by Teresa Trent
"I know it was important to you."
"It got wet."
"That’s okay. I don’t think she’ll mind."
"I made it for her. It got wet."
"Well, then let’s take it to her."
Danny pulled a clumsily hand-sewn felt doll out of the box. "For you, baby."
Of all the baby gifts we had received, this little item had to be the least attractive. Rough workmanship aside, my daughter’s deep blue eyes latched onto it as her head turned toward the raggedy doll.
"She likes it," Danny said.
"Of course, she does. She’s going to like you even more."
"I love her, Betsy."
I survived a killer, a tornado and a flying cow, but at this moment, I felt at peace. I set the little doll next to Coco and snuggled close to her tiny form. I could really use a nap about now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick, I’ve brought you your baby." The nurse gently lowered Coco into my arms. It seemed strange to have the baby taken away once we arrived at the hospital, but of course she had to be properly checked out by the medical staff after being born outside the wonders of modern medicine.
"She’s as fit as a fiddle," Dr. Randall said, as she entered the room holding a clipboard. "Here, we rely on high-tech instruments, and you did it all with a gym towel and a football jersey."
"Not true. I had an amazing midwife helping me through it."
"Yes, I heard that. We need to get this woman on staff here."
"She just might be looking for a job," I said, thinking Baxter Digby would be served with his divorce papers any day now.
"We couldn’t have made it through without her," Leo said. I handed the baby to him. He gathered Coco up and did a little dance around the room. He was so sweet when he was goofy.
A giant teddy bear appeared at the door. My father’s head peeked out over the bear’s shoulder.
"How is my granddaughter?"
"Oh, Dad. You know the baby has a mountain of gifts already. I think everyone in town has given her something. After all this, we won’t have any room left in the nursery for the baby."
"Well then, you’ll just have to start putting stuff in the den because this grandpa is not done giving his precious angel anything she wants."
"You’ll spoil her."
"Just like I did you," he said.
"I think you did an excellent job," Leo said.
"And I thank you for that."
Leo’s mother Gwyn rose from the recliner and tried to place the bear on the window sill next to another much smaller bear. "Trying to outdo me, Judd? Now my little bear looks terrible next to yours."
"It’s great you brought these things," I said, "but I think Coco loves Danny’s gift the best." In the layette was the hand-pieced doll Danny had brought her in the storm.
"You just might be right there," my father said. "There’s nothing like homemade to outclass store bought any day. Oh and by the way, Rocky says he wants an interview on your perilous ride with the killer while in labor."
"I'm sure he does."
"I'll be glad to get your side of the story too, because Carello has lawyered up. What did he tell you?"
"He said the money hidden inside the cow was from the robbery of a check cashing store back in 1978."
" We knew that from Carello’s record. They caught him on camera back then, but he never gave up the name of his partner. We now know it was Ron Neuwitt. Good old Ron. If you had asked me who was behind a strong arm robbery in this town, I never would have come up with Neuwitt. Everybody loved that guy. You just never know. Mr. Neuwitt took the money and hid it, while Carello served the time."
"So that was what all the construction was for? He was looking for the hidden cash?" Leo asked.
"Yes. The thing was, I think Ron Neuwitt changed after he came to Pecan Bayou. I don’t know if it was the fresh air or the people here, but he spent very little of the money. He met and married his wife here, raised kids and left his life of crime behind him. I’ll bet most of the money is still there. He stuffed it inside the cow, and didn’t spend it."
"Well, we do have Carello’s prison record, so though he's hiding behind his lawyer, we do have him holding the stolen money from the original crime. Now, we just have to put him at the death of Connor Holman and connect him to Neuwitt’s disappearance. I’m figuring Holman had no idea there was money hidden inside his precious stolen cow, but he was the only thing between Carello and the money. He killed him but before he could grab the cash, you and Rocky showed up. You had a way of getting yourself in the middle of this guy’s plans."
"Yes. I have to tell you I've had my share of adventures, but being in labor and getting in the car with someone I know was a murderer has to be the dumbest thing I've ever done."
"I'll second that," Leo said. Down the hall I could hear the voices of Maggie, Danny, Tyler and Zach.
"Hello baby," Danny said as he entered the room first.
"And how is little Maggie today?" Aunt Maggie followed behind Danny.
"Mama," Danny said, "her name is Coco, not Maggie. That’s your name."
"It’s her name too. Her middle name. So to you she’s Coco, but I think I see a little Maggie." Aunt Maggie held out her arms to Leo, a tear now shining on her cheek. Leo happily obliged and placed Coco in her arms. Coco’s tiny hand reached up to Maggie.
"For a child who was born in the school gym, she looks remarkably well."
"Frankly," Gwyn said, "I don’t know how you did it. You are a strong woman, Betsy."
"This is going to sound strange, but all along I felt like someone was guiding me. Really, it was several someones."
"Who?" Aunt Maggie asked.
I remembered every message from my dreams, delivered by people in my past: Oliver, Vanessa, Lenny, Hunter, Martha, Eula Jean and Connor. They had all come to me. They were sometimes rude, and sometimes funny, but they each had a message. Had they been real or should I chalk them up to crazy pregnant dreams? I would never know.
"Oh, I don’t know. What does it matter now? " I answered.
