Maya beamed under the compliment. Janey pulled her pizza out and sat across from her friend. “So I’m dating Adam Herrin, and I think I might be ready to move past Matt.”
Maya’s eyes rounded and her spoon paused halfway to her mouth, loaded with raspberry yogurt. “Adam Herrin?”
“Yeah, you know. Chief of Police.”
“Yeah, I know.” She stuck the yogurt in his mouth. “Wow, Janey. You go big or go home.”
Janey laughed, sobering quickly. “Is it bad that I can think of Matt now without wanting to cry?”
Maya put one hand over Janey’s their tan skin blending together in an array of fingers. “Of course not. He’s been gone a long time.”
Janey nodded, and as her mind started sucking her down a path about the dangers of Adam’s job, she pulled herself right back out.
Think less. Act first.
Chapter Sixteen
Adam left the station about mid-afternoon and went home to make another batch of soup. He’d heard a rumor that the judges strongly favored an autumn themed recipe, and as he looked back through the previous dishes he’d won with—pork with roasted apples and heirloom beets when the theme was apples, and a pumpkin chocolate chip soufflé when the theme was pumpkin, and sausage with sweet potatoes and pecans when the them had been sweet potatoes.
So he couldn’t serve beef stew at the Fall Festival. He’d stopped by the grocery store and picked up several autumn squashes—acorn, butternut to be precise. They, along with three heads of garlic, were currently roasting in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper while Adam studied a recipe card that had been used so many times, the edges were curled.
He picked up the phone and called his mother, saying, “Hey, Ma,” when she answered. “I’m looking at Grandma’s recipe, and I can’t read one of the spices.” He lifted the card and peered at it on a slant. “It says spicy curry powder, and cumin, and then smoked...something. What is that?”
“Paprika,” she said immediately. “And cinnamon. And cayenne pepper. Are you making that for the Fall Festival?”
“I’m trying it.”
“It’s different. Granny Stevie will like it if you win with her recipe. She switched out some of the butternut for acorn squash you know. And she used to add a single carrot for color too.”
Adam frowned at the card. “She did? That’s not written here.”
“Well, write it in. I was with her the last time she made it, and she added a single, peeled carrot with the other squashes when she roasted them. It gave the soup a richer orange color.” She laughed and Adam heard something bang in the background. “My mouth is watering just thinking about that soup.”
“I’ll bring you some before City Council meeting.”
“If you have time,” she said. “I know these Council Tuesdays are busy for you.”
With all the new ingredients—from coconut milk to goat cheese to smoked paprika—he wasn’t sure he’d have time to get out to the lavender farm before his meeting. He loved cooking while the afternoon sun slanted through the windows along the back of his house, and before he knew it, the soup had come together nicely.
It did look a bit pale, halfway between yellow and orange, and he scratched out a note to add a carrot for color next time he made it. He swirled the coconut ginger cream on the top, and added the goat cheese, the roasted pistachios, a bit of chopped cilantro, and a few arils of pomegranate to the top of the soup. The white, the brown, the pink, the green, and the yellow made a beautiful food picture, and Adam smiled at the soup.
He knew the judges awarded points for presentation, and he wondered if he needed more of a crunchy element. Maybe croutons? He could easily herb up squares of bread and toast them while the soup cooked and add a few to the medley of garnishes.
He snapped a picture and sent it to Janey, along with What do you think of this for the Fall Festival?
I want to eat that right now, she sent back immediately.
Where are you? He checked the time and realized he only had an hour until his meeting. I’m headed out to my mother’s to drop off some of this. I can swing by your place too, if you want.
Not home yet, she messaged. Don’t worry about it.
A sense of loss Adam didn’t quite understand enveloped him. He pushed it away and messaged, All right. City Council tonight. Talk later, before shoving his phone in his back pocket and packing up the soup.
He arrived at his parent’s farm and went in the back door to find Joel washing his hands at the kitchen sink. “Hey, brought some soup.” He put the containers on the table and faced his step-dad. “How’s the farm?”
Joel smiled as he dried his hands. “Just fine. Did Drew tell you he’s thinking about getting another dog?”
Adam’s eyebrows shot up. “No, he didn’t say that.”
“He wants a smaller one,” Joel said, opening the fridge. “How are you and Janey?”
It had been two days since the beach trip had ended. What did Joel think could happen in two days? “Just fine,” he said, echoing Joel’s comment. “Look, I have City Council tonight. I just stopped by to drop this off. Tell my mom hello, okay?”
He wondered where she was, but he didn’t want to ask.
“She’s just getting up,” Joel said. “She should be out any second.”
“Getting up?”
“She took a little nap this afternoon.”
Adam cocked his head to the side and looked at his step-dad. For the first time, Adam realized how old he looked. His hair had gone white at some point, and while he was still tall and wiry, he looked like he’d lost some of his strength.
“Is she okay?” Adam asked. He wasn’t alarmed. No sense in worrying over a nap if it was nothing. He took naps sometimes, too.
“She caught something at the beach,” Joel said. “A cold or something. She’ll appreciate this soup.”
