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“In what way?”
“Maybe it’s just that you haven’t met the right guy. For all you know, Brant could be the one. And, selfishly, I’d like to see you two get together, because then you’d move back to Coyote Canyon.”
“And leave my business?” Talulah said with a laugh.
“You never know.” She nudged Talulah’s leg with hers. “How’re your stitches healing?”
“They’re starting to itch.”
“That’s a good sign. Can you get them wet?”
“I do it every day in the shower.”
“I mean, like...in a lake?”
“I think so. Why?”
“Kate has a friend with a boat. She’s invited us to go waterskiing with her tomorrow. Any interest?”
Talulah was feeling so much pressure to finish her great aunt’s house in time, she didn’t dare. “I’m behind. I should stay here and keep working. The attic was so full of junk it took me all week to sort through it.”
“The rest should go quicker,” Jane argued. “Come with me. Who knows when you’ll be back in Coyote Canyon. We might as well have some fun while you’re here. Besides, we won’t be going until four.”
Maybe she was taking life too seriously—always pushing, always worried. Telling herself to relax and live a little, Talulah smiled as she looped her arm through Jane’s. “Okay.”
Averil closed her eyes as she savored the buttery rich taste of the big slice of carrot cake in front of her. Her parents had taken Mitch to the grocery store with them, so she had a moment to enjoy it uninterrupted—until the front door banged opened and Charlie called out a hello.
Sheltering her plate with her arm, she stuffed a huge bite into her mouth, trying to finish before he could discover what she was eating. But, of course, he sniffed it out like a bloodhound and came directly into the kitchen. “Where’d you get that?” he asked.
She couldn’t talk because of the food in her mouth, so she gestured at the fridge.
He pulled out the rest of the cake. “This looks delicious,” he exclaimed as he cut himself a big piece. “Did you or Mom make it?”
She was tempted to sayshe’dmade it. That would stop all the questions and let her go back to eating in peace. But she was afraid he’d mention the cake in front of their parents, who would know better. It was her mother who’d answered the doorbell last night to find no one there and the cake on the mat. “No.”
“You bought it? Where?”
She swallowed the rest of what was in her mouth. “Someone left it on the doorstep last night.”
“Who?”
She shrugged. “Someone from the church, I guess.”
“What for?”
“I don’t know.”
He seemed mildly surprised, but willing to accept what she’d said, at first. Then he looked back at the cake and a puzzled expression came over his face. “Wait a minute... It couldn’t be someone from church. No one we know makes cakes this fancy, except...Talulah.”
Averil had come to the same conclusion the moment her mother had carried it in last night. It was just easier to let herself enjoy it if she pretended there was still some question. “I don’t think it was her,” she said, adding a dose of skepticism she didn’t really feel. “Why would Talulah bake forus?”
“I couldn’t tell you, especially since she believes one of us threw a rock through her window and cut her arm.”
Averil shot him a glance. “You’re saying you didn’t?”
He looked affronted. “Of course not. Didyou?”
“No!” she said. “Why would I do something like that?”
