by Amy Lillard
Ginger frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that.” She shook her head and rushed on. “There’s a manual underneath the counter and a button for everything except for the quiche. Ring it up as a breakfast sandwich and add cheese.”
Elizabeth’s confidence slipped a notch.
“I can’t thank you enough.” Ginger grasped her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She managed a smile as her long-time friend gathered her purse and hurried out the door.
“Why, Bethie Grace McGee. I would have known you anywhere.”
Elizabeth looked up. Janis Stewart stood on the other side of the counter. President of the student council, voted most likely to succeed. “Hi, Janis.”
“I heard you were back in town.”
“For a while,” Elizabeth murmured, then remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. “What can I get for you?”
“A lemon bar and a chamomile tea.”
Easy enough. Pull a pastry from the counter and pour hot water over a tea bag.
But the cash register just might be her undoing.
“Say, Bethie Grace, we’re having a fundraiser tomorrow. Could you help out?”
She slid the paper to-go cup of tea across the counter and reached for one of the green striped treat bags for the lemon bar. “We?”
“Those of us on the Founder’s Day Committee.”
Elizabeth had seen the signs all over town, in the shop windows and nailed up to telephone poles. Founder’s Day was a new celebration for Loveless, one started after her family had moved north.
“Please, Bethie Grace, say you’ll help.”
“Of course.” The words slipped from her lips as natural as breathing. Surprisingly enough, she did want to help. Maybe being back in Loveless was just having that effect on her.
“Perfect. See you tomorrow morning. Say about ten-ish?”
Elizabeth nodded but was unable to answer as the next customer in line demanded her attention. She barely had time to wonder what Janis might have her do as she took care of one customer after another.
It was a wonderful feeling to be behind the counter, talking to the customers and somehow fumbling through ringing up each and every one. The cash register was more of a challenge than a hindrance. After about six customers, she almost had it down pat.
“Hey.”
She looked up to find JD Carmichael standing on the other side of the counter. “Hey.”
“Fancy seeing you here.”
She pulled a blueberry muffin off the cooling rack and placed it in one of the paper to-go sacks. “Ginger called and needed my help.”
“You’re a good friend, Bethie Grace McGee.”
She shrugged off the compliment and turned to pour him a cup of decaf. She slid it across the counter to him.
“I was thinking that maybe this afternoon…” He trailed off, his suggestion lingering in the air between them.
“Don’t you have to be at the other job?”
“They’ll be okay for an hour.” He grinned. “Or two.”
Desire shimmied down her spine. “I’ll call you when Ginger gets back.”
“I’ll be waiting.” He rapped his knuckles on the top of the counter, then grabbed his coffee and muffin and walked out the door.
****
“It’s about time you answered,” Candy’s voice came across the line, urgent and concerned.
“Sorry,” Bethie Grace said, shivering slightly as her wet hair dripped down her back. “I was in the shower.”
“Good, then that means you’ll be ready to go tonight.”
“Go?” JD came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. She shivered but this time it wasn’t from the cold. “I don’t want to go anywhere.” Except maybe back to bed with JD.
“Too bad.”
She turned in his arms, tilting her head for his kiss.
“Bethie Grace? Are you there?”
He released her with one final kiss. “I’m here.”
“Ginger and I will be by at six to pick you up.”
“For?” she asked as JD pointed to his watch. He was dressed, his dark hair still damp from their shared shower. And he was leaving.
She nodded.
“Dessert and karaoke,” Candy said.
The door had barely closed behind JD when Candy’s words struck home. “What?”
“Dessert and karaoke. Trust me, you’re going to love this.”
Maybe, but what she loved the most had just walked out the door.
****
Candy swung by in the minivan, Ginger riding shotgun, and picked Elizabeth up for their evening out.
“One more thing,” Candy said as she drove them through town. “No frowning.”
“I wasn’t frowning,” Elizabeth replied.
“I was talking to Ginger.”
The redhead shrugged. “I don’t mean to. It’s just been a hard week.”
Candy shook her head, the blades of her blond hair swishing around her face. “When are you going to break down and hire some help?”
“Bethie Grace helped me this afternoon.”
“Real help,” Candy said with a familiar roll of her eyes.
“Hey,” Elizabeth protested. “I am a chef, after all.”
“I can’t afford to hire anyone else,” Ginger replied.
“Then you need to shorten your hours of operation.”
Ginger pushed her thick curls off her shoulders and sighed. “If I do that I’ll cut into my profits.”
“You need a business partner,” Elizabeth said.
“Maybe.” Ginger turned to stare out the window. “Ross called.”
Candy squealed, and the minivan lurched to the side. “Are you kidding? When? Why are you just telling me this now?”
“No,” Ginger said. “Last week, and because I knew you’d act like this.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Who’s Ross?”
Candy cast her a glance then turned her narrowed gaze back to the road ahead of them. “Nora’s father. What did he want?” Her expression was unusually murderous.
“To talk.”
