I chuckled, resting my forehead against Emma’s. “She always did have impeccable timing.” Reaching for the door handle, I adjusted myself discreetly and climbed out of the car. “Hey, Gram! Are those your apple buns I smell?”
“They might be, but you’ll never know if you don’t get a move on.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I skirted the rear of the car and came around to open Emma’s door, gripping her fingers as I helped her out. I kept hold of her hand as we climbed the steps to the porch.
“Gram, this is Emma Carson. Emma, this is my grandmother, Anna Girard.”
Emma extended her free hand. “I’m so happy to meet you, Mrs. Girard. Thank you for having me out to visit today.”
“Honey, if you call me Mrs. Girard, I’m going to keep looking over my shoulder expecting to see my mother-in-law, and she’s been on the other side of glory for thirty years now. Everyone around here calls me Gram or Anna. I’d appreciate it if you’d do the same.”
“Thank you. I will.”
“Good.” Gram nodded and glanced at me. “She’s as pretty as you said. Come on into the kitchen so we can get to know each other better.”
Gram’s kitchen was the center of all of my growing-up memories and the place I still considered home. I dragged out a chair for Emma to sit down and then poured both of us a cup of coffee while Gram cut and plated the apple buns.
“My brother Howard lives in upstate New York, and he sends me apples every year,” Gram explained. “I put up some in jars, and others I freeze or preserve for pies and buns. These are from last year’s crop, but I’m expecting the new shipment just about any day.”
“They smell divine.” Emma breathed deep. “I miss baking. In my place now, I don’t have a lot of room for cooking, and keeping things like butter and milk cold is a challenge.”
“Hmph.” Gram crossed her skinny arms over her chest. “Deacon told me about your trailer. Honey, that’s just a sin. Bobby Lucas is a snake and a skunk. He ought to be ashamed of himself for taking advantage of you that way.”
“Oh.” Emma looked faintly embarrassed. “It’s my own fault. I guess I was the epitome of the clueless city girl, coming down here without even thinking about little things like utilities and hook-ups.”
“There’s no reason the town can’t arrange to run those out for you. We’re not far from your place, and we have electric, as you see.” Gram paused. “We have our own well and septic, though. You might be better to look into getting a well dug and buying a septic tank than relying on the town for that.” She sat down and pulled her mug closer, sipping. “Remind me, when Jimmy comes in, and we’ll ask him who he recommends.”
Emma beamed. “That would incredible, thanks.”
“You’re very welcome.” Gram nudged the plate of buns closer to me. “Deacon, have another.”
“I will, since you twisted my arm.” I stuffed a too-big bite into my mouth and spoke around it. “And then I want to go find Pop, or he’ll make comments under his breath all during dinner about how he thought I came out here to help him, but apparently it was really just to sit at the table and eat all your food.”
Gram chuckled. “That does sound like something he’d say. But don’t talk with your mouth full, Deacon. Emma’s going to think you were raised by wolves.”
I cocked my head. “Wasn’t I?”
“Oh, you.” Gram swatted me and shook her head before turning her back to me. “Emma, you said you don’t have much room to cook. But do you like to do it? Because I’d be happy to have some help in the kitchen while Deacon’s off giving Jimmy a hand.”
I swallowed my bite and took a gulp of coffee. “Gram, I didn’t bring Emma out here to be put to work.”
“No, you brought her out so we could all meet each other, and what better way to do that than to spend time together. Right?” My grandmother glanced from one of us to the other. “And besides, Deacon, what were you planning to do, drag poor Emma all around the barn and the fields? She doesn’t want to do that, not when she’s dressed up and looking so nice.”
I sighed. “Emma, what do you want to do? If you don’t want to be dragged around the barn and fields, like Gram said, you can sit down under a tree out there while we’re working.”
Emma shrugged. “Why would I do that when I can help your grandmother in here? That sounds like fun to me.”
I reached across the table and wove our fingers together. “Are you sure? You’re not going to feel like I abandoned you?”
She snorted. “In a kitchen like this, filled with amazing food, in the company of your Gram? I’d hardly call that abandonment.”
Emma was so healthy and matter-of-fact, so easy, especially compared with other women in my experience. I found myself almost waiting for the other shoe to fall.
“I promise, son, I’m not going to tie her to a chair and give her the third degree,” put in Gram. She winked at me. “At least, not on her first visit.”
Both women snickered. I wiped my face with a napkin and stood up. “I can see when I’m not needed. Fine. I’ll see you at dinner.” Leaning over, I brushed a kiss over Emma’s lips, rewarded when her cheeks blushed and her eyes went soft.
Because she was being such a peach, I made sure to kiss Gram on the cheek, too. “Have fun. Try not to share too many embarrassing stories about me, please. I’d like Emma to still respect me when we leave here.”
