“I’ll wash up and join you in a few minutes,” Chase said.
“Cricket, go add another place setting to the table,” Letty instructed her daughter.
“Can Uncle Lonny sit next to me?”
“I wouldn’t sit anywhere else,” Lonny said as the six-year-old followed her mother up the steps.
“Were you in town today?” Letty asked.
Lonny paused, unsure how much to tell his sister. “I just made a quick trip,” he said cautiously. He’d actually made two trips, but he didn’t point that out.
“Did you happen to run into Joy?”
He froze in midstep. “Why do you ask?”
Letty eyed him speculatively. “What is it with you two?” she demanded, hands on hips. “I asked Joy about you and she clammed right up.”
“Really?” Lonny played it cool. If she wasn’t talking, then he wasn’t, either. He didn’t know how many people had caught sight of the spectacle they’d made of themselves—and whether someone had tattled to Letty.
“I wish you and Joy would talk,” she said, in the same sisterly tone she’d used when they were kids. “It’s ridiculous the way you keep circling each other. One of you needs to be adult enough to discuss this.”
“I agree with you.” His response seemed to surprise her. What Letty didn’t know was that Lonny had already tried, and it hadn’t gotten him anywhere. He held open the screen door. “It’s obvious,” he said, tossing Letty a cocky smile. “The woman wants me.”
“The only thing that’s obvious to me, big brother, is that you’re so in love with her you can’t think straight.”
He laughed that off—but he was man enough to admit there was something between him and Joy. However, exactly what it was and how deep it went, not to mention how he should handle it, remained a mystery.
Letty walked into the kitchen and got him a cup of coffee. “You tried talking to her?”
Lonny took the mug and shook his head. He hadn’t spoken to Joy, not technically; he’d left her a note. Rather than explain, he didn’t answer the question. “Tell me about the auction. What’s it for?”
Letty studied him as he added sugar to his coffee. “I signed up to bring a pecan pie for a bake sale auction. The carnival committee needs operating capital, and we have to raise it quickly.”
“You aren’t going to sell the goodies the way you normally do?” That was a disappointment. An auction would drive up the prices. Lonny had a sweet tooth and he was generally first in line for a bake sale. This pie might prove to be expensive.
“If you want the pecan pie, you’re going to have to bid on it like everyone else,” his sister gleefully informed him. “Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until next Thanksgiving.”
Head down, Lonny muttered a few words he didn’t want Cricket or his sister to hear.
“I was at a meeting about the bake sale this afternoon,” Letty said as he leaned his hip against the kitchen counter. “Joy was there, too.”
That remark caught his attention; Lonny suddenly lifted his head and realized his little sister had just baited him. He’d fallen for it, too, hook, line and sinker. In an effort to cover his interest, he laughed. “You’re telling me Joy’s contributing to the bake sale?” Apparently his sister was unaware that the woman’s meals came from the freezer section of the grocery store.
His sister didn’t see the humor in it, so he felt he needed to enlighten her. “Do you seriously think she can bake?”
“Why not?” Letty asked, eyebrows raised.
Lonny could see he was getting more involved in the subject than was really prudent. He considered telling Letty about seeing Joy earlier, then promptly decided against it. With a quick shrug, he said, “Oh, nothing.”
Lonny wondered what was taking Chase so long to wash up. He could use a diversion. Sighing, he thought he might as well get Letty’s advice now. The hell with being sensible or discreet. “I blew it with Joy,” he said in a low voice.
His confession didn’t come easy. Before he could think better of it, Lonny described the incident inside the store—stopping short of the kiss. It wasn’t that he was opposed to telling his sister the full truth…eventually. If he and Joy had been seen, the gossip would find its way to Letty soon enough; in fact, he was surprised she hadn’t heard anything yet. But that kiss was special. For as long as possible, he wanted to keep those moments to himself.
“You said what?” his sister exploded after listening to the whole sad story.
