Chapter 18
Maggie squirmed in Deb’s office chair. Officer MacDonald had a kind face, and a way of asking questions that made it easy to talk to her.
She told her about everything that had happened since she’d arrived at Hawthorn Hills. All the presents, including her wedding rings, and how they never had a return address, or a name attached to them.
MacDonald paused in her note taking. “Do you have any enemies, Maggie?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “You won’t say anything outside of this, will you?”
“This interview is fully confidential.” But Maggie knew if anyone else in town found out, that they’d tell Luke.
Her throat tightened as she thought of him turning from her in disgust.
“Maggie?”
“M… my… my husband.” She choked out. “It can only be him.”
MacDonald tilted her head to the side, but her kind expression never wavered. “What’s his name?”
“Sean Callahan. He… he’s a detective with the Oklahoma City police. I started divorce proceedings when I left the state. That’s why I left the rings behind.”
She nodded and made more notes. “How would you describe your divorce?”
Maggie laughed as fresh tears escaped her eyes.
“Well, I fled the house the minute my lawyer called me to tell me he’d been served.
He hasn’t signed the papers yet, and I had to take out a protective order against him.
” She raised her head to look defiantly at the officer in front of her, daring her to tell her she’d been in the wrong.
MacDonald’s sharp inhale told her she’d gotten the message. She scratched some more on the notepad as she responded. “If he’s the one doing this, then he’s violated the protection order and we’ll be taking him in. Do you know how close he’s allowed?”
“One hundred feet and no contact.”
“Do you know where he is?” MacDonald lifted her head.
Maggie shrugged. “As far as I know, he’s still in Oklahoma City. I don’t know for sure, though.”
“Thank you, Maggie.” MacDonald closed her notepad and tucked it away. “I’ll be in contact.”
“And… you won’t say anything to anyone, right?” Maggie chewed her lip. “I just… I just wanted to start over. Luke doesn’t know. I… I need to be the one to tell him, I just haven’t had the courage yet.”
MacDonald gave her a gentle smile and stood. “Your secrets are your own. If we find it’s him, and this goes to court, I can’t guarantee you that it won’t come out. But if it’s not him, then your status won’t matter.”
“Thank you, Officer.” Maggie released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“Take care, Maggie.” MacDonald waved at her as she left.
She leaned back in the office chair and closed her eyes to center herself. Time to go find Luke.
When she got to the kitchen, Luke looked up and handed his spatula off to Shorty.
“Are you okay, Mags?”
His adorable nickname for her brought a tiny smile to her face. “I will be.”
“You should take a break. Most of the lunch rush is over, and Katya’s got it.”
“You’re not just saying that because it’s me?”
“No sweetheart, you had a fright. Though, I suppose it doesn’t hurt that I’m pretty attached to you.”
Despite everything, Maggie’s heart warmed. “I’m pretty attached to you, too.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she melted. “Why don’t you go find a table and I’ll bring you a milkshake.”
“Chocolate?” Chocolate made everything better.
“You got it. Let me finish this order and I’ll be right out.”
True to his word, Luke found her in the dining room. She’d picked a booth facing the door in case new customers came in that Katya needed help with.
“You relax. I’ll help Katya, okay?”
“But you’re cooking.”
“And so is Shorty. I can do both.”
Maggie stuck her lip out at him and checked the time on her phone. “Alright. I didn’t have long on my shift, anyway.” She laid her phone on the table and untied her apron. “I can come clock out.”
Luke took the apron from her. “I’ll take care of it. And I’ll bring your purse out.”
“Thank you.” Maggie sucked on her straw as he walked back to the kitchen, the cold creamy concoction soothing her raw nerves. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to keep her from thinking about that poor squirrel.
And what it meant.
Shaking her head, she opened her phone as a text came through.
Grace: I just heard about someone screaming at the diner. Is everything okay?
Shit. How much could she tell her friend? Maggie chewed on her lip and sighed. At least she could tell Grace what had happened. The other employees had seen the box, and who knew what the customers were saying?
Maggie: So, I apparently have a stalker.
Grace: Holy shit.
Maggie: This is the first time they’ve sent anything to the diner, though. Everything else was at the Haven.
Grace: Did you talk to the police?
Maggie: Yeah, a nice officer came by and took my statement.
Grace: Are you okay? Do you need me to come over?
Maggie: Luke made me a milkshake and clocked me out. I’m just chilling right now.
Grace: If you need me, I’m there. Just let me know.
Maggie: Thanks, Grace. You’re the best.
Grace: Also, I have chocolate.
Maggie snapped a picture of her milkshake and sent it.
Maggie: So do I [smiley emoji]
Grace: Alright girl. Keep me posted.
Maggie laid the phone down and drank some more, when the door opened and Edith, Anna, Rosa, and Raven entered the diner. Edith noticed her first and waved. Maggie waved back, and the ladies come over to her booth.
“Hello, Maggie. Good to see you again.” Edith said. “Are you sitting by yourself?”
“I just got off work, so yeah.” Maggie shrugged. “It’s been a chocolate day.”
Edith tilted her head in concern, her long earrings swaying with the movement. “Do you mind if we sit with you?”
“Not at all.” Maggie smiled, grateful for the company to keep her out of her head.
Edith and Anna slid into her side of the six-person booth, and Raven and Rosa sat across from her.
