William placed his sandwich in his lap, wiped his mouth and looked at his mother. “Okay, out with it, Mom.”

“What?” Dixie said, a mouthful of chicken salad blocking her from saying much else. She widened her eyes so much that she could feel her eyebrows raise an ungodly amount. Surely, he wasn’t buying her fake innocent look.

“I know you brought me out here to talk about something. What is it?”

She wiped her mouth. “Darlin’, I came to eat lunch with my only son and finally take a ride in his boat. Why do you always assume the worst about me? It’s very hurtful, William.”

He chuckled. “I see why you flunked high school theater.”

“That was because Mrs. Calhoun hated me. She was jealous of my hair. I’ll believe that ’til the day I die.”

“Mom.” His firm tone let Dixie know she was treading on thin ice. And after all the years they didn’t speak, she wasn’t willing to risk upsetting him like that again. Honesty was the best policy in this situation.

“Okay, fine. Maybe I did want to talk to you about something, but I also came to see you and ride in your boat.”

“Spit it out, Mom.”

“Well, son, it’s just that I’m worried about you… and Janine.”

He looked at her, confusion on his face. “What about me and Janine? Things are going great with us.”

“Are you sure, honey? I mean, are you certain that Janine feels that way?”

He put his food on the seat beside him and leaned forward. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s just that women… well, some women… especially of a certain age… well, they want things… and men don’t always see it for what it is…”

“Have you taken your medication today?”

“What?”

“You’re stammering like you can’t get your words out.”

She sighed and threw her hands in the air. “Janine wants to get married! Okay? I said it. And it wasn’t my place to say it!”

“Then why are you saying it?”

“Because you weren’t getting any of my hints!”

They both stopped and took a deep breath. “Who told you that? Janine?”

“Of course not!”

“Then who?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it matters. I need to know if it was a reputable source.”

Dixie nodded her head. “Oh, honey, it was a very reputable source.”

“Mom, tell me.”

She hung her head. “It was Julie.”

“Julie told you that Janine wants to get married?”

“No. She told Dawson. I just overheard the conversation. She thought I’d left the shop, and she was chatting with Dawson on the phone.”

“So you were eavesdropping.”

“Not on purpose.”

“Did you tell her you overheard the conversation?”

Dixie shook her head. “Didn’t seem necessary. Look, I’m not SuAnn. I don’t go around gossiping, but this seemed important enough to tell you.”

He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. “I mean, we’ve talked about marriage a few times, but things have just been going so well that it didn’t occur to me that there was a rush or anything.”