Katie hugged him. “That’s the best possible compliment you could give me.” She knew how much Andy admired his mother and her cooking. His father—Ron—was the barbeque chef, but his mother was the maestro of the kitchen. Katie only crossed her fingers that the lasagna’s taste would rival the aroma.
“How was your day?” Andy asked, after kissing the top of Katie’s head.
She thought of telling him about Paul Fenton’s visit to Artisans Alley, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Andy had been through enough today and had plenty on his mind without her adding to his distress. Plus, she certainly didn’t want him to get into an argument—or worse, a fistfight—with Fenton. The man was menacing, to say the least. She’d prefer that she and Andy both stay as far away from him as possible.
“It was fine,” she said. “I ran into Seth in the grocery store. He wanted me to wish you luck finding a new assistant manager. I didn’t realize this, but he’s friends with people on the Greece school board. He told me this shake-up is all about getting the budget under control.”
Andy sighed. “It still sucks.”
“I know, but what about training Roger for the assistant manager position?” Katie asked.
“Roger wants to work for that contractor doing construction and carpentry. Remember?”
“Sure, but he can still work for Angelo’s while he’s in school. And, since Erikka will be there until the end of the month, she could help you train Roger.”
Katie felt Andy stiffen. He dropped his arms from around her and stepped away.
“You’re glad Erikka is leaving, aren’t you?” he asked.
She couldn’t deny it. “Andy, I’m trying to help you solve your problem . . . to brainstorm. You’d do the same for me.”
“You’ve been jealous of Erikka from the very start.”
“If you’ll recall, I’m the one who introduced you to Erikka and suggested you give her a job,” Katie said. And that impulsive decision had come back to bite her again and again.
“Yes, you recommended Erikka for the job, but you’ve been jealous ever since.”
Katie put her hands on her hips and glared up into Andy’s face. “She’s in love with you! Do you realize that?”
“We’re friends. Period. I’m with you.” He ran both hands through his hair. “Is she the reason you hired that golden boy to work at Tealicious?”
“I hired Brad Andrews on Nick’s recommendation to manage Tealicious because Janine left me in the lurch, and Brad is an acclaimed chef. He’s already increased business tenfold. Why would you think I had an ulterior motive in hiring the man?”
“Because I believe you brought him in to get back at me for making Erikka my assistant manager. Even Ray Davenport told me this morning that I’d better watch that guy—that he was feeding you cake! Is that true?”
“Brad had me taste something he’d just baked. His hands were encased in gloves, and I’d taken mine off, so he popped it into my mouth! And since when do you put any stock whatsoever in anything Ray Davenport says?”
“Since he confirmed something that I noticed the first time I met Brad Andrews—the man likes you!”
“Well, I hope he likes me—we’re going to be working together!”
“So, it’s ‘that woman is in love with you’ when we’re discussing Erikka, but when we’re talking about Brad, everything is just hunky-dory fine.”
“I only met the man last week.”
Andy ignored her and paced around the small kitchen. “Sure, you suggested I hire Erikka, but you also went behind my back and advised her to apply for the job at the school district!”
“Fine,” said Katie. “If you want Erikka at Angelo’s so badly, offer her full-time pay and benefits!”
“Maybe I will!” Andy hollered, and slammed out of the kitchen.
Katie followed, but he was already heading down the steps before she could protest.
“What about this painstakingly prepared dinner?” she mumbled.
Mason brushed against her legs.
“No, Garfield, you don’t get the lasagna.” She bent and picked the cat up. “And my appetite is gone now, too.” There was nothing to do but let it cool a little before she put it into the refrigerator.
As she wrapped the lasagna in foil, Katie wondered if Andy really would offer Erikka a full-time job. If he did, Katie knew the woman would take it. She wouldn’t have been terribly surprised if Erikka had turned down the school system in order to stay close to Andy in the first place.
And the nerve of that man asking if she’d hired Brad because she was jealous of his relationship with Erikka! That was ridiculous. Andy knew Janine had quit suddenly, giving Katie only three days’ notice. She’d had to do something. The fact that the something turned out to be putting Brad Andrews into the position was a godsend.
Why in the world had Ray Davenport stuck his big nose into her business and informed Andy that he’d better “watch that guy”? The fact that Ray and Andy had never gotten along but had now bonded over a sudden, shared, preposterous dislike of Brad Andrews was laughable—or, at least, it would be had Andy not thrown the entire matter into her face. She’d be giving Ray Davenport a piece of her mind the next time she saw him.
To think, this entire thing had begun over her desire to help Andy find a replacement for Erikka. Was it telling that Andy was so adamant about not wanting to replace her? Katie knew Erikka was in love with Andy. And now she wondered if he was in love with her, too.
Sixteen
Katie awoke Wednesday morning with a throbbing headache. She’d slept fitfully and wished she could simply pull the covers up over her head and stay in bed for the rest of the day.
Mason must have read her mind because he hopped onto the bed, butted her chin with his head, and then licked her forehead.
