The following day, Robin woke early to prepare breakfast before the rest of the house woke up. As he made his way down the stairs, he was disappointed to find Jo again sitting at the kitchen table with Cookie on her lap, already waiting with her basket of eggs.

"Good morning, Mr. Robin! I have eggs for you in case you change your mind about making sunny side up eggs again this morning."

"Thank you, Jo, but I think I'll save the eggs for something I'll make later," Robin replied, washing his hands in the sink. "Would you mind putting them down in the root cellar for me until I need them?

"Okay," Jo muttered dejectedly, moping out of the kitchen with her basket of eggs.

Robin smiled to himself as he walked over to the icebox. It was a bit strange. For a minute, he felt almost as if he was in surgery again, asking his assistant to prepare him the tools he needed, but this time, instead of life and death, the only thing at stake was a bad breakfast.

Jo returned a minute later without the eggs, trudging back to her seat to watch Robin work.

Since Robin was worried that he was, once again, the last person to wake up, Robin decided to make an easy fruit salad recipe he had found in an old cookbook. An easy enough meal with the abundance pears in the house. It was a bit simple, but due to his hurry, and since Miss Holly had yet to buy food at the market, he was limited in the recipes he could use.

As Robin cut into the fruit, he felt a tingling in his arms.

I think I might be enjoying this. Robin thought to himself, trying to hold back a smile.

Although Robin doubted he would return to London at the end of this trip and leave behind being a doctor to pursue cooking, he noted that it could be enjoyable to start making meals for himself instead of relying entirely on his staff. Robin thought back to some of the meals his mother made when he was a boy, wondering if he could make those meals for himself one day.

As Robin began mixing the fruit salad, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"I'll answer it," Jo said, exchanging a suspicious glance with Robin.

Jo turned her head to the side and placed her hands side by side in front of her right eye. Suddenly, her fingers shot open, and her eye seemed to see something past Robin. Robin mused that this must be how she could look through the door knocker as she had when he had first arrived.

After a moment, Jo let out a loud, frustrated groan as she dropped her hands, slumping off her chair and stomping over to the bottom of the stairs.

"Miss Holly! Dexter's at the door!" Jo yelled, doing nothing to hide the annoyance in her voice.

In the instant that followed, Robin heard several loud crashes, followed by Miss Holly flying down the stairs.

As she arrived in the kitchen, Robin was pleased to find  that he wasn't the last person to wake up. Miss Holly had run into the kitchen in an oversized velvet nightgown, her hair falling out of a loose braid over one of her shoulders.

Jo followed her into the kitchen, rolling her eyes and sitting dramatically back in her seat.

"How do I look?" Miss Holly asked frantically, looking between Robin and Jo. She pulled the braid back and wrapped it behind her head. Seemingly pinning her hair back with magic instead of using pins.

Miss Holly started pulling at the oversized nightgown this way and that, changing it into various styles and shapes of dress, with Jo shaking her head at the different styles. Miss Holly glanced occasionally at Robin as well, as if to gauge his opinion.

"It's not like it matters," Jo muttered, before giving a defeated sigh. "I like how you have it now."

"Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much, Jo," Miss Holly said, letting out a relieved breath, again using her magic to pin the dress into place before hurrying to the door.

"Oh, my stars! Good morning, Dexter," Miss Holly cooed, sounding uncharacteristically shy and overly cheerful.

Robin looked over at Jo, who shook her head, annoyed. He noticed that Cookie continued to sit in Jo's lap. Her only reaction to the guest was letting out a big huff in irritation, seeming uninterested in this new guest. This seemed a bit strange to Robin, as he had thought Cookie was a friendly dog, given Cookie's reaction to meeting him a couple of days ago.

"Ah yes. Hello Miss. Good Morning," Robin heard the young gentleman say, trailing behind Miss Holly as she led him to the kitchen.

Robin could only explain the face Miss Holly was making as whimsically giddy; it almost made him laugh.

"Dexter" was a very tall and reasonably attractive young man, with curly blonde hair that fell past his ears and a chiseled face that looked like something from an ancient sculpture. Mr. Dexter also had a distant, almost dead look behind the eyes, which might have also helped with that resemblance. Although the man was dressed respectfully, Robin couldn't tell Mr. Dexter's occupation by looking at him, since his clothes were not quite refined enough to be a wealthy man, yet not work worn enough to appear to be a farmer. As Robin returned to his cooking, he couldn't help but wonder what this man's connection was to Sunshine Acres.

"Is Ivy home?" Dexter asked, looking past Miss Holly as his blank eyes darted around the kitchen.

Robin's eyebrows shot up at the man's question. He paused in his meal preparation to glance at the group at the kitchen table. Miss Holly was frozen, as if just as shocked as Robin, her eyes filled with disappointment.

When Miss Holly first ran into the room earlier, Robin had only passively noticed that she wasn't wearing the usual makeup he had seen her wear the last couple of days. Her face was now more inconsistent pink instead of the carefully planned blush, her eyelashes light and less noticeable, with dark circles under her eyes that had been previously concealed. Robin wouldn't say she looked ugly without her makeup or even so much different that one might confuse her for someone else, especially given the current situation. Robin couldn't tell if Dexter was trying to take a jab at Miss Holly or just an idiot.

