishing her coffee when her mother pulled up to park behind her, truck loaded with supplies. She put the mug in her SUV and walked back to meet her parents. When she saw that her mother was alone, she was surprised.

“Where’s Daddy?” A black truck pulled up behind her mother’s, and her father hopped out of the passenger side, waving.

“Oh, he rode with Charlie. He’s going to help with the heavy stuff here today.”

Lauren didn’t say anything as her father came around the front of the truck to hug her.

“I hear you met our boy yesterday. What’d you think?”

She laughed. “I don’t know, Daddy. He seemed nice enough, I guess, but it was a five-minute conversation. He has good taste in authors, though.” Looking at her mother, she teased, “Are you going to let him have a sleepover soon so he and Daddy can stay up all night telling dirty jokes and farting?”

Molly laughed and headed around to the back of the truck. “They do that already.”

Winston puffed up his chest in mock outrage. “We do not tell dirty jokes. We may tell bad jokes, but not dirty jokes.” As Charlie walked up, her father pointed at him. “Tell my daughter that we don’t sit around and swap dirty jokes. I don’t know who puts these ideas into her head.”

Lauren’s mouth opened with surprise at having the tables turned so firmly on her. She felt her face turning red. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Charlie was trying to not laugh, and she shook her head and started for the back of her mother’s truck. “Not a word,” she warned and walked past him. He held his hands up and kept his mouth shut, though her words didn’t dampen the wide grin on his face.

As they unloaded the vehicles, making sure her father handled only the lightest loads, she felt Charlie’s gaze several times. Between her blurted comment last night and their latest exchange, she was certain he thought she was certifiable. With an inward cringe, she sighed.

Molly smiled sympathetically. “Are you missing Ava? You sound troubled.”

“Yes, but that’s not what I was thinking about. It was nothing, really. Where do you want these flavored oils?”

“How about on this table here?” Molly gestured to the folding table they’d set up at the side of the tent. “That way they’re a little more protected than the front table, but still accessible to customers.”

Setting the box down where her mother had indicated, she unpacked it. It was her mother’s spicy pepper blend, extra virgin olive oil infused with jalapenos and crushed red pepper flakes. Lauren knew from firsthand experience how good, and hot, it was. Emptying the box, she placed it underneath the table and grabbed a marker, writing the flavor and price on an index card in front of the bottles. Turning, she bumped into Charlie, who had just set down the last box from the truck.

“I’m so sorry,” she told him as he steadied her before she could bump into the table behind her. “Now you’ll think I’m clumsy as well as crazy.”

He laughed. “Not a chance. I’m sure Win would’ve said something before now if you were truly dangerous, and Ava seems perfectly normal.”

Lauren groaned silently as she started preparing the two large, commercial-sized coffee makers she’d brought. She also provided filtered water, coffee grounds, cups, stirrers, sugar, and cream. Molly covered the cost of the supplies, using the drinks as a draw for customers, and Lauren was able to promote the Brown Bag while helping her mother.

Winston walked up in time to hear her laugh and turned to Molly. “They’re over here telling dirty jokes. After she jumped all over me for doing it, now she’s doing it herself. I see how it is.”

“Daddy, you’re incorrigible.”

Molly leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Changing the subject, how long are you sticking around this morning?” She included Charlie in her question. “Not that we wouldn’t be glad to have you, but it’s getting to be about that time, and I know you’re not overly fond of manning the booth.”

Lauren’s father winced. “No, it’s not my favorite way to pass the time. We’ll head on out, and leave you ladies to it. What time do you think you’ll wrap things up today?”

“I’d say around one. There’ll probably be a heavy crowd, so everything should sell pretty quickly. I’ll give you a call if we’re going to be later.” She leaned up and gave him a kiss.

“What time do you have to be in at the Lighthouse, Charlie?” Winston asked. “Are you working a double today?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m just on this afternoon. I’ll need to be there about three or four, so I should have plenty of time to come back and help you all load and unload.”

Molly walked over and tugged his face down to her, giving him a smacking kiss on each cheek. Lauren was amused to see his cheeks turn pink.

“Have you figured out what you’re going to charge me for labor?”

He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I kinda figured I’d leave it up to you. Everything you make is good, so I’m in pretty safe hands.”

She sighed, sounding perplexed. “That doesn’t help. What sounds good? Why don’t we start with that?”

Charlie shot a quick glance at Lauren, a small smile playing around his mouth. “How about something with strawberries? I really like strawberries, and they’re in season right now.”

Tapping her chin, Molly considered his answer and smiled. “I know exactly what to make for you, then.”

“So do you have everything you need before we go?” Winston asked his wife.

“I think we’re good to go.” She looked at Charlie. “Thanks for your help. We really do appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. I’ll see you this afternoon.” He nodded to Lauren and Winston before he walked to his truck. With a little wave, he started the engine and drove away.

“I guess I’ll head out, too, then, if you’re sure you don’t need anything,” Winston said, moving to kiss Molly again. Lauren threw him a distracted smile as she waited on a customer who had walked up and was asking about the flavored oils.

“I do need one thing before you go, if you don’t mind,” Molly told him. “Go over to Randy’s and get me a flat of strawberries?”

He nodded. “No problem. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

“See you later, then.” He headed off in the direction of Randy Jarvis’s booth to get the berries.

For the next couple of hours, a steady stream of people moved through the booth. Lauren and Molly stayed busy, barely having time to catch their breath. By the time the crowd thinned out at ten o’clock, they were both more than ready for a break.

“Wow, that was intense.” Lauren stretched her legs out in front of her and sipped cold water. “I thought those two ladies were actually going to fight over the last bottle of rosemary oil.”

Molly laughed. “So did I. Thank God you found that other one back in the back. If you hadn’t, we’d probably have made the newspaper. It’s an ego boost, though, having people that enthusiastic about something you’ve created.”

They sat for a few minutes, watching the passersby and answering occasional questions.

“So, are you ready to tell me what’s on your mind?”

Lauren was surprised. “How did you know? Never mind, I know. It’s that mom thing.” She sighed. “I don’t know; I was just thinking about your neighbor, mostly.” She kept her gaze in her lap and picked at the label on her water bottle. “What do you know about him?”

Molly watched her closely as she answered. “He’s a little older than you. He isn’t married, and I don’t think he ever has been. He used to be in the Marines, and he runs his own business. He moved back here about two months ago, and seems to lead a pretty quiet life.” She tilted her head to the side. “You don’t remember him from when you were growing up?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve racked my brain, and if I’ve ever met him, I don’t remember it. I know his dad. He’s a regular at the café.”

Her mother sighed. “I don’t think they have much of a relationship. Charlie hasn’t said much about it, but from what he has said, I think they’ve been estranged for years. I believe his mother works for a law office up in Madison.”