She nods at him. “How are you, Tobias?”
He looks up from his quilt. “I’m well. How are you, Savannah?”
“I’m fair to middling.” She takes the quilt next to her and starts stitching. “How’s Noah doing?”
“Quite well,” Tobias answers. I can sense there’s more to her question, and I wonder if she and Noah would ever get back together.
I pick up the glass of sweet tea Ellie gave me and take a drink. “It’s gotten quite hot out,” I say to fill the silence.
“It has,” Savannah says. She pulls the thread up before glancing over at Tobias.
Josephine grabs a pair of sewing scissors. “I heard Noah put in an offer on a house.”
Tobias jerks his head up. “What?”
“Yeah, I heard that too. He didn’t tell you about it?” Ellie says.
“No.” Tobias stabs his needle into his fabric.
“Is that a problem?” I ask.
Tobias shakes his head. “Not at all. I’m just surprised is all. He hasn’t mentioned it to me.”
“Sorry.” Josephine leans back. “I didn’t think it was a secret.”
“It’s fine,” Tobias says.
I take another sip of my tea. This sweet tea is probably the best I’ve tasted.
Savannah leans toward us. “Are you two dating?”
I choke. “No,” I manage to say between coughs. I wave my hands back and forth to make sure everyone in the room understands. Tobias turns his head away from me but not before I catch a glimpse of his hurt expression. I feel bad, but I don’t know what else to do. We’re not officially together, right?
“Really?” Josephine raises an eyebrow. “I was sensing some closeness.”
Tobias doesn’t say anything. I finally get control of myself. “We’ve become good friends.”
Josephine looks between us before going back to her quilting. “Ah. I see.”
Ellie crosses her legs. “How’s Violet doing?”
“I spoke with her this morning,” Tobias says. “She’s home now and doing much better. The doctor says she can come back to work in a couple more weeks.”
Ellie smiles. “I heard you found her and got her help right away, Miss Kiki.”
I nod, my throat tight. “Yeah.”
Savannah gasps and puts a hand on her chest. “You might have saved her life.”
I wave her suggestion away, uncomfortable with the conversation and the trauma it’s bringing up for me. I don’twant to talk about Violet or that day. I don’t want to think about her lying there on the sidewalk. I’ve tried my best to shove that morning away from my mind.
Tobias looks at me, and something in his expression lets me know he sees right through me. He can tell I’m uncomfortable. He turns to Ellie. “What’s your secret in making your sweet tea, Ellie? I think it’s delicious.”
Ellie spends the next ten minutes giving Tobias tips on making the best sweet tea, and I’m so relieved he changed the subject. He did it on purpose, which makes it so sweet. He’s a good man. We finish up all but two quilts, and Ellie swears she and Josephine can finish them in time for Saturday’s quilt show for the festival.
On the way back to the house, Tobias clicks his turn signal and looks over at me. “We’re not dating?”
My throat tightens and I cringe. The last thing I want to do is hurt Tobias. All I can do is think of a lame excuse. “I’m sorry. I guess I panicked and didn’t know exactly what to say. We haven’t really talked about it or made it official or anything.”