Lonny pulled out a chair and sat down. “I feel bad about it now. She said she got teased about being thin as a kid, and I stepped in it with both feet.”
“Lonny!”
It didn’t help having his sister yell at him. He knew he’d made a mistake; she didn’t need to beat up on him all over again. Della and her daughters had done an adequate job of that already.
“I apologized,” he muttered, rubbing his hands over his eyes. “Well, I tried.”
Letty frowned.
“What?” he snapped. If Chase didn’t arrive soon, he’d go and search for the guy himself.
“Here’s what you’re going to do,” his sister said, speaking slowly and clearly, as though he were hard of hearing—or deficient in understanding.
“Now, Letty…”
“You’re going to bid on Joy’s peanut butter cookies.” His sister wouldn’t allow him to interrupt. Letty was still frowning, her eyes narrowed. “And you’re going to be the highest bidder.”
“Okay.” That much he could do.
She nodded, evidently approving his willingness to fall in with her scheme. Well, he supposed she couldn’t get him into worse trouble with Joy than he was now.
“And then,” Letty continued, “you’re going to taste Joy’s cookies and declare they’re the best you’ve ever had in your entire life.”
“I am?” This seemed a little overboard to Lonny.
“Yes, you will, and you’re going to mean it, too.”
Lonny wasn’t so sure about that, but he’d hear his sister out. He’d asked for her opinion, and the least he could do was listen.
Fortunately, Chase clattered down the stairs at that moment, putting a temporary end to Letty’s career as a romantic adviser.
Eight
W ednesday afternoon Joy hurried home from school, planning to do some baking. She’d spent far too much time reading through cookbooks and searching Web sites on the Internet, looking for a spectacular dessert that would knock the boots off a certain rancher.
Every time she found a recipe she was sure would impress Lonny, Joy remembered the scorn in his eyes when he’d picked up her frozen dinner. He’d probably fall over in a dead faint when he realized that not only could she bake, she was good at it.
Since she’d wasted so many hours on research, Joy had yet to make her peanut butter cookies, a recipe handed down from her grandmother. This recipe was an old family favorite.
She turned on the radio and arranged her ingredients. Flour, sugar, peanut butter…She lined them up along the counter in order of use. Bowls, measuring cups and utensils waited on the kitchen table; the oven was preheating and the cookie sheet greased. She was nothing if not organized.
The doorbell rang just as she was measuring the flour. Joy set the bag down and hurried into the front hall, curious to find out who her visitor might be.
Letty stood there, with Cricket at her side, and Joy immediately opened the screen door. “Come in,” she said, glad of the company.
“Thanks,” Letty said, smiling as she stepped into the house. “I was in town to buy pecans and thought I’d come over and see how you’re doing.”
“I’m baking,” Joy announced. “Or at least, I’m getting started.”
Letty hesitated. “I don’t want to interrupt….”
“I haven’t actually begun, so your timing’s perfect,” she said, ushering Letty and Cricket into the kitchen.
“Can I play on your computer?” Cricket asked when her mother sat down at the
table.
Joy glanced at Letty, who nodded, and Cricket loped eagerly toward the spare bedroom. Apparently, Chase had taught her solitaire.
With a sweep of her hand, Letty indicated the half-dozen cookbooks Joy had spread out on the table and on two of her four chairs. In addition, she had a six-inch stack of recipes she’d printed off the Internet.
“What’s all this?” Letty asked, as Joy cleared a chair and sat down across from her.
“Dessert recipes,” Joy admitted a bit sheepishly.
Letty reached for one on the stack she’d gotten off the Internet. “Cannoli?” she read, and Joy watched her friend’s face as she scanned the directions. “This sounds complicated.”
Joy had thought so herself. “I could probably manage it, but I was afraid I’d waste a lot of time shaping them and then I’d need to fill them, too. Besides, they’re deep-fried and I don’t know how well they’d keep.”
