It wasn’t unusual for Route 58 to be busy on a holiday weekend, but this Friday morning before Memorial Day, the little piece of it where the new Adams Grove Artisan Center sat was as busy as a beehive.
Carolanne could have walked to the artisan center from her new house, but expecting it to be a long day since she’d agreed to help Jill with the stats, she’d driven so she wouldn’t have to walk home in the dark. She pulled into the back lot and parked next to Jill’s car.
There was already a flurry of activity out front. Two news vans were setting up, and people were already starting to mingle in anticipation of the big event.
Carolanne went in through the back entrance and headed for the front counter to see how she could help. She stopped mid-stride as she realized a television crew was filming.
“This is Steffi Zimmer coming to you live from Adams Grove for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the new Adams Grove Artisan Center. Stay tuned to News Channel 3 for the full report.”
“Got it,” said the cameraman.
They filmed one more bumper, and then Steffi, the field reporter from the CBS affiliate in Virginia Beach, waited for her cue from the morning show anchors for the ten-minutes-after-the-hour slot.
Carolanne waved to Jill, who stood to the left of the reporter, looking much more comfortable in her sundress than that poor Steffi Zimmer did in her business suit.
Outside, the temperature was already pushing record-breaking numbers for a May morning, and the air-conditioning was working overtime trying to cool the large building.
Carolanne resisted the temptation to run over and sweep away a little bead of sweat from Steffi’s temple before they started the interview with Jill.
One of the guys helping folks park walked by, looking sharp in his crisp brown uniform with the artisan center logo embroidered in white over the left pocket. The simple logo—a lowercase “a” with a capital “C” wrapped around—was a nice blend of art and simplicity that matched the architecture to the letter—in this case, “a.” Garrett had designed the building in the shape of a lowercase “a.” The part of the building that was the sweeping oval of the bottom gave visitors an endless loop of displays, and the top arch was where the apartment studios would be for the artists-in-residence program.
“How’s it going out there?” Jill asked.
“Glad we had the guys from the Ruritan Club come help with the parking. The front lot is full. We’re starting to park them in the grass.”
Milly stormed through the space like she owned the place. “Can you believe this turnout?”
Carolanne gave her a welcome hug. “I know. I’m so thrilled.”
Milly hitched her straw purse up on her elbow and held it tight to her body. “The old geezer out front tried to keep me from coming in. I told him I was family and nothing would keep me from coming inside. I’m so happy for Jill.” Milly put an arm around Carolanne and gave her a quick squeeze. “Her grandmother would be proud of her today.”
Jill waved from across the room.
Milly waved back and then turned to Carolanne again. “Thank goodness that storm skirted us last night. If all of these cars were driving on soggy grass, they’d have ruined months of Ben’s landscaping.”
Garrett stepped up next to Milly. “Ben really turned these grounds into something impressive, didn’t he?”
“He did an amazing job,” Milly said. “Where is he, anyway?”
Carolanne looked around. “You know, I haven’t seen him, but then, I haven’t seen Connor yet this morning, either. It’s already so crowded it’s hard to track down anybody.”
“We won’t complain about that,” Garrett said. “Besides, Ben’s work is done for now. The place looks nicer than most golf courses. Everyone has commented on it. He deserves the chance to just enjoy the day.”
Nervous excitement built in the room as the seconds clicked off to airtime. Even though the Kase Foundation may have ended up being a big fat scam, Jill’s position there had garnered her valuable experience in handling the media, and that was coming in handy with all the attention the artisan center was getting. She looked cool as a rock star.
Just like someone had flipped a switch, Steffi Zimmer exploded into motion.
Steffi’s unexpected burst of energy caught Jill by surprise, causing her to hiccup.
Jill flashed a look of panic toward Carolanne and Garrett.
Can you believe this? She mouthed the words, then slung her hand over her mouth as another hiccup escaped.
Garrett shrugged and turned away, then spun around, swept Jill into his arms, and planted a big kiss smack-dab on her lips.
