by Judi Lynn
Maya looked uncomfortable. “You made a choice, didn’t you? You gave up something. You chose a career over a man and now you’re alone.”
Ouch! There had been a guy who was two years ahead of her in college. When he’d graduated, he wanted her to leave school and move to Texas with him, where he was going to start a job. She’d turned him down. And she’d never regretted it. But she was alone now. Would Maya be all right with that? Miriam took a minute to respond. “I had offers, but I never wanted to settle for less. None of the men were a good fit for me and I really wanted to be a teacher.”
Maya jutted out her chin. “T. J. is right for me. He makes me happy.”
“You’re eighteen. A lot of things change between now and your early twenties. You’ll change after you graduate. What makes you happy now might make you miserable in a few years.”
Maya crossed her arms over her small chest. “Look at me. I’m never going to be the most attractive girl in the room. Most guys don’t even look my way.”
“So what?” Miriam knew that feeling. “I’d rather be happy alone than unhappy with someone I don’t want to be with. Look, is T. J. the first boy who’s ever paid attention to you?”
“What difference does that make?”
“I’m just saying I get it. It’s nice to have someone notice you. Every girl’s ego can use a few strokes. Hell, mine could. It feels good, but that doesn’t mean T. J.’s the one.”
“You’re wrong. He is.”
How did you argue with that? Miriam tried to choose her words carefully. “First, I think you’re going to be one of those girls who blossoms into herself. You’re going to be surprised how pretty you get in the next year or two. I’ve seen it happen. But I understand what you’re telling me and I’m going to be blunt. There were guys who looked at me and thought I’d be so desperate for attention, I’d be an easy mark. T. J. has gone through his share of girls. Does he just want to have sex with you? Because that won’t last.”
A fiery blush lit Maya’s face. “T. J.’s not like that.”
“He’s a guy.”
“We like to talk to each other. He likes me.”
“And what happens if you pass on college and three months later you break up? What then? You’ve given up a full scholarship for nothing.”
Maya’s expression took on a stubborn look. “I’ll worry about that if it happens.”
Miriam was getting nowhere fast. She knew when to admit defeat. Sighing, she looked down at her list. “Okay, I just wanted you to think things through. I’ve said what I wanted to say, so let’s get back to classwork. Who do you want to interview today?”
Maya fidgeted with her notebook. “You.”
“Me?” Miriam looked up, surprised.
“Everyone knows you’re one of the best teachers around. You give it your all. I want to interview you.”
It was a wonderful compliment. Miriam would have basked in happiness if she didn’t want to throttle Maya more, but she forced a smile. She’d done her best to convince Maya to take the scholarship and failed. She wouldn’t use the interview to badger the point into the ground. She gave a quick nod. “Okay, let’s do this. Ask away.”
Maya started with the question everyone asked. “What made you want to be a teacher?”
“So I could have my summers off.” It was a smart-ass answer, and Miriam laughed at Maya’s shocked expression. “Not really. I loved school, loved learning. I don’t have the patience to teach elementary students, like my sister, so I chose high school. And I’ve always loved books and English.”
The questions got better from there. “Why not become a professor? That has more status, doesn’t it?”
Miriam shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve never worried about status that much. The thing is, I really like kids. I wanted to make a difference in their lives.”
“Do you think girls are smarter than boys?”
Miriam laughed. This was the Maya she enjoyed, the girl who was so original. “Not really. I think we balance out pretty well.” Instead of thinking about her students, she thought about Joel. He struck her as having more common sense than scholastic ability. The man was plenty smart, but she’d bet money that if she saw one of his old report cards, he didn’t excel at school. There were all kinds of smarts. And all of them mattered.
After a few more questions, Maya ended the interview by asking, “If you could do anything differently, what would it be?”
“Phew! A tough one.” Miriam thought a minute. An answer whispered in her mind, but she pushed it aside. I’d find me a man didn’t sound like an appropriate response for the school newspaper and it certainly wouldn’t help Maya. “I’d travel more,” she said. “See more of the world.”
“By yourself?” Maya bit her bottom lip the minute the words popped out.
