Chapter 8
As Ivy approached the farmers market, she heard Gilda call to her.
She turned to see Gilda pushing Pixie in a dog carrier. The Chihuahua was reclining on a pink silk pillow and looking like the little princess she was. Her leg was wrapped in its splint, but her eyes were bright, and her tail wagged when she saw Ivy.
“Pixie looks much better,” Ivy said.
“Thank goodness for that,” Gilda said. “We’re on our way to volunteer at Thrifty Threads. Pixie’s splint must stay on for several weeks, but she’s eating normally and seems happy. Thanks to the fabulous Dr. Caleb.”
Ivy nodded, glad that he was there, too. “We were lucky he knew a little about how to splint a dog’s leg.”
“Well, he is a veterinarian.” Gilda’s expression brightened. “He’s considering opening a practice in Summer Beach. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”
“We don’t investigate guests before they arrive,” Ivy said, smiling. “I assumed he was a medical doctor for humans.”
Gilda stroked the dog’s head gently. “Dr. Caleb explained that he sometimes consults at that veterinary clinic. He examined Pixie so gently, and had X-rays done before he splinted her leg. She adores him now.”
Gilda lowered her voice in a conspiratorial tone.
“He told me he’s moving from Los Angeles and looking for a fresh start.
When I asked him if he had someone special in his life, he told me he’d been seeing an actress, but she’s left him.
Probably some tart who broke his heart, which means he’s available.
He might be interested in Sunny or Poppy. ”
Ivy didn’t want to know the details or how Gilda had acquired this information. “While I appreciate you thinking of them, please don’t play matchmaker. They’re young women, and they can take care of themselves.”
Didn’t she just have this conversation with Bennett?
Gilda started off for the thrift shop, and Ivy continued to the farmers market.
The aromas of apple cider and cinnamon from the bakery stalls filled the air.
Near the entry, she spotted a skinny young man at the edge of the farmers market patch, bent over sweeping a pile of vegetable debris into a trash bin.
His dark hoodie hung loose on his shoulders as he worked.
Was this the same young man she’d seen near the vacant library lot?
Just then, a child’s excited scream erupted behind her, and she turned.
Her younger sister hurried toward her with her little girl strapped into a stroller.
Both were dressed in sunny yellow sundresses with sweaters looped around their shoulders.
Shelly’s hair was half tumbling from a messy bun, but the two looked cute together.
Smiling, she snapped a quick photo with her phone.
Ivy wore her usual farmers market outfit of jeans and a hoodie. At least they were her good ones.
When Shelly reached Ivy, she scooped Daisy from her stroller. “Here’s our sweet bundle of trouble.”
The little girl gripped a damp plushie seal in her hand and waved it at Ivy, squealing with glee.
“Got wet,” Daisy said in her sweet little baby girl voice.
Shelly quirked a smile. “So we both had to change, and Daisy wanted to dress up.”
Ivy laughed at the news and hugged them both. “Glad you were able to fish out Sarah the seal.”
“Barely,” Shelly said, making a face. “I tugged the stuffed animal out by the tail, but it wasn’t easy. I sent it through a super-fast wash cycle and towel dried it. I hope it will air dry in the sun. And here I thought my plumbing days were over.”
Ivy put her arm around her younger sister. “Look at you, winning at motherhood.”
“Barely.” Shelly shuddered. “Can we talk about something else? I’m a little traumatized.”
“Let’s see what Brooke brought from her garden today.” Ivy gestured toward a booth where a table was laden with vegetables.
They greeted the older sister of Ivy’s friend, Marina Moore, who had opened a cafe in town. Brooke wore a friendly smile, along with denim overalls and Birkenstock sandals. She tucked wisps of hair into her long braid.
“Why, look who we have here,” a gruff voice called out.
Ivy and Shelly turned to see Darla strolling toward them. Daisy waved her arms and cried out in a sweet sing-song voice to her.
“Mind if I take Daisy for a spin around the market while you shop?” Darla asked.
Daisy squealed with glee, clearly understanding the conversation was about her.
Shelly smiled. “Go ahead, she likes to get out.”
With a wink at little Daisy, Darla took control of the stroller. “Come on, kiddo. I feel donuts in your future.” She wheeled Daisy away before Shelly could protest.
Ivy laughed while Shelly shook her head. “I have to introduce Darla to fruit and granola.”
“One donut won’t hurt Daisy,” Ivy said. “Lighten up.”
Shelly clamped a hand to her forehead. “I can’t believe you’re throwing my advice back at me.”
