As he turned to leave, Hattie said, “Tell that boy to call me. I want to add new cupboards to my craft room, and I want the same ones we put in the kitchen this past summer.” Caleb looked back to see her waving the check in the air. “I’m finally going to get the craft room I’ve always wanted.”
Delighted to see the childish joy in her eyes, Caleb said, “Yes, ma’am. Oh, and you should probably know that later today, I’m going to see a man about a house.”
With bushy gray brows floating high on her forehead, she said, “You’re full of surprises today, Mr. McGraw.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “Who are you using?”
“Ronnie Ottwell,” he answered.
She nodded approval. “Good choice. When you’re ready, see Myrna over at First Federal. Tell her I sent you.”
Caleb hadn’t planned on taking out a mortgage, but he kept the fact to himself. “I’ll do that, thanks.”
He’d taken two steps toward the door when Hattie asked, “Does that mean we’ll be having a wedding soon?”
Preferring to keep any wedding talk between him and Snow, he said, “You never know,” and made his exit before the older woman could push for a better answer.
Snow hummed a Beatles tune while she worked, pulling items that had been in the inventory long enough to earn a steep discount for the holiday season. Business had already picked up, forcing her to officially add Lorelei to the sales staff. The baker was proving to be an asset, holding down the entire store while Snow went back and forth between the sales floor and the stockroom.
“There you are,” said a familiar voice as Snow was gathering a collection of Christmas-themed dishes. “Let me see your finger.” Hattie looked as excited as a child about to open her favorite toy, but Snow had no idea what the woman was talking about.
“It’s nice to see you, Miss Hattie. You have something for me to try on?” Her landlady maintained a booth in the store with small antiques for sale, but she’d never offered a piece of jewelry before.
“Don’t be silly.” Propping her reading glasses on the end of her nose, she said, “Come on. Let me see it.”
There was definitely a miscommunication here. “Let you see what?” Snow asked, holding out her hands to show her bare fingers.
“But . . .” Hattie took Snow’s left hand, turning it over as if whatever she expected to be there might appear with a flip and a shake. “Why aren’t you wearing it?”
“Wearing what?” Had Miss Hattie’s age caught up to her? Was the woman suddenly imagining conversations that never happened?
Dropping Snow’s hand, Miss Hattie barked, “I don’t understand. Why did he—”
“Is there a problem?” Lorelei asked as she joined them.
“This little lady’s supposed to have a ring on her finger.”
“We haven’t gotten around to that yet,” Snow said, feeling as if she were somehow disappointing the older woman. Maybe she should see if there was a ring in the store that would suffice until she and Caleb could pick out something new. While she was distracted, trying to remember what she had available in the jewelry display, Lorelei whispered something in Miss Hattie’s ear that Snow couldn’t make out.
The older woman’s eyes went wide at the same moment her mouth clamped shut.
“You think?” Hattie said.
With lips pressed tight, Lorelei nodded that she did indeed think.
“Think what?” Snow asked.
“I’ve got to go,” Hattie said, backing away. “Don’t mind me, my dear. I’m old.” She made the universal sign for crazy next to her ear.
“Okay,” she said as the older woman beat a hasty retreat. What exactly just happened? “Lorelei,” she said, turning her attention to the person who seemed to know something Snow didn’t. “What was that about?”
“Like she said. She’s old.” Waving to an invisible customer, Lorelei added, “I’d better get back to work,” and bid a farewell of her own.
Snow wasn’t an idiot. Miss Hattie had expected her to be wearing a ring, which was fair enough, since Caleb had told the older woman that they were engaged back when he first arrived. But what had Lorelei whispered in the woman’s ear that would make her take off like that? It wasn’t as if her fiancé needed to spring a proposal on her. They’d crossed that bridge nearly two years ago.
Something fishy was going on, and Snow intended to find out exactly what it was.
The day had been a success. Cooper agreed, with less arm twisting than Caleb had expected, to become the cruise-in guru on the Ruby Restoration Committee. They set a goal kickoff date of late March and locked down enough details for Spencer to present the idea at the next committee meeting, which wouldn’t be for two weeks due to the Thanksgiving holiday. By the time Caleb had driven off for his next appointment, Cooper had created a contact list of every old car enthusiast he knew. Without a doubt, this would give the cause massive publicity while creating a steady income stream.