“Nothing.” Cait smiled.
“Hey there, Cait, where’ve you been?” Kate asked as they walked through the door.
Peggy walked out of the kitchen and smiled. “I hear she’s been hanging around with a certain handsome doctor.”
Cait couldn’t control the urge to laugh; she gave in. “Well, we’ve been doing a little more than hanging around.”
“Wait a minute,” Kate said, “let me get a pencil and piece of paper. This might be worth putting in the Gazette.”
“Not funny, Kate,” Peggy told her sister before nudging her toward one of the customers holding up an empty cup. “You’re on coffee duty. Get lost.”
Cait was trying not to cringe at the thought of someone discussing the aspects of her relationship with Jack—it was still so new, she meant to keep it to herself—but she always did have a hard time holding back when it was Peggy.
“She wouldn’t really tell Rhonda—” Cait began, only to have Peggy interrupt.
“Don’t worry,” Peggy reassured her. “Kate’s a lot of talk lately, especially since she finally broke up with her loser boyfriend.”
Cait was trying not to smile when she said, “I didn’t really think that you would, but sometimes I do wonder about your younger sister.” When the younger McCormack sister waved her hand in the air as if to say “go ahead and talk about me,” Cait leaned close and whispered, “Peggy, Meg thinks I’m in love.”
Peggy squeezed Cait’s hand. “Why?”
“Well, it all started when Jamie ran across the road into my arms.”
“Wait,” Peggy said, “you’re in love with a dog?”
“That’s part of it…but that was the first time I saw Jack as a person and not just someone who graduated from school with Meg, joined the navy, and came home to pick up where his dad left off—looking down the throats of everyone in town and taking their pulse.”
Peggy reached out to rub a hand up and down Cait’s back but didn’t say anything.
Encouraged, Cait confessed, “He’s funny, kind, and has this great laugh—and is one hell of a kisser.”
While Meg was chatting with Kate, giving her a food order, Cait sat down on one of the stools. “I’ve never felt like this before, Peggy…ever,” she whispered. “And it scares the ever-living daylights out of me.”
Peggy leaned on the counter and whispered, “So, how good a kisser is he?”
Cait’s grin turned wicked. “You remember Tommy Stackhouse?”
Peggy’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Cait shook her head and whispered, “Better.”
“Oh. My. God,” Peggy said, fanning herself.
Cait started to laugh and pulled Peggy in for a quick hug. “I didn’t know if I was crazy or not.”
Peggy grinned at her. “Seriously? Tommy Stackhouse?”
Kate came out of the kitchen with Meg’s order and asked, “So, are you going to give me the lowdown on the town’s latest heartthrob?”
Meg chuckled as she thanked Kate. “That’s all you,” she said to Caitlin. “See you later, Sis.”
Watching Meg close the door, Peggy asked Cait, “Have you told him how you feel yet?”
Cait shook her head. “I wasn’t exactly sure of it myself. Besides, what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“Are you crazy? He’d be a fool not to fall for you.”
Cait’s heart lightened. “Thanks, Peggy.”
“No problem.”
They walked through the diner and out to the sidewalk. Standing in front of the diner’s picture window, Peggy asked, “So, does Meg finally know about the bet?”
“Yeah, we were just over at Honey B.’s and everybody filled her in.”
“Good,” Peggy said. “It’s a good thing what they’re doing for our town.”
“It is,” Cait agreed. “Sooo,” she said slowly, letting her gaze meet that of her friend. “If you were me, would you tell him?”
Peggy paused before answering, “Maybe not quite yet. You’ll know when the moment is right.”
Chapter 8
As promised, Mr. Johnson was waiting for Caitlin the following morning when she pulled into his driveway. After doing the walk-through, she knew this would be a job she’d love—expanding his barn to include a few more stalls.
“Caitlin,” Mr. Johnson called out, walking toward her car. “Where’s the truck?”
“It’s in the shop.”
Before she could elaborate, he was nodding. “Heard about the whole business, just thought it would be repainted by now.” She fell silent and followed him over to the long, low building he wanted to add on to. “Now,” the older man said, pointing to the left side of the building. “Here’s where I think you should build the stalls I need. How you do it’ll be up to you, as long as it looks like what’s already there.”