The Magnolia Cafe(52)

“I think we do.” Izzy grinned and dug her fork into a bite of the cake. “Now, if I can just finish up my to-do list for Summerfest, it will all be good.”

“Hey, did you guys hear there’s a hurricane forming out in the Atlantic?” Becky Lee leaned against the table.

“No. Isn’t it kind of early for that?” Izzy’s face creased in concern. “I hope it doesn’t dump a bunch of rain on us. We have Summerfest and the wedding coming up.”

A shiver ran up Jenny’s spine. “I’m sure it will just dissipate, right? I mean it’s too early for a big storm.”

“I can come up with a backup plan for the wedding, but a big storm will sure put the brakes on Summerfest. If a hurricane gets forecasted for this area, we’ll lose all the tourist traffic we were counting on.” Izzy sighed. “I’ll just will the darn thing away. I’ve put too much effort into Summerfest for it to be ruined by a hurricane.”

“I think that even a hurricane won’t argue with Izzy when she has her mind set. I’m sure the storm is breaking up as we speak,” Becky Lee assured her friend.

“What other news do you have?” Jenny knew Becky Lee always was the first to know anything, with her Magnolia Cafe pipeline to town news.

“Well, Keely is still working on the liquor license for the cafe. She’s hoping it comes through any day. Y’all will have to come to the grand opening of the patio. She’s having it the day before Summerfest starts, if Hunt gets the final things finished out here. He seems a bit worried.”

“Clay and I will come.” Jenny made a mental note to tell Clay about it.

Izzy, of course, made an actual note in her notebook. “I’ll have to check with Owen. He swears he’ll be in town for Summerfest, but I’m not sure when he’s actually going to get here.”

“Well, I’m hoping the patio area with the wine bar will help out the Magnolia Cafe financially. I know Keely is always struggling to keep things going. Hopefully Summerfest will be a boon for business, too. Closing down for that week after the fire hit them kind of hard, but at least the whole place got a fresh coat of paint, and Natalie’s ideas for the patio have turned out great.”

“I hope it works out for Keely. Heck, I hope Summerfest helps to bring in business to my shop.”

“Jenny, what’s up? You have that lost-in-space thing going on.”

Becky Lee interrupted Jenny’s thoughts, and she realized she’d only been half-listening.

“I’m not sure. I just have this strange feeling about the wedding.”

“Butterflies. All brides have them.” Becky Lee spoke like she was an authority, not a confirmed single woman.

“Yes, you’re probably right. I’m just being silly.” Jenny pushed away from the table. “Well, I better go. Greta is making dinner for all of us tonight, and I want to get there and help her out.”

Jenny walked away from her friends after assuring them everything was all right. Only… she still didn’t think everything was all right.

~ * ~

Keely looked around the cafe. Less than a week until the grand opening of the patio. Her mother had looked at every single bill that came in, second guessing everything, but Keely had gritted her teeth and carried on with the running of the cafe. Her mother had put a stop on spending anything else on renovating the patio or updating the cafe. Keely had actually paid the electrician and Hunt out of some meager savings she had.

Keely walked over to the antique hutch and adjusted the basket of menus. A long church pew had been cleaned up, polished, and sat in front of the row of windows. Surely her mother could see how nice the cafe looked now with just the few changes? Maybe if business picked up, her mother would even be proud of her. Maybe her mother would acknowledge all Keely had done to make the cafe a financial success.

Maybe.

“Keely, you want to come see this?” Hunt walked up behind her. “I brought over all the tables and have them out on the patio. You can let me know if you want me to rearrange them.”

Keely turned to look at Hunt. She hadn’t seen much of him since their trip. He’d been busy with the patio and she’d been busy getting things ready for the patio opening and Summerfest.

Plus, she’d been avoiding him.

“Sure. I’ve been wanting to see how the tables turned out.” She knew both Bella and Natalie thought this mismatched arrangement of tables and chairs would look great, but Keely could not picture it in her mind. But then, she wasn’t really the decorating type. She was the grown woman who lived in her childhood room and had never so much as painted the walls. She hadn’t thought to take down the posters she had up from her high school days until her late twenties. What did that say about her?