Zoe’s heart pounded as she stepped up to Mr. Warner’s front door with his nightly meal. She felt like a criminal, having cooked dinner in her new commercial building, and found herself looking over her shoulder all day. It shouldn’t have made any difference to her—after all, she had the fire department’s approval—but a niggling feeling pressed on her. For some unknown reason, she wanted to impress William Singer and for him to take her seriously as a businesswoman.
As she looked back at the bike on its kickstand, she half expected to see William in his car taking notes on her subversive activities. She’d probably just watched too much CSI. She knew she didn’t have time to prepare for the event, get back to the lake, and have dinner ready on time. Older people liked their schedules, and when she was late she often got an earful. Not only that, but she didn’t want to admit to her family that they’d been right about her renting the tired old storefront.
With fall well under way, the day’s dwindling light forced her to keep an earlier schedule. She balanced her basket with the last plate inside and rapped on the peeling red front door.
She opened the door a smidgen and peeked inside. “Arnold, it’s Zoe. Can I come in?”
“In the kitchen,” a gravelly voice called.
She made her way through the small bungalow and found Arnold sitting at his small Formica table with the lower half of his arm slung over its edge. “Where have you been?” He looked at the black numbers on the large wall clock as the minute hand made a loud click.
“I’m sorry. You were last on my route today. I’m having dinner at my mother’s, and you’re closest to her house.”
“Zoe, are you still taking the bus and riding that crazy bike everywhere? Winter is coming, darling. You need to be more practical. I told you to take my Buick. No one uses that thing, and it’s just sitting there in the garage. Take it and use it—at least until your car is working again.”
“If I don’t have a better system by the end of the week, I will.”
“Promise?” Arnold asked.
“Pinky swear,” she said, though he probably had no idea what that meant. “Why are you in the kitchen already today? Are you hungry?” She removed the canvas bag from her shoulder and set the basket on the table. She brought out a small covered bowl and a paper plate of cheese and crackers. “Butternut squash soup, fresh from my sister’s garden.”
“You Thomas girls are a credit to your mother. It smells delicious.” He waited patiently for her to grab some silverware, and she gathered up the well-washed plates that rested on the countertop from the day’s earlier meal.
“Your TV working okay? It’s not like you to be in the kitchen so early,” she mentioned again.
Arnold shrugged. “The games were over for the day, and the news–well, I just don’t recognize the world any longer. I knew you’d be here soon, so I thought I’d just wait. Here you are late today. What happened?”
“I got held up. It’s the first day I cooked at the new office and I have to get used to things, that’s all.” She set the silverware on the table.
Arnold lifted the bowl closer to his nose and took a whiff. “Smells great.”
“It tastes that way too. Has a little cream in it, so it should stick with you tonight. Very hardy for the colder nights.”
“I’m glad you’ve noticed it’s getting colder. That beach bike of yours is out of season.”
She smiled at his fatherly tone. “Turns out Smitten has a new city manager, and he came by Cupid’s Arrow today. He said I shouldn’t cook there because the wiring isn’t up to code, and if I started a fire the city would be held liable.”
“That’s secondary. If the wiring isn’t up to code, you could be putting yourself in danger, and none of us could forgive ourselves if something happened to you.”
She rubbed Arnold’s shoulder. “I’ll be careful.”
He scooped a spoonful of soup into his mouth. “Mmm. He’s probably right, you know. This country is nothing but lawyers anymore. You can’t trim a hedge in your own backyard without being sued these days, but wiring is nothing to mess with.”
Zoe stared into Arnold’s pale blue eyes and realized the frantic energy she’d brought with her. She took in a deep breath, sat beside him, and cupped his hand. “I’ll figure it out. How’s your day going?”
“Same as always. I finished a puzzle. Did you see it when you came in?”
“I didn’t. I’ll check it out. Is that the one you’ve been working on? The old truck?”
“Hey, I prefer the term classic, thank you. I owned that very model at one time. Now, sit down and eat something. There’s plenty here for both of us. Get yourself a bowl.”