“Wait.” Elizabeth looked from one of them to the other. “I thought he didn’t want to have anything to do with you and Nora.”
Ginger shrugged.
“You told him no, right?” Candy took her eyes from the road to stare at their friend.
Ginger hesitated just long enough that they all knew the answer to that one.
“Ginger.” Candy’s voice was supportive and condemning all in one.
“What am I supposed to do, Can?”
“Tell him he gave up his rights years ago.”
Ginger shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
“Wait, that was your emergency appointment yesterday, wasn’t it?”
“I can’t believe you,” Candy said. “He didn’t have any trouble walking away, and you’re going to just let him off the hook.”
Elizabeth felt like the line judge at a tennis match, her head swiveling back and forth as her two friends verbally sparred. “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” Getting involved in Ginger’s troubles beat wallowing in her own.
“Ross had to ‘find himself’ so he abandoned his wife and child.” Candy used air quotes to compliment her caustic tone.
“That’s not exactly how it went,” Ginger retorted.
“Then how?” Elizabeth asked.
Ginger twisted halfway around in her seat. “Ross and I had a lot of problems.”
Candy snorted. “Ross had a lot of problems.”
“Candy, please.” Ginger turned back to Elizabeth. “I met him when I went to Dallas to culinary school. In the end, Ross didn’t walk away; I did.”
“Same thing.” Candy waved a dismissive hand.
“And he signed away all his rights as a father?” Elizabeth asked.
Ginger dropped her gaze to her lap, her fingers nervously tracing the edge of the
lace on her tiered skirt. “Not exactly.”
“What?” Candy jerked her head toward Ginger, sending the minivan careening across the middle white line and then back.
“Pay attention or pull over,” Elizabeth admonished.
“I am paying attention.”
“To the road,” Elizabeth clarified.
Candy carefully put on her blinker and very deliberately changed lanes. “Would you mind explaining that last tidbit, Ginger?” she asked as she pulled into the parking lot at the Loveless Community Center.
“Ross and I never got a divorce.”
“What?” The word exploded from Candy, but thankfully she managed to miss the cars in the lot. “Why not?”
Ginger shrugged. “I just never found the time.”
“In three years?” Candy sent her a discrediting look.
“It’s easier said than done,” Ginger said with a shrug, focusing her attention on the buildings whirring by.
“So now he decides he wants to be a husband and a father?”
“A husband,” Ginger mumbled.
“Come again?” Candy said.
“He doesn’t know about Nora.”
“Are you kidding me?” Candy screeched.
“Calm down, Candy.” Elizabeth met her friend’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m sure Ginger has her reasons. Jumping on her like that is not helping a thing.”
Candy relaxed a little back into her seat and nodded. “You’re right.” She put the minivan into park and patted Ginger’s leg.
“What are you going to do?” Elizabeth asked.
Ginger shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“You have to tell him.” Candy threw her hands in the air. “I can’t believe I’m saying this.”
“I know,” Ginger said to her lap. “I will.”
“I only get upset because I love you,” Candy added. “And I worry about you.”
Ginger nodded. “I know. I love you, too.”
“Now that we all love each other, can one of you tell me why we’re here?” Elizabeth asked, pointing to the Loveless Community Center.
“You’re going to love this.” Candy grabbed her purse and slid from the van. “Karaoke and dessert potluck.”
“Potluck? But I didn’t—”
Ginger handed her a foil-wrapped dish. “We got you covered.”
She had such wonderful friends. Even after fifteen years, they were together like no time had passed, helping each other through the tough relationships, certain heartbreak, and potluck dilemmas.
“Don’t let her fool you,” Ginger added. “She doesn’t come here for the sweets.”
Elizabeth spun around and eyed her friend. “You karaoke?”
Candy blushed and tucked a strand of streaky blond hair behind her ear. “A little.”
“She’s fabulous,” Ginger said.
“I don’t think I’ll sing tonight.” Candy locked the van and pocketed the keys.
“You have to sing,” Ginger said, as they entered the building.
Dessert and karaoke seemed to be a popular event for Loveless. Half the town milled around waiting for the singing to begin.
Candy slung her handbag over the back of her chair and pulled it into position to accommodate her growing girth. The rectangular tables were set up for the entertainment, with all the seats facing the stage. “I don’t know. I’m getting as big as a house.”
“Please sing.” Elizabeth followed suit, pulling out a chair and settling in for a great evening of being with friends. “I’m leaving soon. When else am I going to get to hear you?”
Ginger shrugged. “You could stay,” she added as she settled down next to Candy.
Despite the growing number of people in the auditorium, Elizabeth was certain she could have heard a pin drop. “I—I can’t stay.”
“Why not?” Candy asked “You have a house and—”
“I have a life in LA.”
“Don’t mind her,” Ginger said, shooting a glare at Candy. “She thinks she knows what’s best for everybody.”
But the thought of staying had etched itself across her mind. Not for JD, but for her. A slower life, her grandmother’s house, friends who loved her and wanted to take her out for a fun evening to get her mind off her troubles, even when they had troubles of their own.
