CHAPTER THREE

      “Thanks for helping out just now,” Lynn said when Gabe stopped by the bakery for a large cup of coffee before heading back to the construction site. “Adelia would never admit it, but she had to be scared out of her wits. I know I would have been if it had been one of my kids missing. I’m sure having you around kept her calm.”

      “I don’t know how much help I was,” Gabe said. “All I did was drive the car in whatever direction she asked me to.”

      Lynn smiled at the self-deprecating comment. “And you didn’t say one single word in all that time? Didn’t offer any support? Maybe insist she drink some tea?”

      “The tea made sense,” he grumbled.

      Lynn’s smile spread. He was obviously self-conscious about accepting praise for what he apparently considered to be nothing more than a neighborly gesture. She considered that very telling. Mitch had told her about Gabe’s past and how determined he was to fight his old reputation as a troublemaker. This humility was definite evidence that he was well on his way.

      “Don’t make a big deal about that, or about anything I did, for that matter,” he said. “It was nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done.”

      “Whatever you say,” she said, laughing. “Something tells me things are about to get real interesting here on Main Street.”

      Gabe frowned at her. “Just because you and my cousin still have stars in your eyes doesn’t mean the whole world is just waiting for romance.”

      “Adelia would probably say the same thing,” Lynn said agreeably. “She just got a divorce. She’s not interested in meeting anyone right now. Yada yada yada. I’ve heard it all before. Said it myself, in fact, when Mitch came along. Doesn’t mean I believe a word she says.” She regarded him pointedly, then added, “You, either. My theory is that neither of you has a clue what you really need in your lives.”

      “Well, whether you buy it or not, could you stay out of it?” Gabe pleaded. “I’ve got problems enough up and down this block without adding your meddling into the mix.”

      “What problems?” she asked at once, her mood sobering. “Does Mitch know?”

      “Of course he knows. I haven’t been on the job long enough to make decisions without running them by him. Now, if you’ll get that cup of coffee I asked for when I first walked through the door, and maybe a few of those chocolate chip cookies, I’ll get back to work, so he doesn’t fire me for hanging out too long with his wife.”

      She quickly poured the coffee and bagged his cookies, choosing a few from a tray still warm from the oven, but she waved off payment. “Just a reward for helping Adelia,” she said. “Where will you be if Mitch stops by here looking for you?”

      “In the old supermarket space on the corner trying to figure out how we’re going to replace those old beams without the roof tumbling down on our heads. The termites have been living it up in there for ten years at least.”

      Lynn looked alarmed. “That can’t be good. What about Chic? It’s right next door to that space. Is their ceiling okay?”

      “I’ll check with Mitch, but I imagine he did a thorough job fixing up that place and this one. If there was damage, I doubt he missed it.”

      Relieved, she nodded. “You’re right, of course. Mitch pays attention to details. It’s one of his best traits.”

      Gabe grinned at her. “I imagine that comes in handy in more ways than one,” he said with a wink, then took off, brushing past Maddie Maddox, Helen Decatur-Whitney and Dana Sue Sullivan in his hurry.

      Their arrival wasn’t particularly unexpected. Once word of a crisis spread through town, the original Sweet Magnolias were always among the first to respond. The loosely formed group of friends had grown to include many other women now, including Lynn, but these three were still its heart and soul.

      “What’s his hurry?” Helen asked, her eyes narrowed. The town’s—maybe even the state’s—most prominent divorce attorney was by nature cynical and suspicious, even after several years now of being deliriously happy in her own marriage.

      Lynn chuckled. “I made him nervous.”

      Maddie regarded her with surprise. “How?”

      “By suggesting that his willingness to jump in to help Adelia was something more than a neighborly gesture,” Lynn said.

      “I knew it!” Dana Sue said, her expression smug. “All day long I was hearing gossip that Adelia and Gabe had crossed paths at Rosalina’s the other night and fireworks went off. It was Grace spreading the story, and you know how she is. She can spin a romance out of a passing glance.”

      Helen held up her hands. “Hold on a minute! The latest Serenity romance alert is fascinating, but shouldn’t we be focusing on what we can do to help in the search for Adelia’s daughter? That’s why we rushed over here.”

      Maddie and Dana Sue immediately looked guilt-stricken.

      “Of course we should,” Maddie said.

      “It’s okay,” Lynn soothed. “Selena’s safe and sound. Adelia and Gabe found her at Elliott and Karen’s house. He stopped in just now to fill me in.” She glanced at the three women, who’d been best friends since childhood. “Now who needs coffee and maybe a slice of pie while you fill me in on what you’ve heard about Gabe and Adelia?”

      “I wouldn’t turn down a slice of lemon meringue,” Maddie said at once.

      “Coconut cream for me,” Helen said as Lynn poured the coffee.

      Dana Sue stared at the display case longingly. As she did, Lynn remembered hearing that she was at high risk for diabetes. That would be a tough diagnosis for anyone, but Dana Sue owned a restaurant and was around food constantly. She sighed now.

      “I’ll pass on the pie,” Dana Sue said with unmistakable disappointment, “but I will take the coffee.”

      “How about a couple of sugar-free oatmeal cookies?” Lynn suggested. “They have cranberries and walnuts. I promise they don’t taste like sawdust.”

      Helen’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, those sound fabulous. Maybe I’ll have those, too.”

      “Instead of pie?” Lynn asked.

      “Absolutely