by Lynn Cahoon
“You already did.” I got out two slices of the cheesecake and poured the coffee. Then I went around the counter and sat next to him. No one should eat alone on Mother’s Day, especially a kid who’d been through what Kyle had. I pointed to the book. “So what’s that?”
“Jodi called me Friday night.”
I must have shown my concern in my body language, because Kyle laughed. “Relax. She wanted to tell me she’d sent me something. Something of my mom’s.”
“The journal?”
“Yeah. I guess it was mixed up with Jodi’s stuff when they packed up my mom’s things. I don’t know what my grandmother did with that stuff, but I have an idea.” He picked up the book. “Anyway, she had this. It’s a daily diary for about three years when she first went inside. And every day, there’s some mention of me.”
“That’s great.” I watched him carefully.
“It’s more than great. It proves she didn’t forget me.” Kyle wiped away tears. “My mother loved me and that’s what I’m taking away from all this pain. Her love.”
I walked outside with Kyle and there, sitting on one of my outdoor tables, was a three-foot garden gnome. I picked it up and took it into the shop. I dialed a number on my cell and waited for the call to be answered. “The mass exodus had ended. One of the missing gnomes has returned.”
* * * *
We were at the restaurant, three on one side of the table and three on the other. No one was talking. I poured Harrold and Aunt Jackie more water.
“So Jill.” Greg’s mother, who had asked me to call her Amanda, sat directly across from me. “Tell me about this bookstore you own. It must be rewarding keeping the joy of books alive in a little community like South Cove. How are you dealing with the giant sale sites on the internet?”
I felt my aunt stiffen beside me. “Actually, we have an internet presence but most of our sales come from impulse buys from tourists or book clubs we’ve set up for community members. We have book clubs meeting every Saturday and one every week during the evening.”
“We’re expanding those,” Aunt Jackie added. “It’s all about being part of the community and not thinking it’s all about sales, like some of our less successful shops in South Cove.”
“I suspect you’re talking about Sherry and Pat’s venture. I stopped in yesterday to say hello and Sherry told me what a waste it had been to open the shop.” Amanda sipped her coffee. “Of course, later, when Sherry went off to her salon appointment, Pat gave me the real story. I guess Pat’s running the business and giving Sherry an allowance. Which is much less than she thinks she deserves. Pat says good things about South Cove and is thinking of moving into the apartment above the shop.”
“Pat always did have a good head for business.” Greg shook his head. “Now if she could just shake herself of that parasite.”
“Greg. You shouldn’t talk about Sherry that way. You two were married.” Jim refilled his coffee cup.
“Were is the word you need to remember, Jim.” Amanda patted her older son’s arm. “Your brother has a much more interesting person in his life now. And I’d like to get to know her more. Jill, why a coffee shop and bookstore? Why not one or the other?”
As I explained my business model to Amanda with my aunt adding in points now and again, I felt Greg take my hand under the table. Apparently, I’d won over his mother and gotten her blessing. An act I didn’t think Jim would ever forgive me for, but then again, I wasn’t interested in that brother. I had my sights set on pleasing one man at this table. And with his hand in mine, I thought I might just be making our first formal Mother’s Day a success.
Now, if I could just get through the Thanksgiving family minefield.
Note from the Author
Hi Readers!
One of Greg’s favorite meals at Diamond Lille’s is Tiny’s Provolone Stuffed Meatloaf. Since I’ve been on a low carb, low sugar diet, this seemed to fit the bill. Except for the ketchup. And the brown sugar. But a girl’s got to have some secrets, right?
Hope you enjoy,
Lynn
Recipe – Tiny’s Provolone Stuffed Meatloaf
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the following:
1 pound ground beef (85%)
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup milk
2 tb Worcestershire sauce
Spray a glass 9x13 baking dish with spray oil, then take half of the ground beef mixture and form the bottom half of your loaf. Layer with 8 oz provolone slices. Then cover the cheese with the other half of the ground beef mixture.
In a bowl, mix:
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar, tightly packed
1 tb Worcestershire sauce
1 tb red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
⅛ tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
Spread half of the topping on the meatloaf and put in the oven for 45 minutes. Then spread the other half of the topping on, turn up the oven to 400 degrees, and bake another 15 minutes. Let set a few minutes before serving.
Serve with a green salad and sautéed zucchini.
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Be sure to check out all her series
The Tourist Trap Mysteries
The Cat Latimer Mysteries
And
The Farm-to-Fork Mysteries
Available wherever books are sold
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho expat. She grew up living the small town life she now loves to write about. Currently, she’s living with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. Guidebook to Murder, Book 1 of the Tourist Trap series, won the 2015 Reader’s Crown award for Mystery Fiction.
