Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A my made herself a quick slice of toast and poured a cup of coffee before heading to the newspaper.
She’d received a text from Cassie this morning asking if she and Scott would like to come to dinner one night. People were starting to see them as a couple, which wasn’t acceptable. Even though she liked hanging out with him, and he’d been undeniably helpful with her business, she’d have to avoid him for a few days. Then everybody would forget about it, and maybe she’d once again be considered as just the host of a Two Hearts visitor.
She had barely opened up her laptop when her phone rang.
Mrs. Brantley was calling. “I know it’s early, Amy, but I wanted to make sure I got to you before you’ve scheduled your whole day. We’re going to have a meeting here at 10 a.m. to discuss Cassie’s wedding.”
“Do I need to have anything prepared in advance?”
“You’re working on the invitations, so maybe gather a few ideas together before then. Is Scott helping you this morning?” The tone of her voice in the last sentence, to Amy’s suspicious mind, implied an interest in her love life.
“I haven’t heard from him. I’m sure he’s off doing other things. Maybe Greg knows.” Amy was proud of that last touch. She’d put it back on Mrs. Brantley’s own son to know where the visitor was.
“If you see him, please let him know about the meeting.” And then she hung up.
Amy stared at her phone. Scott was living there. Had he left already?
As if an answer to the question, he walked in her door. “I thought I’d stop by to see if you needed anything. I know the newspaper is done, but I thought maybe you had something else going on.”
She stared at him for a beat too long. Pulling herself away from her focus, she said, “I’m glad you stopped by.”
He seemed to perk up at her words. With a smile, he asked, “What do you need?”
“My focus is shifting to the wedding. Mrs. Brantley just called. There’s a meeting about the preparations at 10:00 a.m.”
His smile faded. “Someone needs to tell Greg about this. I know he hasn’t yet heard.”
“How do you know?”
“James gave it away at breakfast one morning.”
“Emmaline Brantley is exacting in all details. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a plan for telling her son. Actually, I’d be surprised if she didn’t. Unless you want to go with me to interview a farmer, I don’t have much going on today. After that, I’m researching online wedding invitations.”
He hesitated a moment. “Are you sure you don’t have anything I could do?” He glanced over his shoulder and out the front window as though he expected someone to come after him and drag him somewhere he didn’t want to be.
“Were there suggestions for another tour this morning?”
“There was a schedule on the refrigerator. It was a backup plan in case you were too busy to have me help or didn’t need my assistance.”
Amy grinned. “Having her as mayor is the best thing that ever happened to this town. At least in my lifetime.” She thought of the dusty books in the back room that needed to be organized by date. “I do have a job, but I don’t think it’ll be fun.”
“Unless it involves a hazmat suit and a mask to filter out toxins, I’m willing.”
“A dust mask could be helpful.” Amy stood and waved him toward the back.
As they entered the back room, he said, “Last time I was here, you were wielding a fish and wearing bunny slippers.”
That caught Amy off guard. “I may love rabbits. And my family knows it.”
“Oh, now I see your interest in Nosey,” he teased.
“He’s a very cute rabbit. I’ve been stopping by and taking him treats. I also feel sorry for Mrs. Robinson sitting there alone all day.”
He stared at her for a moment as though he wanted to say something, and then he seemed to change his mind and focused on the room around him. “This is a mess.”
Amy laughed. “Which also explains why I’ve brought you here. I’d love to have all of these books arranged in date order. Most of these were here when I arrived, and I’ve had a couple of people offer up old issues that were stacked in a barn, but I’m not sure what I have and don’t have. I seem to be the repository for the town’s historical archives.”
“That would be an interesting thing to check on. Maybe you could write about it. See if anybody else has historical items and try to gather them all in one place.”
Amy nodded. “I’ve always loved history, so I like that idea. Once I get settled in, I’ll put that on my list of things to do.”
She went back to her desk and finalized her list of articles for next week’s paper. Interest in Mabel the cow had soared since she’d photo-bombed them. Maybe a follow-up article on her with a bunch of photos would be a hit.
When the time for the meeting arrived, she called out, “I’m ready to go. Want to tag along? Mrs. Brantley made it sound as if the invitation was for you too.”