When Garrett released her, Jill staggered back, blinking, but the hiccups seemed to be gone.
Carolanne gave him a high five. “Perfect timing.”
Jill stepped back in place next to Steffi, who hadn’t missed a beat.
“Steffi Zimmer coming to you live this morning from Adams Grove, Virginia, where later this morning they’ll begin the ribbon-cutting ceremony here at the Adams Grove Artisan Center. They’ve got an amazing schedule of festivities today.”
The cameraman widened the angle, and Steffi stepped closer to Jill.
Steffi continued. “I’ve got the founder, Jill Clemmons, right here with me.”
“Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us.”
Steffi focused on the camera. “Jill took us on a tour of the facility this morning. Let me tell you firsthand, this place is filled with amazing artwork from talented artists from all over the state. You can find everything from pottery, painting, photography, furniture to quilts and even one-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry here. I’ve got my eye on a couple special pieces!” Steffi turned to Jill. “Words can’t do it justice. Let’s cut to some footage of our tour.”
Steffi held a finger to Jill, then put her hand to her ear, listening for the cues.
When Steffi burst back into character, Jill flinched, but thank goodness she didn’t get the hiccups this time.
“Before we wrap up and get ready for the big ceremony, Jenn and Greg, I just had to share this other piece of exciting news from Adams Grove this morning.” She waved to the cameraman. “Can you pan over here?”
Steffi moved to the side of an elegantly set table with a huge cake in the center. “Perfect. Can you see this cake?”
From the newsroom feed: “It’s huge!”
“Right, Jenn. Do you remember Mac Honeycutt from the Food Network cake show last fall?”
“Yes! He was my favorite contestant,” Jenn said. “I knew he was from Virginia, but not from so nearby.”
“Yep, from right here in Adams Grove. He made it all the way to the final three, but then his cake fell just a quarter of an inch short in the finale of the Extremely Amazing Monster-Size Celebration Cake Bake-Off. Well, no missteps today. We’ve measured this one. This creation is the full four feet of towering sugar inferno.”
Steffi motioned the cameraman to the detail. “Zoom in here on this sugar bubble. There are tiny pieces of edible artwork inside each bubble. Truly a masterpiece.”
The cameraman pulled back. “We’ll be chatting with Mac and a few of the artists at the noon hour.”
“That’s great. Thanks for the live report,” Jenn said.
“Bring us a piece of cake,” Greg added.
“I’ll see what I can do about that. Coming to you live from Adams Grove, Virginia—I’m Steffi Zimmer.”
The cameraman counted down on his fingers in 3-2-1 and then made a fist. Steffi dropped back into a casual Southern drawl and gave Jill a hug.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Carolanne’s responsibility of keeping folks out of the way during the taping of the news pieces was done, and she had some time to mingle since doing the stats for Jill wouldn’t start until the end of the day. It was fun to play a supporting role in something rather than running it for a change. Maybe she would eventually get used to the slower pace of Adams Grove.
Pearl’s death shook this
whole town, but it had been pivotal in her returning home to help Jill through it, and that was just like Pearl to have her way with all of them even when she was gone. She’d been right about Jill and Garrett all along, and now that their nuptials were official, only she and Connor stood in the way of a perfect record for Pearl Clemmons in the matchmaking arena.
Never doubt Pearl’s wisdom.
She’d given that advice to many over the years. Why hadn’t she believed it herself? Because I’m more complicated than all that.
Carolanne pulled in a quick breath as a warm rush teased her senses at the memories of Connor’s touch. He wasn’t one of those guys who worked with his hands all day like those she was usually attracted to. There wasn’t one callus on his manicured hands—and she and Jill had given him plenty of grief over that—but what Carolanne hadn’t expected was the power and strength in his hands. They’d awakened her in ways she’d never imagined. She’d also never noticed the tiny golden flecks that danced in his blue eyes or the way his normally booming voice could quiet to a tingling whisper on her neck.