“You said you were baking peanut butter cookies.”
“I am,” Joy was quick to tell her, motioning toward the counter, “but I also wanted to bring something more…impressive. I’m a good cook and…” She let the rest fade. Since Letty was Lonny’s sister, she couldn’t very well confess what she was trying to prove and why. The less Letty knew about her most recent encounter with Lonny, the better.
“Tiramisu?” Letty cocked her head as she read the recipe title in a cookbook that was open directly in front of her. She looked skeptical when she returned her attention to Joy.
“I rejected that one, too,” Joy confessed. “I wasn’t sure I could get all the ingredients without having to drive into Red Rock or Cheyenne.”
“Baklava?” Letty asked next, pointing at another recipe.
“I had no idea whether anyone in town would even know what that was,” Joy said. “There isn’t a large Greek population in the area, is there?”
“No.” Letty confirmed what Joy already suspected.
“The Raspberry Truffle Torte Bombe had possibilities,” Joy said, gesturing at yet another of the cookbooks. “However, I was afraid the ice cream would melt.”
“Joy, what’s wrong with peanut butter cookies?” Letty asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to bake more than one thing.”
“Then bake a cake, and not a chocolate truffle one, either,” she said, reaching for another of the pages Joy had printed out. “Just a plain, simple cake. That’ll generate more interest than anything with melting ice cream in the middle.”
“It will?”
Letty nodded and seemed surprised that she had to remind Joy of the obvious. “You’ve been part of this community long enough to know this,” she said mildly. “You don’t need to impress anyone.”
Least of all Lonny Ellison, Joy mused. “You’re right,” she agreed. Actually, she was relieved. Although she was willing to try, she wasn’t convinced she could pull off a culinary masterpiece before Friday night. She was a little out of practice.
She shouldn’t be thinking about Lonny at all. Josh would be here soon, and there’d be a chance to renew that relationship.
“You’re bringing more than the pecan pie, though, aren’t you?” Joy asked, determined not to think about either man.
Letty nodded. “Chase suggested I bake a Lemonade Cake, which is one of his favorites. I suspect he wants to bid on it himself.” She smiled as she said it.
Joy envied Letty the warm, loving relationship she had with her husband. She couldn’t imagine Chase saying or doing any of the things Lonny Ellison had said and done to her. More and more, she thought about their earlier relationship and how they’d walked away from each other after some ridiculous, forgettable argument. Maybe she was partly to blame. If she was honest, she’d have to admit there was no maybe about it. And, still being honest, she regretted the lost opportunity. But it was too late, especially with Josh showing up.
Letty and Chase shared a special love story, and now that they were married, it seemed as if they’d always been together. Chase had loved Letty from the time he was a teenager; in fact, he’d loved her enough to let her leave Wyoming without guilt so she could pursue her dream of becoming a singer. For almost ten years Letty had worked hard at creating a musical career, with moderate success, getting fairly steady gigs as a background singer and doing a few commercials that still paid residuals from time to time. When she returned to Wyoming, she came back with a daughter and a heart ailment that threatened to shorten her life. She’d been born with it but had never known there was a problem; it had been discovered during her pregnancy. She’d come home, possibly to die, or at least that was what she’d believed. But she’d had the required surgery and could live a normal life now.
“Other than cookies, what do you enjoy baking?” Letty asked.
Because she lived alone and generally cooked for one, Joy hadn’t done much baking since her arrival in Red Springs. Before college, she used to spend hours in the kitchen, often with her mother. “My mom taught me a great apple pie recipe,” Joy said after a moment.
“Then bake an apple pie.”
Apple pie—it felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “That’s what I’ll do,” she said triumphantly.
“My brother’s got a real sweet tooth,” Letty murmured.
Joy shrugged, implying that was of little concern to her. She supposed this was Letty’s way of reminding her that Lonny would be attending the auction. Joy wasn’t sure how to react.