“Ivy’s right.” Brooke smiled. “But that’s why I started growing vegetables.
When my boys were little, they wouldn’t touch them, yet they were fascinated when I started growing them.
Watching cucumbers and tomatoes grow and eating them off the vine intrigued them.
While those aren’t technically vegetables, they were close enough for me. ”
A bushel of small artichokes caught Ivy’s attention. “I have to get some of those for Poppy.”
“How many?” Brooke asked.
Whatever Poppy didn’t want, she and Bennett and Sunny would enjoy, if her daughter was around.
When Sunny wasn’t working at the inn, she often went out for dinner with friends, even if that only meant grilled hot dogs on the beach or pasta night at a friend’s place.
Ivy was glad Sunny had made new friends in Summer Beach.
While Brooke helped her select good produce, a woman joined them.
Ivy didn’t recognize the younger woman, who wore a cream-colored leather jacket that accented her blond hair. Diamonds sparkled at her ears and neck. While Ivy didn’t know everyone in town, she would have remembered this attractive woman. Every item she wore looked expensive.
“What delicate artichokes,” the woman said.
“They’re so tender, you can eat them whole,” Brooke said.
“Simply remove the outer leaves and cut the tops. When these are ready to harvest, they sell fast, and I won’t have any more for a while.
” She told her how to prepare them. “Then, serve them with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar drizzled over them.”
“They sound delicious,” the woman said. “I wish we could get some, but we’ve just moved in, and our kitchen is still a disaster.”
A tall, good-looking man about Bennett’s age joined them. He slid an arm around the woman.
“The Coral Cafe is serving them right now,” Brooke continued, her voice rising on a strangled note at the man’s arrival. “The chef prepares a lot of seasonal specialties. She’s also my sister.”
“That must be a new restaurant,” the man with her remarked.
Brooke’s cheeks flushed. “It’s been open for a couple of years.” She tried to turn away from the couple.
The woman exclaimed over Brooke’s vegetables. “Do you grow everything yourself?”
Noting Brooke’s sudden discomfort, Ivy said, “She does. It’s all organic and grown on their land.”
Shelly glanced at Brooke and the other woman before asking Ivy, “Do we have any family plans yet for Thanksgiving?”
Ivy hadn’t spoken to their brothers yet. “Now that the renovation is finished, we should plan a gathering at the inn for family and friends, and for any guests who might be there.”
A slow smile spread across Shelly’s face. “Maybe that will include Dr. Caleb. Gilda told me everything.”
“Stop that.” Ivy nudged her. Shelly knew better than to gossip about guests.
The other woman leaned in, a stack of gold bracelets clinking on her wrists.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I heard you mention an inn.
We need to move out of the house to fumigate.
We spoke with the proprietor at the Seal Cove Inn, but she has a wedding party there. It’s fully booked. Where is this inn?”
This was a chance to fill some empty rooms. But from the corner of her eye, Ivy saw Brooke shake her head vigorously while rearranging produce.
Shelly caught that, too. She spoke up. “I’m so sorry, but we don’t have rooms available. You might check in a neighboring community.”
“What a shame, but we’ll do that,” the woman said.
After the couple moved on, Ivy turned back to Brooke, curious about her reaction. But before she could ask, Shelly picked up a zucchini, wielding it like a microphone.
Shelly leaned toward Brooke. “Care to make a comment about why you warned us against them?”
As shoppers slowed by the booth, Brooke frowned and shook her head again. “I shouldn’t say.”
Shelly lowered her voice. “Now you have to spill the tea. Who was that?”
As Brooke bit her lip and glanced around, an unsettling feeling filled Ivy.
After customers moved away from Brooke’s booth, she let out a long sigh.
“I didn’t know the woman, but I know the man with her.
He ran against Bennett in the first mayoral race.
All I’m saying is that he fights dirty. I didn’t know he’d returned to Summer Beach.
And that was not his wife. At least, not the one I knew. ”
Shelly’s eyes widened. “Well, this is uncomfortable. Wish I’d known that.”
“Now you do,” Brooke said. “There’s a lot of history under the sunshine here in Summer Beach. Some of it is unfounded gossip, and some is real.”
A sickening feeling gathered in the pit of Ivy’s stomach as she watched the couple thread the crowd in the distance. If Bennett knew they’d returned, that might be what was bothering him.
Just then, a little girl carrying a large pumpkin stumbled, sending her armload crashing to the ground.
Immediately, the little girl broke out in tears. “I only wanted to show my mom.”
“It’s okay, accidents happen here all the time,” Brooke said, waving down a teenage boy who was rolling a trash can.