12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
I t wasn’t here either.
Tony had scanned the top of Aster’s desk. There was no laptop. Sam even offered to look in the drawers. There was still no sign of the laptop.
A few minutes later, they made their way back to the cart. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Sam. He was like a drowning man with a farm to manage as well as an active eleven-year-old, a toddler, and a pregnant wife in the hospital.
Once they made it to the road, Tony said, “I think he needs some help.”
“I think you’re right.” She pulled out her phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“Birdie. When things need to be organized, she is the person to get it done.”
“But she’s getting up there in years. Should you bother her with this?”
“She’s not that old. She says that being active in the community is what keeps her young at heart. Besides, this is just her working the phones and getting some bodies out to the farm to help with the kids and cleaning. She’ll get others to send food.”
He nodded. “I know. Bluestar always takes care of its own. They will stock the fridge and freezer until there’s no room for anything else.”
“Exactly. I take it you’ll help out?”
He shrugged. “If there’s something specific that needs to be done, and it only takes one good arm.”
“Understood. I guess this means you won’t be doing any cooking.”
“I can get a tray of cookies or a box of donuts. But I remember after my father died, how much food was in the house. It took a year for my mother to work her way through all of it.”
“It was the same with my father.” A frown pulled at the corners of her lips. “Even though it happened months ago, my mother’s freezer is still stuffed.”
“I’m really sorry about your loss.” He glanced over at her and their gazes connected for a moment before he had to concentrate on the road.
“It wasn’t just my loss,” she said gently. “I know you cared a lot about him too.”
He was surprised by her acknowledgment. He didn’t realize his closeness to her father was that obvious to her.
He swallowed hard. “He was like a second father to me.”
She nodded. “And he thought of you like another son.”
It was the first time someone had said something like that to him. Even Neil had never said that to him. Tony wanted to brush it off like it was no big deal but in truth, it was a great-big deal.
Tony swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Your father was a really good man.”
She nodded. “He was. And I miss him every day.”
They continued their ride into town in companionable silence. But there was something nagging at him—the arts festival. Without the computer, how were they to know what arrangements were already made and what still needed to be made?
This was yet another reason Bluestar needed to be brought into the modern century. They needed to invest in networking software instead of individual computers. And then when something like this happens, they could just pull up the digital files.
But Bluestar was a small island with an even smaller budget. When he became mayor, he’d tried to get them to upgrade all of the computers and software at city hall. The town council met his request with a resounding no.
He’d been quiet about the subject because he hadn’t had any further proof that the change needed to occur. Now, sadly, he had all of the proof he needed. The cost would be staggering if the plans for the festival fell through. Business owners were counting on the revenue.
As they reached the edge of town, Lily said, “Would you mind dropping me at the market?”
“Uh, sure. No problem.” Instead of turning right at the next intersection, he turned left.
The market was on the western side of the island. It sat between downtown and Starfish Harbor. It had been there his whole life. He couldn’t imagine the island without it.
“Lily, about the arts festival—”
“I was thinking that we need to start over.” When he pulled the cart to a stop in front of her family’s business, she turned to him.
“Can you grab whatever paperwork you can find at city hall regarding the festival and bring it to my place this evening?” Her cheeks suddenly pinkened. “Unless you have other plans.”
She was offering to spend the evening with him? Even if he did have other plans, he would cancel them in a heartbeat.
“No. No plans. What time should I be there?”
“The Lily Pad doesn’t close until five so maybe six. Would that work for you?” When he nodded, she said, “Anything special you want to eat?”
So, this wasn’t just a work meeting. This was also dinner for two. He could definitely get behind it.
He shook his head. “I’m not a picky eater.”
“Good. Because I have no idea what’s in my fridge.” She got out of the cart and turned back to him with a smile. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, you will.” He felt the tug on the corners of his mouth as he smiled back at her. “Hey, are you still at the apartment in town?”
“Uh, no. I moved to a beach house.” She gave him the address and got out.
He sat there for a moment and watched as she entered the market. When she was out of sight, he drove away. He had a date with Lily. He could feel his smile broaden.