Her feelings on the subject of Lonny were decidedly mixed, and no one else had ever had such a confusing effect on her. Joy genuinely liked all the people who were close to him—Letty, of course, and Chase, who was Lonny’s best friend. Not to mention Cricket, who talked nonstop about her wonderful uncle Lonny. He was obviously popular with the other ranchers and townsfolk, too. In other words, no one except her seemed to have a problem with him.
She was tempted to ask Letty about it. She hesitated, unsure how to introduce her question, but before she could say anything, Letty said it was time she left.
“Thanks for coming over,” Joy said as she walked Letty and Cricket to the front door.
“Bake that pie,” Letty advised yet again. “After you make those cookies.”
“I will,” Joy promised.
“See you Friday night. Do you want Chase and me to pick you up?”
Joy shook her head. “Honey Sue called and asked me to help with the setup, so I’ll need to be there early.”
Letty nodded, and Joy was grateful she had an excuse for declining the ride. If Lonny came into town for the auction, he’d sit with the couple, and if she joined them, too, the situation might be awkward for everyone.
Joy didn’t want to think about Lonny anymore, but it was hard to avoid. She’d found his message in her screen door on Saturday, after the carnival committee meeting. At the time she’d been so angry and upset, she’d tossed it without even considering his suggestion. But perhaps he was right. Perhaps it would be a good idea to clear the air. Then again, to what end? They’d already learned that their personalities and beliefs were diametrically opposed, and that wasn’t likely to change. Besides, Josh was coming. No, she’d better forget about Lonny—once she’d impressed him with her culinary aptitude.
The evening news was on when Joy finished baking a double batch of the peanut butter cookies. This was a tried and true recipe, tested a million times over the years, and there was no question that these were some of her best. They came out of the oven looking perfect. Her grandmother had used fork tines to create a crisscross pattern on each one, and Joy followed tradition. Once they’d cooled, she carefully arranged them in a couple of tin boxes left over from Christmas and stored them in the cupboard until Friday night.
Just as she was flipping through her family cookbook, searching for her grandmother’s apple pie recipe, the phone rang. The interruption annoyed her. She’d been fantasizing about the bidding war over the cookies and the apple pie and was busy picturing Lonny’s shocked face, an image she wan
ted to hold on to as long as she could.
“Hello,” she answered on the third ring, hoping her frustration wasn’t evident.
“Joy, it’s Josh.”
Caught up as she was in her dream world, it took her a second to remember who Josh was.
“Josh! Hi,” she said quickly.
“Am I calling at a bad time?”
“No, no, of course not.” It wasn’t as if she could admit she’d been obsessively thinking about another man.
“Is someone there?” Josh asked after a brief hesitation.
“No, what makes you ask?”
“You sound preoccupied.”
“I’m in the middle of baking.”
“You bake?” He asked this as if it were a big joke.
She sighed. Not another one. “Yes, I know how to bake.” Joy was unable to keep the irritation out of her voice. “I didn’t mean that the way it came across,” she added hastily. “There’s a bake sale auction in town this Friday and—well, never mind, it isn’t important.”
Those remarks were followed by a short pause. “Joy,” he said solemnly, “are you involved with anyone?”
“Involved, as in a relationship?” She made her voice as light and carefree as possible. “No, not at all. I already told you that. Why do you ask?”
“I got the impression you might be.”
She laughed as if she found his statement humorous. Fortunately, this sounded more genuine than her previous denial. “No, Josh, I’m not involved, I promise you, but the fact that you asked has definitely brightened my day. Okay, there was someone early on, two years ago, but we only went out for a few months and then decided to drop the whole thing.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it was nothing,” she assured him. “Wait until you see Red Springs,” she continued excitedly. “It’s small-town America, just the way I always thought it would be. Everyone’s so friendly and caring.”
“It seems like a nice place,” he said politely.
“It is. The folks around here are good salt-of-the-earth people.”
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