by Lynn Cahoon
“See, that’s what happens when you keep secrets. If my mom’s brain hadn’t already been rattled by the chemo, she could have told me about that guy. Then I could have adjusted my plan and I wouldn’t have been waiting in that dirty alley for so long.” She looked at her watch. “Oops, I’ve overstayed my welcome. Time to get going. To finish the story, I waited for her to go to the bathroom, told her the guy was out back looking for her, and then I followed her out. She was blitzed. It almost wasn’t fun. She went down fast.”
Angie heard the crunch of tires on the gravel and, not waiting, dove for her car door. She got inside but didn’t get the door completely closed. Kendra fell on it, trying to open it and stabbing the knife through the small opening. Angie held on and glanced in her rearview mirror. She didn’t recognize the pickup behind her, but she did recognize Sheriff Brown and the officer who typically sat at the reception desk in the police station. She had just a minute to wonder why the guy who hated her would have volunteered to come out to save her, and then Kendra’s knife sliced her arm.
Pain shot through her system and she released the car door. Kendra hadn’t been expecting the release and she fell back, right into Sheriff Brown. After helping the sheriff cuff Kendra and moving the knife out of the way, the officer came over to Angie. He pulled out a napkin from his pocket and held it tightly to the cut.
“I should have waited and got my kit. You don’t have any blood bugs in there I should worry about, do you?” He smiled as he looked into Angie’s face. “You did great holding her off. When we got the call from Mrs. Potter, we weren’t sure we’d get here in time.”
Angie felt herself get woozy. “Mrs. Potter has blood bugs?”
He laughed, and the last words she heard before she passed out were “I guess I’ll have to trust you on that.”
* * * *
Angie awoke in a stark white hospital room. She glanced down at her arm, and it was wrapped in white gauze. She lifted it slightly and felt the ache from the cut again.
“Fifteen stitches. She got you good. That knife might be old, but it’s still sharp as heck.” Ian leaned forward into her vision.
“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to call.” Angie let her lips curve into a smile.
“Ha ha. I always come when my girlfriend has been stabbed and rushed to the hospital. It’s one of my charms. Are you all right?”
“And I bet you told all the nurses I was your girlfriend just so you could get in here.” She glanced around the room. “I think she just cut me once, right?”
“Allen and Phillip got there just in time. Kendra’s in a cage right now, but the girl is as crazy as her mother.” Ian looked back as the door opened. “Someone else is here waiting for you to wake up.”
Felicia came through the door with two coffee cups. She handed one to Ian. “Starbucks is on the first floor. And everyone was there, so the line was awful.”
He took the other cup from her. “Someone woke up.”
Squealing, Felicia pushed past him to Angie’s side. “Oh my. You scared the crap out of me, missy.”
“And that right there is why I took the second cup from you. I swear you two women get violent if someone comes between you.” Ian came around the other side of the bed and set both cups of coffee down. “The doctors said you were just out because of stress and loss of blood. If you’re feeling up to it, we’re cleared to take you home any time you’re ready.”
“Home would be great. Did anyone check on Dom? What time is it?” Angie sat up quickly, then felt the head rush and fell back down. “And Precious and Mabel are probably starving by now.”
“Erica called and said they checked in on Dom and fed the rest of the crew.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, we have your back.”
“It’s going to be challenging cooking tomorrow night with this arm.” She glanced at Felicia. “But that doesn’t mean we need Ken back. That guy was a disaster.”
Felicia held up a hand. “I get it. I learned my lesson. I’ve hired a temp dishwasher to come in for the next couple of weeks while you get better. And with Estebe back next week, you should be able to take a day or so off.”
“I’m not looking for a vacation.”
Both Ian and Felicia laughed. Ian took her hand. “Seriously? You were just stabbed by a murderous prom queen and all you’re thinking about is how to get back to work?”
This time when Angie sat up, her head felt clearer and she felt stronger. “People got to eat. I’ll take it easy tomorrow and just expedite. I’ll move Matt over to head chef for the night and have Hope fill in his spot. I promise I won’t lift anything heavier than a plate.”
“Well, then, let’s get you out of here.” A nurse was standing by the bed. Angie hadn’t seen her come into the room but relaxed as she checked the bandage on her arm. “The doctor is reviewing your chart, and as soon as I get these tubes out of you, you’ll be good as new. I’ll bring in the discharge instructions in a few minutes. Who’s your primary doctor?”
“I guess Dr. Ashley Blaine. I mean, that’s who Nona saw, and that’s the last doctor I had in the area.” Angie hadn’t even thought about setting up a doctor relationship.
“That will work. I’ll make a note to have these records sent over to her office.” The nurse busied herself taking Angie’s vitals and making notes in her tablet. Finally, she smiled. “I’ll send the doctor in as soon as he’s available, then you’re out of here. I’ve got reservations for the County Seat in a month. I’ve been looking forward to it.”
“Make sure you ask for me, I’ll come out of the kitchen to see you.” Angie leaned back and smiled as the nurse left the small room.
“Not the best way to gain more customers, but you do know how to work a room.” Felicia grinned, sipping her coffee.
