Shadow Days by Melinda Clayton

Author:Melinda Clayton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family saga, book series, southern fiction, cedar hollow
Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing, LLC
Published: 2015-02-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18: Kay Langley

“I DON’T MUCH CARE for that one, Riva. It’s too...what’s the word I’m lookin’ for? Citified.”

Riva laughed at my description. “No, I’m not too fond of that one, either. But look at this one.” She pulled out another swatch of fabric, this one decorated with tiny salt and pepper shakers. “We might be able to stitch up some right cute curtains with this one, don’t you think?”

I didn’t want to hurt Riva’s feelings, but I just couldn’t picture any of her samples looking right in my diner. I wasn’t sure how to describe what was wrong with them. They were cute enough; they just weren’t right.

We both looked up at the bell to see a woman who could only be Erma’s latest guest from the boarding home. It wasn’t too hard to figure that out; after all, we knew everyone else in town. She didn’t look crazy, I was a little relieved to see. She looked just fine. A small woman dressed in jeans, dark, curly hair twisted in a loose bun, face clean of makeup. It was hard to picture her laughing hysterically from the floor of Mr. Smith’s General Store. Then again, it was hard to picture a whole heck of a lot of the folks in Cedar Hollow doing things we all knew they’d done, myself included.

“Hi,” she said, giving us a little wave. It was our slow time of day, between lunch and dinner, and she was the only customer.

“Take a seat anywhere you like,” Riva said to her, pushing the sample materials aside.

“Actually, I’m just stopping in to ask if you do carryout,” she said, approaching the bar. “I was hoping to buy dinner for the people at Vines and Roses. They’ve been so good to me, in spite of all the trouble I must be.” She slid onto a stool and smiled. “I’m afraid I seem to bring chaos wherever I go. I’m Emily,” she said, reaching a hand across the counter. “Emily Holt.”

There was something immediately likable about the woman; maybe it was her quick smile, or maybe just that she came across as an ordinary woman, down-to-earth with a sense of humor about herself. Now that I’d met her, I had to agree with Erma. She wasn’t a criminal. At that point, I wasn’t even sure she was crazy.

“Nice to meet you, Emily,” I said, shaking her hand, “That’s my daughter’s name. I’m Kay Langley, owner of this fine establishment, and this here is Riva, my manager.”

Riva pulled a face at my description of her. “Manager, is it now? I must have gotten a promotion. How do, honey. To answer your question, we do carryout, carry-in, delivery, special order; you name it, we do it, and that’s a mighty nice thing for you to do for Erma. What did you have in mind?”

“I was hoping you all could help me with that,” she said. “I’m guessing you ladies probably know what everyone in town likes to eat.”

I laughed; she was sure enough right about that.

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