“Eat, Gabe.”
I dug into the delicious chicken and stuffing casserole, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It was like a miniature Thanksgiving, and it was fucking scrumptious. “We need this recipe,” I said between bites.
“We?” Josh asked.
“Okay,youneed this recipe. I could eat this at least once a week,” I told Sally Ann.
“It’s Adrian’s favorite too,” she said.
I had eaten two plates full of food before I sat back from the table. I should’ve been embarrassed by the amount of food I consumed, but I had been too hungry to worry about appearances. I was ready to go home, but it was rude to eat and run. Josh, sensing my weakness for good manners, pounced.
“Let’s play a board game,” he suggested.
“Not Monopoly,” we all said.
“Fine,” he said in a huff. “What else do you have?”
My cellphone rang, saving me from having to decide what game we played. I was okay with anything other than Monopoly. And poker! “I need to take this,” I told them. I went out on the porch and answered Silver’s call. I told him what we had learned so far and explained that the investigation would continue until we were certain it was solved.
“I appreciate the information, Detective.” Silver sounded vulnerable and lost, two words I would never have associated with the man.
I blamed Josh’s influence for what happened next. “What are you doing on Sunday?” I asked.How in the hell was I going to explain this to Josh?
ISTOOD WITH MYhands on my hips and surveyed the layout of my tables. My everyday dining room table wasn’t big enough to seat all the guests that were invited to dinner, so I had to improvise. I borrowed Mama Richmond’s large, rectangular folding table and wooden folding chairs she used for large family gatherings. I put a tablecloth on the table to hide the unattractive, industrial gray plastic. The wooden chairs weren’t so bad because they at least came with attractive cushions. My table would be used to set out the food so people could walk around it and serve themselves buffet style. I used spring flowers and vanilla candles as centerpieces and set the table with my grandmother’s china.
“Kyle probably isn’t coming,” Gabe said as he placed Nana’s real silverware next to each plate.
“If you set a plate, they will come.” I put my spin on a well-known phrase from one of Gabe’s favorite movies. He just shook his head and began placing the water glasses on the table. I was pleased to know that Gabe had a lot of experience with formal tables, even though I only set one three times a year—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
“It’s his loss if he chooses not to come,” Gabe said. “My gain because he eats his weight in ham. I’ll have leftovers for sandwiches if he’s a no-show.”
I had freaked out about having a ham shortage when Gabe informed me that he had invited Jonathon Silver to our home for Easter two days before my dinner. Gabe, being practical as always, suggested I just buy a ham from the supermarket like everyone else does.Since when in the hell did I do anything like anyone else?My hams came from our butcher in town and nowhere else. I ordered a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving and a sexy, spiral cut ham for Christmas and Easter.
Instead of whining and crying or making Gabe feel bad for being compassionate, I jumped into action the next morning. I was the first customer through the door and was prepared to do just about anything to get an extra ham. I even took a generous gift certificate for my salon that Skip could give to his wife. I knew she’d enjoy it and both of us would be heroes on the holiday.
I had just started in on my desperate plea for help when Skip laughed and waved his hands in the air to cut me off. “I order extra hams for these types of emergencies, kid. I’ve got you covered.” Skip was still my hero, so I gave him the gift certificate so he could treat Brenda.
“Your table looks nice, Sunshine.” Gabe hooked his arm around my neck and pulled me to him. “The food smells even better.”
“Thank you.” I rose on my tiptoes and gave him a kiss. “There will be plenty of ham for leftovers,” I said. “I have to confess that I’m a little nervous about this gathering. There are a lot of newcomers, and I’m worried it will be awkward.”
“I have faith in you, Sunshine.” I was glad someone did.
Meredith arrived first, and I was practically bouncing on my feet to hear about her big date the night before. I had wanted to text her so many times, but Gabe took my phone away, so that I didn’t ruin her night. His sexy hide and seek worked wonders to distract me the night before, then I had too much food prepping to do that morning to hound her.
“How was church service?” I asked instead of what I wanted to know.
“I didn’t go,” she said casually. “I just got back home in time to change to come here.”
“Really?” I asked. “The date was that good?”
She laughed at my wide-eyed expression. “Our date was fine.”
“Fine?” That wasn’t a ringing endorsement for the guy.
“It was nice,” Meredith added.
“Nice?” That was possibly worse than fine.