There was a knock at the door. Benny and Celia stood there with a familiar white bag from Benny’s Barbecue.
"Hey there, Betsy. We came by to see the baby," Benny said.
"We knew you wouldn’t be able to get in and get your piece of pie so we brought you some." Celia unwrapped the pie and put it before me on the sliding side table.
"You know, I don’t want to be ungrateful or anything, but I don’t seem to want it. As a matter of fact, the idea of chocolate right now is not sitting well with my stomach."
"Oh man. I knew this would happen. Your cravings have stopped. What am I going to tell the contractor I hired, planning on the extra revenue you generated?" Benny asked.
"Don’t worry," Celia said. "I’ve been running some numbers, and I think we can cut back one waitress." She looked annoyed and then cracked a smile. Benny laughed and put his arm her waist.
It reminded of a time a few years ago when Celia had been pregnant with their daughter, and I envied their affection for each other. I knew, watching them, that they were what true love looked like. My first marriage had been nothing like what I saw between the two of them.
"Betsy?" Leo said, his blue eyes looking lovingly into mine. "I just wanted to say thanks." He kissed me on the forehead. "Thanks for having our baby, and thanks for letting your crazy weather guy run off and chase storms while you were in labor. I’m so glad I knocked you down in that haunted hospital all those years ago. We were like a warm front hitting a cloud formation." He splayed his fingers out and hit his hands together like a cymbal crash. "Boom."
God he was so sexy when he talked weather patterns. That was the moment when I knew my life had come full circle. I had the love of a good husband, family and friends. Life was just what I hoped it would be, living and loving in Pecan Bayou.
HELPFUL HINTS FROM THE HAPPY HINTER
How to Use Epoxy Glue
If y
ou are gluing something together like a broken piggy bank, you need to purchase five-minute epoxy. You may also find a twenty-minute version of the same product, and either will work. This product is a two-part epoxy. It is very messy so put down some paper. Depending how messy you are, you may also want to put on a pair of rubber gloves.
Undo the cap of each tube and press down equal parts of each onto a paper plate. Make sure you have equal amounts of both the yellow and white portions. Take a toothpick and mix the two together, combining them thoroughly.
To apply, get a gob on your toothpick and spread onto the piece you are going to attach to another piece. Position the piece you’re gluing and hold it in place until it is glued and stable. Let it set overnight before depositing money back in the bank.
Drummond Struther’s Coca-Cola Burgers
1 egg
1/2 cup Coca-Cola, divided
1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
6 tablespoons creamy French dressing, divided
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
6 hamburger buns, split
In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, 1/4 cup of Coca-Cola, cracker crumbs, onion, 2 tablespoons of the dressing, cheese and salt.
Add the meat and mix well.
Form into six 3/4-inch thick patties.
For the sauce, mix the remaining Coca-Cola and dressing.
Grill the burgers, turning once, basting occasionally with sauce. Serve on buns. Remaining sauce may be used as a topping.
Serves 6.
Birdie’s Diner Buttermilk Pecan Chicken
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup ground pecans
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
8 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Melt butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside. Combine flour, ground pecans, sesame seeds, paprika, salt and pepper. Combine egg and buttermilk. Dip chicken in egg mixture then dredge in flour mixture, coating well. Place in baking dish, turning once to coat with butter. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Bake chicken at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.
*Make this recipe gluten free by replacing the flour with a gluten-free flour (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour works well).
Benny’s Cocoa Pecan Pie
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
3 large eggs
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped pecans
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
Mix sugar, dark corn syrup, eggs, salt, butter, vanilla and cocoa. Add pecans. Pour filling into an unbaked pie shell.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes or until the filling has solidified.
Baby Shower Games
Baby Name Scramble
At the baby shower, you give each guest a pad of paper and a pen. Have everyone write down the mother’s first name and the father’s first name. Be sure everyone is spelling these two names correctly. Then, explain that if they scramble the letters from those two names, they can create a list of unique and unusual baby names. If you can’t get enough names generated from first names, use middle and last names as well.
Baby Gift Bingo
When your guests arrive with shower gifts, put a number on each box or bag. You should know how many people will be attending so that you can pre-print bingo cards with the correct number of gifts on them. When the mommy-to-be decides to open the presents, she grabs the present she wants to open and reads the number out loud. As soon as someone receives bingo, they win the baby shower game and a baby shower prize, such as a gift basket or gift card.
Pre-Baby Checklist
1. Address your baby announcements. You can put in the details on the birth later.
2. Make sure you are set to go with your medical coverage and that you are signed up at the hospital.
3. Have a pediatrician lined up.
4. Have a car seat and be sure to pack it in the car on the way to the hospital.
5. Stock up on diapers.
6. Make sure your postpartum items are in order, such as feminine napkins and stool softener.
7. Fill the freezer with precooked meals.
8. Make sure you have gas in your car.
9. Do a practice run to the hospital including checking in once you get there.
10. Have your baby bag packed and ready to go!
Books in the Pecan Bayou Series on Kindle
#1 A Dash of Murder
#2 Overdue for Murder
#3 Doggone Dead
#4 Buzzkill
#5 Burnout
#6 Murder for a Rainy Day
Visit Teresa Trent's Author Page on Amazon
