"But make it Saturday morning, nine, at Grand Park. Field 34."
He frowned. "That's a soccer field."
"Yep. See you later, detective." She waved and stepped into the house where she found Casper laying his big head on Kelsea's lap in the living room. She sometimes came here to write articles when her apartment felt too lonely.
"Hey, lady. Ursula here?"
"She's in the back cursing at some weeds."
Eloise nodded like it was a normal occurrence. "Want some tea? I'm going to make a batch of shortbread and listen to music."
"Yep." Kelsea gave Casper a loving pat and kiss before she extricated herself from underneath him and followed her down the hallway. "How was the coffee shop?"
"Great," she said with a wide smile. "Got in some incredible coffee and it felt good getting back into slinging caffeine and making people smile with drugs."
Kelsea laughed and poured water into the tea kettle. "I heard from three different people that the coffee today was out of this world."
"Really?" Warmth filled Eloise's ribcage as she pulled out mixing bowls, flour, cold butter, powdered sugar, and salt. "I'm thinking of asking Ursula to dry flowers and herbs for tea mixtures for the Black Cat. Shellee was on board and excited. How old is she?"
"Shellee? She's in her sixties. Spry as a kitten, though."
"I believe that. She's sharp."
The Dutch door opened and Ursula walked in wearing a straw hat with a large polka dot bow and her gardening overalls.
"Get the weeds?" Kelsea asked as she pulled open one of the garnet cabinets for mugs.
"Oh yeah. Those sonsofguns got the message," Ursula looked pleased with herself.
"You're cursing at the weeds? No judgment, just curious about this new eccentricity," Eloise said as she started creaming the butter and sugar.
"You know how studies have shown that plants are more sentient than we understand and that if you sing to them or talk kindly to them, they grow bigger and stronger?"
"Ahh, so you're testing the opposite for the weeds," Eloise said nodding. "I like it."
"That actually sounds therapeutic," Kelsea added. "Maybe I'll talk down to some ragweed later."
Eloise smiled then remembered the tea. "Oh hey, do you have any chamomile or violets in your garden?"
"Yep. I have two different kinds of chamomile and two varieties of violets. Want me to dry some out?"
"Yeah, with spearmint, lemongrass, and a few different kinds of roses?"
"Fine. But only if you bring me coffee next time you come back from the coffee shop. Rude that you didn't."
"You were just there," Eloise laughed. "But fair," she agreed then turned on the mixer. Kelsea picked out the music and helped her roll out and press the shortbread while Ursula read with her feet propped up on the stool. The camaraderie was easy, buttery, and made for a great afternoon. No more signs of her past and the nightmares, when she did sleep, had stopped. So she would enjoy this soft afternoon with her friends, doing something she loved and trying to absorb this moment of peace, even as her mind drifted back to the way Taylor had looked at her when she all but confessed her feelings to him; scared, needing an exit. It landed harshly against her mind and she couldn't shake the sharp orange smell from her nose.
Why did the first man she was interested in have to be a cursed one, and one who would never look at her the way she wanted?
Still Skipping Chapter 13 Like a Responsible Woman
14. Green Fields and Expensive Cups
Eloise sipped from her water bottle that had fresh squeezed lemon and cinnamon, an old anecdote for a tickly throat, which she'd woken up to under the peach tree. That morning she'd awoken to akik-kik-kiksound, but as she raised her head and rubbed the moon dust from her eyes she wondered if the sound had been in her dreams. Staring up through thebranches of the fifteen-foot red haven peach tree she counted the small bunches of ripening peaches and when a morning breeze, especially chilly, wove through it, she caught just the slightest hint of what these peaches would offer later in the season.
She'd come inside to find Ursula pressing down fresh coffee and pulling eggs with spinach and sundried tomatoes off the stove.
"Morning, little mermaid," she said.
