“I will. I do love homemade pie, there’s nothing better.” Titus carried his plate and coffee to a nearby table and dug in. “TJ, you bring that freezer down here as soon as you can, then folks can get some ice cream to go with their pie.”
“Yes, and then we can charge six dollars a slice,” Irene said.
“Now, Irene, don’t be greedy,” Grandma chided.
“Well,wehave to buy the ice cream,” she shot back. “Might as well up the ante.”
Lila rubbed one temple with her fingers. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Where are we going to plug in the freezer?”
“Same place we kept the hot plates,” Irene quipped. “The storeroom, where else?”
“Yes, but is there enough space? It’s afreezer,Irene.”
TJ put a reassuring hand on Lila’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. It’s not that big.”
“Really?”
“Maybe three feet high, two and a half wide at the most.”
“Well… all right,” she relented.
“Great! I’ll go fetch it. Care to come with me?”
Her head snapped toward him as if he’d suggested she shoot herself. “I’m working.”
“Oh yes, I see that.” His eyes danced. “Sorry.”
“Go on ahead, child,” Grandma said. “We’ll take care of things here.”
“Do you realize where his folks live? They’re a good half hour out of town.”
“It’s not that far,” TJ said. He sighed. “Look, if it makes you feel better, I can go alone. No problem. But if you come with me, we can grab the festival supplies from Tilly’s garage while we’re out.”
“Oh, right.” Lila blinked. “I forgot about that.”
“Probably a good idea,” Titus said from his table, pointing his fork at them. “That way it’s all taken care of.” He turned back to Grandma and Irene. “Best pie I’ve had in a long time. But don’t tell Mavis. She’s the baker in the family. The girls are always too busy.”
“Girls?” Grandma asked.
“Yeah, my daughters and granddaughters. They’re always running around.” He squinted at them.
“Say, we heard you rent out some of the old cabins on your property. That true?” Grandma asked.
He nodded slowly. “I’m sorry if you were hoping to rent one. They’re all filled.”
“No, no,” Irene said quickly. “We’re thinking of buying a place around here.”
“You two widowed?”
“No,” Irene said. “We’re both married. But there are eight of us in our little group, and we like to stick together.”
He smiled and nodded, taking another bite of pie.
“Come on, Lila,” TJ said quietly. “They can handle things while we’re gone.”
Her heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t sure if it was from leaving or from the idea of spending time alone with TJ. “Grandma, are you sure you can handle being by yourselves?”
Titus’s head lifted at her tone, curiosity flickering in his eyes. Lila moved behind the counter and lowered her voice. “We’ll probably be gone a couple of hours,” she murmured. Then, with a resigned breath, she turned to TJ. “Let’s go. But I want to get back as soon as we can.”