Miriam grinned, feeling daring. “Why not? I don’t mind going to movies alone and I eat in restaurants solo. What’s wrong with traveling single?”
Maya stared for a minute. “Doesn’t it get lonely?”
“With my friends and family?” Miriam leaned closer to make her point. “I can always call someone or stop by for a visit. Some people feel alone in a crowd. I’m not one of them. I tend to start yakking to someone, and pretty soon, I’m connected. I like people.”
“And you’re that sure that they’ll like you back?”
Miriam blinked. She’d never doubted someone would enjoy her company. “I’m not going to win them all,” she admitted. “And that’s okay. Who wants to be around someone they don’t click with? And I might not make friends for life with a bunch of strangers, but it’s all about finding something in common. Most people are more alike than different.”
Maya’s voice dipped and she sounded unsure of herself. “You’re lucky. You like yourself.”
Miriam reached out to touch Maya’s hand. “You should like yourself, too. You’re pretty wonderful; you just don’t realize it.”
Maya gave a quick nod, blinking rapidly, and looked at her notes. She forced a smile. “Well, thank you for the interview. I’ll write it up and turn it in tomorrow.”
The bell to change classes rang. Miriam watched Maya hurry out of the room. Now she understood the girl more. Maya needed to feel loved, accepted. T. J. did that for her now. Her mother had rejected her. She felt awkward, unattractive, and socially inept. A lot of high school nerds did. Miriam got that. But the girl was taking a huge risk. She wanted someone to be there for her, and T. J. made it sound like he would be. Miriam hoped it would last, but they were just kids. The odds were against them.
Chapter 9
On Monday night, Tyne and Daphne invited Miriam, Joel, and Adele to their log cabin for supper. Adele squirmed on the front seat as they turned in the opposite direction from the lake to leave town and head toward the national forest.
“Friends have invited us out two days in a row!” She pointed as they passed Mill Pond High. “That’s where Miriam teaches, isn’t it?”
“Yup. She’ll be at Tyne and Daphne’s, too.”
“I like her.”
“So do I.” They turned and watched farm fields blend from one to the next on both sides of the road. Adele oohed when cows leaned over a fence close to the road to eat tall grass near the berm. “I could touch them.”
“They’re happy eating their special treats. Let’s let them enjoy themselves.”
She held her nose when they passed a pig farm.
“Stinks, doesn’t it?” Joel was glad he wasn’t a close neighbor. He wondered if you ever got used to the smell if you lived with it day in and day out.
Adele smiled and nodded, then pointed at the view ahead. “Look at all the trees!”
“That’s the national forest. We’ll have to take a ride and stop to picnic there in the fall, when the leaves change. I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”
When he pulled into the drive for Tyne and Daphne’s log cabin, Adele stared. “It looks like Little House in the Big Woods.” She was a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan. Joel
had read her every book in the series and then he’d bought the DVDs of the TV show based on them. “Can we have a log cabin, Dad? One with a green tin roof like this?”
Joel chuckled. “I don’t know if there are any for sale. We’ll have to see what’s on the market.”
She opened her door, anxious to step onto the long front porch and sit in one of the rockers. Then she noticed Miriam’s car parked near the garage. “Miriam’s here! Come on, Dad. Hurry!”
Usually, he was waiting on his daughter. This was a fun flip. “I’m on my way.” He placed his hand under her elbow to help her up the steps. She could manage them herself, but it always made him nervous.
“Will Tyne be here?” His daughter had been quite taken by him.
“Tyne and his wife. You like Daphne. She’s always nice to you when she checks on you when I’m away.”
“Daphne.” Joel watched the pieces of the puzzle fall into place for her. “Daphne’s Tyne’s wife.”
“Right.”
Adele smiled. “A prince and a princess.” Like the Disney movies she watched over and over again—two beautiful people who were perfect together.
“Exactly.” Joel knocked on the door and it flew open seconds later.
“Hey, glad you made it!” Tyne motioned them inside.