A moment later, footsteps sounded, and Adam glanced toward the doorway that led into the living room. His mother appeared, and she looked older than the picture in his head. And pale.
Her smile was the same, as was the warmth she exuded whenever she looked at him. The only time he’d seen her anything but welcoming and wonderful had been which his father had passed away.
“Adam.” She swept over to him and gave him a hug. “Good to see you.”
He chuckled, though he loved a good hug from his mom. “We just spent the weekend together.”
“Oh, no.” She stepped back and glanced at the soup containers. “You spent the weekend with Janey. We barely saw you.”
Adam scoffed. “That’s not true. She spent hours and hours planning the wedding. I was a glorified babysitter for her and Gretchen.”
His mom laughed and picked up a soup container. “So are we. We like it.”
Adam grinned at the two of them, glad he could come here and bask in the memories of his childhood, feel his mother’s love, and see what great people she and Joel were. He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “All right. I’m going to be late.” He nodded at the containers. “You put most of that on top. It’s pretty good.”
“I’ll let you know.” Joel stepped between Adam and his mom and plucked a container from the table and put it in the microwave.
Adam ducked out the door and got back in his cruiser. He had five minutes to spare when he arrived at the city offices, and the number of cars in the parking lot didn’t soothe him. Sometimes these meetings could go for hours, and he was foolish to think tonight’s would be different. It was the last City Council meeting before the Fall Festival, and there was a group of people who wanted to take the city funding for the festival and put it toward road improvements.
As soon as he walked in, he spied all of those people, and he couldn’t help the sigh that blew through his lips. It was definitely going to be a long meeting.
* * *
By the time he got home, his exhaustion reached all the way into his bones. He pulled into his driveway, his headlights cutting a swath across a green Jeep. His heart pumped out a
n extra beat, and he hoped Janey had gone inside as autumn had chosen the last two days to arrive with a vengeance.
She sat on his front steps, both dogs crowded around her and her hands buried in her coat pockets.
“Hey,” he said as he climbed the steps slowly. “Why didn’t you go in?”
“It’s locked.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Oh, only about a half an hour.”
“Don’t you know that everyone has a spare key hidden under their mat?” He chuckled and extended his hand toward her to help her stand. “Now, since I do know that, I keep my spare key in a much more secure place.” He reached up to the top of the doorjamb and swiped his hand along the narrow ridge there as she came to his side. His fingers brushed metal and he pulled the key down, presenting it to her with a flourish.
“I honestly can’t believe I locked the door when I left. I had so much stuff in my hands.” He smiled down at her, her beauty striking him right in the chest. She held his gaze, her eyes bright under the porch light and her cheeks tinged with pink because of the chill in the air.
She didn’t fit the key into the lock and go inside but held his gaze. The desire to kiss her made his whole body tingle, and he let his natural instincts take over.
He lifted his hand and cradled her face, bent down slowly, ever so slowly so she could stop him if she wanted to. He closed his eyes and heard her whisper something, but it wasn’t loud enough for him to decipher.
And then his mouth grazed hers and lightning struck his heart. She’d given her permission by not pulling back or pushing him away, and Adam kissed her properly the second time his lips touched hers, his other hand curling around her waist and keeping her close.
He barely had time to think about what he was doing when the kiss ended. His eyes flew open and met hers, and the powerful electricity flowing between them made Adam feel more alive than he ever had.
He had no idea what to say and she didn’t seem to either as the silence stretched. At least it wasn’t an awkward silence. She broke their connection and laid her cheek against his chest, a sigh passing from her and into him.
“Okay?” he finally got up the courage to ask.
She giggled and wrapped both arms around him. “Okay.”
“So we can go in?” he asked. “I’m starting to freeze out here.”
She extracted herself from his arms and fumbled the key in the lock, finally fitting it in and opening the door. The dogs streaked past her and he waited for her to enter first.
“It’s late,” he said. “Aren’t you tired?”
“I have tomorrow off,” she said.
“I thought you had to work Wednesdays for the next few weeks because of the beach weekend.”
“I begged off tomorrow.” She drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m just going to lie around in sweats and drink hot cocoa.” She glanced at him and laughed. “I should probably hide those flaws, shouldn’t I?”
Adam set his wallet and keys on the kitchen counter and said, “You don’t have many flaws, Janey. If wearing sweats on your day off is one of them, I think you’re doin’ just fine.” He flashed her a smile, his earlier exhaustion returning. He yawned and unhooked his police belt, ready to be in sweats himself.
“I stay up late and read in bed,” she said with a small laugh. “But I can see you’re tired. I just wanted to...I don’t know. See you, I guess.”
Adam leaned his hip into the countertop. “You wanted to see me?”
She gave him a coy smile that made his pulse beat irregularly. “I wanted to see you, so I came to see you.”
“Well, you’ve seen me, and it’s late, and with your car in my driveway all the time, I don’t think this relationship is going to stay private much longer.”
“No, probably not.” She inched closer. “Do we have time for soup now, or do you not eat at eleven o’clock at night?”
“You know eating this late is bad for your digestive system, right?”
“I eat pretzels and chocolate chips until two a.m. pretty regularly.”
