Page 43 of Love in Riverbend
“No marriage.” I shrug as I unlock the store and get my purse. For a second, I stand looking around the back room with the new reassurance that Quintessential Treasures will soon be mine. The relief is overwhelming. “He said he’ll sign. The store is mine.”
I pull the phone away from my ear as Chloe screams. “I told you. I told you.” Her phrase is on repeat.
Once she quiets, I say, “I was afraid to be hopeful. According to Dax, Ruth set up another stipulation.”
I lock the store behind me and hitting the button to unlock the car door, I get into my SUV. The phone connects to the speakers.
“Come on,” Chloe says.
“Sorry, I missed some of that while I got in the car.”
“What stipulation did Miss Ruth have?”
“Dax and I have to work together at the store for two days.”
Her laugh echoes in my car. “Oh my God. She did it.”
I shake my head as I drive toward the farm. “She didn’t do anything.”
“How did Dax find out about Molly? I swear, Kandi, no one in Riverbend would spill. You know we love you. Was it the pictures?”
I scoff. “I’m glad he finally knows. And you were right, maybe she did do something.”
“Who?”
“Ruth. He’s staying at Ruth’s house, like I told you. He found a box of pictures in her closet. He put two and two together.”
“That little matchmaker had this planned,” Chloe says with a laugh.
“I have no time for a man in my life. Right now, all I can think about is Quintessential Treasures and all the things I have planned for the future.”
“What about Molly?”
“You know better. I’m always thinking about her. This is her future too.”
“No,” Chloe says, “I mean what about her and Dax?”
The sky is filling with purples and reds as I drive out of town. “He wants to meet her. He says he wants more than that.”
“I told you.”
“He offered child support.”
“That’s great,” Chloe says. “It will help with the renovations above the store.”
“No,” I say adamantly. “I told him I don’t want his money.”
“Yeah, superwoman is back, but seriously, he’s her father, and he’s a big lawyer in Chicago. I bet he has plenty of money.”
“Nope. I’m not taking it. I agreed to introduce him and Molly. He said he met her yesterday morning at the diner.”
“And Joyce didn’t tell you?” Chloe asks.
“I was thinking about it. When she brought Molly back to the store, I was freaking out about Mr. Murphy’s email about inventory. Maybe she tried.”
“Is Dax coming out to the farm?”
“With Justin?” I ask with a scoff. “I told Dax that Molly and I will meet him at Tastee Freeze tomorrow night.”
