by Liz Isaacson
“Yeah,” Jessie said, clearly enjoying herself. “I’m sure it’ll be good.”
“Are you going to go?”
“Oh, I have plans with Flynn on Saturday night.” Jessie beamed at Cami. “But you used to go to the fall firesides, every one of them.”
“Yeah.” Cami didn’t want to explain that she’d first gone because she was broken because of yet another disastrous relationship, and then to find a new date. Neither of those seemed like good reasons to attend a religious service, and she didn’t want to admit them out loud.
“It’ll be fun,” Granny said. “And maybe you’ll meet a man there.”
“No thanks, Granny,” Cami said. “I think I’m going to do what Flynn did. Thirty days. No dates. Male-fast.”
Jessie made a strangled sound and shook her head. “Not a good idea, Cami.”
“Why not?” She looked at her sister. “It’s not like I have to follow it, but maybe I don’t need to say yes to the very next person who asks me out.”
“I really think you should try Clay,” Jessie said.
Cami did like Clay, and she had been excited when he’d asked her out. But he must not have been as excited to go out with her, because it still hadn’t happened.
“I’m texting him right now,” Jessie said.
“You do that, and I will never speak to you again,” Cami said.
“She’s going to try her luck at the fireside,” Granny said, and Cami watched as Jessie lowered her phone, a worried edge in her eye. Her sister had always looked out for her, and Cami glanced at Granny.
“Fine, Granny. I’ll try my luck at the fireside.” But she wasn’t going to accept a date. Oh, no, she was not.
Granny’s seventh attempt to set her up would fail again. But maybe the reverend would say something to soothe her ragged soul.
Cami smoothed down the maxi dress, as it hid the extra pounds she’d been packing on lately. She’d gone through her room and thrown out the bags of potato chips, and she’d been taking the stairs two or three times before breakfast to get in some extra steps.
It had only been three days since the peach delight with her grandparents, so it wasn’t like she’d gotten rid of the weight she’d put on. Plus, she’d forgotten to look at the turquoise eggs that night, so she’d gone back last night with the banana ice cream her mother made and her excitement for colored chicken eggs at an all-time high.
The homestead felt so big these days, though her sisters all still lived here. But it wasn’t the place it had used to be, full of chatter and laughter and weekend movies with flavored popcorn and too much soda.
Now, Betsy, Georgia, and Jessie spent weekends with their significant others, and for all three of them, that meant a fiancé. In fact, by April of next year—just seven months from now—all of Cami’s siblings would be married.
Maybe Granny was magical, as she’d been claiming responsibility for the success of her grandchildren’s happiness.
And it didn’t just end with her branch of the Quinn family. Cousins everywhere from the pub to the spa to the veterinary office had found love.
Cami sighed. She wasn’t sure she wanted to start another relationship. Everything was new and exciting at first, but she worried she was shiny on the outside and completely dull on the inside. Once the men she’d gone out with rubbed off the gold, they were bored with her. Broke up with her. Or simply didn’t call her back.
Or asked her out and then never set anything up.
She pushed the thoughts of Clay out of her mind. She had his number too. She could’ve texted him easily. In fact, she could’ve asked him what he was doing that night. Now that the harvest was over, maybe he’d have time to go to the fall fireside with her.
A faint horn sounded, and she gathered her skirts and hurried upstairs. Granny and Gramps sat in the truck, side-by-side, and Cami grinned at them as she skipped down the steps.
“Heya,” she said.
“Are you ready for this?” Granny asked, a very proper hat on her head.
“So ready,” Cami said, buckling her seatbelt.
“I think you’ll meet someone tonight,” Granny said. “I have a very good feeling about it.”
“Okay, Granny.” Cami laughed, and after a very bumpy ride to the church, she climbed down and helped Granny out of the truck. They went into the church, and the September evening air definitely held a crispness to it that made Cami relax even further.
Autumn was her favorite season, and soon the leaves would be changing. Maybe when they came out of the fireside, fireflies would be buzzing in the air. Cami loved fireflies, but they didn’t come to Idaho often.
“Did we get the time wrong?” Granny asked when they walked in. When she heard the choir singing, alarm pulled through Cami too. She went ahead of her grandparents to find that yes, the fireside was obviously already in progress.
And the chapel was very full.
Cowboy hats stretched from left to right, and Cami wondered if they’d be able to find a seat.
Her phone buzzed, and she lifted it up to see a message from Clay. Her heart skipped a beat, and she had a moment of believing she’d abandon her elderly grandparents here in favor of going out with Clay.
But he’d said, There’s space by me if you need a seat.
She looked up to find one face turned back to her, an expectant smile on his face. “Over there, Granny,” she whispered, pointing toward Clay.