“What’s on your heart, dear? You look…” Edith tapped her finger against her bottom lip. “Are you still carrying those stones I gave you?”
“Um…” Stones. Then Maggie remembered the black and pink stones that Edith had given her when she went into The May Tree looking for a job. “I think so?” She patted her pockets. No, wait. She’d slid them into her purse.
“They’re in my purse, actually.”
Edith tutted. “On your person would be better.”
With that, Luke exited the kitchen carrying said purse, the bright yellow bag she’d bought last summer that had cheered her up when things got bleak, and she’d thought she’d never get to leave Sean. “Good afternoon, ladies. Maggie, here’s your purse.”
“Thanks, Luke.” She blushed.
“What can I get you to drink?”
The women gave him their orders as Maggie dug through her purse for the small, secret pocket she’d stashed the rocks in.
“Mags, do you want another milkshake, sweetheart?”
She shook her head, her cheeks heating further. “Just some water, please.”
“You got it.” He winked before walking away.
Edith turned to her with both eyebrows raised. “I see the rose quartz is doing its job well.”
Maggie briefly remembered what Edith had said about the pink stone and ducked her head. The women at her table made excited, encouraging squeals.
Raven set her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. “If you don’t want to put them in your pocket, you can carry them in your bra.” She lifted a delicate shoulder. “That’s what I do.”
“Good to know.” For now, Maggie slipped the stones into her jeans pocket.
Luke brought their drinks around, and the ladies put in their order.
“What’s new with you, Maggie?” Edith asked.
“Well, I’ve started doing social media marketing again. That’s what I used to do before… before I came here.” Ugh. The last thing she wanted to do was open up to these ladies about her stalker and her husband. So, she deflected to something else. “I’m trying to get more eyes on the diner.”
“Is the diner not doing well?” Rosa asked.
“That’s not it. I’m assuming you heard about Deb’s ankle?”
The women nodded.
“Well, the boys are concerned about the medical bills. They still haven’t ruled out surgery. So, I’m trying to bring in more business so they don’t have to worry so much.”
She sipped the last of her milkshake, realizing she’d just aired someone else’s dirty laundry instead of her own. Ugh, she should be ashamed of herself.
“Goodness, surgery?” Anna held her hand over her heart.
“Self-employed health insurance is such shit.” Rosa crossed her arms.
Edith clapped her hands. “Ladies, perhaps the… we could do a basket dinner to raise funds for Deb.”
“Of course!” Rosa beamed. “We absolutely should.”
“I’ll post it to the whole group later, but with the four of us I believe we’ll have a consensus.”
Raven brought her sweet tea to her lips. “I can’t imagine anyone saying no.”
Anna nodded. “You’ve got my vote.”
Maggie looked on, confused. “What’s a basket dinner?”
“It’s a fundraiser,” Edith explained. “Volunteers cook the food, usually something simple like pasta, and people buy tickets they can put in to win prize baskets.”
“Local businesses donate the prizes, and the charity or family in need gets the proceeds.” Anna continued.
“That sounds delightful!” Maggie bit her lip. “How would you know how much food to make?”
“Well, in the past, we’ve used RSVPs. But the venue does need to be big enough to hold everyone.”
Luke arrived with Katya in tow, a plate in each of their hands, “What are you ladies plotting now?”
Edith folded her arms on the table as he set her plate in front of her. “Luke, would your mother mind if we did a basket dinner to help with her medical expenses?”
Luke blinked in surprise. “That’s very kind of you. I can ask her.”
“I’m afraid not as kind as one would hope.” Edith shrugged. “I thought we could host it here. It’s certainly big enough.”
“I’m sure Virginia would host, but her dining room isn’t as large,” Raven added.
“Let me talk to Mom and Shorty and see what they say. When were you thinking?”
Edith tapped her chin. “Well, the Spring Fling is this week, and then there’s Easter.”
“And May is when tourist season starts so there will be more people around.” Raven thanked Katya for her salad.
“You make a good point, Raven.” Edith turned to Luke. “How does May sound? That gives us time to drum up donations for the prizes but still before your mom’s bills are due.”
Luke crossed his fingers. “Here’s hoping.”
“If she’s okay with it, I can talk about it on the social media accounts. Get more eyes on it.” Maggie’s blood thrummed through her body with excitement. She’d make this the most successful basket dinner this town had ever seen.
“Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight, Mags, and we’ll ask her? I have a feeling she can’t say no to you.” Luke’s gaze grabbed her own and held on tight. She nodded before she realized what she was agreeing to.
“If we can get her to agree to this, I’ll cook.”
Shouts of “Absolutely not!” and “Oh no, you won’t!” echoed around the table.
Edith laid down the law. “We won’t hear of it. We’ll do the cooking; that’s part of hosting a basket dinner.”
He shifted on his feet. “At least let me order the ingredients through our supplier.” He raised his hands before they could object. “You’re welcome to pay for them, I just want to get you the best deal.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Luke.” Anna patted his shoulder as she rose. “I’ll be right back, ladies.” She headed to the back of the restaurant for the bathroom.
“I should get going,” Maggie said, and Edith slid out of the booth to let her leave. “I want to go back to the Haven and change before I go to your place,” she told Luke.
“I’m about done for the day, so just come over.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Thanks for the company, ladies.” Maggie waved as she headed for her coat and the back door.
Somehow, they’d turned her terrible day right around.