Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(94)

“Who thought of it?”

Casey shrugged. “Grandma, sort of. She said whenever she saw a basket with yarn in it she wanted to sit down and knit a few rows. That got me to thinking that maybe other people might feel the same way.”

“But, my goodness, where did you get all those baskets?”

“From Grandma.”

Mary Lou had several such baskets, but Lydia specifically remembered clearing them out of the house when they moved their mother. “Margaret and I gave those baskets to charity.”

“You tried, you mean,” Casey said, her smile huge now. “Grandma took them out of the pile and had them placed in a box in her storage unit at the assisted-living place.”

“She remembered the baskets in a storage unit?” Amazing, seeing that half the time her mother didn’t recognize Lydia any longer.

“And she had lots of yarn there, too.”

“So you’re the one who took those baskets around town?” Brad asked, and sounded shocked and amazed.

“Yup. And Ava helped deliver them, too.” She waved her fork at them. “Don’t let your dinner get cold. This is really good. My favorite.”

“About the counselor.”

Casey’s shoulders sagged. “Okay, okay, I’ll go talk to her. It is a woman, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Lydia assured her.

“I’ll go.”

“Thank you,” Brad told her.

Casey frowned again. “Only because you want me to, but I’m not going to like it, and I’m not promising to tell her the dream, either.”

“All we’re asking is that you be open and willing.”

Casey sighed as if a huge demand had been made of her. “I’ll try.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Lydia said.

Brad dug into his spaghetti and meatballs, took one bite, and looked up. “Hey, this is good.”

Chapter Thirty-four

Max climbed the stairs to Annie’s condo and knocked on her front door. He figured he had a good chance of catching her at home at ten o’clock on a Sunday morning. It wasn’t likely to be a pleasant meeting, but he felt obliged to make one last attempt to reason with Bethanne’s daughter.

He rang the doorbell, and then, planting the tips of his fingers in his back jean pockets, he waited, his heart pounding, praying what he had to tell her would make a difference.

To Max’s surprise, it wasn’t Annie who answered the door. Instead, it was Grant Hamlin, her father. This meeting was going to be even worse than he’d expected.

“Max!” Grant sounded just as shocked to see him.

“Annie home?” Max asked.

“No,” he said starkly. “You just missed her.”

“Do you know when she’ll be back?”

Grant shrugged. “I can’t say.”

Max nodded but didn’t budge.

“She knows how much I like Starbucks coffee. You know Annie. She loves her dad, so she volunteered to run down to the corner to pick me up a cup.”

“She’s a thoughtful daughter.”

Grant stared at him hard. “She is that, all right.”

“Can I wait here for her?”

“By all means.”

Max hesitated. He didn’t like the look in Grant’s eyes, and he wasn’t sure he should trust the other man. “You don’t mind my waiting?”

“Not at all. It might do us good to talk man to man, just the two of us.”

“I agree.”

Grant stepped aside and held the door open for Max. “Make yourself at home,” he said, and gestured toward the sofa. Bethanne’s ex-husband claimed the chair, and for an awkward moment all they did was stare at each other.

“What’s your business with Annie?” Grant asked.

Max sat close to the edge of the sofa cushion. “Bethanne mentioned that you’ve taken her under your wing at the real-estate office.” It bothered him as much as it did Bethanne that Annie worked as a receptionist when she was vastly overqualified for the position.

“My Annie’s got the same organizational skills as her mother.”

“How does she like working for you?” Although he asked, Max didn’t expect the truth.

Grant shrugged. “So far so good. She’s getting a little antsy to get her Realtor license. All in due course. I’ll let her know when she’s ready to start training.”

Max decided to let the comment slide rather than point out the obvious. With Annie’s business acumen and attention to detail, she was more than ready. Max found it difficult to understand why her father would want her in a lesser position.

“You didn’t mention why you stopped by,” Grant prodded.

Mainly because Max hadn’t been given the opportunity. “I wanted to tell Annie that I’ve decided to move my wine-distribution business to Washington State.”

Grant seemed unable to hide his surprise. His eyes widened a fraction, and for a moment it seemed he didn’t know what to say. “Really?”

“It wasn’t an easy decision.”

“From what I heard, the cost of moving a business such as yours is prohibitive.”

It was going to hurt financially—that was certain—but in the long run it should work out well. “It isn’t about the money.”