Unwilling to risk yet another phone’s life while in Copper Creek, I place my new one on the kitchen table and head out the back door to the stable.
Maybe Lady and Scoundrel will have some suggestions for what I can do once I return to Beverly Hills.
Just as long as it has nothing to do with horse poop—or any other poop—I’m all for it.
10
Kate
Meg and Tilly—thetwo women who were at Charlotte’s house when I arrived in Copper Creek—are in line at the bakery when I enter to pick up my new favorite treats. Both are wearing jeans and matching white T-shirts. Meg’s top states that she’s Trouble Maker #1. Tilly is Trouble Maker #2.
“Hi, Kate,” Meg says, smiling. Tilly also grins at me.
“I love the T-shirts.”
I couldn’t imagine my grandmothers wearing T-shirts like that. But I also couldn’t imagine them wearing clothes that aren’t from one of their favorite high-end designers.
“That would be my grandson’s doing,” Meg says. “He’s the town sheriff and has one heck of a sense of humor. He’s also an ex-Navy SEAL and is still as good-looking and as fit as the day he enlisted.”
“And he’s single,” Tilly eagerly adds. “So, what do you think of Copper Creek so far?”
“I really like it here.” But that doesn’t mean I can imagine living here permanently—especially given the lack of high-end shops.
“What would you like, Meg?” Roxy asks. The customer in front of the two older ladies has already walked away from the counter.
“A nice, tall, handsome man to keep me warm at night.” She sighs, then giggles.
“I think Roxy was referring to what you would like to order,” Tilly says with a laugh.
“Well, if Roxy is now offering a nice, tall, handsome man on the menu, I’ll take that. But otherwise I’ll have a banana nut muffin and a peppermint tea.”
“I can help you with the latter two,” Roxy says. “Not so much with the first request.”
“Would you like to join us?” Meg asks me and gestures to the small, round cafe-style tables. There’s no one here except for a group of either young mothers or nannies, who are talking and cuddling sleeping babies.
“I would like that very much,” I say. “I’d love to know more about my great-aunt, if that’s okay with you.” I figure they will have a different perspective of what she was like than Noah did. And maybe they will know something about the mysterious John.
Once we’ve all placed our orders and paid for them, we carry the food and drinks to a table close to the window.
“How long did you know Charlotte?” I ask them.
“For most of the time that she lived in Copper Creek,” Tilly replies.
“I met her once I moved here,” Meg says. “She’d already been living in town for a few years by then.”
“When did her husband die…or did they get divorced?” Neither my father nor my stepmother had mentioned that she was married or divorced, but because she was from my biological mother’s side of the family, they didn’t talk about her. And neither did my grandparents.
I take a sip of my ice water.
The two women exchange looks. “She wasn’t married,” Tilly says.
“She wasn’t?” The letters to John said she was living in Copper Creek when she wrote them. “Was she engaged?”
“At one point. Yes. It was an arranged marriage. Her family thought it was an advantageous match. Charlotte disagreed. The way she explained it, she left LA and eventually ended up in Copper Creek.”
“What are you looking for in a man?” Meg asks me, leaving me dizzy from the abrupt change of topic.
The image of Noah pops into my head. My face heats as the memory of last night in the bathtub also visits. “A man who is sweet and loyal.”
