After chewing and swallowing, Karly nodded. ‘Lots to tell.’
‘Hey, do you know Heidi?’
‘I’ve seen her around town over the years, so I guess.’ More like she’d gone to great lengths to avoid the woman because Heidi had scared the bejeebies out of her when she was a kid. ‘Why?’
‘She keeps staring at you when she thinks no-one is looking. Maybe you should suss it out.’
‘I know Pop sold her house …’ Karly snapped her fingers. ‘He’s been seeing someone. I wonder if it’s her?’
‘You two should chat.’
The last thing Karly felt like doing was delving into her grandfather’s love life, but if her suspicions were correct, she wanted to suss out Heidi. She’d never forgotten their run-in years ago at one of the town’s picnics and hadn’t liked her since. Not that she held on to grudges but there was something about the woman that rubbed her up the wrong way.
‘She’s heading over here,’ Nev said. ‘Good luck.’
As her friend walked towards the kitchen where Summer, Jy, Rayne and Leo were dishing out the delicious-smelling Greek lamb and lemon potatoes, Heidi approached.
‘Hi, Karly. How are you?’
‘Fine. You?’
‘Good.’
With trite pleasantries exchanged, their conversation quickly petered out and Heidi appeared plain uncomfortable. But if Pop was dating her, Karly would make an effort.
‘I saw your house has sold? Congratulations.’
‘Thanks, your grandfather pulled off a miracle selling it so fast.’
‘He’s a great agent.’
‘Yes.’ Heidi blushed and Karly knew she’d been right: Heidi had a thing for Pop.
She’d never seen him date anyone in town so she studied Heidi, trying to figure out what was so special about this woman. She looked fit for her age in slim-fitting black jeans and a trendy purple paisley blouse, but her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail and she wore minimal makeup that accentuated her age, which Karly pegged to be around fifty or higher.
She could hedge but what was the point? She loved her grandfather and would always look out for him. Not that she thought Heidi was a gold-digger, considering she’d just sold her house, but if news had spread about Pop selling the agency, maybe money was a big part of this woman’s attraction to him.
‘Are you and my grandfather dating?’
Heidi’s blush deepened and she practically squirmed, casting a glance towards the kitchen as if sizing up how fast she could get away. ‘We’ve been seeing a bit of each other but I wouldn’t call it dating exactly. Why? Has he said something?’
‘Not to me, which is unusual.’
The implication was clear: if Heidi was important to Pop, he would’ve mentioned something to her.
‘Maybe he wants to keep things private until we figure out where this is going.’ Her gaze defiant, Heidi stared her down. Good for her.
‘You do know he’s considering leaving town?’
To her surprise, Heidi nodded, meaning she was closer to Pop than Karly first thought. ‘He told me.’
‘And that doesn’t bother you?’
‘We’ve only been seeing each other for a week, so not really.’ Heidi shrugged. ‘Besides, at our age we take each day as it comes.’
Karly didn’t like Heidi’s patronising tone or her trite platitude. ‘Your age? You’re younger than Pop by what? A few decades?’
‘And your point?’