She groaned. “Okay, okay. I’m coming.” She threw back the covers and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Della wound around her ankles just to make sure Katie knew she was hungry, too.
Katie allowed herself a wistful smile. Andy might not love her anymore, but Mason and Della did . . . at least, until she ran out of cat food.
Katie went into the kitchen and poured kibble into one bowl, wet food into another, and water in a third. That should take care of them throughout the day. She readied the coffee pot and washed down two ibuprofen tablets with a glass of water.
As she’d done off and on throughout the night, she checked her phone. Nope, still no message from Andy.
Fine.
She went into the bathroom and took a nice hot shower. She wasn’t up to walking this morning, nor was she in the mood to go to Tealicious. Brad had made it abundantly clear that he was capable of running the tea shop fabulously. Maybe she’d go over to check in later that morning after her headache eased.
By the time Katie had finished her shower, the coffee was ready. She filled a travel mug and headed for Artisans Alley.
Had she thought her day would improve when she arrived at Artisans Alley, Katie was sadly mistaken. Vance met her at the door.
“Rose called. She won’t be in today. She’s at home resting and hoping to get over her shin splints.”
Katie sighed. “All right. I’ll be manning the cash desk if you need me.”
“Ida or I can relieve you if there’s something you need to do,” Vance said. “Plus, Rose said to call her if we get too busy, and she’ll come on in.”
“No way,” Katie said. “She needs to take care of herself. I hope you told her to let us know if she needs anything.”
“Of course I did.”
“Thanks, Vance. I’m going to grab my laptop from the office, and then I’ll head to the registers.”
Wednesdays weren’t typically busy at Artisans Alley—particularly during the summer months—so Katie hoped she’d have a few minutes here and there to do some of the work she needed to do. Sh
e retrieved her laptop and a handful of peppermint candies, which she placed in her jeans pocket, and returned to the cash desk.
Moments later, Hugh McKinney came in. “Good morning, R—” He stopped. “I’m sorry, Katie. I’d started to say good morning to Rose. Force of habit—I’ve become accustomed to seeing her there every morning.”
Katie nodded. “Rose loves to man the cash desk. She’s taking today off, though.” As a sudden pain shot through her right temple, Katie winced and put her hand to her head.
Hugh hurried over. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It’s only a headache. The pain relievers I took before leaving home haven’t kicked in yet.”
He frowned slightly. “May I see your hand?”
Katie tentatively stretched out her hand.
With his thumb and index finger, Hugh squeezed the webbing on Katie’s hand between her own thumb and forefinger. “I get headaches frequently, and my acupressure therapist taught me this pain-relief technique.” He released her hand. “You try it. Hold that pressure point like I showed you for twenty to thirty seconds while breathing deeply through your nose. Then switch hands. Repeat the whole process three times.”
“And that will make my headache go away?”
He chuckled. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But, at least it’ll take your mind off your headache for a minute or two.”
“Good point.” Katie squeezed the pressure point between the thumb and forefinger of her opposite hand.
“Take care of yourself.” Hugh went on upstairs to his booth.
Katie tried to concentrate on breathing through her nose and willing her headache to ease, but instead she was assailed by two thoughts—one, that maybe Hugh McKinney was a good guy after all; and two, that after his behavior the night before, she didn’t want to rely on Andy Rust any longer than she had to for a place to live.
Andy had behaved abominably the night before. He’d stormed out and presumably went straight to Erikka. And then what? Had Erikka confessed her feelings for Andy? Had he told her he loved her, too? After all, he’d gotten angry over practically nothing. Was it the idea of losing Erikka that had driven him over the edge? He’d behaved as if he’d do anything to keep Erikka from leaving. Remembering his insufferable behavior infuriated Katie. Could this be the end of her relationship with Andy?
If they were through, she couldn’t possibly continue living in the apartment over Angelo’s Pizzeria. But even if she and Andy somehow worked past this argument, she was far too independent to continue to depend on him for her living arrangements.
She applied pressure to the acupressure point on the other hand and considered her possibilities. She could turn the upstairs of Tealicious into an apartment, and then she would have the ideal situation. She’d be on hand to help get things going first thing in the morning, and she would have no additional rent. Of course, it would take a lot of work to complete the necessary renovations, but it could be fun, too. For once in her adult life, she could have the full authority to decorate her living space exactly as she wanted, making no concessions to anyone.
She smiled and released her hand, realizing her headache had eased considerably. Maybe there was something to Hugh’s acupressure after all.
* * *
—
As it turned out, this particular Wednesday at Artisans Alley was busier than Katie had anticipated. Not only had she had no time at all to work on anything other than ringing up customers’ purchases, she hadn’t had the opportunity to check her phone. For that, she was grateful. Some of the anger and frustration she’d felt all night was easing as well. She’d made an important decision that would give her more independence and security, no matter what happened with Andy.
