Her mom’s eyes filled with gratitude.“Thank you. That means a lot to me to hear that.”
“So, you ready to go to Portside Grill? We’ll order a bottle of champagne and toast to the strong Parker women.”
“Let’s.”
“You know, Grace Parker would be very proud that she had such a strong great-granddaughter like you. Parker women are made of tough stuff.”She laughed, glad her mother had taken the confrontation with her father in stride. But her mother was different these days. Stronger. More confident. And one of the hardest working women she’d ever met.
Her mother hugged her.“And she’d be proud of a successful, beautiful, caring great-great-granddaughter like you. And I’m lucky to have you as my daughter.”
“As long as we’re talking about Parker women… ” She pulled back slightly from her mother’s embrace. “I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
“I’ve legally changed my last name to Parker. I haven’t told you because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. It wasn’t because of you. Because of anything you did.”
Her mother’s eyes widened, then a small smile crossed her face. “Trying to disassociate yourself from your father?”
“Yes. And I’d taken Heather Parker for my artist name and then it just finally seemed to suit me better. Are you disappointed?”
“No, not a bit.” She shrugged. “A matter of fact, I wouldn’t mind losing the Carlson name myself.” Her mother’s smile widened. “Let’s go have that champagne.”
They headed to the restaurant, their spirits surprisingly high after such a tense confrontation. Heather rode along on a high that nothing could stop her mother now. She was going to get what she wanted and what she deserved.
Chapter 20
Livy met Austin at Jimmy’s where he was already waiting for her at a table by the water. She smiled when she saw he’d ordered her favorite craft beer and it was waiting for her. She climbed onto the stool across from him.“I see you have my drink waiting.”
“Now that I know what you like.”He smiled, his eyes twinkling.“And it’s become one of my favorites now, too.”
She glanced down to the far end of the deck and waved to the musician who was setting up for the evening.“That’s Dave Post. He’s really great. Love his music.”
“I’m looking forward to it then.”Austin glanced at the menu.“I’m having a hard time deciding what to try this time.”
“Try the she-crab soup. It’s great. And then anything else. Everything is good here.”She laughed.“That’s probably why it’s my favorite spot to come eat. Love the atmosphere, the view, the music.”
“I can see why it’s your favorite.”
They ordered their meals and Austin pushed his beer to the side, leaning closer.“So, how was Saturday at the cafe? Still busy?”
“Crazy busy. And Evelyn and I worked about half of today getting things ready for tomorrow. Trying to stay ahead of things.”
“You going to hire more help?”
“Probably. If things stay this busy. Which I hope they do.”She gave him a sheepish smile.“I’m still afraid I’ll wake up one morning and find out this is just the whole first-opening thing going on.”
“I doubt it. The food is great. Location is great.”
“Mom said sales are up at the general store too. Not surprised with more people milling around in there waiting for a table.”
“You must be proud of all your hard work. That it’s paying off.”
She blushed.“I am kind of proud.”Actually, she was tremendously proud, but that sounded boastful.“I think the cafe turned out really nice. The decorating turned out better than I expected. It’s got a beach vibe and I think it says comfortable and homey. And people love Evelyn’s cooking.”
“So are you going to work six days a week from morning until after the dinner rush? Because I’m not seeing how I’m going to be able to get you out on another date at that rate. Or maybe I’ll only get to see you on Sundays. Though it appears you worked most of today, too.”
She laughed.“We’re just barely intothisdate.”
“I was glad you asked me out.”His voice took on an earnest tone.“Really glad. I know you said that you needed to be careful because of Emily.”
