22. Cait #2
If Cait were romantic, the night Effie was referring to would have gone down as one of the most spectacular she had ever witnessed.
Josh, after deciding to move back to South Dakota, surprised Effie with the news by decking out the gazebo in the town square with fairy lights, with the help of family and friends.
In Cait’s opinion, it had been a bit over the top, but witnessing the couple so happy now almost made her believe in love.
“Is it me, or are the rodeo and dance early this summer?” Cait hadn’t gone to either since she was in high school.
Effie nodded. “According to the town council, it was too close to the state fair then, and they had been wanting to change the date for years. Thanks to the new mayor, she finally made it happen.”
“I think moving it up is good. Now it’s earlier than other towns.
Sometimes people get burned out with street dances by August. Plus, it’s not too hot yet in June.
The temperature is perfect today.” Ruth yawned.
“Anyway, my mom has Eloisa and Arielle, so baby Jocelyn and I better hit the road.” Ruth hugged everyone before departing.
“Cait, what about you? Are you going?” Effie enquired.
“I’m not sure. I need to go and check out a house I’m thinking of renting.”
Liam glanced down at the phone in his hand, his expression unreadable to Cait. “The one over by the college?”
“Yeah. First, I have to stop by Uncle Henry’s shop. The realtor dropped the keys off over there. Why she couldn’t bring them here, I don’t know,” Cait grumbled.
Effie laughed. “Is this Carla we’re talking about?” At Cait’s nod, Effie continued, “She has a thing for Henry. Her major selling point as my realtor was the ‘attractive single man’ around the block. Never mind the age difference, or the fact that I had a crush on his son.”
“I shudder to think about that, actually.” Josh swiped a hand through his blond hair, and Effie’s own hand soon followed, but stayed at the back of his head, fingers playing with the hair resting on his collar. “And there’s no way Carla was ever Dad’s type.”
Effie nodded. “We all know his type now. Dark-haired English teacher.”
“What happened with Charlotte, anyway?” Liam crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps straining his sleeves. “It’s been a couple of months since their date, and I keep waiting to hear if they’re going on a second one.”
Josh shook his head. “I don’t know. The day after their date, I asked Dad how it went, and he said they had a great time at dinner, but wouldn’t go into any details.
Said he wasn’t sure that Charlotte was ready to date.
I told him to call her, but he said he wanted to give her time.
I cautioned him not to wait too long. But as far as I know, he never reached out to her. ”
“Charlotte told me they had a wonderful evening, but kind of hinted that something went awry.” Effie stroked her fiancé’s knee.
“I wasn’t even divorced yet when Josh and I got together, but when I saw him, I knew he was the one for me.
Even knowing that, it was scary to start something new.
I’m sure that’s how Charlotte feels. And now Henry, bless him, is tied up again helping my mom since Burnie’s open-heart surgery last month.
Remember last time she got her hooks into him? Took the jaws of life to pry him out.”
Josh crumpled a wrapper from a straw and tossed it into his empty cup. “You tried to warn him.”
“How’s your stepdad doing now?” Cait was familiar with Burnside’s health issues because her mom had been best friends with Diadema forever.
“He’s recovering, but slowly. I hope he’ll be well enough by the time our wedding rolls around.
The thought of him not being there…” Effie sniffed, clearly holding back tears.
“I resented him so much when I was growing up. It took a long time for us to have anything even resembling a father-daughter relationship, but the past couple of years he’s been so supportive of me. ”
Josh held Effie close and put his lips to her ear while brushing his hand up and down her arm. “He will be. He’s seeing the best doctors in Sioux Falls.”
“I know.” Effie kissed Josh. “What would I do without you?”
When she kissed him again, Liam got up from his chair.
“Okay. I’d better get back to the dealership.
Lillian has to leave early today to pick up her kids.
” Cait rolled her eyes. Lillian, the receptionist at Kinsale Autos, seemed competent at her job, but Cait found her too informal, often addressing her brother as “Liam” and not “Mr. Livingston”, despite the number of times Cait corrected her whenever she popped in.
She suspected that the fact that Lillian was a widow with two small children had gotten her the job. Her frail beauty hadn’t hurt, either.
“Yeah, I should go, too.” Cait looked at her brother. “What about you, Liam? Are you going to the street dance?”
“Nah, I have a date with the gym. Catch you all later.”
“Cait, you’re going to see Henry this afternoon?” Effie inquired.
“Yeah, as soon as I leave.”
“Do you think you could encourage Henry to go to the dance tonight?”
Josh groaned. “Do I even want to know what scheme you’ve come up with in that gorgeous head of yours?”
“It’s not a scheme, babe, more like a helpful nudge in the right direction. Charlotte is dropping by the library for some books, so I thought if I talk to her and you talk to Henry, we could end this awkward impasse they have. If they got back on track, they could clear everything up.”
“I’ll try. I’d love to see Henry happy.” Her uncle and Charlotte could have something special, and if she could help them, she would. She may not believe in romance, but she did believe in happiness.
Outside, Cait opened the back door of her hybrid and tossed her purse in.
Drifting out of her bag and falling under the driver’s seat was the piece of mail she’d received in her office, the one that had caused her so much angst. Without noticing it, she shut the car door and headed across the street to see her uncle.