Sweet Tea At Sunrise

Travis gave him a friendly, one-fingered salute, then walked out the door. He figured the next half hour or so could mean the difference between kicking his new venture off with a bang or being pilloried around town. He’d spent most of his life charming women, but all of a sudden he discovered it had never mattered more. Who knew the biggest challenge he’d ever faced would be a round, older woman who looked a lot like Santa’s wife?

Wharton’s was packed with customers, something Travis hadn’t considered when he’d come up with this plan to steal Grace away. In fact, the upcoming press conference had apparently drawn even more people than usual into town.

Still, he managed to corner Sarah by the counter. “I need to borrow Grace for maybe fifteen minutes. Can you manage on your own?”

She regarded him with alarm. “Are you out of your mind? Look at this place. Thanks to this big whoop-de-do announcement you’re planning, we’re packed.”

“Okay, how about five minutes? It’s really important.” When she shook her head again, he looked around and spotted Ronnie Sullivan. He’d heard from Tom that Ronnie helped out from time to time at Sullivan’s. He walked over to the counter.

“Hey, Ronnie.”

Ronnie gave him a slap on the back. “You ready for your big day?”

“I think so, but I’m in a bind. I need to take Grace over to my place. Unfortunately, Sarah says she can’t handle this crowd on her own. Would you mind pitching in? I just need a few minutes.”

“You want Grace to have a preview of what’s going to happen this morning, don’t you?” Ronnie guessed.

At Travis’s nod, Ronnie left his coffee on the counter and grabbed an apron from behind it. “Sarah, I’m going to pinch-hit for Grace for a bit. I’ll try to keep up.”

Sarah’s gaze narrowed as she turned back to Travis. “How’d you pull that off?”

“Don’t ask questions. Just be grateful. I’ll have Grace back in a jiffy.”

He found her in the kitchen with a tray loaded down with meals. Fortunately Ronnie had followed him. He took the tray from Grace’s hands before she had time to object.

“What the devil?” she muttered irritably as Ronnie left.

“I’m stealing you away,” Travis told her. “You’re going to get a sneak peek at my new venture.”

All signs of annoyance immediately vanished. “Now?”

“Right this minute, before anyone else.”

Her face immediately lit up with excitement. “Well, it’s about time you showed some respect for me, young man!”

She hurried along beside him, looking triumphant as she walked with him across the green. Bill was waiting for them outside. Her gaze narrowed when she saw him.

“Don’t I know you?” she asked, looking as if her brain were clicking through some mental photo album. She snapped her fingers. “Of course, I do. Didn’t you have that radio station over in the next county? Played nothing but oldies and had a signal that wasn’t worth spit.”

Bill grinned. “I did indeed.”

“You’ve been off the air for a month or so now, though.”

“True.”

She looked from him to Travis. Understanding started to dawn on her face. When Travis opened the door and she stepped inside the studio, her eyes lit up. “Would you look at this,” she exclaimed, her tone awestruck. “You’re bringing a radio station to Serenity!”

“I am,” Travis confirmed. He studied her worriedly. “What do you think? It’s not quite up there with sex toys and porno.”

“And a darn good thing it’s not,” she said, sitting down in front of one of the microphones. “You going on the air today?”

“Not for another couple of weeks.”

“What kind of music?”

“Country.”

Gesturing to the two microphones. “You planning to invite folks in to talk?”

“Absolutely.”

She nodded. “I might want to give that a try one day,” she admitted, clearly trying not to sound too eager. “Seems like fun.”

“I think you’d be the perfect guest. You could talk about all the changes in downtown Serenity and why Wharton’s has made it through all the economic ups and downs.”

“Or I could tell who’s been misbehaving around town,” she said, her expression mischievous.

Travis laughed. “As long as you don’t land me in a pile of you-know-what and get me slapped with a slander suit.”

She frowned at his joking tone. “Don’t you know by now that I never repeat anything that isn’t gospel truth?”

“Does the mention of sex toys and porno in connection to this place ring any bells?” he inquired.

She waved off his remark. “I only said that because you wouldn’t say what you were doing. When there’s a vacuum, gossip will usually fill it.”

He nodded. “Glad to know how your mind works.”

“Has nothing to do with my mind,” she said huffily. “It’s a fact.”

Travis regarded her with wonder. “Grace, you really are a town treasure.”

“Hush. You make me sound like some statue on the green. I need to get back over to Wharton’s before Sarah goes crazy. Everybody and their brother decided to come in for breakfast this morning before the big announcement.” She grinned at him. “I hate to steal your thunder, but I might have to mention a thing or two about it when I get back there.”

He feigned dismay. “You’d do that to me?”

“No more than you deserve after keeping me in the dark for so long,” she told him. “Don’t fret, though. There will be plenty more who won’t have a clue when they show up this morning.”

“I don’t suppose you could try to keep it quiet around Sarah, could you? I’d kind of like her to hear about this from me.”

Grace nodded slowly. “So that’s the way it is. I’d wondered. You’re sweet on her, aren’t you?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” he said quickly, if not entirely truthfully.

“Then what is it like?” she asked suspiciously.

He hesitated, then said, “Okay, I owe it to you to tell you what I have in mind since Sarah works for you. I’m thinking of asking her to go on the air in the mornings. She’s great with all your customers. She shows a real interest in their lives and they all talk a mile a minute when she’s around.”

Once again, Grace’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “You don’t have to sell me. That’s a wonderful idea. She’d be perfect hosting a talk show right here in town.”