Dating, Dining, and Desperation (A Dear Daphne Novel)

by Carlson, Melody

She hesitated. “Sure.” And before she could stop him, he ordered a latte for her. “You still like those, right?”

  She nodded. “Thanks.”

  Soon they were settled at a table by the window. “So how is my favorite client doing?” he asked.

  “I’m your favorite client?”

  “My most-interesting heiress to be certain.”

  “A conditional heiress.”

  “That’s what makes it interesting.”

  “So how are things going with Harrison?” Jake asked. “I hear he got the city hall job.”

  “He did?” She tried to act nonchalant. “I hadn’t heard.”

  “So you and he . . . you’re not going out?”

  “No, not really. We just happened to cross paths that day. We shared a meal. That’s all.”

  “Really?” Jake looked skeptical as the barista set their coffees on the table and took the number placard. “So did you honestly meet speed dating?”

  She rolled her eyes and took a sip.

  “Yes, I remember. Sabrina’s idea. How is she doing?”

  “She’s fine.” Now to change the subject. Daphne talked about Mabel, filling him in on Vera’s illness. “It’s just so sad. First Mabel loses her mother . . . and it seems almost certain she’ll lose her grandmother as well.”

  He frowned. “That is sad. Poor child.”

  “I really wish there was a way I could adopt her.”

  “Seriously?” He blinked. “As in twenty-four/seven? Day in and day out? Year round?”

  “Absolutely. I really like this little girl.”

  “What plans does the grandmother have for her? I mean after her demise?”

  Daphne told him about the uncle. “But when I asked Mabel about him, she didn’t even know his name.”

  His brow creased. “That’s too bad. I hope this child is resilient.”

  “She seems to be. But it’ll be so sad if the uncle takes her away. She’s finally settling into school. She made a new friend. They’re coming to play at my house tomorrow.”

  “That’s sweet that you’re helping the child.” He looked uneasy. “But I hope you’re not letting your heart get too involved, Daphne. It could really hurt when the uncle comes for her.”

  She looked defiantly into his eyes. “Isn’t it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?”

  “Sounds like Dear Daphne talking.”

  She frowned down at her half-full cup. “Maybe so.” She looked up at him, locking gazes again. “Isn’t there some way you could help me, Jake?”

  “Huh?” He looked startled. “How? What?”

  “I mean legally. Is there some way you could help me to get custody of Mabel?”

  “Custody?”

  “I know . . . it’s probably a long shot. But Vera does like me. And Mabel and I just connected right from the start. The first day I met her, catnapping Lucy, I could tell she was special.”

  “She tried to steal your cat?”

  “She was just lonely. She thought Lucy wanted to go home with her and be her friend.”

  “Oh.”

  “I just wish there was a way to keep Mabel.”

  “Maybe there is. Have you tried talking about this to the grandmother?”

  “Not specifically.”

  “Maybe you should bring the subject up. And if she seems open to the idea, I could draw up something legal for her. It would actually be fairly straightforward and simple. I mean, while the grandmother is living. After that . . . well, as you know, it could get complicated.”

  “Okay.” Daphne nodded. “I’ll do it. I’ll talk to Vera about this.”

  “It’s nice you want to help this child,” he said carefully, “but you should consider your own situation too, Daphne.”

  She scowled. “You mean Aunt Dee’s conditions?”

  “Yes. The clock is running. If by some chance you do get custody of this child, what can you guarantee her after May comes? I mean if you’re still single.”

  “I am perfectly capable of supporting myself.”

  “But with a child? Do you have any idea how expensive that can get?”

  “Poor people have children too, Jake.”

  He gave a sad smile. “Yes. I know all about that.”

  “You?” She cocked her head to one side. “How so?”

  “Contrary to popular belief, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth.” He set down his cup with a clunk. “Would it surprise you to learn I spent my early years in an impoverished home? My mother was widowed, struggling to get by. I remember lots of times when I went to bed hungry. My sister and I wore thrift-store clothes and didn’t see a dentist until we were in our teens.”

