Breanna shook her head as she opened the lid of the box. Then she glanced over at Sadie. “Died and Gone to Heaven cake,” she said as though disappointed in herself for going along with any of this. “Totally inappropriate.” She pulled down the sides of the box, revealing the cake inside.
Sadie blinked and stared. The cake was at least four inches tall, and from where Sadie sat, it had several layers that included Oreos, ice cream, hot fudge, and whipping cream.
“It’s awesome,” Shawn said. He helped Bre lower the table so that Sadie could see the top of the cake. Hot fudge letters spelled out “Congratulations.”
“Congratulations?” Sadie said. Her children were so strange sometimes.
“Yeah, for not being dead,” Shawn said. “That’s why it’s so funny. A Died and Gone to Heaven cake to celebrate that you’re still alive. Get it?”
“I get it,” she finally said, shaking her head at her son’s warped sense of humor, but smiling all the same. “But it’s huge. How are we going to eat it all before it melts?”
“You’re about to become the nurses’ favorite patient,” Breanna said. She dug through the plastic bag and pulled out a package of paper plates and some plastic utensils. She finally looked up at Eric. “Oh, hi,” she said. Her hair, as usual, was pulled into a ponytail, not too different from Eric’s hairstyle. She had no makeup on and was wearing worn-out jeans and a plain red hooded sweatshirt—her typical uniform of everyday life. And yet, she was nothing less than stunning. “You must be Eric.”
Sadie looked at her daughter in surprise. How did she know that was Eric? Sadie had talked about him when she relayed the last twenty-four hours, of course, but not in enough detail for Breanna to identify him so quickly. Had Shawn been talking about him? If so, what had he said?
“I’m Breanna,” she said with a welcoming smile. “Sadie’s daughter.”
Eric smiled back. “Pleased to meet you,” he said politely.
Sadie couldn’t tell if he was ill at ease with her children or not.
“Me too,” she said. As she turned back to the cake, she looked at Sadie and raised her eyebrows quickly two times.
What did that mean?
“Want some?” Shawn asked, holding out a plate of cake to Eric.
“Oh yeah,” Eric said, quickly abandoning the flowers on a chair in the corner in order to take the proffered cake.
“Here Mom,” Bre said a minute later, putting a plate on Sadie’s lap. “What’s that?” She nodded toward the card Sadie was still holding.
“Oh,” Sadie said, “Eric brought me flowers.” She fumbled trying to open the card and nearly dropped it in her cake.
“Let me help,” Shawn said, taking the card before Sadie could stop him.
Sadie glanced at Eric, whose cheeks suddenly went red as he hurried to swallow the cake. “Uh,” he said once he could speak, but it was too late. Shawn had already opened the card and read what was written inside, his mouth turning up in a slow smile.
Sadie looked between Shawn and Eric, suddenly very nervous. She put out her hand. “I believe it was given to me,” she said.
“Sure was,” Shawn said as yet another voice joined the crowd.
“Hello?”
They all turned to see Pete come around the curtain. He nodded a greeting to everyone, but came to Sadie and kissed her on the top of her head. “How are you doing?” he asked as he stepped back, a sympathetic smile on his handsome face.
“I’m good,” she said, smiling. The room fell suddenly silent, and she looked at the three people standing behind Pete, none of whom were smiling. As soon as she looked at them, however, all three of them went back to what they were doing: Eric took another bite, Shawn went about cutting himself a huge piece of cake, and Breanna pulled another plate out of the plastic bag.
“Want some cake?” Sadie offered to Pete.
“We’re celebrating Mom not being dead,” Shawn said.
“Oh, well that’s certainly something worth celebrating,” Pete said, though he looked a little taken aback.
Sadie just smiled. What else could she do? The room went silent again, and Sadie decided to fill her mouth and her thoughts with cake.
“This is really good,” Pete said as he cut off a second bite.
“Mom could make a better one,” Shawn said, causing Sadie to look up at him.
“I’ve never made an ice cream cake,” she said, looking at the cake with new eyes. It was just layers of yummy stuff. Let’s see, if she started with an Oreo crust, and adapted her hot fudge sauce recipe . . .
“So,” Pete said after a minute, “when I left the station Dresden was still talking to the district attorney.” He glanced at Shawn. “I think they’re going to let you go home tomorrow so you don’t miss any classes, but you’ll have to come back during your school’s spring break.” He turned to Sadie. “The longer we can postpone anyone pressing charges the better it will be for all of you.” He included Eric in the look he cast around the room.
Shawn scrunched up his face. “I was kinda hoping they’d make me stay here for a few more days. I’ve got a killer test in my Ortho-physiology class on Monday.”
“What happened with Josh?” Sadie asked.
“And that Jane woman,” Shawn added, his mouth full of cake.
Sadie shot him a look and he shrugged.
“Josh has been asked to stay in town. In light of these newest discoveries, his version of events is even more important. He’s cooperating fully.” Pete paused to take another bite, leaving the rest of them to wait until he swallowed to finish the update. “Jane was released; we had nothing to hold her on once the camera was returned. I suspect she’ll have the feature story in tomorrow’s paper.”