However, judging by the look on Jo's face, Robin could tell that this wasn't out of character for this man. Jo obviously viewed Mr. Dexter as an annoying idiot. Still, it surprised Robin that this man would be so bold as to say something like that in Miss Holly's house, with a woman (who looked very much like Miss Holly letting him in the door.

"Oh-Ah, Yes... Just one second...I'll... go get her." Miss Holly replied, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"You must be her sister, right? Miss Holly?" Mr. Dexter replied, not looking her in the eye as he picked at something on the table.

"Miss Holly..." Jo scoffed under her breath.

"Oh... um, yes. I'm only in town for a few days..." Miss Holly laughed awkwardly. " and.. um...So is Mr. Robin over there, he's another guest at Sunshine Acres. His brother is soon coming to town to interview Miss Holly for a fancy paper on her jewelry business. Mr. Robin, this is Mr. Dexter Carlson. Adel's most promising musician!" Miss Holly said, trying to impress and divert Dexter's attention as she began creeping out the kitchen doorway, smoothly redirecting his attention towards Robin.

"Oh? Really, for a paper?" Mr. Dexter asked, turning towards Robin. In the corner of his eye, Robin noticed Miss Holly at the stairway making dramatic hand motions as if asking Robin to keep Mr. Dexter's attention while she went upstairs to change.

Jo, who could not see Miss Holly, seemed to know what was likely happening behind her on the staircase. She rolled her eyes again before looking at Robin to listen to his response.

"Ah, yes. My brother is doing research for the University of Connecticut," Robin said, trying to keep his explanation not too far from the possible truth.

"And you two are coming all this way to Adel and interview Ivy for that?" Mr. Dexter scoffed, seeming amused by the idea. "I didn't realize she was such a big deal," Mr. Dexter murmured, raising his eyebrows as he cast a judgmental glance around the kitchen before shooting a knowing smirk back at Robin.

Robin just gave a polite smile back, not sure how to respond to the man's obvious sarcasm.

"Between you and me," Dexter continued, " There are plenty of other people that can do just as good of jewelry work twenty miles east. Over in the city of Des Moines," Mr. Dexter said, lowering his voice and leaning towards Robin. "I can give you some of their contacts if you want. Get you out of this house faster," Mr. Dexter added with a quiet laugh and a slight nod as he leaned back arrogantly in his chair.

Robin glanced at Jo, who was doing a fine job holding back whatever th young girl's eyes told Robin she wanted to say to the man.

"Well," Robin said, a bit uncomfortable, trying not to be rude to either the man in front of him or disrespectful to his host. "It's my brother's paper... so I am sure he will do whatever he wishes. I have no part in it."

"Ah, I see.," Mr. Dexter said, shrugging at Robin's rejection."So, what is your occupation? A cook, then?" Mr. Dexter asked as he nodded at the bowl Robin was using to make the fruit salad.

"Ah. No, not at all," Robin said hurriedly, suddenly very insecure about his newfound occupation. "I am actually a doctor from Kingsbury."

"Hah!" Mr. Dexter shouted, as if it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Looking at Robin as if they were in on the same joke. "And they have you cooking? No way!" The man laughed again, slapping the table in amusement.

"Man, I didn't know such a cruel woman lived here. You poor man, for them to force you into doing such a thing for them."

Jo's face had turned such a shade of red, that it looked like she was about to burst.

Robin tilted his head; a bit of Jo's annoyance had spread to him.

"Why?" Robin said, smiling, "Because it's too hard? I assure you, it's nothing a trained doctor can't handle."

Normally, Robin might have laughed such a thing off, but he felt a bit guilty that the little girl in the room had just been backhandedly called cruel.

Mr. Dexter raised his eyebrows, but his cocky smile remained on his face, unconvinced.

Robin maintained his polite smile as he stirred the bowl in his hands. "What is it that you do, Mr. Dexter?"

"No, I just mean..." Mr. Dexter laughed, seemingly at a loss for words. "No, I'm sure it's not hard at all. But it's got to be humiliating, right? What reason would a man have to stoop so low for a bunch of women?"

Robin paused his stirring.

Jo let out a frustrated laugh as she rose to her knees to point her finger in Mr. Dexter's face.

"The same reason you have to wipe your ass, even though each day more shit spews out of your mouth, Dexter!" Jo shouted, her small round face  red with anger. "You are not more cool than Mr. Robin, Dexter! Just because you think certain things are beneath you!' The young girl threw her ands up and and rolled her eyes, "'Oh! I'm a town musician. I'm so handsome, and everyone is obsessed with me! But secretly, I can only play the guitar and be mean to people. yadayadayada. " Jo mocked, leaning over Dexter and speaking in a mocking tone.

Dexter scoffed. "That's obviously no-"

"You know what Miss Holly always says?" Jo interrupted. "People that talk like you just talk like that to show how easy it would be to shoot their ego down...but I don't know why you have an ego in the first place, Dexter, since you suck at everything."

