The following day, Robin rose early, hoping to finish breakfast before the rest of the house woke.

 But, as he made his way down the stairs, he was disappointed to find Jo 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 them again this morning."

"Thank you, Jo, but I think I'll save the eggs for 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?"

"Yes, Mr. Robin," Jo muttered dejectedly, moping out of the kitchen with her basket of eggs.

Robin smiled to himself as he walked over to the icebox. 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 worried that he was, once again, the last person to wake up, he decided to make a simple 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 basic for breakfast, but due to his hurry and Miss Holly having 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 joyful tingling in his arms. Enjoying such a simplistic task, and trying to hold back his 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 mumbled, exchanging a suspicious glance with Robin.

Jo turned her head to the side and placed both her hands in front of her right eye. Suddenly, her fingers shot open, and her eye peered out, as if looking at something over Robin's shoulder. 

Robin observed that this must be how she looked through the door knocker 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 slumping back into her seat.

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

Miss Holly then started pulling at the oversized nightgown, 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, "but..I like how you have it now."

"Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much, Jo," Miss Holly muttered, letting out a relieved breath, quickly 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 glanced over at Jo, who shook her head, annoyed.

He noticed Cookie still sat in Jo's lap, her only reaction a big huff of irritation, wholly uninterested in this new guest. This seemed a 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.

Mr. "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, dead look behind the eyes—which might have helped with the 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, lazily 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 over 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, given the current situation. Robin couldn't tell if Dexter was trying to take a jab at Miss Holly... or just an idiot.

Judging by the scowl on Jo's face, it seemed the later was true. 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) having escorted him through the door.

"Oh-Ah... Yes... Just one second...I'll... go get her," Miss Holly mumbled, 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...so is Mr. Robin, over there. He's another guest at Sunshine Acres. His brother is coming to town to interview Miss Ivy for a fancy paper on her jewelry business. Mr. Robin, this is Mr. Dexter Carlson. Adel's most promising musician!" Miss Holly introduced, trying to impress and divert Dexter's attention to Robin as she began creeping out the kitchen doorway.

"Oh? Really, for a paper?" Mr. Dexter asked, turning towards Robin. In the corner of Robin's eye, he noticed Miss Holly at the stairway making dramatic hand motions  in his direction, 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 happening behind her on the staircase. The child dramatically rolled her eyes again before setting her face into her hands, watching Robin, and awaiting his response.

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

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

Robin blinked at the man's words, choosing to just give a polite smile in response. He was not sure how to handle 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," he added with a quiet laugh, giving Robin a slight nod as he leaned back arrogantly in his chair.

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

"Well," Robin replied, a bit uncomfortable. Trying to choose his words carefully so not to be rude to the man in front of him, or disrespectful to his hosts. "It's my brother's paper... so he will do whatever he wishes. I have no part in it."

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

"Ah. No, not at all," Robin chuckled awkwardly, suddenly made insecure about his newfound occupation. "I am actually a doctor from Kingsbury."

"Hah!" Mr. Dexter shouted, his outburst echoing off the kitchen walls. The man's smile growing as if Robin's words was the funniest thing he had ever heard. "And they have you cooking? No way!" The man laughed again, looking at Robin as if they were in on the same joke as he slapped the table in amusement.

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

Jo's face had slowly turned such a deep shade of red, it looked like the child was about to burst.

Robin tilted his head; Jo's irritation was rubbing off on him. Normally, Robin might have laughed such a joke off, but he felt guilty that the little girl had just backhandedly been called cruel by this arrogant grown man.

"Why?" Robin replied, giving Mr. Dexter a confused smile, "because it's too hard? I assure you, it's nothing a trained doctor can't handle."

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

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

"No, I just mean..." Mr. Dexter laughed, momentarily 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 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 called from the stairway, breaking the awkward tenshion that had settled upon the three as she floated down the stairs. 

Miss Holly entered the kitchen wearing a long, light pink skirt and cream blouse, laying a gentle hand on Jo's shoulder. Her hair and makeup were now done more meticulously than Robin had seen in the days before, and her darkened lashes blinked down at Jo in a silent warning.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jo said, still fuming as she hopped down from the chair to leave the room,  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... children..."

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

Mr. 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 cheerfully, delicately pulling a small ring box from her skirt pocket.

Robin stole a glance at the ring as 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," Mr. Dexter mused, 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 hoped you would like it!"

Mr. Dexter chuckled, "It's perfect. The design looks just like the necklace you made me. You know, Corrine always talks about wanting a necklace just like it for herself."

Mr. Dexter held up the thin chain necklace with a small pendant that lay around his neck. The pendant matched the ring's design, with a larger green stone and dark metal wheat curling around 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," Mr. Dexter interrupted, shoving the box in his pocket.

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

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Robin," Mr. 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," she 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 the ring to Corrine."

"Who's Corrine?' Robin whispered back. He had overheard the name earlier in Mr.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 this woman.

"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 carefully lowered her voice even more, "and since Corrine is Miss Holly's friend and knows that Miss Holly has such a big crush on Dexter," the girl 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, when I was 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 reentered the kitchen with a spark in her eyes as she smiled at him, which gave Robin a pang of pity in his heart as he glanced away.

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