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.”
“You aren’t furious that I want to steal her?”
“Heavens, no! I love having her there, but her working for me was always temporary.”
Travis was surprised to hear that. “Why? She isn’t planning to leave town, is she?” He certainly hadn’t heard any rumors to that effect.
“No, but she’s put in her application to teach in the fall. I think she’s really looking forward to it.”
“Then I’ll just have to make her see that this opportunity is too good to miss,” Travis said.
“When are you planning on talking to her?”
“I wanted to speak to you first, and now that I have, I thought maybe I’d sit down with her right after I make the announcement about the station going on the air. Will that work with her schedule at Wharton’s today?”
“She’s all yours right after lunch,” Grace assured him. “We should be slowing down by one o’clock today, since so many people came in this morning and the rest will be over the minute you finish announcing your news. They’ll want to come in and chew it over, right along with their grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.”
“Then I’ll be by around one,” Travis told her. Impulsively, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Being supportive and understanding, not just about the radio station, but about Sarah.”
“Not a problem,” she said, then gave him a dark look. “But you show one sign of hurting that girl, and you won’t know what hit you.”
“Warning duly noted,” he said solemnly. He had the distinct feeling she was talking about a whole lot more than Sarah’s future in radio.
After an insanely busy morning, Sarah was relieved when everyone disappeared precisely at 10:00 a.m. to await Travis’s big announcement at the unveiling of his new business.
“Why don’t you go on over there and see what he’s up to,” Grace suggested. “I can handle things here. Nobody’s going to be setting foot in here until he’s finished talking, anyway.”
Sarah studied her suspiciously. “You already know, don’t you? That’s why he took you out of here this morning, so you could give this whole thing your blessing.”
Grace beamed. “Something like that.”
“And did you give him your blessing?”
“I did.” She shooed Sarah toward the door. “Go on. You know you’re dying of curiosity.”
“You could tell me yourself and I could stay right here and help you with setups for lunch.”
“Nope,” Grace said adamantly. “You need to hear this straight from the horse’s mouth.”
“Okay, fine,” she conceded eventually, stripping off her apron and going outside.
There was quite a crowd assembled on the green. She wondered if Walter had brought the kids into town for this. When he’d shown up on Thursday and announced he was staying through the weekend, she’d been startled, but not displeased. She’d never wanted to deny the kids a chance to spend time with their daddy, as long as they were here and not over in Alabama where the Prices could try to influence them against her. Though there were plenty of kids running around with balloons, she didn’t spot her two or Walter.
A platform had been set up on the sidewalk in front of the new business and an older man she didn’t recognize was tapping a microphone, sending ear-splitting screeches into the air. He gave the crowd a chagrined smile.
“Sorry,” he apologized when he had the controls adjusted. “Nice to see so many of you here this morning.”
As he spoke, Sarah heard some murmurs in the crowd. Apparently quite a few people recognized him.
He gave them a disarming grin as the murmurs spread. “I gather that those of you who didn’t recognize me at first are familiar with the sound of my voice. I’m Bill Roberts, longtime host of Top of the Morning, and previous owner of the oldies station over in the next county.”
A cheer erupted as he confirmed the guess that had been spreading through the crowd.
“Now did y’all listen real close to what I said?” he asked. “That’s previous owner.” He paused to let that sink in, then said, “And now I’d like to introduce you to the man who’s helping me to retire to a life of fishing, Mr. Travis McDonald, the brand-new owner of Serenity’s own radio station, WSER.”
Sarah gasped right along with everyone else.