“But David tells me you have a website,” Ariel counters. “He says people pay you to look into their cases.”
I shrug that away. “Not really. I’ve only had one case, and I haven’t even gotten paid for it.”
“Not yet,” David retorts, “and that’s because you only solved it last night. Patrick will pay you. You’ll see.”
I know he will. That’s the problem. I can’t get around calling myself a private investigator for hire, now that I really am one.
David holds open the café door for me and Ariel. We enter, and Stacy’s eyes pop when she sees the three of us together. David has to gently remind her, “Can we get a table, Stacy?”
She flies into action and shows us to a booth away from the noise. Ariel slides in next to David and I sit opposite them. Ariel props her elbows on the table. “So how did you open your candy store, Margaret? David says you did it all by yourself. He says you left a bad marriage to start a new life here. That is so brave! I can’t imagine doing anything as brave as that.”
“I didn’t do it by myself. My son Zack helped me. Even now, I wouldn’t be able to run the store without him. The people of West End have really supported me, too. I couldn’t ask for better neighbors and friends.”
She props her chin in her hand and looks toward the window. “West End is such a beautiful, close-knit community. I can understand why you would want to live here.”
“You live in Hartford, don’t you?” I ask. “That must be pretty nice.”
“It’s just a city like any other,” she replies. “I plan to leave as soon as I get accepted to a good college.”
“Why do you want to leave?” I ask.
“I just have always felt I didn’t belong there. I could never explain it until recently. Then I found out my parents were from West End.” She casts a sidelong glance at David. “I hope you don’t mind me talking about it.”
“Not at all. This must be a very exciting time for you. I hope your adoptive mother doesn’t mind.”
“She doesn’t mind,” Ariel replies. “She’s the one who has done all the legwork to find my birth parents. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.”
“What’s it like?” I ask. “How does it feel to finally find your father alive?”
Her cheeks flush a rosy hue. “I…..” She falters.
“You don’t have to answer that,” David tells her.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” I reiterate. “I was just trying to make conversation.”
“I’m not uncomfortable,” she replies. “As a matter of fact, I was about to say it feels more comfortable than I ever thought possible. I thought it would be awkward and strained, but it isn’t. It’s like coming home to a place I always belonged. I can imagine how my life would have been if I had grown up in West End, and now I’m living that life.”
“Not exactly,” David counters. “You still have to go home to Hartford with Pauline later this afternoon. Don’t forget that. She’s still your mother.”
Ariel’s face falls. “I know.”
She looks so crestfallen I have to change the subject. “So you’re already planning for college. Where would you like to go?”
She springs to life again and starts counting on her fingers. “Harvard, MIT, Cornell….”
I gasp. “All those?”
“I already checked on the entrance requirements, and I’m tailoring my curriculum to their standards. I know I can get into MIT and Cornell with the grades I’m getting. Harvard is another story since you pretty much have to belong to an old family to get in. I’ll apply to Wesleyan, too, but I don’t want to go there. I know I don’t want to stay in Hartford. I’ll only apply there to make Pauline happy. She wants me to stay close to home.”
“That’s got to be tough when you both want different things,” I remark.
“Not so tough,” she returns. “She wants me to go to a really good college, and I will. I’ll either go to MIT or Cornell, and neither of them is in Hartford.”
She breaks into a musical laugh. I cast another glance at David. He sits entranced by her. He doesn’t take his eyes off her, not even to look at me.
Is this what I was jealous of—a father’s adoration for his only child, his daughter? What a fool I was. I would never stand in the way of this.
She’s such a delightful girl, too. So smart and witty and gregarious. I can see how Pauline wants to keep her to herself, but that will never happen. A girl like Ariel will belong to the whole world. She could never stay close to home, even if she did grow up in West End.
Just then, Stacy comes over to take our order. David picks up his menu. “I’ll have the bacon burger with steak-cut fries and a glass of lemonade.”
“I’ll have the veggie pizza,” I tell her.
We both look up to find Stacy staring at Ariel. Her pencil hangs suspended over her notepad. Her gaping blue eyes rivet on the girl without blinking.
Ariel scans the menu. “Let me see. I’ll have the mushroom burger with a salad. Thanks.”
She hands her menu to Stacy, but Stacy doesn’t move. She wavers there with a blank expression. David clears his throat. “Stacy? Would you like to take your order now?”
Stacy snaps alert. “Oh! Sorry. Could you repeat that?”
We each repeat our orders while she scribbles them down. When she finishes, she snatches our menus and hurries away without a word. Ariel looks after her. “What was that all about?”
“Some people don’t know how to handle all of this.” David waves his hand around the table.
“I suspect,” I add, “that it will take them a while to get used to it. They’re used to the great and notorious Detective David Graham being a loner and a solitary single man. Now they have to adjust their idea of him to being a father. It’s a shock. It was a shock for me, too, when I found out.”
Ariel nods in sage understanding. “I expected something like this. I just hope they can come to accept me.”
“Accept you!” David snorts. “They’ll do more than accept you. The people of this town are caring and supportive. As soon as they get the memo about what’s going on, they’ll welcome you with open arms. They always do. Just ask Margaret. She went through the same thing when she first moved here.”
Ariel turns to me with a hopeful shadow clouding her face. “Is that true? Did they welcome you with open arms?”
“More than open arms,” I tell her. “They made me and Zack family. I’m sure they’ll do the same for you. They’ll find out what a wonderful, smart, sophisticated young lady you are and they won’t be able to resist you.”
She laughs out loud. Her whole countenance lights up and the sound fills the café. Now that I’m talking to her, my own heart opens to let her in. She’s part of David, so she must be good.
West End will welcome her, starting with me. She’ll be one of us in no time. I’m certain of that.
Thanks for Reading
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About Wendy
Wendy Meadows is a USA Today bestselling author whose stories showcase witty women sleuths. To date, she has published dozens of books, which include her popular Sweetfern Harbor series, Sweet Peach Bakery series, and Alaska Cozy series, to name a few. She lives in the “Granite State” with her husband, two sons, two mini pig and a lovable Labradoodle.
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Keep Calm and Candy On Page 11