“Don’t you want to take her out someplace really special? Get dressed up to show her that you care? I really think we’re gonna have to buy you some decent new clothes.”
“Dammit. I hate new clothes,” he muttered.
chapter 37
When she woke up Wednesday, Kerry reached for her phone. A text message from Patrick had come in around midnight, long after she’d fallen asleep.
Meet up for coffee in the morning?
She jumped out of bed and dressed hurriedly, pulling her hair into a ponytail, and it wasn’t until she was about to step outside that she noticed Queenie asleep on Murphy’s bunk.
“Be right back,” she promised, giving the dog a pat on the head. She rushed over to Anna’s to use the bathroom, passing Murphy, who was snoring away on the lawn chair near the oil barrel, wrapped in his sleeping bag and a quilt.
She hooked the leash to Queenie’s collar. “Come on, girl. Let’s go seize the day before the day seizes us.”
The dog trotted over to a bush in the pocket park and relieved herself while Kerry texted Patrick back.
Coffee works. Just got up and gonna walk Queenie. Back here in ten.
As she was crossing the street she noticed with grim satisfaction that the Brody brothers’ tree stand was no more. The only sign that they’d ever been there was a couple of desiccated Scotch pines and a pile of lumber from the dismantled hut that rested at the curb in front of the deli.
When she returned to the stand, Murphy had retreated to the camper and Taryn Kaplan greeted her. The twins were bundled up in their stroller. “You and Murphy will be heading south pretty soon, right? I bet you’ll be glad to be back home, sleeping in your own bed, with real heat and plumbing.”
“Um, yeah,” Kerry said. She’d spotted Patrick emerging from Anna’s with two foam cups and a white bakery bag.
Taryn must have noticed the grin that spread across Kerry’s face as Patrick approached.
“But maybe our neighborhood holds other charms, right?”
Kerry blushed. “Something like that.”
“Hi, Pat,” Taryn called as her neighbor approached. “I heard you guys had quite a scare when Austin went missing the other day.”
“We did,” Patrick agreed, handing Kerry a coffee and the bakery bag. “But fortunately, Heinz brought him back to us.”
“Gretchen must have been beside herself.” Taryn looked down and saw that one of the twins had offered Queenie his pacifier, which the dog was now happily licking.
“Oh, Oscar.” She took the pacifier and stuck it in the pocket of her jacket. “We better get moving, or we’ll miss story time at the library.” She looked over at Kerry. “If you want to shower and do some laundry today, be my guest. We won’t be back till after lunch.”
“I’ll definitely take you up on that if there’s a lull in business this morning,” Kerry promised.
Patrick waited until Taryn and the twins had moved on. He handed her the bakery bag.
“Mmm,” Kerry said, nibbling at a still-warm croissant. “You know how to spoil a girl, don’t you?”
Patrick sipped his coffee. “I’m wondering if we can have that do-over I owe you. Thinking maybe Friday night? Gretchen and Austin are going upstate to visit family. We could go out, or stay in, and I could cook us a nice dinner. Your choice.”
“You cook?”
“Is that so surprising?”
“None of the Tolliver men cook—aside from grilling burgers or smoking a pork butt.”
“And you never dated a man who cooks?”
“My last boyfriend could make toast and scrambled eggs and that was it. Actually, his eggs tasted like rubber bands, but he was so proud of his effort I never had the heart to break it to him.”
“I worked summers during college at my uncle’s restaurant at the Jersey Shore, so yeah, I cook. I do a kick-ass mushroom-stuffed tenderloin. What about it? Dinner in or out?”
“Neither, I’m afraid. I promised my brother I’d cover for him Friday night. He’s got big plans with Claudia.”
Patrick’s face fell so dramatically Kerry was tempted to laugh, but she fought the urge.
“Oh well. Damn.”
“Miss?” A man’s voice interrupted them. She turned to see an older couple, examining one of the last large trees.
chapter 38
Hunger drove her to Lombardi’s for a late lunch. She sat at the bar and chatted with Danny while waiting for her usual to-go order of minestrone.
“Hey, have you seen Heinz today?” she asked, as he polished glasses fresh from the dishwasher.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t. Which is weird, because he missed Tuesday night, which is eggplant parm night, and Heinz never, ever misses his eggplant parm. You think he’s okay?”
“I hope he is, but I’m starting to get worried. The last time I saw him was Monday night, when he found Austin after he went missing,” Kerry said. “He had a terrible cough, and he looked so pale.”
“Yeah, he was here for lunch Sunday and I noticed he didn’t look so good. I shoulda known something was up when he didn’t get the tiramisu. Old guy has a raging sweet tooth.”
One of the busboys emerged with a paper bag with her order. “Here ya go,” Danny said, handing it over. “Let me know what you find out about Heinz. I’ll check around with some of our other regulars, to see if they’ve seen him.”
“I’m guessing he lives in the neighborhood,” Kerry said. “Maybe I should stop in and check on him? Do you know if he has family?”
“He’s never mentioned family to me. He’s a quiet guy. Doesn’t talk that much. I assume he lives close by since he’s here so often, but I got no clue exactly where. If you see him, let him know I saved him an order of eggplant parm, will ya?”
Murphy was awake and stoking the fire barrel when she returned to the Christmas tree stand. She sat down at her worktable and opened the still-steaming container of soup.
“Smells good,” he said, sitting opposite her.
She held out the container. “Want some?”
“Nah. I, uh, listen, Kere, maybe I could use some help with figuring out what to wear Friday night.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“I went through my clothes a little while ago. They’re, uh, kind of raggedy.”
“Understatement of the year. Look, Murph. You’re gonna need a decent pair of slacks, and a shirt, and probably some kind of sport coat.”
“A sport coat?” he whined.
“You want my help or not?” she demanded.
He shrugged. “Whatever. Danny hooked me up with reservations at a little French place here in the neighborhood, so we’re all set on that end.”
“That’s great,” Kerry said. “Way to show some initiative. Now, are you going shopping, or am I?”
He recoiled as though she’d asked him to stick his hand in the fire. “Oh, hell no. I ain’t shopping.”
“Okay, fine. I already know your sizes. I’ve been helping Mom buy you clothes you hate since you were sixteen. But you’ll have to buy your own big-boy shoes. Real leather. Think you can do that by yourself?”
“No problem,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Just one thing. No pocket squares, and no ties.”
* * *