Sadie shook her head. It seemed so unfair that Jane should benefit from all her shenanigans.
“So until the district attorneys make a decision,” Eric said, “we just go about our normal lives?”
Pete nodded. “And stay out of trouble.” He looked at Sadie and winked. “The fact is that we jumped the gun with your first arrest,” he said. “And we wouldn’t have found Thom without your help. It’s hard to ignore that. And then with all this . . .” He waved one hand through the air. “Well, we’ll just have to see how they balance it all out.”
“Yet it seems hard to imagine they’d ignore it completely,” Sadie said, thinking specifically of Josh. Kidnapping and lashing someone to a kitchen chair didn’t seem like a swept-under-the-rug type of charge.
“I’ll let you know what I hear,” Pete said with a shrug. “But so far I think we can count it as good news.”
“Well,” Eric said a moment later, drawing Sadie’s attention back to him, “I guess I better go.” His plate was empty and he walked toward the bed so he could drop it in the trash.
Sadie watched him closely. The cake was wonderful, but she hated that it had interrupted their conversation. She had all kinds of things she wanted to say to him, like “Thank you,” and “I’m sorry,” and even “When will I see you again?” But they all seemed difficult to say in front of her current audience. Still, she had to say something.
“I plan to make good on my promise to clean your house,” she said. “I just need a few weeks to recover, okay?” It wasn’t until she finished talking that she realized everyone was listening. She felt her cheeks heat up, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself than she already had.
Eric smiled. He really did have a nice smile. “It’s a date,” he said.
Sadie felt her face fall. A date? That wasn’t what she meant.
Eric’s eyes flickered to Pete, who was suddenly watching the other man with a bit more caution. Eric said his good-byes, and Sadie took another bite of cake thoughtfully. A date?
After taking her last bite, she looked up to see Shawn watching her, his arms folded in that imposing stance that came so easily to him. “Oh, look,” he suddenly said, exaggerating the act of opening his eyes wide as he unfolded his arms. “Here’s that card.”
Shawn leaned forward and handed her the card, taking her now empty plate.
“Card?” Pete asked.
Sadie wanted to ignore the question, but not answering seemed like a poor choice. “Oh, Eric brought me some flowers.” She waved toward the abandoned bouquet on the chair.
“Oh,” Pete said, turning to look. He still had that thoughtful look on his face when he turned around again.
“I should put those in water,” Breanna said, picking up the flowers.
“And we should probably take the rest of this cake out to the nurses’ station before it melts,” Shawn said, putting his plate on the end of Sadie’s bed to free his hands. He looked at Pete. “Could you help me get it out there? I don’t want to spill it or anything.”
Shawn needed Pete’s help? Sadie wondered. She was so confused.
“Oh,” Pete said, setting down his plate next to Shawn’s. “Sure.”
Shawn glanced at his mom quickly before taking one end of the bed table. “We can just wheel this whole thing out there,” he said.
Sadie finally understood. He was creating an opportunity for her to be alone.
Moments later Breanna had disappeared into the bathroom, Shawn and Pete were rolling the cake down the hall, and Sadie was alone. She picked up the card again and flipped it open, ignoring the butterflies she felt for reasons she couldn’t define.
Bonnie,
Thanks for the best time I’ve had in years.
I’m hoping there are even better times ahead.
Sincerely,
Clyde
Died and Gone to Heaven Cake
8 ounces Hershey’s chocolate syrup
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1⁄3 cup butter
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
1⁄2 gallon vanilla ice cream (softened) *
24 Oreo cookies
1⁄4 cup butter
8 ounces Cool Whip
2 ounces pecans, chopped
In a medium saucepan, bring chocolate syrup, milk, and butter to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir constantly until the mixture becomes thick, like hot fudge sauce. Add vanilla. Remove chocolate sauce from heat and allow to cool completely.
Place ice cream in a large bowl and allow to soften.
Crush 24 Oreos into a graham-cracker crust consistency. (Put the cookies in a zip-top bag and smash them with a rolling pin. Whatever it takes to get the crumbs as fine as possible.) Melt 1⁄4 cup butter and mix into the crushed cookies. Pat into a 9x13 pan. Put in freezer for 10 minutes.
When ice cream has softened to the texture of thick icing, spread it with a knife over the Oreo cookie crust. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Pour cooled chocolate sauce over ice cream. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Add a layer of Cool Whip and top with pecans. Cover with foil and freeze for an additional 4 to 6 hours.
Serves 12.
* Shawn would like me to try this with Starlight Mint ice cream.
About the Author
Josi S. Kilpack was born and raised in Salt Lake City, graduated from Olympus High, made an appearance at Salt Lake Community College, and then jumped headfirst into life as a grown-up. She married Lee Kilpack in 1993 and they welcomed their first daughter a year later. Josi began writing her first novel in 1998, and has followed that with ten more novels. She currently lives in Willard, Utah, with her husband, four kids, a dog, and a varying number of chickens.
For more information about Josi, or to read the first chapter of any of her books, go to her website www.josiskilpack.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Devil's Food Cake Page 30
