Free Barbecue and Bad News by Nancy Naigle Page B

trunk on her car and pulled out a box wrapped in glossy white-and-silver paper. She’d wrapped up a couple of bottles of wine as a gift for the wedding festivities this weekend, so rather than let them go to waste, she figured she’d take one of them to thank Connor and Carolanne for inviting her to the cookout. Good wine would’ve gone to waste on her ex anyway. He was strictly a Miller Lite kind of guy, unless he’d changed, and that wasn’t likely.
    She ripped away the glossy paper, then retied the white tulle into a presentable bow around one of the bottles. Comfortable with the casual transformation, she placed the bottle in the passenger seat and then set the directions in her lap for the short drive to the artisan center. Why they hadn’t just given her a street address that she could type into her GPS was beyond her, but the directions looked easy enough to follow.
    There wasn’t much traffic on Route 58, so it took less than ten minutes to get there. The artisan center was well marked and the building hard to miss with its bright-blue roof. She pulled her car into an open parking space on the side of the building where Connor had said they’d meet her. Connor had mentioned that he and Carolanne lived in the new neighborhood that backed up to the center, Bridle Path Estates. It looked like it was all Connor had described it as—homey, understated, and charming. Only a few houses dotted the landscape, although several plots were flagged off and ready for breaking ground on construction. Even so, the lots were large. A few acres at least. Neighborly with enough space for privacy. The best of both worlds.
    She got out of her car to wait. Rainbow-colored tents lined the lawn near a pond. Lots of people were already milling around. A corn hole tournament was in full swing at one end, and some kids played good old-fashioned Frisbee near the pond. It looked like it could be fun, and the weather was perfect for it.
    Connor pulled his car into the spot right next to her. “Hey there,” he said as he got out. “Have you been here long?”
    “No. I just got here.”
    A stunning redhead got out of the passenger seat. “It’s so nice to meet you, Savannah. Connor told me that you’re staying upstairs for a few days. Any trouble getting here?”
    “None at all.” Savannah handed her the bottle of wine. “Wasn’t sure if this would be appropriate or not, but I wanted to at least thank you for inviting me.”
    “That was so nice of you.” She twisted the bottle and read the label. “Made right here in Virginia. I can’t wait to try it. That was so thoughtful of you.” She put it in the backseat of the car. “You’ll have to stop by and enjoy that with us while you’re here. We live just across the way. You can see our place from here.” She pointed across the pond.
    “Lovely home.”
    “Thanks,” Carolanne said. “Well, let’s head on down. I promised Jill I’d help her if things were crazy this morning, but it looks like everything is running smoothly.”
    Savannah fell in step next to Connor and Carolanne, down the slope toward the activities.
    Carolanne raised her arm in the air and waved to a couple across the way. “There’s Jill and Garrett. They’re great, you’ll love them. Jill runs the Artisan Center.”
    “Great. It’ll be nice to meet her,” said Savannah. “This is all quite an accomplishment.”
    “Jill dreamed of building this center for as long as I can remember. We grew up here together. She lived with her grandmother after her parents died.”
    Savannah swallowed hard. She knew exactly how it felt to lose your parents. “The location is perfect,” she said, trying to sound light.
    “All of this land used to belong to her grandmother. When she died she left it to Jill and Garrett. Only they weren’t together at the time. Long story short, Pearl Clemmons did a little matchmaking from beyond the grave and we all are living happily ever after.”
    “Pearl sounds like a