She squeezed his hand. “Not tonight. My mom is having a family dinner, and I’m running late, as usual.” She stood up and went to the refrigerator. “What do you want to drink?”
“If it’s not too much trouble, can you make me some coffee? There’s decaf in that green canister there.”
She glanced at her watch but figured her mother would expect her to be late. It was already past the time where she’d get by without a lecture. “Sure.”
Everything in Arnold’s kitchen was meticulously kept, and she pulled the Folger’s canister from the wall and scooped some into the stained Mr. Coffee machine.
“You usually eat here on Mondays, you know. Smelled so good I forgot to bless it first.” Arnold looked at his plate and went silent while he prayed.
She waited for him to finish and look up.
“My mom usually does dinners on Sundays, but Aunt Violet and Aunt Rose had a gig for their band and were in a tizzy, so Mom put it off.”
“Your Aunt Violet has been in a tizzy about something since 1945. Why should today be different?”
“It’s the whole family this time. It turns out my Grandma Rose had a beau before Grandfather. They found the man’s dog tags from the Korean War and you would have thought that we were going to war all over again.”
Arnold nodded. “I remember.”
“You do?”
“Sure. David Hutchins.”
“Little Mia found his dog tags in the attic. Grandma Rose said he died in the Korean War, but she has no idea how the dog tags got there. It’s added some excitement to the household.”
“So the Garner sisters have themselves a mystery, do they?” Arnold giggled like a small child, and she laughed at him.
“I wouldn’t say my aunts have a mystery. No, we granddaughters have ourselves a mystery because no one wants to talk about it, so naturally that makes us even more interested. He may not have died in the war after all.”
“Sometimes history is best left in the past.”
“I agree with you,” she said. “But if nothing else, we should get the dog tags back to their rightful owner, don’t you think? His family would probably want to have them.”
“You girls have no romantic notions about this former beau?”
“We’re keeping the aunts and Grandma Rose out of it for now. We know he survived the war, and we’ve tracked him from California to North Carolina. We’re trying to find out for certain if he’s still alive. Wouldn’t you want your dog tags returned to your family?”
“What’s Rose say about this?”
Zoe shook her head. “Not a thing. No use in getting her hopes up.”
“And Violet?”
“I don’t think she knows a thing about it.”
“I’ll bet she does.” Arnold chuckled as he swallowed another spoonful.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Not a thing, Zoe. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. And I’d give up any idea of finding David. If he wanted to be found, I reckon he’d have come back a long time ago.”
Zoe wondered if that was true, but the romantic in her wasn’t about to let well enough alone. If her grandmother had another shot at love, there was hope for everyone. Cupid’s Arrow was about creating connections between people, and what better way to make it happen than with the public relations firestorm a love story resurrected from the fifties could start?
“Well, thanks for bringing by the dinner, Zoe. It was wonderful, as always.”
“You want to come to my mom’s with me? I’m sure there’ll be some delicious dessert. And you never know if one of those Garner sisters isn’t worth a second look.” She grinned.
“I’ve been looking at those Garner sisters since I had the eyesight to see them, and none of them ever looked back in sixty years. Besides, it’s almost my bedtime. I never will understand you kids and your late nights.”
It was only five o’clock, but in an old logging town the men rose early and were home for supper by four thirty or so. Zoe went back to making coffee and chided herself for not spending more time with the people she fed. They needed more than a hot meal. “The coffee’s almost ready. I’d better be off to my mom’s before it gets dark.”
“Do you have anyone signed up for that dating service of yours yet?”
“I already have thirty people—can you believe it? I think some of them might be doing me a favor, but once I get going, they’ll see how believing in me did them the favor.”
“Paying to meet a mate. It sounds so backwards.”
“People don’t meet as easily as they once did, Arnold. Everything is all wired now. Face-to-face meetings are more difficult.”
“Speaking of wired.” Arnold put down his spoon. His bowl was wiped clean. “I don’t want you cooking in that old storefront until you get it checked out. The new city manager is right. Electrical is nothing to play with.”
