voice, a nice smile, and kind eyes. Everything about him put me at ease.
“Is my car ready?” I asked, hoping he was here with good news.
“Little setback,” Gerry said.
“Did you find a bigger problem?” Josh asked as he set the bags down on a small wooden bench in the foyer.
“Only a delay on the part,” Gerry answered. Then he looked back at me. “My supplier doesn’t have one in the warehouse, so I had to go out of state.”
“Will that take a long time?” Even as I asked the question, I realized I had time to spare.
It was an odd feeling, to not be facing deadlines. It was a pleasant novelty to have a few days stretching out in front of me with no real obligations.
“A couple of extra days,” Gerry said. “Sorry if that causes you grief.”
“It’s not a big problem,” I said. Then I glanced guiltily at Madeline. I didn’t want to be presumptuous about her continued hospitality. “I mean . . .”
“It’s great for me,” she said with a smile and obvious enthusiasm. Then she tempered her reaction. “I mean, sorry for your luck. But you’ll be able to come back to the office on Monday.”
“I’d be happy to help out. But are you sure? I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
She waved away my worry. “What’s the point of having all this space if I can’t put it to good use?”
“And Sunday?” Josh asked me.
I turned to him.
He gave me a roguish smile. “It sounds like you’ll be available for festival work on Sunday.”
“Sure,” I said. I was happy to keep busy, happier still to be able to pay back the Rutter’s Point hospitality.
“I’ve got a pot of clam chowder on the stove,” Madeline said. “I hope you’re all hungry. You’re welcome to stay for dinner, Gerry.”
“I wish I could,” Gerry said. “But Julie’s anxious for me to get home.” He stepped around me to the door. “My daughters’ dance class performance at the festival is growing more elaborate by the minute. I’ll be painting pretty ballet props all weekend.”
“They have two lovely girls,” Madeline said to me. “They just turned six and eight.”
Josh clapped Gerry on the shoulder. “Way to daddy up, there.”
“I’m definitely outnumbered on the home front.” But Gerry’s smile made it clear he adored his daughters.
“I’ll let you know when I hear on your part,” he said to me.
“Thanks. And thanks for the update.”
With a wave, Gerry left to walk home. Then the three of us moved to the kitchen, arranging ourselves informally around the kitchen island.
Madeline ladled the chowder into pretty floral bowls and passed them out.
I felt surrounded by hospitality again. It was hard to wrap my head around Gerry coming over in person to update me, Madeline jumping in so quickly to let me stay even longer, and Josh . . . Josh making sure I got the right clothes for the festival.
He might have pretended to have selfish motives, but it was pretty obvious he didn’t. Now, he was helping his aunt set out dinner, teasing her, asking her about her friends.
For a minute, I just sat back to bathe in the cheerfulness.
“Sit down,” Madeline said and motioned to me. “Eat, enjoy.”
We all got comfortable, and I took a first bite. It was amazing, smooth and flavorful, not too sharp, not too spicy.
“This is fantastic,” I said. “An old family recipe?”
Rutter’s Point struck me as the perfect place for deep roots and traditions. I liked the idea that I was enjoying the same flavor as generations back, maybe from the roaring twenties or even Colonial times. I pictured ladies in long skirts with big white aprons and white caps working over a black woodstove.
“It is that,” Madeline said.
“Auntie M.” Josh’s tone was a good-natured warning.
I wondered if it was a secret family recipe and he thought she’d blurt it out to me.
“Well, not my family,” Madeline said with a guilty-looking smirk.
“You stole it?” I guessed.
“It belongs to the McNeil family,” she said. “They run the Hook and Anchor Cafe . . . down the block . . . where I bought the chowder.”
“Madeline wishes she could cook,” Josh said in a teasing tone.
My fantasy of small-town life had obviously been way off base.
“I keep meaning to learn,” Madeline said, though she didn’t sound very determined.
“The butter rolls are from the Stone Fresh Bakery.” Josh helped himself to one from the basket in the middle of the island and then pushed it my way. “I highly recommend them.”
“I keep