Surprise and delight bolted through Adam and he tipped his head back and laughed. “So soup is nothing. I’ll heat it up.” He went about making her a hot, pretty bowl of soup while she told him about her Tuesday hike to some waterfalls.
“And I want you to come sometime,” she said.
“I don’t know if I can get away on Tuesday.”
“We can go anytime,” she said. “Jess likes the hike and we can take a lunch or something.”
“What about this weekend?” He sprinkled the nuts and other toppings on the soup and slid it over to her.
“We can go on my lunch hour,” she said, picking up her spoon.
“And Jess can ride over here in the morning, and we’ll cook.” He wasn’t really asking, though they hadn’t made plans. “What does he normally do on the weekends?”
“Oh, he sleeps late, and then he’s usually home alone on Saturdays. On Sunday, Gretchen usually takes him out the lavender farm or over to her place.”
“He can come here anytime,” Adam offered. “I think he likes it here.”
Janey rolled her eyes. “You think? He talks about your dogs and your motorcycle non-stop. You’re like a god to him.”
Adam blinked, unsure if he should laugh or scoff or what. She dished up a bite of soup and put it in her mouth, a moan emanating from her throat a moment later.
“Oh, yeah.” She nodded. “That’s the winner right there.”
Chapter Seventeen
Janey wanted to curl into Adam’s side on his couch and watch whatever he put on, but he seemed a couple of minutes away from passing out. So she finished her soup and put on her coat. He walked her to the door, and she wanted to kiss him again.
So, just like she’d done to get herself to his house tonight, she didn’t think. She acted. Tipping up on her toes, she kissed him, taking a few extra seconds to really experience him before pulling away.
“See you tomorrow?” she asked.
“I thought you were going to drink hot cocoa in your sweats all day.”
“I think I can spare an hour for lunch. Do you want to go out here in town? Really make everything known?”
A flash of alarm passed through his eyes. There, then gone. “Sure,” he said. “Do you like Mexican food?”
“I never say no to chips and salsa.”
“Great, I’ll call you.” He opened the door and leaned into the doorjamb with one arm. “My schedule is a little unpredictable.”
“All right, let me know.” She trailed her fingers along his chest before stepping out into the cold night. By the time she got home and slid under her covers with her e-reader, a slight sense of panic had descended upon her.
She’d snuck out of the house after her teenager was asleep, to go meet her boyfriend, and kiss him on his front porch. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, pulled against her panic. And what a kiss it had been. Beautiful, and slow, and filled with emotion.
“So nothing to worry about,” she told herself. Jess had been fine here alone. And she’d gotten to see Adam.
She started reading, and when Jess woke her in the morning, her device had been wedged under her arm somehow. “I can drive you,” she said, flinging the covers off.
“It’s fine. I’m skating over with Thayne and Greg.”
“Greg?” Janey padded after him and entered the kitchen, where Jess grabbed a couple of slices of toast from the counter. “Who’s Greg?”
“Greg Grigsby,” he said. “His mom works at the school, remember?”
“She’s a counselor, right?”
“Right.” Jess stepped past her and headed for the front door.
“Are you okay to go to Adam’s this weekend to cook? He asked if you wanted to come on Saturday.”
“Yeah, fine.” Jess opened the door and left without looking back. Janey sighed, wishing she’d set her alarm and gotten up so she could spend longer than thirty seconds having a conversat
ion mostly with herself.
The door opened, and Jess ran back in.
“Did you forget something?”
He hugged her and said, “Bye, Mom. Love you,” before ducking his head and retracing his steps.
Janey smiled after him, wondering what she’d done to get such a good son. “He’s just like Matt,” she muttered. Good-natured. Kind. He could use some lessons in hard work, but he seemed to do okay in school, and he worked around the farm when he went out there with Joel and Drew and Donna.
She did stay in her pajamas for a while, and she sipped hot chocolate while she watched the sun melt the fog. Then she showered and got dressed and went over to her mom’s house. She hadn’t visited with her in a while, and she tried to get over to see her, assess any household needs she had, and let them visit with Jess as often as she could stand it. With her dad gone now, sometimes her mom didn’t take care of things the way she should.
“Mom?” she called as she pushed through the front door. They lived in an old brick house, the same one where Janey had grown up, on the northeast side of town. She lived in almost a straight diagonal line from them, closer to the Lavender Highway and thus the National Park.
“Janey?” Her mom perked up from her spot in the recliner. She set aside her sewing and stood. “What are you doing here?”
“Just came to say hello.” She glanced around. Everything seemed to be okay. There were no foul smells in the air, and nothing seemed to be about to explode.
“Where’s Jess?”
“Oh, he’s at school. It’s Wednesday, Mom. My day off.” She followed her mom into the kitchen.
“Coffee?” Her mom bustled around, already filling the coffee pot.
Though her mom didn’t make great coffee, Janey said, “Sure,” and opened the fridge to see what was inside.
Not much. No cream. No milk.
“Mom, do you need to go to the grocery store?”
“Oh, I’m not going there anymore.”
Janey let the fridge swing shut. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, they were rude to me last time I was there, and I’m not going back.” She set the empty pot on the burner, her eyes flashing.
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