People crowded the front lawn. A bright-yellow ribbon spanned the porch, keeping visitors from entering the building until after the ceremony, so she took the side door and bypassed all the hype.
She walked to her car and sat in the driver’s seat to change into nicer heels from her practical flats. She tossed her purse back in the car and locked it up. No sense dealing with her purse on her shoulder all day long in this crowd. She didn’t need anything in it.
Around front, she hiked up the slope toward where all the ribbon-cutting festivities would take place. She had to admit Dad had done a pretty amazing job whipping the grounds into a nice-looking array of colors and greenery. Who knew he had such a green thumb? She was proud of him, something new in the dad department for her. The thought of her and Dad working on the yard at her house together brought a smile to her lips.
Carolanne exchanged waves with a few of the locals as she got closer to the front of the building. She rose on her toes as she walked to keep her high heels from sinking into the soft soil.
A warm glow flowed through her when she caught the light dancing off strawberry-blonde hair in the distance. The ginger tone wasn’t too hard to pick out in a crowd, even with his back to her. Her heart danced a little jig as she headed in his direction to join him for the ceremony.
Then she stopped.
About five yards beyond Connor, a woman dressed to the nines in all black and big baubles at her throat and wrists stood with her arms outstretched and a huge too-white smile. And that woman seemed to be looking straight at Connor. The voices around Carolanne seemed to merge into a low hum as she stopped, standing their frozen for a two-count. Carolanne watched Connor begin to walk toward that woman.
For every step he drew closer to the other woman, Carolanne took one backward. The crowd around her may as well have disappeared. Uncertainties threatened to bring her to her knees. She spun around, trying to keep from watching, but dying to at the same time.
With her back to Connor, she took a second to make herself breathe. It has to be Katherine. She’d never met her, but that girl had rich Chicago girl written all over her. She was out of the picture. Hadn’t he said that? Or maybe it was that he’d said nothing about her. What else didn’t she know about Connor? She’d never considered herself the jealous kind, but what she was feeling right now…It wasn’t good.
What if she talked him into going back to practice in Chicago? A partnership in a big firm could mean big things for him, and his mom was gone—nothing to tie him to Adams Grove now.
She took a careful step forward, not sure for a moment if she could even walk. She turned back for a second look, but they were gone. She scanned the groups of people making their way from the extended parking area to the center. Doing a full pirouette, she didn’t see Connor or that lady in black anywhere.
The last thing she wanted was to bump into them now. She spun and went back toward her car.
“Hi, Carolanne,” Patsy Malloy called out.
“Forgot something.” Carolanne pasted a fake smile on her face and waved as she passed Garrett’s mom and dad. “I’ll be back.”
“We’ll save you a spot,” Mrs. Malloy said with a nod.
I’ll never be missed in this crowd. A single tear escaped as she finally rounded the corner and could see her car. She jogged the rest of the way and brushed the tear from her cheek as she grabbed for the door handle and lifted. Locked. Realization struck.
“Doggone it.” Carolanne smacked the car and leaned against the door with her eyes closed. How could I have locked my purse and keys in the car? No escaping now. Pull it together, girl. There could be an explanation. No, there’s not. Who am I fooling? Only myself. Men. They’re all the same. They can’t be trusted—any of them. Ever.
Well, if there was any good news about the last week being hectic, it was that she hadn’t told anyone, not even Jill, about what she’d thought was news in her and Connor’s relationship. It had been up, down, sideways, and hopeful again, but no one would be the wiser to what a fool she’d been.
She smoothed her blouse and ran her fingers under her eyes to tame any mascara runs, then plastered her old cheerleader smile back on her face and headed back to the ribbon cutting. If there was one thing she’d mastered over the years after Momma died and Daddy went drunk-nuts, it was looking cool and nonchalant, no matter what was going on in her heart.
Carolanne ran back inside the artisan center through the back door to escape the feelings that threatened to make her scream in the middle of the crowd out front.