But would she be able to live in Loveless knowing that JD was just around the corner and completely out of reach? And how would she support herself? Loveless wasn’t exactly the kind of town that could sustain a French bistro.
“I can’t stay,” she repeated. “I’m buying a restaurant.”
Candy clapped her hands together. “Why didn’t you say something before now?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Ginger looked to Candy who nodded.
“What?” Elizabeth asked.
“I told her there was something you weren’t telling us.”
“It’s no big deal,” Elizabeth said. “I mean, it is, but…well, I’m still waiting to hear back from the bank. Once I get the loan, then I’m set.”
“Is there a chance that you won’t get the money?”
“No.” Why did her heart fall a little at the thought of signing those papers?
“Then you’re good,” Candy said.
Ginger shot her another wilting glare. “What about JD?”
“There’s nothing between me and JD.” But her heart gave a lurch at the mention of his name.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Ginger said.
Elizabeth shook her head. “He’s vowed never to get married again.”
“Are you kidding?” This from Candy. “A man like that. He can’t stay single for the rest of his life.”
“He’s managed this far,” Elizabeth said.
“And here I thought he was staying single to reunite with you.”
“You are truly a romantic at heart, Candy,” Ginger added.
“It’s a tough job.” Candy gave a satisfied nod.
Ginger turned to Elizabeth. “Are you really going to go back to California and leave the best thing that’s ever happened to you?”
She propped her elbows on the table and buried her head in her hands. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she moaned.
“I, for one, think you should stay in Loveless where you belong.”
Elizabeth shook her head at Candy’s emphatic statement. Though as much as she felt she didn’t belong in Loveless she wondered if she belonged in California twice as much.
****
Elizabeth mentally counted the calories and fat grams in the banana cream pie, then cut the slice in half. The sliver looked pathetic on her plate next to the pile of fresh raspberries and the double chocolate cookie she split with Ginger. But she had eaten so much since her return to Texas, she wouldn’t be able to button her chef’s coat when she got back to LA if she kept it up.
“Hey, Bethie Grace.”
She turned as Mallory Carmichael approached, hands in her pockets and sheepish quirk on her lips. “Hi, Mallory.”
“Are you really going back to California?” The words seemed to burst from Mallory as if she had been holding them back past the boiling point.
“I’m leaving next week.” There went that drop in her stomach again. LA had been her home for the last eight years, so why did it seem the world away?
“Oh.” Mallory’s voice sounded small. “I wish…”
“You wish what?”
Mallory shook her head once more. “Never mind.”
“Was that Jeremy I saw when I came in?”
Mallory’s face broke into a sweet smile. “His parents let him come down for the weekend. He wants to go to the carnival with me tomorrow.”
“Really? What does your father say?”
The young girl’s smile faded in an instant. “You know Dad.”
“He loves you, you know.”
“I know,” she mumbled.
“It’s time for round two,” the announcer sa
id from the stage. “Everyone return to your seats, please.”
“Are you coming to the carnival tomorrow?” Mallory asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Elizabeth said, meaning every word.
“I guess I’ll see you then.”
As Elizabeth watched her walk back to the table she shared with her friends, she couldn’t help but notice the look Mallory received from Jeremy. Maybe she was being over-protective too, but she didn’t quite trust the sparkle in his serious brown eyes.
****
“Da-ad,” Mallory called, her voice carrying through the entire house. “Phone’s for you. It’s Rosie.”
He poked his head out the bedroom door as he heard her coming down the hall. “It’s Rosie?”
Mallory nodded, handing him the phone before turning with a quick swing of her hair and heading back the way she came.
“Hello? Rosie?” He sat down on the corner of his bed and reached for his boots. It was after ten in Texas, but Rosie was on New Mexico time, and it was an hour earlier there.
“Johnny.” Rosie’s familiar voice floated across the line. “How are you, mijo?”
He tucked the phone between his jaw and his shoulder, pulling off his boots one at a time as he talked. “Fine. Missin’ your cookin’.”
She chuckled. “Did you eat up all the casseroles already?”
“It’s not the same.”
The line grew quiet.
“Rosie?”
“I’m staying here, Johnny. With my sister.”
He stopped one boot on, one boot off. “I thought we were going to talk about this when you got back.”
She sighed. “Oh, mijo. We were going to talk about it later. It’s later now.”
“I suppose. But I thought…”
“What? That I would live with you forever?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Johnny, I love you and little Mallory, too, but there is nothing for me there. I have family here. Family who loves me.”
“We love you, and we’re almost family. Would have been if—” He stopped.
“If your father and I had married.”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
She sighed heavily. “We talked about it, many times.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Why did we never get married? Because…because he was afraid of how it would affect you. Emotionally.”
His biggest fear had been realized. He had been the cause behind their unhappiness. At least he thought they had been unhappy. They should have married. He would have adjusted. Then they could have been a family. And Rosie wouldn’t be leaving now. “What about financially?”
