Page 10 of A Room By the Sea

“You think he wants to adopt a dog after all?”

“Oh, maybe. I’m just thinking, I’m sure he noticed your bright yellow Jeep out there. He must have known you were in here.”

Michelle froze, wanting to look aghast but then in the next second deciding on playing dumb. To acknowledge what Harper had just implied was absolutely unthinkable. “What, to tease me? I don’t think he enjoys it all that much.” Before Harper could respond, Michelle made a show of looking at her watch. “Well, I’d really better run. Thanks again for the kitten cuddles, Harper!” She gave the woman another hug, grateful for an opportunity to hide her blushing face for a second.

“Anytime!” Harper replied cheerfully, and as soon as Michelle saw her grin, she knew that the animal shelter owner was still just as suspicious as ever about what had really brought Theo inside.

Waving, Michelle hurried outside, feeling both flustered and as though she wanted to smile like an idiot at the same time. She bit her lip as she walked to her car, wondering if Harper’s theory was worth considering. Had Theo stopped because he saw her car?

He doesn’t like joking with me that much, she thought, feeling her cheeks grow hot. She hopped into her car as quickly as she could so that her face would be hidden from anyone walking by the animal shelter. That’s such a silly idea.

She paused before turning the key in the ignition, smiling and unable to stop. Maybe he had stopped at the shelter because he wanted to talk to her. They were friends, after all, in their strange, playfully antagonistic way.

Well, whatever the reason, it seemed serendipitous that he stopped by, she thought, starting her car. At least the dogs got to see him.

And although she didn’t admit it to herself, she was happy that she’d gotten to see him too.

CHAPTER SIX

Audrey grabbed a box of mint chocolate cookies and placed them inside her shopping cart. She glanced down at them, wondering what the expiration date was. She grabbed another box off the shelf and checked to see when it expired.

Oh, not until months from now, she thought cheerfully. That’s perfect. I’ll go ahead and grab another couple boxes for our snack table at the hotel.

Although Audrey’s official reason for visiting Shoreline Market was to replenish the groceries that she, Elaine, and Michelle needed, she was also using her time to stock up on fun goodies that they would need at the hotel. She felt a flutter of excitement as she thought about traveling to the store someday soon to pick up all kinds of items for The Birchwood House’s daily menu. She would need to get eggs, and bacon, and fresh fruit. They would have to make sure they always had plenty of ingredients on hand for making pancakes and waffles—regular recipe staples such as flour and sugar, along with fun things to add to the batter such as blueberries or chocolate chips.

She began to whistle as she made her way down the bakery aisle. The thought of chocolate chips had inspired her to bake a batch of brownies with peanut butter chips and marshmallows in it that night. She grabbed chocolate and peanut butter chips, and then closed her eyes for a second, wondering if they had enough marshmallows left in the pantry. She remembered having seen a big bag of them on the pantry shelf and smiled, feeling excited about baking the brownies. The recipe was one of her favorites, and it was something that she and Michelle had come up with together. Both of them loved it, and the taste of the brownies always felt comfortingly delicious.

She turned her cart around the corner and headed down the next aisle, looking for pasta. She stopped in her tracks when she recognized the auburn-haired woman standing in the aisle ahead of her as Penelope.

“Hey!” Audrey said, hurrying forward to hug her friend. Audrey had reached out to Penelope a couple of times since the dinner they’d had at Crossroad’s Bar and Grill, but Penelope hadn’t gotten back to her. Audrey was grateful for an opportunity to ask her friend how she was doing in person.

“Oh! Hi, Audrey.” Penelope’s smile, normally wide with enthusiasm, wavered slightly. “Good to see you. I’m sorry I haven’t replied to your texts. It’s just—well, you know. Life.”

“I get it,” Audrey said, knowing full well that the only times in her own life she’d ever not replied to texts for several days were when she was going through her breakup or something else truly devastating. She knew that everyone operated differently when it came to replying to text messages, but Penelope had historically been someone quick to respond to messages. Audrey had found her silence concerning, and seeing the troubled look in Penelope’s eyes did nothing to allay her concern. She touched Penelope’s arm gently. “How are you doing?”

“Great.” Penelope’s smile was a mile wide, but her tone of voice sounded artificially bright. “I’m doing fine.”

“Are—are you sure?” Audrey dropped her voice a little, wanting to make sure that Penelope understood she would keep anything that was shared in confidence.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why are you asking?”

Audrey couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw her friend’s façade of cheerfulness waver for a moment. She seemed to detect a glimmer of sadness in Penelope’s eyes. “I just—well, you seemed a bit out of sorts the other evening. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay. You can tell me anything and I’ll always be here for you. You know that, right?”

Penelope bit her lip. “I’m not exactly doing the best.” Her voice wavered.

Audrey could sense that Penelope was fighting off tears. “Are you almost done shopping? Let’s go check out together and then we can sit outside on one of the benches.”

Penelope nodded. “Okay. I just need to grab some dish soap and then I’m all ready.”

“And I just need pasta.” Audrey smiled. “I’ll grab a few boxes and then come with you to get the dish soap.”

A few minutes later, both women had paid for their groceries and they were stepping outside into the late morning sunshine. A delicious breeze ruffled the small trees that lined the sidewalk bordering the market. The women made their way over to a few comfortable wooden benches that had been placed in a row underneath the trees.

Audrey and Penelope carried their bags with them and set them down on the ground next to one of the benches. Audrey felt glad that she hadn’t purchased anything perishable, and it looked as though Penelope hadn’t either. It was a warm day, and she had a feeling the two of them were going to be sitting there talking for a while.

“So, how have things been?” Audrey prompted gently. “I heard the hair salon is doing better than ever. That’s great news.”

Penelope nodded, her eyes on a seagull that was swooping across the clear blue sky overhead. She squinted slightly, as if studying the bird was important. Audrey had a feeling her friend didn’t know how to start talking about what was bothering her.