Jill nearly bumped into her. “Have you seen Garrett? We’re almost ready for the ceremony, and he’s conveniently disappeared.”
Carolanne had to laugh, although she knew Jill didn’t think it was funny. “That man’s superpower is being able to disappear when a camera comes within shooting distance.”
“I think you’re right.”
Carolanne noticed Jill’s left eyebrow rise—her tell sign that Jill was stressing out.
“Calm down. We’ll find him. Come on.”
She and Jill speed-walked past each of the named rooms. Just as they passed the Dogwood Room, something caught Carolanne’s eye just outside the window.
“Keep going. I’m going to backtrack.” Only, she didn’t. Instead, she took two steps back. Someone was standing at the side of the building. There was no reason for anyone to be out there. Carolanne stepped inside the room, next to a display near the window, to take a closer look.
Connor’s face was redder than his hair, and he looked flustered by more than just the humidity. His voice rose to a level that she could hear from inside the building, but she couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem pleasant.
Across from him, the woman in all black with lots of blingy jewelry had her arms crossed and her stare leveled on Connor. Her tight lips had that crinkly look. Probably a smoker. She bit back the catty thought. OK, so Pearl had predisposed her to not like Katherine.
Connor seemed to be the only one doing any talking, and he looked a bit like a giant pterodactyl the way his arms were flapping around as he spoke. Katherine glanced up toward the window.
Carolanne stepped out of view. Why is she even here? Just then, Anita walked up, and Connor threw his hands up and left. Anita and the woman in black embraced. Maybe it wasn’t Connor who had invited Katherine, after all, or maybe the woman wasn’t Katherine.
She leaned forward to take another look, feeling like a fool for reacting so badly without even giving Connor a chance to explain.
“There you are.”
Carolanne spun around at the sound of Garrett’s voice.
Garrett stood at the edge of the display area. “Jill and I were looking for you. We’re headed out front for the ribbon cutting. Come on.”
Carolanne glanced to the window and then back at Garrett.
“Are you OK?” he asked.
“Yeah. OK. Yeah. I’m fine.” She ran her hand through her bangs.
Jill stood next to the front door, waving Garrett to hurry up.
“This is your moment,” Carolanne said to Garrett. “Go on. I’m going to slip out the side door and watch from out front.”
Carolanne watched Garrett leave through the huge hand-carved doors that led to the front porch of the artisan center where he and Jill would cut the ribbon. She went out the side door and walked around to the front. Her heart swelled as she scanned the crowd for familiar faces. Everyone she knew was here showing their support, and there were lots of people she’d never seen before, too. She spotted Connor, and he waved for her to join him with the Malloys.
“Excuse me. Sorry,” Carolanne said as she maneuvered through the crowd toward Connor. She looked around for the lady in black, but didn’t see her.
“Where were you?” he whispered.
“Where were you and with who is a better question!” Her words bit, and she wasn’t proud of it, but she couldn’t masquerade as if everything were OK. It just wasn’t her nature.
He leaned in. “What?”
Someone behind them shushed them.
Carolanne glared at him.
“I saw you.” Clenching her teeth, she was even madder now that he was playing all coy. “Don’t deny it. I saw her.”
The look on his face confirmed he knew exactly what she was talking about.
She lifted her chin and forced herself to pay attention to the ceremony.
Jill stood between Garrett and the mayor behind the supersize ribbon that stretched from post to post across the entryway of the new Adams Grove Artisan Center.
Mayor Winnberg began his speech. The light-colored plaid suit jacket he was wearing strained from one too many Southern meals, and the bright sunshine glistened off his balding head.
Carolanne resisted looking over at Connor, although she could feel his eyes on her.
The mayor would drone on too long like he always did. Pearl used to call him “Mayor Windbag,” and she’d never made it any secret that she hadn’t cast her vote for him. Carolanne loved that about Pearl.
Adams Grove 03-Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes Page 19