When Katie saw Ray Davenport heading her way, however, her ire was rekindled. He obviously didn’t realize how peeved she was with him because he strode right over and leaned against the cash desk.
“I ran into Vance at Tanner’s, and he told me about Rose,” Ray said. “Is she going to be all right?”
Katie shrugged.
He tried again. “I hope she will be. I know she’d been looking forward to this walkathon.”
Leaning to the side, Katie spoke to a customer who walked up behind Ray. “I can ring you up.”
Ray moved aside so the young woman could place her purchases on the desk. Katie removed the tags and rang them up at a snail’s pace.
“I know you’re busy, Katie,” Ray said when the customer finally departed, “but I need to speak with you. How about I buy you lunch?”
“No, thank you. I have plans.”
“Can’t you get somebody to cover for you for a few minutes? I really need to talk to you.”
She turned a cold gaze on him. “No, I can’t.”
“Wait. Are you upset with me for some reason?”
“Wow, you really are Sherlock Holmes, aren’t you?”
He flung out his arms. “What have I done now? I know I was an ass the other day, but I thought I’d been all right since then.”
Katie faced him, eyes blazing. “What gave you the right to tell Andy he’d better keep an eye on Brad? Brad and I are business associates, and I’d like to consider him a friend as well. Nevertheless, my relationships are none of anyone’s business.”
“I was joking!” Ray shook his head. “I didn’t intend the Dough Boy to take me seriously. I mean, when does he ever?”
“Regardless of your intentions, you didn’t need to be discussing me with Andy . . . or anyone else for that matter.”
“If I’ve caused trouble between the two of you, I’m sorry. I’ll go right now and explain to Andy that I was only kidding around.”
“What you said didn’t cause our problems, it merely fanned the flames,” Katie said. “Please stay out of it.”
“You know I’d never purposefully hurt you . . . don’t you?”
Katie ran her hand over her forehead. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
He looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone close enough to hear what he was saying. “I spoke with a friend last night about Ken Fenton’s murder.”
“I didn’t think you were supposed to be talking about that.”
“I’m not. But my friend is also retired, and he knows I’m a suspect, so he wants to help me out,” Ray said.
“Heaven help us—there are two of you.”
“Don’t kid yourself. There’s only one of me, and you’re glad of it.”
“You’re right about that,” Katie muttered.
“Anyway, this guy told me that Paul and Ken didn’t get along. He said they were together a lot, but that much of their time was spent arguing.”
“Playing devil’s advocate here, Ray; most siblings argue. That doesn’t mean that Paul killed Ken.”
“It doesn’t mean he didn’t, either. You’ve been on the receiving end of Paul Fenton’s anger. Don’t you believe he’s capable of murder?”
“Yeah, actually, I do. I think he’d enjoy snapping me like a twig, as a matter of fact.”
“I’m afraid you might be right about that,” Ray said. “Please be extra careful until this murder is solved.”
“You’d do well to heed your own advice,” she said as another customer approached the cash desk.
This time, Ray didn’t hang around and headed for the lobby exit. Katie watched him leave until the woman in front of her cleared her throat.
Katie forced a smile. “Did you find everything you need?”
* * *
—
Katie asked Ida to oversee the cash desk while she went to lunch. Not surprisingly, Ida was petulant, but she finally agreed to leave her beloved tag room to do it.
“Hurry back, though,” Ida said. “Regan is coming in for another lace tatting lesson soon.”
Katie smiled.
“Good. I’ll look forward to seeing her. Can I bring you back anything?”
“No, thank you. I have an egg salad sandwich in the refrigerator in the vendors’ lounge. You know, more people should think ahead like I do. It saves time and money.”
“Riiiight,” Katie said, drawing out the word. “I’ll be back soon!”
Katie stopped in her office and took her tape measure and a notepad from her desk drawer before heading for the tea shop. At Tealicious, she tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as she navigated to the back of the shop and the stairs that led to the second floor. She didn’t want to get stopped by a customer or, worse, Brad, and drawn into a conversation when she had something important to attend to.
She realized that good contractors were booked at least two to four months in advance, but she wasn’t in a terrible hurry . . . at least, she didn’t think she was.
She looked around the spacious area and smiled. She was already getting excited about her new project and making it exactly how she wanted it.
Katie was kneeling on the floor anchoring the tape measure against one of the baseboards when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She thought it was probably Brad.
“Be with you in a second!” she called.
“So, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Every muscle in Katie’s body tensed. It was Andy.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Katie stood and slid her palms down the sides of her jeans. “Taking measurements. I’m going to renovate this space into an apartment.”
He shook his head. “You always have to have a new project, don’t you?”
She lifted her chin and said nothing.
“What are you going to do?” he asked. “Rent it out?”
“No, I’m going to live in it.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Katie, sweetheart, I came to find you to apologize. I acted like a jerk last night.”
“Yes, you did.”
Andy reached for her, and she took a step back.
“Did you think we were through?” he asked, sounding puzzled.
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