“I knew her better than either of you. And she didn’t take that book.”
“Then who did?” Mom ripped back, her mouth a flat line in her narrow face.
“I don’t know, but it wasn’t her. She said she didn’t take it, and she’s never lied. Not once.”
“Ow!”
He and Mom looked at Grandma.
“Sorry.” She pointed her spoon to her soup bowl. “I burned my tongue.”
Mom cut her a hard look. “Stop trying to change the subject. You invited Ella to your house. You are responsible for that.”
“I wouldn’t have invited her if I’d have known she was a thief.” Riled up, Grandma was forgetting to play ill. Her cheeks were now a healthy color, flushed pink by outrage.
Gray nudged her foot under the table.
Her gaze flew to his, surprised at the interruption.
He raised his eyebrows.
It took a moment, but she finally got the message. Instantly, she put a hand to her forehead. “Oh dear. My head is throbbing.”
“Must be the weather,” Gray answered, finishing his tea. “It’s supposed to rain tonight.” He pushed himself from the table. “Which is yet another reason I need to get going. I’ve got cows out in the field. I need to bring them in if there’s going to be lightning.”
“I can’t imagine you having cows,” Grandma said.
To be honest, he hadn’t planned on it, but when the farmer who’d owned the farm mentioned he was going to “get rid” of them, Gray had impulsively asked that they be included in the purchase. “They’re like puppies. They just want to eat, play, and sleep.”
Grandma smiled her approval, but Mom looked as if she wasn’t through talking about Ella. Thankfully, she thought better of it and, after a stilted moment, said, “The new line cook was impressed with the vegetables you brought the other day. He asked where we got them.” But although her words seemed positive, she still sent him a measured look, as if searching for cracks in his armor.
Her nervousness spurred his anxiety once again and his throat tightened. Stop that, he told himself. If she kept this up, he’d have to run this afternoon just to regain his earlier calm. He carried his gym bag in his truck for just such times as this.
Grandma caught his gaze and winked.
That was it. Just a sly wink, and the touch of a smile too, but it was enough to make his shoulders return to the correct level. She understood him better than he did himself.
Gray stood. “I’d better go.”
Mom folded the final shopping bag and added it to the pile on the counter. “Thank you for sitting with your grandma.”
Grandma put down her spoon. “He was visiting, not babysitting.”
“Hmm, wasn’t I, though?” Gray asked, trying not to laugh. “In fact, I was just thinking that someone should put you down for a nap. You look tired.”
Her eyes sparkled with irritation, and she bared her teeth at him. “Bless your heart. You’re just the sweetest thing.”
“He is. And a nap is a good idea.” Mom picked up the shopping bags. “I’m going to take these out to the car. If I wait until later, I’ll forget them.”
The front door had barely closed before Grandma shoved her cold soup away. “Pure swill. I’m surprised Jules will even admit she made it.”
Gray rubbed his shin. “I don’t know why I’m even speaking to you after that kick.”
“You deserved that kick. You owe me an apology for your nap suggestion, too. Fortunately, you can pay me back with a piece of coconut cake.”
“Where on earth would I get that?”
“Stop by the Moonlight tomorrow on your way here for lunch and pick up a piece. If your mom is here when you arrive, sneak it upstairs and hide it in my nightstand drawer. I’ll eat it after she’s gone to bed.”
He tsked. “I bet you were a horrible teenager.”
“The worst. Which is how I got pregnant with your mom when I was only seventeen and then had to marry your grandpa Don.”
“Oh geez. More family secrets I wish I didn’t know. I assume Mom knows about that.”
“She’s been told. I’m not sure what she thinks about it, though.”
“I have no idea. She’s never mentioned it to me.” He eyed his grandmother cautiously. “You’re full of surprises today. I think you owe me cake rather than the other way around. My favorite, though, and not coconut.”
“Everyone knows your favorite cake,” Grandma said, looking unimpressed. “Coconut cake is better than strawberry. I’ve made a lifetime study of the subject.”
Gray had to laugh. That was Grandma. As Mom was fond of saying, “No one thinks better of your grandma than your grandma.” He grinned. “Fine. I’ll get you your cake. Do you need anything else before Mom gets back from her car? I think I just heard the trunk close.”
“Not now, but if you stand there long enough, I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
“Then I’d better go.” But he didn’t leave. “I hope this thing between you and Mom works out. It’s going to be tricky when you get better all the sudden. She’s not stupid.”
Grandma sighed. “You’re probably right. Maybe I’ll just tell her the truth. I haven’t decided yet. But that’s for me to worry about, not you. Besides, don’t you have cows to see to?”
“I do. I’d better get going.” He gave her a quick hug and then headed out, passing Mom on the porch and saying a quick goodbye. But as he pulled out of the drive, he wasn’t thinking about Mom, his cows, the electrical work, or even Grandma’s odd situation. Instead, he found himself wondering what exactly had brought Ella back to town.
Whatever it was, he knew from experience he should stay away. Just seeing her would be the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with his own heart. “A sane man would avoid her,” he muttered to himself.
And yet, even as he said the words, he knew that when it came to Ella, he was far, far from being sane.
CHAPTER 5 ELLA
If there is one thing cooking will teach you, it’s how to plan. You have to be very creative to get four or five very different dishes to come off the stove and out of the oven at the same time.
The Book of Cakes, p. 47
Written: 1792–2019
The next morning, as Ella washed frosting from her hair in the shower, she realized it was time to move on to Plan B in her attempts to win a sit-down with Angela. Mark, you’d better not let me down.
He was the weak link. Every time he’d met her at the door at the Stewart house, there’d been a definite look of regret in his brown eyes. That was enough for Ella to head to the Moonlight long after lunch in the hope of catching him on a break. If she could gain his trust and, through that, his assistance in organizing a meeting with Angela, that would be a win. And right now, if Ella was ever going to sleep another night without waking up to find frosting rosettes in her hair, she needed all the wins she could get.
To her irritation, even though it was late in the day, she had to hunt for a parking space. When she finally parked and reached Main Street, she noticed the newly redone and much wider sidewalks where she counted no fewer than thirty-seven people, the majority of them carrying shopping bags. That wasn’t a crowd in New York or Paris, but in Dove Pond it was a bustling shopping scene.