Scott stepped out, brushing dust off his shirt. “I may as well. As long as I’m with you, she’ll know I’m taken care of.” He paused, his face reddening under her scrutiny. “I mean that she won’t invoke her schedule.”
His first words had made them sound like a couple, and that was far more togetherness than she wanted.
Scott rode beside Amy over to Mrs. Brantley’s, the place he had been trying to avoid but instead found himself brought back to like an escaped convict. Actually, being in the house was fine. He just wanted to avoid the bridal shop tour. He didn’t think most men would want one.
When they walked in the back door, he smelled baking cookies. It seemed there was almost always something wonderful cooking in this house.
Simone, Paige, and Bella were already seated at the table. He was the only man in the room, which felt a little awkward.
Mrs. Brantley clapped her hands together to gather everyone’s attention. “We need to make this fast. Cassie could drop in at any time and would be startled to find everyone here and her not invited. To begin with, we need to ensure Greg is informed of the details.”
“Maybe we should change informed to ask . It may seem better to him,” Bella said. “We aren’t saying he has to do it our way. Just asking if he likes the plan.” With a smile, she added, “But we’re hoping he likes it because we’re doing very well with that plan.”
“Good point. No man likes to be told what to do.” Mrs. Brantley looked at Scott. “Am I right?” There seemed to be humor behind her words, humor he didn’t understand because she’d made a true statement.
“Correct. But in this case, I think Greg will happily marry Cassie no matter what—as long as she’s willing.”
“Good point. I’m sure she is,” Bella added. “I’ll go first. I have a design for the dress I believe Cassie will love. Paige, you’re about the same size. If you could come over to my shop, I’ll have you slip it on. Not so much for an exact fit, but just to see how it hangs on an actual human.”
“Happy to do it. As to my assignment, I don’t have anything to report on the photos because I don’t have much to do until the actual day of the wedding. It isn’t as though we can run an engagement photo of them in the newspaper along with the ceremony date.”
Mrs. Brantley nodded. “Good point. Simone?”
“I’ve known in my head all along what to make for Cassie. She has repeatedly exclaimed over the same types of floral decorations. I’ll do a three-tier cake, along with a single-layer groom’s cake, all decorated in that style. I know her flavor preferences, too, but I haven’t settled on anything yet.”
“It sounds like you’re on track. Amy?”
“I did as you asked earlier, and I have some ideas for the invitations.”
Mrs. Brantley turned to Scott. “And that’s why you’re here this morning. Well, one of the reasons you’re here. Will you be able to work with Amy on the digital invitations?”
“I’m happy to help. It’s quite simple to do. I just need to know what the invitation should look like and have a list of email addresses.”
“We’re working on that. Those addresses are now on the top of my list.” She made a note on her list. “The closer we get to the wedding date, the less time someone will have to leak the surprise to Cassie.”
Bella frowned. “You’re right. I hope they notice that it’s secret.”
“Scott and I will try to make that obvious.”
Mrs. Brantley continued, “On my end, I’ve contacted the different vendors, and it appears everyone is on board. As long as we have this wedding shortly before one that’s already scheduled, they’re just leaving things here for another couple of days. They’re weekdays, too, so the items probably wouldn’t be needed elsewhere.”
Scott thought everything seemed to be running smoothly, so he wondered why they needed this meeting when it seemed like such a risk. If Cassie showed up, their plan could be exposed. At least, his part of the job would be easy.
Then Mrs. Brantley spoke again. “Scott, I have another assignment for you. I think Greg may receive the news about the wedding best if he’s told at a guys’ evening, and he has time to process it all away from Cassie. I don’t want him to find out here and five minutes later see her. He’d look like the cat that just swallowed the canary.”
Where did the men get together here? There was one restaurant and no bowling alley or other traditional hangout space. “I’m glad to help, but I’m not sure how to plan something like this in Two Hearts.”
Bella spoke up. “Micah can help. He said he didn’t have any appointments and that he’d be in his office all day. If you want to stop by?”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll get directions from you before we leave.”
With all of that settled, they broke up the meeting. Mrs. Brantley had each of them leave five minutes apart with Scott last, she said, since he was the only one who was actually supposed to be in her house.