  “Really?”

  “It wasn’t that our mom wasn’t trying. She worked hard as a waitress.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Most people don’t. Anyway, my mom met Ralph just as I was starting high school. He was twenty-two years her senior, but he fell head over heels for her. And I think my mom saw him as her ticket out of poverty. Ralph was wealthy. Very wealthy.”

  “I see.”

  “He was a good guy and he took good care of us. Gave my mom anything she wanted and put my sister and me through the best colleges. And I believe that over time, my mom really did come to love him. She certainly appreciated his generosity. Ralph passed away a few years ago.”

  Daphne nodded, trying to remember why Jake was sharing so much. Oh yes, Mabel. “So you don’t think I would be a very good single mother?”

  “I’m not saying that. I’m only saying it’s not easy.” He made a half smile. “You’re my client, Daphne. I care about your welfare.”

  “Right . . .” She frowned, wondering what this really meant.

  “And that reminds me of something.”

  “What?”

  “A friend of mine. If you’re not actually dating Harrison.”

  “Oh no. Please, don’t tell me you want to set me up on another blind date. Don’t you remember how that—?”

  “Hey, I told you I was sorry about Tony. I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought. But I do know Spencer. I would’ve told you about him sooner, but I figured I should give you time to, uh, forget about Tony.”

  “And you think I should trust you? After that fiasco with Tony?”

  “My bad.” He gave an apologetic smile. “But Spencer is not like Tony. Not at all. Besides that, Spencer is a writer too. Wouldn’t it be interesting to meet another writer? If nothing else you could talk about your craft.”

  “What kind of writer?” she asked a bit dubiously.

  “He’s been working on a mystery.”

  “So he’s not published?” She frowned, trying to determine Jake’s real motives here. “You think two starving writers would be a good match?”

  “He’s not starving. He has a real job.”

  “Meaning writing is not a real job?” She twisted her mouth to one side.

  “Of course writing is a real job. Look at how well Dee did in her profession. But Spencer has a career as a software designer. He works out of his home.”

  “Oh.” She considered this. Maybe she was being too hasty to dismiss Spencer without meeting him first.

  “And he’s a really nice guy, Daphne. Very thoughtful. And he’s interested in other people. Not a bit narcissistic like some doctor who shall go unnamed. I actually think you’d like Spencer. And hey, even if you don’t fall in love, you’d at least have made a writer friend. Nothing wrong with that.”

  “I guess not.” She felt herself softening . . . just a little.

  “He nearly married a girl once, back in his twenties. But it didn’t work out. He hasn’t been in very many relationships since then.”

  “How old is he?”

  “My age. Ab
out forty.”

  “Uh-huh . . .”

  “Why don’t you look him up online? Google him for yourself. If you like what you see, give me a call and I’ll arrange a meeting.”

  “A meeting,” she clarified. “Not a date. Right?”

  “Sure. Whatever you want.” He waved his hand. “You could meet him here for coffee. You don’t like him, you walk away. End of story.”

  “Okay . . .” She set down her empty cup. “I’ll Google him and see what I think.”

  So Daphne found herself meeting Spencer for coffee on Sunday afternoon. And to her surprise and relief, he seemed to be pretty much as Jake had described. He was interesting and interested. And he seemed to like her.

  “Would you like to get together again?” he asked as they were getting ready to go.

  Daphne considered this. Her first impulse was to decline. Not because she didn’t like him. But more because she didn’t feel any real chemistry. Of course, that seemed a bit silly since she had barely met the man. Was it even possible to experience any real chemistry over coffee? Although he wasn’t unattractive, his looks were not especially appealing to her. His short light-brown hair was neatly cut, his gray eyes seemed sincere, his smile genuine, but it felt like something was missing.

