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“Hi, Ms. Tootie.” My cheeks heated with the thought of all eyes being on me. I lifted a square box. “I brought Huck’s strawberry rhubarb pie.”
Tootie’s strong arms pulled me into a motherly embrace with the box between us. Her soft floral scent wafted over me, and I sighed and relaxed into her hug.
“You did not have to bring anything to your own birthday celebration.” She peeked down at the box and winked at me. “Though I do love that man’s pie.”
I grinned at her. Tootie had an uncanny way of saying the most innocent things and making them sound downrightsinful. Her playful little wink at the end didn’t help.
I looked around at the small family gathering. “No Red today?”
My chest pinched.
Tootie’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. “He’s on his way.”
A smile bloomed across my face. Red Sullivan may have suffered from early-onset dementia, but he’d been having a string of good days lately. He was a fighter and the sweetest man. A Sullivan get-together wouldn’t have been the same without him.
Kate made her way down the steps of the wide wraparound porch with her arms flung open. “Get over here.”
She wrapped me in a side-hug, and I leaned into her. Kate straightened to look at me, her green eyes dancing with delight. “I have it all planned out. Cocktails in the speakeasy, and by then Duke should be back with Dad. We’ll move the party upstairs for dinner.”
“And cake!” Penny shouted from the background.
“And cake.” Kate laughed. “Definitely cake.”
Lee walked up with a grin and a little hen tucked under his arm. He hip checked his sister out of the way. “Move it. She’s my best friend.”
My stomach somersaulted.
“Once upon a time, she was my best friend,” Kate shot back and poked out her tongue.
“I’m not the one who moved to Montana. You snooze, you lose.”
“What’s with the chicken?” I asked.
Lee looked down at the little yellow hen and smiled. “It’s Henrietta.”
Kate laughed and rolled her eyes as Lee adjusted the chicken to make her more comfortable. “Henrietta’s been following him around since he got here. She won’t leave him alone.”
He clucked at the hen, who looked more than cozy in the crook of his arm. “She’s in love with me.”
Kate looked at me with a mischievous grin. “She’sobsessed.We’ve been calling her Horny Henrietta.”
I laughed as Lee grimaced and set her on the ground. She continued to peck around him, oblivious to anyone but him. Lee wrapped me in a quick hug, then draped his arm across my shoulder. “Let’s get you birthday drunk, Annette.”
Heat prickled at my cheeks as I was led around the back of the house to the door that opened to the mudroom. It was in that room where, during the renovations, Kate and Beckett had uncovered a hidden trapdoor that led to a long-forgotten Prohibition-era speakeasy.
The door was open and I peered into the square hole in the floor. The narrow stairs had been refinished, but they were still tight and rickety. I walked down, carefully gliding my hand along a smooth banister. My foot slipped slightly on one of the small steps, and Lee’s hands clamped around my waist.
“Easy there.” His deep voice danced across the shell of my ear.
I sucked in a breath. His hands didn’t leave my hips as we continued down the dark staircase. Before I hit the bottom stair, Kate flicked on a light switch, illuminating the small space with soft, warm light. It smelled like earth and lemon-scented wood polish.
It was a bit cramped, but the speakeasy was a wonky rectangle with a bar at the back. A table with chairs was off to the side, leaving space in the middle to stand and mingle.
As we all filed in, Wyatt moved to the corner of the room to turn on a record player. Soft jazzy music filled the space as Kate dipped below a wooden plank to stand behind the bar.
She popped back up with a tray of glasses and a wide grin. Next to her, Beckett rifled through the built-in liquor cabinet.
“We have everything to make a tart cherry gin fizz.” Kate started assembling the cocktail ingredients along the bar.