Angie smiled but didn’t feel the emotion. “I really can’t believe this whole mess. What’s going to happen to them?”
“Allen has Kendra locked in a cage, next to her mother. One more arrest and his jail will be completely booked. The district attorney is working on getting them transferred to Ada County. And don’t worry, the judge already denied bail for both. Stephen has been quiet but I hear he’s hired a good law firm for both of them.” Ian sat on the side of the bed and held her hand.
“Supporting them must be hard since it’s his family that they went after. I bet Javier is giving him a hard time.” Felicia pulled out some fresh clothes from the tote she took off the floor. “I packed you fresh clothes before I drove in. These are my favorite yoga pants and T-shirt, so try not to bleed on them.”
“Thanks.” Angie closed her eyes. “At least the hard part is over for the family. Javier’s back and not a suspect in Heather’s murder anymore. The rest they can sort out with time.”
“And the knife she used against you is apparently also from Papa Diaz’s collection, although his collection is getting smaller and smaller since it’s now part of the evidence chain against Kendra.” Ian rubbed her hand. “I think this festival is going to be a little different for a lot of people.”
Chapter 22
Angie was relaxing over a cup of coffee. She’d slept later than she’d expected, probably due to the drugs they’d given her. She’d have to watch the painkillers and only take them at night to help her sleep while the cut mended. This morning, she’d taken an over-the-counter product and although the pain was still there, it had taken the edge off so it was just an annoyance. She had to go into town soon and help the crew get ready for the County Seat’s Friday service.
A knock came to her door, and before she could move, Erica peeked her head in. “Hope you’re decent and up for visitors. I couldn’t hold her back any longer.” She stepped out of view and Mrs. Potter pushed her walker through the door.
She slapped at Erica’s hands. “I can do this. You just go get that platter.”
Angie started to rise, but Mrs. P
otter waved her down. “You just sit, girl. I can’t believe they let you out of the hospital yesterday. Did they not understand that crazy woman tried to kill you? I saw you come home. I can see the side of the house through my sewing room window. But I guess I didn’t see her drive up. I was planning to come over and talk to you.”
“Thank goodness you were watching for me. Ian said you called the police.” Angie patted Mrs. Potter’s arm as she sat next to her. “I’m so grateful. I’m not sure how much longer I could have held her off.”
“I called the police right after she pulled the knife on you. I should have called sooner, maybe you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” Mrs. Potter’s gaze dropped to Angie’s arm. “Is it bad?”
“Not really. I have stitches and I’ll probably have a scar, but that just makes me interesting, right?” Angie nodded to the coffeepot. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“I’m done with coffee for the morning. Besides, tea goes better with what I brought over. I found it in my recipe book and thought you might enjoy having this.” She pulled out an index card and handed it to her.
The card was old and stained with some sort of food spills, but Angie recognized Nona’s handwriting instantly. On the top of the card, she’d written the words Fried Green Tomatoes. Angie’s heart leaped. She glanced down the list of ingredients and nodded. She had forgotten a couple and had the wrong amounts for others, but this was her Nona’s recipe. “I can’t believe you found this.”
“When you said you were working on the recipe, I wondered if Margaret had given me her recipe once upon a time. It took me a while to find it. The woman was always a better cook than I was. It made me want to hate her, if I hadn’t loved her so much.”
Erica came back in the kitchen with a covered platter. The smell of the food made Dom sit up in his bed. She set it on the table, then went to the cabinet to get plates and forks. “Ta-da!”
Angie lifted up the cover, and a steaming bunch of tomatoes battered and fried to a just right shade of brown sat in front of her. Two bowls of sauce flanked the pile of tomatoes. “This is perfect.”
She speared several pieces onto her plate and drizzled first the spicy vinegar-based barbecue sauce, then the sour cream sauce. The smells mixed, and for a moment, she thought she saw her Nona standing by the stove smiling at her.
“Get some iced tea poured,” Mrs. Potter instructed Erica, and Angie saw the smile widen on her Nona’s face.
“Always the bossy one.” Nona’s words came to her as if she was really standing there watching the scene. Angie ducked her head to hide her grin and then took a bite of the treat in front of her and was transported back to a memory where Nona was standing at her old stove, talking to Angie about life and boys and being her own self. She’d been the one to transport Angie’s career goals from fashion designer or career businesswoman to chef. This time Angie was in the kitchen watching and helping her with whatever was on the menu for them or the church picnic or a family in need.
“It’s perfect,” Angie said as she opened her eyes and realized both Mrs. Potter and Erica were watching her and holding their breath.
Mrs. Potter nodded. “Of course it is. I might not be able to make up recipes like your grandmother could, but I’m excellent at following directions.”
Erica set a glass of tea in front of Angie and then sat and filled her own plate. “Tell us about the fight with a killer. Did she try to stab you more than once?”
Her neighbors stayed, polished off the fried green tomatoes, and chatted for at least an hour. After having her clean up the dishes, Mrs. Potter sent Erica out to feed Precious and Mabel and water the garden.
After the door closed, she turned to Angie. “I was wrong about Erica. You were right to try to protect me.”
