Commander Blaine, her time wasn’t always her own. He claimed a lot of it. Commander ran the local Mail It Center and was a widower. He’d been lonely right after his wife died and instead of wallowing in it, had used his energy to help put on events for Tarzana seniors and other groups. Dinah with her bubbly personality was great at helping out and once she got used to being with a man who wasn’t always trying to ditch her, she enjoyed it. But I was glad she’d worked out some kind of balance, because I missed my friend.
“Hands down you’re my favorite wingman,” I said.
We both agreed we shouldn’t show up empty-handed for the condolence call and we didn’t have time to make anything, so we stopped by the bookstore and I talked our barista cookie baker, Bob, out of a batch of his Hurry Up Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars made using my recipe.
The commotion of the L.A. 911 production disappeared as soon as we started down Kelly’s street. When we got closer, I saw that the production company truck was no longer in the driveway, but the prop guys had left trees and bushes in pots behind, because there was a scene they still had to shoot.
We walked up to the entrance and I rang the bell. When the door opened, I prepared to say hello to Dan with his dark hair and everyman sort of looks, but the person who answered the door was anything but ordinary looking. I couldn’t see my face, but I had a feeling I had a goofy smile. All I could think was that he was gorgeous. I caught myself and laughed in embarrassment.
The adorable man looked from me to Dinah and his face lit in a smile that only made him more adorable. When I saw the dimples that matched Kelly’s, I knew he must be a relative.
“Molly Pink,” I said extending my hand. “And this is Dinah Lyons. We were looking for Dan. We wanted to express our condolences.”
“Were you friends of my sister?” he asked before introducing himself as Stone Thomasville. There was something golden about him. His hair was golden blond with lighter streaks and his skin had a golden cast as if he’d been kissed by the sun. He wore a red and white Aloha shirt over a pair of khaki shorts. A pair of sunglasses hung around his neck and he smelled of suntan stuff. Then I remembered the remark the prop guy had made. He’d said Kelly had a brother who was a surfer and it all made sense.
I said how sorry I was about Kelly. Dinah chimed in that we’d been over a few days ago and thought we’d left something in her workroom. I looked over at her in surprise then understood what she was doing and gave her an approving nod.
Dan came up behind him and peered out as us. It was obvious he was trying to place us. “The bookstore lady and my prize winner,” he said, finally. “More Bang for Your Buck is a great name.” He started to go on about the store until I interrupted him and explained we had come to pay our condolences. The brightness went out of his face and he mumbled something about how he was trying not to think about it, as he invited us in. As I followed Dan and Stone inside I was struck by how differently the two men moved. Dan thrust his head forward, as if he was in a hurry to get somewhere, and had a brusque walk. Stone moved with the energetic grace of an athlete.
“What is it that you left?” Stone asked when we reached the living room.
We were unprepared for the question and both began to talk over each other with impromptu answers. I said it was my sweater, which when I thought about it was absurd since it was in the ninties outside. Dinah said she’d left her reading glasses and then did too much explaining about why she’d taken them off in the first place.
Luckily, neither of the men picked up on our confusion. “The cops went through the room and they left me a list of what they took. I don’t remember anything about a sweater or glasses, so they’re probably still there,” Dan said before inviting us to sit down. I handed him Bob’s cookies and told him again how sorry I was about Kelly and reminded him that we’d