She paused. “That’s right, you were an electrician at the mill. I’d forgotten.” She probably shouldn’t have mentioned it. Now Arnold would worry.
“You’re not old enough to remember when one of those old buildings went up in flames in the sixties. Zoe, it tore through that building so fast, there was nothing left of it in a matter of minutes. If the new city manager thinks you should get it checked out, you should get it checked out.”
“The problem is, I can’t afford to fix the wiring, and I promised Miss Draper that I wouldn’t bother her with repairs, so she gave me the rent for a song.”
“That woman is as rich as Croesus, and she has a responsibility. Don’t let her cry poor and put yourself in danger for something as ridiculous as money. She could buy and sell this town. Do you want me to talk to her?”
“No, Arnold. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything.”
He shook his head. “I’m coming to check it out tomorrow.”
“Arnold, I can’t let you do that.”
“I’m not going to sleep until I check it out, so you may as well pick me up in the morning. You can get the Buick then.”
“Exposed wiring is that big of a deal?”
“Exposed?” Arnold slapped the table. “You didn’t say the wiring was exposed. The fire inspector must have missed that. He wouldn’t let you gather people in that place.”
“The walkway by the store is really uneven. I’d feel terrible if you fell. I’m just going to have to hire an electrician and pray for a way to pay for everything until the income starts.” She mentally started calculating where she might come up with the money. Even worse, if Arnold reacted so violently, what must the new city manager think of her?
“I’ll bring the walker,” Arnold said.
Zoe knew that was a generous gesture on his part. He didn’t like to go out, and he didn’t like to look feeble.
“I can’t ask you to do that. Maybe I’m not fit to run a business.” Why did everyone else know these simple details?
“None of us is fit to do anything. It’s only with the Lord’s help we get by. Life is full of setbacks, Zoe. This town was dead as a doornail, but did we give up? Just put one foot in front of the next and accept the help. Accept the help.”
She nodded, but wished she had a better alternative than calling on a ninety-year-old man for help. It was Arnold’s turn to rest in life. “All right, I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow.”
“Don’t be late.”
She smiled. “I won’t.” When the coffee had dripped enough, she filled his cup and set it on the table. “Black, right?”
“You better run home now before one of your aunts calls me looking for you. They’ll blame me for talking too much, and I don’t want to encounter their wrath.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.” She flung her canvas bag over her shoulder. “I’m turning off the coffee machine. If you want more, you’ll have to heat it up in the microwave.”
He gave a weary grin. “That’s my girl.”
“Just once, I wish you’d eat with Miss Evelyn. She’s good company, and it would save me a trip.”
“I don’t want no womenfolk. I want to watch the game when I want to watch the game, and I don’t want anyone telling me chocolate is bad for my cholesterol. At my age, you get stuck in your ways. You just focus on yourself—finding you a man and starting a family.”
She shook her head. “Not me, Arnold. I may be young, but I’m set in my ways too. I was meant to put people together, not be part of a couple.”
“I don’t believe that. Anyone who cooks like you must have to beat the men off with a stick. The trouble will be that no man is good enough for our Zoe.”
Everyone she cooked for was well advanced in years and preferred soft, strained food. Unless she was planning on setting herself up with an octogenarian, her cooking skills were of little use in “finding herself a man.”
“You’re just trying to change the subject. Maybe Evelyn likes chocolate. I’ll ask her tomorrow.”
“Don’t ask her anything. You go on about your business and leave the romance to the young, where it belongs.” He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. “That goes for your grandmother too. Don’t think I don’t know what you girls are up to, trying to track down David Hutchins.”
She smiled. “Evelyn might cheer you up.”
“Already wore one woman out,” he grumbled. “Besides, I’ve known Evelyn since before your mother was born. Don’t you think if we were meant to be, we’d be?”
“Maybe, but I’m a romantic. Maybe romance is different at your age, but it’s still nice to think about having someone to talk to, isn’t it?”
“You’d best be on your way, Zoe. I’ll see you in the morning.”