  “Or maybe it’s too soon?” he said quickly. “I don’t mean to rush you into anything, Daphne. I don’t really know how these things work. I haven’t dated in years. I’ve had some online friendships, but they just never seemed to get anywhere. That probably has more to do with me than the women I’ve met. I’ve been overly careful . . . if you know what I mean. My mother keeps telling everyone I’m a confirmed bachelor. Maybe she’s right.”

  Daphne felt sorry for him. “Sure, why don’t we try getting together again. I’d like to hear more about your book.”

  He brightened. “And I’d like to hear more about yours.”

  Remembering Jake’s suggestion that they could at the least become writing friends, she agreed to meet him for dinner at Midge’s on Thursday. And if things improved, perhaps she would invite him to be her escort for the wedding activities. Of course, she’d have to make it clear to everyone, including Spencer, that they were not seriously involved. But he would probably be a perfectly acceptable wedding date.

  Of course, as fate would have it, Harrison called up later that same day. “I’ll be in town all day on Thursday. I thought maybe we could get together for a bite to eat. Catch up.”

  “I’m sorry. I just made plans for Thursday night.” She weighed her words, unsure of how much she wanted to disclose. Should she call it a date or not? “A writer friend is meeting me for dinner.”

  “Oh well, bad timing.”

  “I wish I’d known sooner. And it’s been a while since I’ve heard from you.” Was that too strong of a hint? “But I did hear you got the city hall job. Congratulations.”

  “Yes, I meant to call you and tell you about it. But I’ve been so busy getting everything ready. Construction is due to begin in November.”

  “That soon?”

  “So I’ll be in Appleton a fair amount. Hopefully we can get together one of these times. I’d still like to see your house.”

  “Just give me a little heads-up,” she said. “And we’ll see what works out.”

  “Maybe the following week.”

  “Maybe so.” She hung up with mixed feelings. On one hand, she was disappointed that she was missing out on an evening with Harrison in order to spend time with Spencer. On the other hand, Spencer seemed to have better manners than Harrison. So perhaps it made more sense to invest some time in getting to know him better.

  On Tuesday afternoon, Mabel toted her stuffed backpack over to Daphne’s house. Since it was Halloween, the plan was to go trick-or-treating and over to the church for a harvest party, and then to spend the night at Daphne’s. After seeing how weak Vera was this morning, Daphne felt it was best not to disturb the poor woman. She’d even put a sign on Vera’s door to warn trick-or-treaters that someone inside was ill.

  Just as it was getting dusky, Daphne, dressed as a scarecrow, and Mabel, wearing her Little Mermaid costume, went over to knock on Sabrina’s door. Sabrina was dressed like a bottle of ketchup and Tootsie was wearing a hotdog bun. “Ready to trick-or-treat?” Mabel asked happily. And soon the four of them were going house to house in the neighborhood. Mabel was having such a great time, no one would be able to guess that she had so much tragedy in her life.

  Eventually they headed over to the harvest party, where lots of kids were already gathered to play games and dunk for apples and get their faces painted. Mabel insisted on participating in every activity. But finally, Daphne had to remind her it was a school night and they went home.

  It wasn’t the first night that Mabel had slept in Daphne’s guest room. Occasionally if Vera had an especially bad day, she would ask Daphne to keep Mabel overnight. And because Daphne had purchased a few child-friendly items, this spare room was slowly taking on the appearance of a child’s room. But Daphne didn’t mind. However, Jake’s warning still rang in her ears. If she was to have a chance at getting custody of Mabel—and it was probably a long shot—it would have to be worked out before Vera passed on. And who knew how much time there was? According to Pastor Andrew, he’d been to visit Vera several times now and it wasn’t looking good.

  “I don’t like to betray anyone’s confidences,” he confessed to Daphne a couple of days ago, “but Vera fears she won’t make it until next summer—when her son is scheduled to get discharged.”