Tyne had Monday nights off and loved to cook for his wife and her friends. That boggled Joel’s mind. After all, the man did breakfast and lunch shifts on Sundays and Mondays and the night shifts on Tuesdays through Saturdays. If Joel cooked seven days a week like Tyne did, he’d opt for takeout on his night off.
“I don’t cook every Monday,” Tyne told him when Joel asked about it. He led Joel and Adele into the cabin’s large, open great room. “But we like to entertain and it’s impossible during the week.”
Daphne, Joel knew, went to eat supper with her parents on Tuesdays and Fridays, and she met Miriam at Chase’s bar on Thursdays. Most Wednesdays, she drove to Ian’s inn to eat in the kitchen with her husband. She usually stayed in her stained-glass shop in town until then, and Joel would give her a wave when he zipped up to his apartment.
Tyne motioned Adele to the sitting area to join Daphne and Miriam. “Make yourself at home. The girls have been waiting on you.”
Adele hovered a little, uncertain, and Joel took a minute to look around. He gave a nod of approval. Open areas were the rage now. Wheat-colored walls and hardwood floors made the space warm and inviting. Two rocking chairs were pulled to the fireplace at the back of the room and Miriam occupied one of them.
She waved at Adele. “Hey, kid, come keep me company.”
Adele ditched him in a heartbeat and Tyne chuckled. “Come on. I’ll show you our gardens in the backyard. I kept supper simple tonight for Miriam. She’s a meat and potatoes girl, so I cooked porchetta and cheesy scalloped potatoes.”
Simple. Right. Simple, for Joel, meant a ham sandwich.
They walked out the kitchen door into a decent-size yard, surrounded by a white picket fence. “Shadow stays inside the fence so we don’t have to worry about him.”
Joel frowned. “Shadow?”
“Our cat.” Tyne grinned. “He disappears when strangers come, but he’ll grow braver when the food’s on the table.” He led Joel to a row of raised beds. “I weeded everything today.”
The rows of spinach, lettuces, and herbs were in perfect order. Joel got the idea that for such a low-key demeanor, Tyne was a bit of a perfectionist. He looked up to gaze at the view on the other side of the fence. The national forest stretched into the distance. “Wow. This is nice.”
Tyne nodded. “There’s a trail that runs right behind our house.” He nodded for Joel to follow him back inside. “The girls will be getting hungry. They’re friendlier if you feed them.”
Adele got cranky when she was hungry, too. That was why Joel tried to keep the refrigerator and cupboards stocked with healthy snacks. She’d forget about eating when she was watching TV, but the minute a show ended, she went in search of sustenance.
Daphne came to help Tyne carry things to the table. Tyne arranged the pork roast surrounded with carrots, parsnips, and onions onto a brightly painted platter.
“From Mexico,” Tyne said. An elaborately painted dish held Brussels sprouts with bacon. “From Thailand.” And then there was the heavy casserole with scalloped potatoes. “Stoneware,” Tyne said, “from an Indian reservation in Arizona.”
“How much have you traveled?” Joel knew Tyne had moved from place to place as a chef, but the guy must have gotten around.
“Europe, Mexico, South America, Thailand.” Tyne sat down across from his wife. Joel took the spot across from Miriam and Adele. “I’ll tell you about it someday.”
Joel would love to hear about the places Tyne had been. He’d always wanted to travel, but he’d married right out of high school and April and Adele had dictated his life from that moment on.
“Dig in.” Tyne sipped a beer as everyone loaded their plates.
Miriam went straight for the porchetta. “Mmm.” She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “I’ve never tasted a roast this good.”
Neither had Joel. “You must have rubbed it with special seasonings. It’s delicious.”
“Anything for you, E.T.,” Tyne teased her.
Miriam grinned at his nickname for her.
Adele licked her lips. “Can you buy this someplace special?”
“Not the way I make it. I’m a chef.” Tyne shrugged. “Roasts are easy. I injected this one with a special blend I made, then rubbed it with spices. All simple steps.”
At Adele’s blank look, he pared it down for her. “You sprinkle it with herbs and salt, then you let it dry in the refrigerator for a while and throw it in the oven.”
