by Joyce Lavene
She yelled as his rough hold brought tears to her eyes. Her hand banged against the stove. The heavy, cast iron frying pan was still there. He was close to her. With a quick movement, she grabbed the frying pan and hit him as hard as she could.
He didn’t release her, but he drew in a short, painful breath and swore at her. She knew she’d hurt him and tried again.
This time, he let her go, moaning and dropping to the floor. She stood over him with the frying pan in both hands ready to hit him again.
“I think you got him,” Jack said near her ear. “You win. Let me get the lights.”
Sarah wanted to run after him. She wanted to be anywhere except where the man who wanted to kill her was. Her legs wouldn’t move. Her head felt like she’d been the one hit with a frying pan. Her knees gave out, and she sank to the wood floor.
The lights came on. Ron was alive but out cold near her feet with a deep, red gash on his head.
“Are you okay?” Jack found her staring at the other man. She didn’t reply, even when he took the frying pan away from her and helped her to her feet. “Sarah?”
With a small cry, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “You’re fine. And you took care of your boyfriend.”
Sarah moved away from him. “Where were you? I don’t get one moment’s peace around here with you popping up everywhere. Where were you tonight?”
He started to speak.
“And don’t you dare tell me you were out looking for that stupid gold in the river. I’ll hit you with the frying pan too.”
“I was having a drink with Gray and Mary. There was a lot to tell them about the gold and what the museum director said. I started home and saw the light on in the house. Ron was waving the gun around in front of the window. The rest is history. I can guess what his plan was.”
“Oh.” She sat at the table. “I need a drink.” She watched as Jack tied Ron’s hands and feet. “Where’s Mace?”
“I would’ve been back for you sooner, but he woke up as I was moving him and started crying and clinging like a monkey. I couldn’t get him to stop. I had to knock him out again and leave him in the barn. I guess I was too impatient with him. You were already taking care of the situation. ”
Sarah heard the distant sound of sirens coming toward them. Jack poured her a drink from a jug made of brown pottery. “Tommy made this. It should do the trick.”
The rest of the night was a blur after she’d imbibed whatever was in the jug. Sheriff Morgan came and went. She was sure she saw other deputies and paramedics, but she didn’t regain full consciousness until the next morning.
“Oh God.” She groaned and put her hands to her head. “How much of that stuff did I drink?” Her whole body hurt and her head felt as though it was going to fall off.
“More than I’ve ever had.” Jack was sitting in a chair by the foot of her mother’s bed. “You’ve got quite a tolerance.”
“Why didn’t you stop me?” She tried to get up, but it hurt too much to move.
“I was afraid you might hit me with the frying pan.”
She opened one eye to glare at him. He sounded much too happy. “What’s so funny?” Her voice was raspy and thick.
“You—in that bed. Your feet hang off the end. I moved your things into your grandparents’ room. At least that way the bed is big enough for you.”
“Are we still pretending that I’m going to stay?”
“I’ve never pretended you were going to stay. The first time I saw you get out of the car, I knew you were staying.”
Sarah started to argue with him, but that was it. The abuse she’d heaped on her stomach turned on her, and she barely made it to the bathroom.
“That’s another plus to your grandparents’ room,” he said as she sped by. “The bathroom is closer.”
Epilogue
Sarah sat on one of the large rocks in the river beside the stone pillar that pointed out the boundaries between counties. The sun was warm on her head even though the water was freezing where her feet rested.
It had been an eventful few weeks since Ron had confessed to killing George Burris and Leland Drake. Her mother had called it a nightmare and offered to come get her. But the worst was yet to happen, at least in her mother’s point of view.
Explaining to her parents and her brother that she wasn’t going to sell the farm and that she was staying in Misty River was something she wished she could forget.
There had been crying and recriminations. Her father had threatened to cut her out of his will. Her brother had said he’d take her to court for his portion of the land. He’d actually come to the farm but had left quickly when he’d seen the new bee colony that Kathy was helping her start.
Everyone would get over it. She’d been worried about work, but her boss had come through again. Clare still wanted her to work for her, with the occasional trip to Richmond or when she traveled. Sarah would be able to do most of what was needed from her laptop right there in Misty River.
Everyone else seemed unsurprised that she’d decided to stay. Kathy and the Popes had welcome home parties for her. Her life was taking on a new dimension as she and her property manager, Jack Collins, came up with ideas that could make the farm profitable again.
Peggy Lee’s husband, Steve Newsome, had called from his office in Charlotte to let her know that he might have found a lead about where her grandparents had disappeared.
“I don’t have anything official about this yet, but I thought you’d want to know what I’d found.”
“Anything.” She put the phone on speaker so Jack could hear too.
“It’s possible—and I use that word carefully—that your grandparents were relocated for their safety.”
“What?” she asked. “You mean like witness protection?”
“Yes. But it was a long time ago, and information on the program is sketchy. I can’t swear you’ll ever know for sure. I’m going to send you what I can that made me begin searching in that direction. Keep it to yourself. Don’t even share with your local law enforcement. If they were relocated, and are still safe, their lives could depend on it.”
Sarah was surprised and happy. “Maybe there’s an answer besides ghosts and aliens. Thank you, Steve.”