  “Can’t he get discharged sooner? Or get an emergency leave or something?”

  “I hope so. And I’ve written a letter in support of this. But since he recently came out for his sister’s funeral, it’s uncertain.”

  Daphne felt like she didn’t have just one time bomb ticking away inside of her—the one that would detonate in May—she had the Vera clock ticking down as well. And if Sabrina were around to put in her two cents, she would probably point out that Daphne’s biological clock wasn’t slowing much either. To that end, Daphne was starting to make a plan.

  Next week, after the wedding festivities were finished, Daphne would sit down and have a nice long chat with Vera. She would try to convince Vera that until this mysterious uncle could come home, perhaps it would be wise to sign over some emergency sort of guardianship to Daphne. She would list all she could offer Mabel, including not being relocated again—especially since Mabel was finally starting to thrive in school and making friends.

  Daphne would explain how important Mabel had become to her and how Sabrina would be like an aunt to the child. Daphne would plead her case to the best of her ability. She would try to make Vera see that it really was in Mabel’s best interest. She would even offer to have both Vera and Mabel come live with her when Vera became too ill to be alone. Vera would be welcome to Aunt Dee’s first-floor bedroom. And if necessary, Daphne would get help from hospice to care for her as well. She would do everything possible to make this time as easy as she could for Vera. And for Mabel.

  In the meantime, she would pray. If this was meant to be . . . it would be. If not, she would just have to get used to the idea of not having Mabel as part of her life. But for some reason, she felt certain God would not allow this.

  Chapter 24

  Daphne’s “date” with Spencer left her feeling a little ho-hum, at least in the romance department anyway. Although Jake had not misrepresented his friend—Spencer was clearly a good guy. He was a good conversationalist and a good listener. And when they talked about books and writing, he even proved to have good friend potential too. But as a boyfriend? Not so much. She wished she felt differently about him . . . but she didn’t. Perhaps it was simply a matter of chemistry.

  “I insist we go dutch,” she told Spencer when the bill came.

  “Oh?” He looked slightly crushed. “Does that mean I failed t
he test?”

  “Test?” She forced a smile as she laid some cash on the bill. “This wasn’t a test, Spencer. In fact, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you. It’s fun talking about books. And I like your idea of forming a writers’ critique group. That would be wonderful. Especially in winter, you know, when the nights are long.”

  He brightened. “That would be nice.”

  She stuck out her hand and shook his. “I really enjoyed your company. I hope we can continue our friendship.”

  He actually seemed slightly relieved. “I would like having you for my friend, Daphne. That’s a lot less pressure, you know, compared to having a girlfriend.”

  She nodded. “So let’s agree to it then. Friends?”

  “Friends. And I’ll talk to the other writers I mentioned to you . . . about getting that critique group together.”

  “Thank you.” Daphne stood now, relieved that she’d driven there to meet him and didn’t need to have him take her home—avoiding that awkward moment on the porch. She might still be a bit inexperienced at this whole dating game, but she had learned a thing or two along the way.

  Of course, this probably meant she was going “stag” to both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. But what did it matter? Besides, as far as she knew, Sabrina would be alone at the wedding. At least they could hang out together during the reception. And if Karen didn’t mind, maybe Daphne could bring Mabel as her guest. Mabel had just told Daphne that she’d never been to a wedding before. Plus that would give Vera a quiet day on Saturday.

  Daphne would give her dad a jingle. “So . . . getting any wedding jitters?” she asked after he answered the phone.

  “You want my honest answer?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, I suppose I am feeling a little unsettled.”

  “You mean you’re having second thoughts? Because it’s not too late, you know. Weddings have been called off at—”

  “No, no, that’s not what I mean. I want to marry Karen. I’m just not sure I’m up for all the pomp and circumstance.”

  “Oh . . .”

  “But it means a lot to Karen. So I better just bite the bullet . . . like I’ve been doing. Better just go for it. Eh?”