As if they could miss him. The man stood up, and Cami was once again reminded of how handsome he was, how broad those shoulders were, how kind that smile as he ushered her grandparents onto the bench.
He looked at her, and Cami walked toward him, a grateful smile on her face. Or maybe it was a flirtatious smile. She wasn’t sure.
What she was sure of was that she shouldn’t have worn these heels, as one stuck on the carpet and she stumbled.
“Whoa,” Clay said right out loud as he grabbed onto her. Cami felt the weight of dozens of eyes, and Clay’s strong arms kept her from falling all the way down.
A squeak came from her mouth as her fingers scrambled to find something to hold onto—and they found Clay’s biceps.
Wow, he was strong.
Her mind blanked as she looked up into his dreamy eyes. “I got you,” he said.
In the next moment, her face heated, and she struggled to get her balance back. She smoothed her hands down his arms and into her hair. “I’m okay.”
Clay stepped out of the way so she could sit next to Gramps, and Clay sat down beside her too. There was not enough room for all of them, and she shifted closer to Gramps while Clay lifted his arm around the back of the pew.
Warmth filled Cami, and a shiver ran across her shoulders from the nearness of him. So much for her swearing-off-men thing.
“Hey,” he whispered, the heat from his body filling her and making her face flush. “You look great.”
“Thank you,” she whispered back, fighting the urge to lean into him as if she was his girlfriend. In the end, she gave up and let herself lean against him.
“Sorry we haven’t been able to get together,” he whispered. “Maybe I can make you lunch tomorrow after church?”
Cami turned toward him, and their faces were dangerously close. Close enough she could see the flecks of green in his dark blue eyes. Close enough to kiss him if she wanted to.
And oh, she wanted to.
You weren’t going to say yes to the next man who asked you out, she told herself.
But she found herself saying, “Yeah, lunch would be great,” before she faced the front and tried to focus on the pastor as he stood at the microphone and started his sermon.
“Great,” Clay said. “We can sit together at church too, if you want. You drive with your sisters, right?”
She nodded, and Clay let his arm drop slightly so it was resting around her shoulders—just like a boyfriend would do.
And Cami didn’t mind one little bit, even when Granny leaned over and whispered, “Isn’t thi
s an amazing fireside?”
FALL FIRESIDE is coming in September 2019! Join Liz’s newsletter so you don’t miss the release.
Granny’s Sausage and Cheese Kolaches
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
2 1/4 tsp yeast (One packet)
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup lukewarm milk
4 tbs butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 3/4 cups flour (You may need up to 5 1/2 cups)
Filling:
12 fully cooked sausage links
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup jalapeño slices, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or whichever bowl you plan on mixing everything in), combine the yeast and water. Let rest to proof about 5 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low, add milk, butter, eggs, sugar, and salt until evenly combined.
3. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until blended. Add 2 more cups and mix until blended. Add the remaining 3/4 cup and continue mixing. If the dough still sticks to the side of the bowl, continue adding flour about 2 tbs at a time until the right consistency is reached.
4. Lightly grease the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
5. Meanwhile prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
6. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions. Roll each into rectangles about 5 inch by 2 1/2 inch long.
7. Sprinkle 1 tbs cheese in a line down the middle. Layer on a few jalapeño slices, then lay on the sausage. Wrap the sausage in the dough, pinching to seal.
8. Transfer the kolache to the baking sheet, and place seam side down. Let rest for 30 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 F.
9. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
10. Let cool about 20 minutes before serving.
**Recipe from Wide Open Eats
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About Liz
Liz Isaacson is a USA Today bestselling author and a Kindle All-Star Author. She is the author of the #1 bestselling Three Rivers Ranch Romance series, the #1 bestselling Horseshoe Home Ranch Romance series, the Brush Creek Brides series, the USA Today bestselling Steeple Ridge Romance series (Buttars Brothers novels), the Grape Seed Falls Romance series, the Christmas in Coral Canyon Romance series (Whittaker Brothers and Everett Sisters novels), the Quinn Valley Ranch Romance series, and the Last Chance Ranch Romance series.
She writes inspirational romance, usually set in Texas and Montana, or anywhere else horses and cowboys exist. She lives in Utah, where she teaches elementary school, taxis her daughter to dance several times a week, and eats a lot of Ferrero Rocher while writing.
Learn more about all her books here. Find her on Facebook, twitter, BookBub, and her website.
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BIRTHDAY BOYFRIEND
by Liz Isaacson
Copyright © 2019 by Elana Johnson, writing as Liz Isaacson
Published by AEJ Creative Works
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Cover by Erin Dameron-Hill
Interior Design by AEJ Creative Works