Okay. So, it wasn’t exactly a date. It was more like a shared meal and work.
But it was time they would spend together, and he would take that. He was anxious to know more about Lily now that she was all grown up.
Well, that hadn’t gone well.
Lily couldn’t believe the laptop had disappeared. She wanted to ask Aster if she could think of any other place it could be, but there was no way she was going to stress out her very pregnant friend.
Together, she and Tony would figure out a way to save the festival. At this late date, surely all of the reservations had been made, and all they needed to do was put those pieces together. Sounded simple enough.
She entered the air-conditioned Island Market and was pleased to see a number of customers filling their carts. Her gaze scanned the market until she spotted her brother.
Neil, who was the oldest of her five siblings, headed in her direction. When he reached her, he asked, “Was that Tony I saw drop you off?”
She nodded. She’d learned long ago not to let her brothers see the guys she was dating—not that she was dating Tony. The thought sent heat rushing to her cheeks. “Is Jenna around?”
Neil stared at her for a moment with a glint in his eyes like there was more that he wanted to ask her, but to his credit, he refrained. “She’s in the break room.”
“Thanks.” Lily made her way to the back of the market.
As she passed by the big fish tanks and then glanced in the direction of the prepared food, she wondered if it would just be easier and better to pick up something for dinner.
Maybe she’d stop by and speak to her sister Myra.
She was an amazing cook, who prepared the food for the market.
Lily was certain that she’d have a recommendation for her. But she would figure that out later.
Lily pushed through the employee-only door just like she’d been doing her whole life. She might no longer work at the market, but she was still an Adams, so no place in the market was off-limits to her.
She entered the break room. It was there she found Jenna making a cup of coffee. When Jenna turned around, her eyes momentarily widened. “Lily, what are you doing here? Is everything all right?”
Lily nodded. “I was just out at the Bell farm and I feel so bad for them.”
“I know. How’s Sam doing?”
She filled her sister in on the goat being in town as well as her visit to the farm. When she asked her sister to send some food to the Bells, Jenna agreed to make some of her famous brownies.
“I’ll let Birdie know you’re sending food,” Lily said. “She’s organizing everything. Tony said he’d send food too.”
“Tony, huh?” Jenna gave her a cheeky grin.
Lily sighed and shook her head. “Jenna, don’t.”
“What? I know you had the biggest crush on him when we were kids. And you two looked really cute last night at dinner.”
“Stop.” Lily glanced over her shoulder to make sure none of her other siblings had overheard.
Jenna waved away her worries. “They all knew about your crush. Well, everyone except Tony.”
Heat climbed up Lily’s throat and warmed her face. “You never told me that before.”
Jenna shrugged. “I didn’t want to make it worse for you.”
The thing her younger sister didn’t know and what she’d never told anyone was that all of those years ago, she’d worked up the courage and asked Tony out. She remembered how his blue eyes had momentarily widened, and his mouth had gaped ever so slightly. Then he’d gently but firmly turned her down.
She’d never felt so embarrassed in her life. She’d thought he’d liked her, but he’d made sure to tell her that he looked at her like a sister. In that moment, her crush had been crushed.
She pushed the painful memory to the back of her mind. That was a long time ago, and it had nothing to do with the here and now.
Needing to change the subject, she said, “We didn’t get a chance to talk alone last night. What did you want to talk about?”
Jenna walked over to the door. She stuck her head into the hallway and checked both ways before closing the door. “It’s Neil.”
Lily wasn’t surprised to hear that their big brother was the source of her sister’s problems. This wasn’t her sister’s first time complaining about him.
Lily crossed her arms and sat on the arm of the couch. “What did he do this time?”
“I’m supposed to be the front-end supervisor, so I wanted to make some changes that I think will help streamline the checkout experience for our customers.
He immediately said no.” Jenna’s brow crinkled as a frown pulled at her lips.
“He didn’t even have the decency to hear me out.
It was just no and something about everything staying the same. ”
Lily nodded as her sister got her complaint off her chest. It was really tricky when you worked in a family business. Feelings were easily hurt. Tempers could flare. And it could ruin relationships. It was one of the reasons Lily went out on her own.