Robin raised his eyebrows at Jo, amused at the small girl's interference. It had only been a short conversation between him and Dexter, but Robin could see why Jo hated this man so much.

"Hey, now! Jo, what did I say about using profanity in the house?" Miss Holly said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled upon the three as she returned down the stairs. Miss Holly made her way into the kitchen wearing a long, light pink skirt and cream blouse, her hair and makeup done more meticulously than he had seen in the days before.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jo said, still fuming. She got down from the chair to leave the room before scooping Cookie up to take with her. "I'll be sure not to curse next time."

"Very good," Miss Holly cheered, clapping and laughing awkwardly as Jo left the room."Ah.. you know... children..."

"You need to do a better job with her, Ives. She is wholly disrespectful and unladylike," Dexter spat, disgusted.

"Yes, well..." Miss Holly laughed, seeming a bit uncomfortable. "She likes to speak her mind."

Robin wanted to speak up against the annoying man like Jo did. However, Robin knew any retort he could come up with wouldn't be better than what he had heard from the nine-year-old a few seconds prior.

Dexter scoffed. "Do you have the ring for me?" He asked bluntly, not meeting Miss Holly's eyes, as if he didn't care whether Miss Holly was in the room at all, despite coming all this way to see her.

"Yes, of course...here it is!" Miss Holly said, delicately pulling a small ring box from her skirt pocket.

Robin stole a glance at the ring inside once Miss Holly pulled open the box lid. It was made of black silver metal, intricately designed with wheat carvings, and littered with tiny green stones, the same kind he had seen on her necklace and earrings the previous day. Robin thought the ring was charming, even better work than what Miss Holly had shown him before.

"Wow, nice work, Ives," Dexter said, picking the ring out of the box to admire it.

Miss Holly's ears turned red and she let out a shy giggle. "Thank you! I had hoped you would like it!"

Dexter chuckled, "It's perfect. The design looks similar to the necklace you made me. You know, Corrine always says she wants a necklace just like it for herself."

Dexter held up the thin chain necklace with a small pendant that lay around his neck. The pendant was similar in design to the ring, but with a larger green stone at its center and metal wheat enclosing it.

"Ah yes, Corrine is always begging me for one," Miss Holly laughed shyly. " but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Business has been hectic-"

"When I show her this ring, she gonna be extra impressed," Dexter interrupted, shoving the box in his pocket.

"I'm so glad you think so!" Miss Holly replied with a giggle, "I personally think it's one of my best works yet." 

"How much do I owe you for it?"

"Oh, no! It's fine; you can have it," Miss Holly mumbled, shrugging her shoulders. "Just be sure to wear it at all of your shows, and show it off as much as you can for me," she added with a laugh, "it will pay for itself in advertisements, I am sure!"

"Well, thanks again, Ives. You spoil me." Dexter cooed, winking at her. Robin felt his stomach recoil at the sight. "See you at the show next week?"

"Ah, yes! I'll be there!" Miss Holly said sweetly, tucking a loose hair behind her ear.

"Great," Dexter replied with a nod as he walked back out of the kitchen.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Robin," Dexter called before walking out the front door, slamming it behind himself.

Holly stood in the kitchen staring at the door for a minute, fidgeting with her hands.

"That man's an idiot," Jo grumbled, suddenly returning to the kitchen from the mudroom.

"An attractive one," Miss Holly sighed, sitting down. "and the only single man my age for miles." Miss Holly added, putting her chin in her palm and looking dreamily out the window. "A handsome, unwed man my age who keeps returning to buy my jewelry," Miss Holly mused with a giggle.

"He's not buying it if you keep giving it to him for free," Jo said sternly. Almost as if she was the adult in the situation and Miss Holly was the child.

Miss Holly ignored her and got up from the table, joyfully ascending back up the stairs.

Jo shook her head with a sigh and sat back down at the table.

After Miss Holly's footsteps faded from the stairs. Jo lept back up and hurried over to where Robin was, pulling on his shirt and whispering, as if letting him in on a juicy secret. "Dexter's gonna give that ring to Corrine."

"Who's Corrine?' Robin whispered back. Having heard the name earlier in Dexter's and Miss Holly's conversation. He couldn't help but feel a bit left out, as having only been in Adel a few days, he had yet to meet all the locals.

"That's Dexter's old music teacher from when he was a teenager, who now is the singer of his band," Jo shook her head dramatically. "Miss Holly doesn't think anything is going on between them since Corrine is significantly older, AND-" Jo lowered her voice even more, "and since Corrine is Miss Holly's friend and knows that Miss Holly has such a big crush on him," Jo paused as if considering whether or not to tell Robin all of what she knew, "but I saw Dexter and Corrine together on the trolley the other day on the way back from school an - "

Footsteps sounded on the stairs again, and Jo hurried back to her seat. Miss Holly appeared again in the kitchen wearing a different outfit, this time a dark red skirt and a cream top, with a vest decorated with diamond tulips around the bottom of it . Miss Holly now had a spark in her eyes as she smiled at him, which gave Robin a pang of pity in his heart when he saw it.

Robin wasn't sure who to feel worse for in this situation. Miss Holly, or the idiot who just left out the front door.