“No, I wasn’t.” Angie shook her head. “I should have trusted you to be strong enough to deal with a problem, even when that problem was out of both our control.”
“She’s very dear to me, and when I thought what might have happened? I swear my heart twisted in my chest. But you’re also dear to me, and I hope my tantrum isn’t going to affect our friendship.” She smiled softly. “I treasured my friendship with Margaret. I hope we can have one just as strong.”
Angie squeezed Mrs. Potter’s hand. “We already do.”
After they’d left, Angie went into the living room and added the recipe card to the pile of papers she was turning into Nona’s Cookbook. The recipes were all her grandmother’s, with a few tweaks from her in the side notes. It was like the two of them were writing the book together. She sat and reviewed the piles she currently had, sorting them into file folders by chapters. Desserts, appetizers, veggie dishes—she had piles for several but wasn’t completely sure of the organization. If she added all of these, the book would be too long to publish. She needed to settle on a theme, so she took her notebook and pen and started brainstorming.
An hour later, she had the theme: Memories of Nona. Not just her memories, but Mrs. Potter’s and Mr. Eisenhower’s favorite potato salad. She could do little interview snippets from community members, and in one project, her Nona would live forever.
Pleased with the progress she’d made, she ran upstairs to take a quick shower, trying to keep her bandaged arm dry by tying on a small garbage bag. After a few false starts, she was ready to go into town. Since her arm was screaming, she took two more pills. By the end of the night, she’d be ready for the stronger drugs waiting for her on her bedside table.
* * * *
Saturday night was just about ready to go into the books when Felicia called her out to the dining room. “You have a guest who wants to talk to you.”
Instead of heading to a table, they went to the bar where Ander Diaz sat. Ian also sat a few stools away, and she met his gaze, then he nodded, letting her know that he’d wait to talk to her.
“Miss Turner.” Ander turned toward her and stood as she walked up. He took her shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks. “The local Basque community owes you a big favor. You risked your life to protect the innocent, and that is a noble action.”
“I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Angie shrugged, uncomfortable with the accolades.
“Carlotta was out of her mind from the stress she was facing. But Kendra, she always was a tricky one. Even in Basque school I would get reports of her being mean to others. Carlotta thought she grew out of her selfishness, but maybe that’s just a stain on the soul you never grow out of.”
He paused, looking at her. “But you, you are a good soul and a welcome visitor to our family any time.”
“I appreciate it.” She glanced around the dining room. “My family is here, in this restaurant.”
“So we have a member in common. I am glad Estebe found a friend in you. He’s a talented and thoughtful man.” Anders glanced back at Ian. “I would make a case for him, but it looks like you are already taken.”
Angie could feel the heat on her face. Glancing in the bar back mirror, even in the dim light, she could see the pulsing red on her face. She smiled in Ian’s direction. “Yes, I guess I am.”
Taking that as his cue to join the conversation, Ian moved next to her. Holding out his hand to greet the patriarch, he slid the other arm around Angie’s waist. “Mr. Diaz, so good to see you.”
Men, Angie thought. Always trying to show ownership of something that wasn’t really to be owned by one person at all. It was a joint venture, a relationship, and she leaned into him to prove that as well.
“I was just about to invite Angie to the street dance tonight. With you as her guest, of course. We’ll be closing up the festival with several bands the younger generation selected with the festival planners. I would have brought in some old-country singers, but I guess the world changes.” He shrugged, amused at his release of the decisions.
“What about it, Angie? You feel up to some fun?” Ian stared down into h
er eyes. “You’ve had a pretty tough few weeks.”
“It sounds wonderful. We just have a few more tickets to get out, and then Felicia and I will be ready to go.” She grinned at Ian. “I can bring her along, right?”
“What’s one more person?” Anders stood and gave each of them a big hug. He paused as he looked at Angie. “I want you to know that I owe you a great debt. Anything you want or need, you only have to contact me and it is yours.”
Ian and Angie watched as Ander threw a twenty on the bar and made his way to the door, where his driver stood from the bench and opened the door for him.
“You know you don’t have to go. I’m sure you’re beat.” Ian pushed a wayward strand of hair out of her face.
Angie caught sight of Felicia, who was helping clear plates and chatting with the few remaining customers. “I want to go. I think we all could use a little fun tonight. Wait here for me and I’ll get this night closed up. You want me to make you something to eat?”
“I actually made my dinner before I came down tonight.”
“You cooked?” Angie looked at him, speechless.
He squirmed under her watchful gaze. “Well, not really. I had a ham sandwich and a bag of chips.”
“My offer still stands. You want some real food?” She paused, waiting for his answer.
He sat back at the bar and sipped what looked like a soda. “I’m good. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
It took longer than a few minutes to get away from the restaurant, but soon the three of them were in Ian’s truck, making the drive to Boise.
When they reached the street festival, the crowd was already filling the streets and the music rocking.
Felicia grinned and pointed across the crowd toward a corn dog stand near the band stage. “I can’t believe Taylor is here. Now, there’s someone I need to talk to. I’ll text you if I need a ride home, but I think I’m good.”
