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“Our hero,” Katrina said.
Zoe winked, rubbing her very pregnant belly, and said, “Have I ever told you you’re my favorite brother-in-law? I’m too fat to maneuver myself and a turkey in this kitchen.”
“What mom needs is a new kitchen,” Hattie said, giving him a look that made him very nervous. “One of those new state of the art kitchens that would fit all of us as we grow. You’d think there was someone in the family who could see to something like that.”
“Hank’s offered to renovate this place more times than I can count,” Anne said, coming to her son’s defense. “The problem is I can’t decide what I want. There’s too many choices. So I’ll just leave it as is until I can make up my mind.”
“What you need is one of those home makeover shows,” Beth said, popping an olive in her mouth from one of the snack trays. Her pregnancy was just beginning to show and she was at the stage where cravings were becoming frequent and insistent.
As the newest member of the family, she wasn’t always as outspoken as the others. But once she sunk her teeth into something she didn’t let it go.
“Ooh, I love that idea,” Zoe seconded.
Beth nodded enthusiastically. “Then they can just come in and get to know your style before kicking you out and redoing the whole place. No decisions needed.”
“I thought I was here to shove a turkey in the oven,” Hank said, the heat from the kitchen snaking rivulets of sweat down his back.
“Shove away, son,” Anne said, pointing to the oversized roasting pan on the counter. “May the Lord be with you.”
He snickered and made his way over to the oven, making sure the rack was in the right place for optimal space, and then he turned back to look at the turkey with doubt.
“Dad might have gotten a little overzealous in his turkey selection this year,” Hank said.
“Not at all,” Anne said. “Served him right if you ask me. Meanest turkey we’ve ever had here on the farm. Terrorized all the other animals. He got into the pin one day and scared chickens so bad I didn’t get eggs for a week. I can’t tell you how much pleasure it gave me to yank out his giblets and shove butter under his skin.”
“That went darker than I thought,” Hank said. “But I’ll eat him anyway.”
“Don’t think we’ve forgotten about the kitchen,” Hattie said. “Your dimples and boyish good looks only go so far.”
He shoved the turkey in the oven with a grunt and managed to get the door closed, and then he put a hand on his lower back, mostly kidding about the muscles that were probably going to be very sore later.
“You heard the woman,” Hank said, making his way back toward the door and flashing the dimples in question. “She can’t make up her mind. But when she does, I’ll have a crew here ready to tear this whole place apart.”
“My mother told me you just hired Eloise Drake as your new designer,” Beth said. “She was always a sweet girl.”
“Eloise Drake?” Anne asked, her surprise evident. “I had no idea she’d moved back to Laurel Valley. Tragic what happened to her parents. I always wondered where she ended up. Why didn’t you tell me you hired her?”
The look his mother gave him was accusing, and he wondered what he was missing.
“Do you want to come on as the head of HR?” he asked. “Then you’ll be the first to know who comes on staff.”
“Don’t be a smart aleck,” she said, flicking a dish towel at him.
“I posted the job last month and Eloise sent in her resume,” Hank said, shrugging. “She was the most qualified for the job. What’s the big deal? What am I missing?”
He didn’t mention that the moment Eloise had walked into his office for the interview it felt like he’d been punched in the solar plexis. He’d had a hard time drawing in a breath for the entire half hour she’d sat across from him. But she hadn’t looked familiar, and he certainly hadn’t realized she’d grown up in Laurel Valley.
“She graduated in my class,” Beth said. “So she would’ve been several years behind you. Her parents were Richard and Lana Drake.”
Hank winced sympathetically. He’d been finishing up an apprenticeship in Denver when he’d heard the news about the murder/suicide of the Drakes.
Richard had been the DA for more than a decade and Lana had served on many of the committees that made Laurel Valley what it was today. They were wealthy and untouchable. At least that was the thought. The scandal had made national news as it came out that Richard was about to be indicted for everything from money laundering to extortion, and he more than likely would have spent the rest of his life in jail.
Richard must have gotten wind of the indictment because the last time they were seen was leaving a charity gala on Christmas Eve. From there Richard drove them up into the mountains toward their ski cabin, but he drove them right off the side of the mountain instead. There’d been no skid marks and the weather and roads were clear. The car had exploded on impact, killing Richard instantly, but the medical examiner had found a .22 in Lana’s temple.
Hank remembered there’d been mention of a teenage daughter home from college for Christmas break. He hadn’t put it together when he’d met Eloise. He’d thought she’d just been nervous about the interview, but he realized now the kind of courage it took to come back to the place where you’d lived out your worst nightmares.
“Poor girl,” Anne said. “She’s going to need good friends when she gets back into town.”
