Stay Sweet(75)

Cate dabs at her mouth with a napkin. “I don’t want to talk about the stand with you.”

“But Cate . . .”

“I’ve caught you secretly looking over the stuff I do like a hundred times. And whenever you come down to the stand, I feel like you always find something negative to focus on, instead of how much better things are, how much happier everyone is.”

Amelia sits back. She can’t defend herself against Cate’s charge, because it’s true. And Cate doesn’t even give her the chance.

Cate begins gathering her unfinished meal and places it on her tray. “If you didn’t want me to be Head Girl, why did you tell Grady I should be promoted? Why did you give me your pin?”

Amelia bites her lip. She never actually said that to Grady. That was his idea, a way to smooth the ruffled feathers of their relationship. And it worked, at least temporarily. But the promotion clearly didn’t solve their problems. Things are still weird between them.

“Forget it,” Cate says. “I wanted to have a fun day with you.”

“I did too!” Amelia calls out as Cate walks toward the trash can.

Instead of catching up to her, Amelia lets Cate walk ahead of her at a slight distance.

She was already anxious about the future. Now she’s dreading it.





CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN


AT AROUND THREE O’CLOCK THE next day, there’s a knock at the basement side door. “That’s got to be my delivery from Marburger Dairy,” Amelia says. She’s in the middle of a batch, so Grady gets up and opens the door.

It takes the man three trips with a dolly to bring in all the milk and eggs and cream. Just in time, because she’s about through with last week’s delivery. And, just like that, Amelia has more work to do.

She’s grateful for the distraction.

Every time Amelia thinks back to yesterday’s conversation with Cate at the mall, she gets angry. Amelia’s made plenty of her own mistakes, but she’s also shouldered the blame—probably more than her fair share, come to think of it—for the things that have gone wrong.

And no one could say that Amelia hasn’t worked her butt off for this place.

So why did she let Cate blow off her concerns? Her valid concerns? Is it just because of Grady guilt? Or something deeper?

“Here’s your invoice,” the man tells Grady. “The credit card you gave us was declined, but I’m still delivering your order because your great-aunt was such a loyal customer. And just so you know, in more than fifty years, Molly was never once late with a payment.”

Grady and Amelia share a look.

“That’s weird,” Grady says nervously. And to Amelia, he deduces, “It’s probably all the stuff I’ve been buying at Home Depot.”

“I can take a check,” the deliveryman announces.

“Um, okay. Great.” But his eyes bug out when he looks at the invoice. “This is a lot of money. Is this right?”

“It’s the same as it’s always been,” the dairyman says, somewhat defensively. “You’re paying for quality. All our cows are—”

Grady shakes his head. “I know you make incredible stuff. It’s just . . . a bit of sticker shock.”

“Grady,” says Amelia.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it.” To the dairyman, he says, “I’ll be right back. My checkbook is upstairs.”

*

Later that day, Amelia notices that Grady’s put a FOR SALE—FOOD TRUCK sign on the roadside. Buying it never seemed like a good idea to her, but she hopes it will to someone else.





CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT


THE COUNTY FAIR IS ALWAYS the last weekend in July. It’s not in Sand Lake, but in Plaistow, three towns west and way more rural. There are rides, music, livestock competitions, games. Business at the stand is usually pretty dead that weekend, and the Head Girl normally stacks the schedule so every girl gets one night off to go.

Amelia assumes that’s what Cate will do too. But when Cate hangs up the schedule for that week, she’s got a red line drawn through Saturday’s second shift, as if the stand were completely closed.

Cate comes up behind her. “Don’t say anything,” she whispers, which is the most she has spoken to Amelia in a week. And it feels like a test of Amelia’s loyalty.

Grady comes in a few minutes later, looking for the drill. He glances at the schedule. “What’s up with Saturday night?” His eyes go right to Amelia for an answer.

Cate pipes up from the office. “Oh. I figured Amelia would have said something. Every year, Molly Meade would give everyone the night off for the fair. It was like a special thing she would do for all the girls. Like . . . for bonding.”

Amelia tenses, thinking of Grady’s declined credit card. Shutting down the stand, even for one night, means lost revenue. He said the stand is profitable, but can they afford it?

“Sounds fun. And you know what? I’ll pay for everything. Rides, food, the works.”

Amelia spins. “You don’t have to do that,” she urges.

Cate comes bounding out of the office. “That’s really nice of you, Grady. I bet Molly would be proud.” At this, Amelia’s stomach turns over.

“Please,” Grady says benevolently. “It’s the least I can do. I used to be the social director of my fraternity. I’d plan outings and stuff to basketball games, a boxing match. I know how to do it up. Tell the girls to dress up. We’ll meet here. Everyone can go over together.”