“Sure. And Peggy says you should come visit for Christmas. Her new tree is decorated. We’re having a party on the seventeenth. Nothing formal. Come if you can. You can stay with us.”
“I’ll try to be there.” They exchanged goodbyes. Sarah stared straight ahead at the kitchen wall for a long time. “Do you think it’s possible?”
“Anything is possible,” Jack replied. “Maybe we’ll see them again.”
Which had brought them to the river on the last day of November when other people were frantically traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Jack came up out of the water. He was wearing a snorkel and a wet suit against the cold current. In his gloved hand were three pea-sized pieces of gold.
Sarah held out the bowl. “It looks like Big Mike did a good job of hiding the gold.”
“I think he spent most of it.” Jack looked at the paltry findings in the bowl. “You’ll probably make more money on tourists coming to put their kayaks in the river as part of the Blue Way.”
She sighed. “Every little bit helps. Is that it for today?”
“I think so. I can’t feel my fingers anymore.”
“I expected more from you. You seemed tougher.”
“Thanks.” He pushed himself up on the rock beside her. “You know I get half of this as a finder’s fee since I’m always the one in the water.”
“You’ll have to get in line behind my brother if you want to sue me.” She stood up and reached down for the bowl. But before she could get it, he pushed her into the freezing water.
Sarah came up shivering and calling him every name she could think of. “Why did you do that?”
“I just wanted you to have the
feeling that you’d done something to earn your share.” Jack picked up the bowl and started toward the river bank.
“Hey wait! Aren’t you going to help me out? Jack?” she yelled after him. “You can’t just leave me here.”
“See you back at the house.”
From the Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin Word Lore
Pumpkins date back for hundreds of years. The word ‘pumpkin’ originated from the Greek word for large melon, pepon. Pepon was changed by the French into pompon. Down through the years, the English changed pompon to pumpion which it remained until the 1700s when the Americans changed it to pumpkin. It has resided there happily ever since.
The pumpkin has been useful to writers almost since it was first named. Shakespeare spoke of ‘pumpion’ in his Merry Wives of Windsor tale. It is also used in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, and Cinderella.
Types of Pumpkins
There are dozens of types of pumpkins with many interesting names including Cinderella, One Too Many, and Red Warty Thing. Each has its own colors, sizes, and desirable traits. Choose your pumpkin according to your needs.
· Jack Be Little is a miniature pumpkin variety, perfect for table decoration.
· Autumn Gold is great for carving and decorating. It’s a good choice for Jack-o-Lanterns.
· Sugar Treat is just right for cooking and baking.
· Dill’s Atlantic Giant variety can grow to 200 pounds. This is a massive pumpkin.
Recipes
Pumpkin Pound Cake
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
Confectioner’s sugar (if you’d like to dust the top)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F and use vegetable spray to grease a 12-cup Bundt cake pan.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Separate eggs in two bowls. Place yolks in a small bowl and whites in a large mixing bowl.
Beat the butter until smooth in another large bowl. Add the brown sugar mixing well after the addition. Beat in vanilla and continue beating for about 3 minutes.
Beat the yolks with a fork then add to sugar mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl as you mix.
Add pumpkin puree to this mixture and beat until smooth. With a wooden spoon, add in the flour mixture. Beat only until dry ingredients are lightly blended.
Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until soft peaks form then fold whites into the pumpkin batter.
Spoon batter into prepared Bundt pan. Spread batter evenly around pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing then allow to completely cool. Dust with powdered sugar (if desired). Makes 20 servings.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 green chili pepper, seeds and veins removed, and finely chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 cans vegetable broth
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or 1 16 oz. canned pumpkin
1 bay leaf
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 cup evaporated skim milk
Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley (if desired)
Instructions:
In a 6-quart saucepan, sauté onions, celery, and chili pepper in oil. Onions should be translucent, but not brown.
Add broth, pumpkin, bay leaf, and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove bay leaf.
Add evaporated milk and cook over low heat 5 minutes. Do not boil. Add salt and black pepper, if desired.
Serve hot. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese or chopped parsley. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Toasted, Delicious Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar (or sweetener)
1 teaspoon salt (if you wish)
1 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
Instructions:
Separate pumpkin seeds from the pulp. Sorry – there’s no way around this. Separate the seeds from the pumpkin in water to make it easier.
Toss the clean seeds in a bowl with the melted butter, coating completely. Add seasonings and toss together.
Spray vegetable shortening across a cookie sheet and spread seeds in an even layer.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the seeds are golden brown. Stir the seeds once or twice as they are baking so that they toast evenly. Remove from oven and cool before saving in a tightly covered container. Serves 2-4 people
About the Authors
Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery and urban fantasy fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. Their first mystery novel, Last Dance, won the Master’s Choice Award for best first mystery novel in 1999. Their romance, Flowers in the Night, was nominated for the Frankfurt Book Award in 2000.
They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Penguin, Amazon, and Simon and Schuster that are sold worldwide. They have also published hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in Midland, North Carolina with their family and their rescue pets—Rudi, Stan Lee, and Quincy.
Visit them at:
www.joyceandjimlavene.com
www.facebook.com/joyceandjimlavene
http://amazon.com/author/jlavene
https://twitter.com/AuthorJLavene
Table of Contents
Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-Four
About the Authors
