The Sweetheart Bargain (A Sweetheart Sisters Novel) by Shirley Jump Page A

her wounded grandson.
    She needed to get him to enjoy life again. Luke used to be one of those hard-charging, go-after-whatever-he-wanted kind of young men. All energetic optimism and reckless abandon. Even when he’d been a little boy, Luke had been the first one into the surf, the first one to climb a tree, the first one to ask out a girl. Greta hadn’t been surprised one bit when he’d signed up for the Coast Guard, opting for a military career that would allow him to save people right here in the United States. He’d been courageous and ambitious, which had gotten him advanced quickly. But ever since the accident, that spark had dimmed in Luke, and though Greta had done everything she could to help him find it again, he’d kept the doors shut. Literally.
    If she could just get Luke to see that life hadn’t ended, just changed . . .
    “Here’s the plan,” Greta said. “We go over there and ask Olivia to go to lunch with us over at the Shoebox Café after she’s done with the dog thing. Meanwhile, I’ll call Luke and ask him to walk down and meet me for lunch. As soon as he arrives, we conveniently ditch Luke and Olivia and go somewhere else.”
    Esther’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean, ditch them? We’re not getting lunch?”
    “We’re not here to fill our bellies, Esther.”
    “But I’m hungry. They had eggs this morning for breakfast. You know I don’t like eggs. I need a starch in the morning.”
    “Then we’ll stop and get you a muffin,” Greta said. Lord, grant me patience and keep me from slapping Esther Gerke. Thank you. I’ll drop an extra couple bucks in the collection plate on Sunday. I swear. “Are you in?”
    Pauline shrugged. “Sure. I don’t have anything to do today. And maybe we can add some of the details of our adventure to the column—”
    “Absolutely not. This entire mission is top secret.”
    Across from them, Esther’s lips pursed again. But she didn’t protest. Probably afraid they’d skip the promised muffin.
    Olivia cradled the dog in her arms and headed for the vet’s office. She held the dog with no more effort than a sack of potatoes; the poor thing was so sickly it didn’t seem to weigh much despite its size. Greta motioned to Pauline and Esther to follow her. She ambled forward, her purse dangling from her forearm, as if she spent every afternoon strolling downtown Rescue Bay.
    “Why, hello, Olivia,” Greta called. “What are you doing here?”
    Olivia stopped when she saw the trio of women and shot them a grin. She shifted the dog’s weight in her arms. “I’m beginning to think you ladies are following me,” she said with a laugh.
    “Not at all. We just had errands to run downtown today, and this is all a coincidence, right, ladies?”
    “Oh, yes, coincidence,” Pauline said.
    Esther didn’t say anything. Pauline nudged her. Hard. “Yup. Nothing illegal about that.”
    Greta drew in a deep, fortifying breath. And people questioned why she needed a little Maker’s Mark in the morning? Goodness gracious. Greta put on a smile and nodded toward the dog. “Is that the pooch that was on my grandson’s doorstep earlier today?”
    “Yes. He’s hurt and malnourished,” Olivia said, “so I’m bringing him to the vet to get looked at.”
    “Poor baby,” Pauline said, reaching out to give the golden a gentle pat on the head.
    “You know, all these errands have kept us so busy we forgot to eat. We’re famished,” Greta said. “How would you like to join some old ladies for a little lunch after you’re done?” She leaned toward Olivia, because she could already see her readying an objection. “You need to eat, right? And there’s the best little diner just around the corner.”
    Olivia hedged. “Oh, I don’t know—”
    “Please do,” Pauline said. “It’ll be nice to dine with someone other than ourselves.”
    “Thanks for the offer, ladies, but I have to get the dog into the vet. I’m not sure how long that’s going to take.