“You will tell me everything,” Kit said.
Behind him were nearly a dozen people. Hammers and saws had stopped. Josh had come down off the roof. Who needed an old play to watch when they had such great real-life drama?
Casey took a very deep breath and let it all come out in one big gush. “Stacy is falling in love with some guy named Nate Thomas so she’s staying in D.C. and can’t do the props. But the good news is that she’s turned the female costumes over to her mom’s reading group and her dad is getting the clothes for the men, so you see, everything will be fine. I have to go, uh, cook something.” She turned at warp speed and started walking.
“Acacia!” Kit said in a way that made Casey stop.
Slowly, she turned toward him.
“Was it Nate Taggert?”
All the anger about the bad day had left Kit’s face. He seemed defeated. As Casey walked toward him, she glanced at Josh. “Don’t you guys have something else to do?”
“Not anything as exciting as this. Could somebody get us some water? Drinking out of the hose has lost its country appeal.”
“Sure.” Casey looked back at Kit, who had sat down on the edge of the gazebo. She sat beside him. “I’m sorry about this. We’ll find someone to deal with the props. Stacy’s mom—”
“Stacy is falling for the wrong man. Nate isn’t right for her.”
“Oh.” What could she say to that? “Love is blind, so maybe…” She trailed off.
Kit took his phone out of his pocket, and with it came a folded brochure that he handed to her. “Stacy was to go to that tomorrow and buy things to use onstage.”
It was for an estate sale that was about a hundred miles away.
“You’ll have to go instead of her.”
“I don’t know anything about buying props. What would I get? What’s needed?”
“Stacy has a list. Get her to send it to you. She can—” Kit moved the phone to speak into it. “Rowan, this is your father. Call me immediately.” He touched the off button. “Not that anything I say will do any good. He’s as stubborn as his mother.” He turned to Casey. “Of course you can buy props. Take Tatton with you. He knows about sets.”
Casey stood up. “No, but I’ll find someone. Right now I’m going to get food and water for the guys. I’ll be back by lunch. If you need anything while I’m out, call me.” She started to walk away.
“Casey,” Kit said and she looked at him. “I apologize for my bad temper.”
She smiled at him. “That’s okay.”
“By the way, did the caretaker find you? He asked if the peacock had done much damage inside your house and if the door was okay. He said the bird tore through the screen so he put in a new one. And oh, yes, he congratulated you on getting the creature out. He said they can be devils.” When Kit’s phone rang, he looked at the ID. “The prodigal son doth call.” He clicked the phone on and took long strides to get away from everyone.
By six P.M., Casey gave up trying to find someone to go with her to the estate sale. Stacy had previewed the items a month before, and she sent Casey a list of everything she’d planned to buy for the production. She wrote that she’d tried hard to get the late owner’s grandson to sell to her before the official sale, but he wouldn’t.
“Is that supposed to make me feel sorry for you?” Casey muttered, glaring at the email. She’d made half a dozen calls to her sister, but Stacy—wisely—didn’t answer.
Casey had called several people and asked them to go with her. But her preference for someone with muscles and a big truck was limiting. There were two settees and six chairs on Stacy’s list, plus some small tables, four boxes of knickknacks, a trunk full of old clothes, and a crate full of fabric. But Kit had everyone she knew working on the play, and no one could spare a whole day away.
Except for Landers, she thought. After the squealing girls had shown up and he’d led them away, she hadn’t seen him again. Which was good, because she knew she had to say something about whether or not he’d rid her house of a berserk peacock. If he had, she might, well, owe him an apology.
When her cell rang, she grabbed it. Please, please let it be someone who can go with me tomorrow, she thought. And let them own a truck so big it could star in a Transformers movie.
When she saw Gizzy’s name on the ID, her shoulders slumped. “Hi, Gizz, what’s going on? You and Jack having fun?”
“Oh, yes,” Gizzy said. “He’s wonderful. Fabulous. He’s so smart and he’s been so many places, and can we go with you tomorrow?”
“Sure.” Casey’s shoulders straightened. “Can you bring a truck?”
“Yes, and Jack can drive it. He’s great behind a wheel.”
“I know. I’ve seen all his movies. Gizzy, will you promise me that you’ll behave? My heart hasn’t recovered from the last time I was out with you.”