Annie shook her head. “We just wanted to introduce ourselves.”
“Let us know if you decide you want company.” Alice handed Mrs. Maxwell the bag of cookies. “Annie thought you might like a homemade treat.”
Mr. Maxwell took the bag from his wife, his expression more wary than appreciative.
“We’re fine on our own.”
11
It wasn’t until Annie had backed her car down the long driveway and turned into the street that she or Alice said anything.
“That was weird.” Alice’s eyes widened. “Aren’t you glad you didn’t go by yourself?”
Annie grinned. “And you didn’t even see the graveyard.”
“I can’t imagine living by a graveyard.”
“It’s only a little one.”
“Stop it.” Alice pulled her jacket a little more snugly around herself. “Besides, it wasn’t that kind of weird. Still, I don’t know about him. She seemed kind of jumpy when he showed up.”
“Yeah, obviously. He about scared the life out of me, that’s for sure. I thought Mary Beth would keep him busy with her cabinets at least for the whole day.”
“She did say that was scheduled for today, didn’t she?”
“Definitely.” Annie took a deep calming breath. “OK. No big deal. He didn’t chase us off with a shotgun or anything.”
“At least I gave her my business card. As my friend Rachel from Brooklyn says, ‘so it shouldn’t be a total loss.’ ”
“You did?”
Alice grinned. “In the bag of cookies.”
“You just had to get in some kind of sales pitch, didn’t you?”
“Seriously, I just wanted her to have some way to get in touch with us if she decides she wants to. I see what you mean about things being strange with her and her husband.”
“I did expect him to be busy all day.” Annie frowned. “At least Mary Beth could have warned us or something.” She tossed her purse to Alice. “Where is my phone? I’m surprised she didn’t call me. She has my cell number.”
“I don’t see it here.” Alice then dug through her own bag and pulled out her phone. “She might have called my phone. Uh-oh, it wasn’t on. Sorry.” She punched a few buttons and then held it to her ear. From her side of the car, Annie could hear the tinny message it played. “Alice, this is Mary Beth. I tried to reach Annie at her house, but didn’t get an answer. I hope you two haven’t gone yet. Tom Maxwell left the shop. He might be on his way home. Call me.”
“Great.” Annie sighed. “So much for the cunning plan. What did I do with my phone? I’m sure I put it in my bag.”
At the next red light, she started rummaging around under the car seat. Finally she came up with three quarters, a note reminding her to buy sunscreen, and her cell phone.
“A lot of good you did me today,” she muttered before returning it to her purse.
“At least we got to talk to Mrs. Maxwell,” Alice said, “so that much was a success. And even if things did feel sort of tense out there, she looked all right. She seemed healthy and everything.”
“She seemed scared. I hope she didn’t get into trouble for talking to us.”
“If she needed help, she would have said something before he got there.” Alice’s forehead wrinkled. “Wouldn’t she?”
“I hope she would.”
When they got back to Main Street, Annie pulled up in front of A Stitch in Time. When she and Alice came inside, Mary Beth hurried from behind the counter.
“I’m glad you’re here. I tried to call you both. Didn’t you get my message?”
Alice shrugged one shoulder. “I’m afraid I forgot to turn my phone on, and Annie’s fell out of her purse in the car. What happened, anyway? I thought it would take him a while to put those cabinets together and then install them. He’s not done already, is he?”
Mary Beth pressed her lips together, and her eyes narrowed. “He hadn’t been working down there very long before he came up to tell me that all the screws are missing from the boxes. He can’t really get started on anything until the replacements get here.”
“Can’t you just get some more from the hardware store?”
“Evidently they’re a special kind made just for this company.” Mary Beth took a deep breath and then smiled. “It would be funny if it weren’t so irritating. I don’t know how one outfit could manage to do something wrong every single time I talk to them.”
Annie patted her arm. “I’m sorry, Mary Beth.”
“Oh well. There can only be so many things that can get messed up, right? It has to all work out eventually. Good thing you two came here before you did anything else. I was afraid you would be out at the Maxwells, and Tom would find you there.”