19
Mandisa sat on her chaise lounge pretending to compile quarterly reports. The truth was she’d been reading the same set of numbers for the last three hours. Knowing a miscalculation would cost her company somewhere down the line, she shoved the papers aside and gave in to her need to obsess about the thing she was attempting toavoid.
Slade.
God, how she ached with need for him. Walking away from him, his family, his land had taken every drop of strength she’d had. Abstaining from picking up the phone to call him and see how he was doing was only possible because she exhausted herself withwork.
Since returning, she’d set about restructuring her company. She’d given Kandi more responsibilities as executive manager. It was her job to oversee all the stores and their supervisors and staff. Mandisa kept an eye on things from a distance, but she no longer micromanaged everydetail.
For the last three weeks, she’d spent her time in her lab, creating. The joy of working in her lab was the only thing that made her separation from Slade bearable. Getting lost in the science kept her afloat in the stormy sea ofheartache.
Mandisa looked around the apartment she’d once adored, wondering why it didn’t feed her soul the way a beautiful patch of dirt in Austin, Texasdid.
Her internal jaunt down misery lane was interrupted by the ringing of her cellphone. Mandisa reached for the phone, her hand hovering over the accept icon when she noticed the caller’sname.
“Mama Indy? I was just thinking about you.” It wasn’t a lie, not completely. Thinking about Slade meant thinking about everything and person she’d encountered on thatranch.
“That’s good to hear.” The old woman’s voice beamed with warmth. “That means I’m gonna live a longtime.”
It was Mandisa’s sincerest wish. Living in a world where this woman didn’t exist wasn’t an idea Mandisa wished toentertain.
“I hope I’m not bothering you. But I just wanted to share something with you if you’ll let me. I promise it won’t take toolong.”
“You take as long as you’d like, Mama Indy. How can I helpyou?”
“I was having a cup of coffee, and I got to thinking I’d never given you the recipe. I’d intended to give it to you before you left,but…”
Mandisa’s heart sank when she heard Indira’s voice trail off. The echo of pain in the air made her heart achemore.
“Mama Indy. Forgive me for asking, but did Slade put you up tothis?”
“No, Slade wouldn’t ask me to share my secret with you. He knows that kind of trust has to be freelygiven.”
Mandisa wasn’t certain Slade understood that. However, she wasn’t about to disparage him to his mother. “You don’t have to do this. That secret is something that should stay in yourfamily.”
Mandisa could hear a light chuckle over the line. “Baby, you are myfamily.”
Mandisa sat quiet, letting the power of Indira’s words surround her like a warm hug. In three weeks this proud but gentle old woman had reminded her how wonderful it was to be mothered again. The loss of that crippled Mandisa in ways she couldn’tverbalize.
Indira must have sensed Mandisa’s need for time to internalize her statement. A few moments passed before the matron began speaking again. “In the short time you were here, I watched you love my son like I’d always dreamed someone would love him. I make no secret that I hope y’all can smooth things out. But, whether you do or not, there will always be a home for you on this ranch. Family can always comehome.”
What little resolve Mandisa possessed simply melted away. She wrapped her arm around her knees, pulling them to her chest, aching so desperately for Slade’s mama. When she was finally able to compose herself, hold her tears back enough to keep them out of her voice, she flipped one of the folders on the chaise over and grabbed apen.
“All right, Mama Indy. I’ve got a pen. Tell me therecipe.”
A slight zing of excitement sparked a smile on Mandisa’s face. She was finally going to be able to satisfy her addiction to this woman’scoffee.
She listened carefully, too afraid to miss one detail. When Indira was finished dictating the grocery list, Mandisa was puzzled by what shesaw.
“Whole beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, spring water. Is that it, or did I miss something, MamaIndy?”
“No baby, that’sit.”
“But that sounds pretty standard for any cup of coffee. There’s gotta be a secretingredient.”
Mandisa could hear Indira chuckling on the other end of the phone. The sound was contagious, making Mandisa smile as she reveled in thereverberation.
“The special ingredient islove.”