Adele caught most of that and Miriam beamed her approval at Tyne. Joel’s heart clutched, and he realized he wanted Miriam to look at him like that. Silly. He didn’t know her that well, but she sure intrigued him.
Miriam’s smile widened. “The pork’s great, but I’m stealing some leftover potatoes. They’re to die for.”
Daphne pointed to a large plastic container on the countertop. “For you. I told Tyne you’d want them. I thought you’d need something cheesy and gooey to make you feel better about Maya.”
Miriam’s lips pinched into a tight line and Joel frowned. Talk about an abrupt mood change. “What’s up with Maya?”
Miriam’s words were clipped. “She’s giving up a scholarship to stay here with T. J.”
Tyne sliced more roast for second helpings and put some on Miriam’s plate. “Paula wasn’t happy when Steph passed on culinary school to stay in Mill Pond with Ben, but that’s worked out great.”
Miriam pushed away her plate and snorted. “You and Paula still trained her. How could that not go well?”
“I’m just saying, Maya’s a smart girl. She’ll figure out something.”
Miriam didn’t look convinced, so Daphne tried a different kind of distraction. “Have you heard the news? Guess who has to get married?”
Miriam’s blue eyes glittered with curiosity. “Spit it out. What’s the scoop?”
Daphne sounded smug when she said, “Chantelle.”
Miriam’s jaw dropped. She glanced Tyne’s way. “The hussy who always tries to feel you up?”
“One and the same.” Tyne quirked an eyebrow. “Once I married Daphne, everyone else got the message. Not her.”
Miriam finished her potatoes and licked the sauce off her fork. “Who’s the unlucky man?”
“Eddie Jork. They weren’t careful enough.” Daphne sounded almost sorry for him.
Miriam licked her lips and gazed at the refrigerator. “Is there dessert?”
“When isn’t there?” Tyne stood to clear the table. Joel rose to help him.
Daphne went on with her gossip. “People are saying that Eddie’s thrilled about the wedding.”
“He probably thinks he’s scored a prize.” When Tyne opened the refrigerator, Miriam leaned forw
ard to see what was inside. She gasped when he carried a trifle to the table.
Adele’s eyes went round. “Do we eat that?”
Joel patted her shoulder. “It’s almost too pretty to touch, isn’t it?”
“But wait till you taste it.” Daphne gave a devilish grin. “It’s so good, you can’t help yourself. Tyne makes the whipping cream from scratch.”
Adele had no idea what that meant. As far as she knew, whipped cream only came in a can. When Tyne scooped a helping into a fancy glass and handed it to her, she stared at it in awe.
Joel picked up a spoon and dipped it into the dessert, then held it out for his daughter. She took a bite and moaned.
Miriam laughed. “That’s what Tyne’s cooking does to me, too.”
“That’s what Chantelle must do for poor Eddie.” When Tyne looked at Daphne, surprised, she put a hand over her lips, but her eyes sparkled too much for her to be contrite.
“How you’ve changed.” And Tyne sounded like he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Joel was surprised by how catty the girls could be but decided he liked it. They didn’t pretend and their comments cracked him up.
They were halfway through their trifle when Shadow came to rub against Daphne’s ankles. When she bent to pet him, he meowed.
“You have a cat!” For Adele, Tyne and Daphne’s house had just about everything a person could want.
“He wants me to feed him.” When Daphne didn’t move right away, the cat stalked to the kitchen and jumped on the sink top, next to the roast.
“Oh no you don’t!” Tyne hurried out to rescue the meat. He picked up the cat’s bowl and shredded some of the pork into it, then covered the rest.
The cat finished his supper, then jumped on the counter to lick whipping cream out of the mixing bowl. Daphne went to save that, putting it in the sink to soak, then gave Shadow a small sample.
Adele giggled. “Your cat’s spoiled.”
“You’d think a stray would have better manners, wouldn’t you? That he’d appreciate a good home?” But when the cat finished eating, Daphne scooped him up and held him close. Purrs filled the room. When he wanted down, she gave him one last stroke before he stretched on the floor beside her and lifted his paw to lick it.
