All I care about is Penny coming over tonight and I get to spend time with her.
CHAPTER 15
Sam
My favorite scentin the entire world is fresh-cut grass and right now, that’s what my house smells like. That’s because when I got home late this afternoon, I got on my brand-new lawnmower that’s been sitting in one of my four garage bays. I enjoyed a beer while I made long passes over the thick, lush grass. Then I came inside and opened all the windows, including the massive glass doors on the back of the house, to let in the cool spring air.
It’s so pleasing to my senses that I’ve almost completely let go of the impossible meeting with my parents a few hours ago. It’s funny… how scent can pull you from one mood and ease you into another.
Of course, much of the reason I’ve put my mama’s unreasonableness aside is the fact that Penny will be here soon.
Boxes line the hallway, still full and in need of unpacking, but the kitchen’s put together enough to fakecompetence. I doubt Penny had time to eat during the dinner rush and probably was too busy closing down and cleaning up to spare it a thought.
I decided to make the one thing I’m semi-decent at, and that’s chicken pot pie. It’s resting now on a wire rack, steam curling out of the slotted vents in the perfectly flaky dough. I’ve got a bottle of white wine opened and chilled, and have no clue if it’s any good. I only know that when I stopped in at Miller’s, which is Whynot’s combo gas station and wine shop, it was suggested to me.
I pull two wineglasses from the butler’s pantry and glance around. It’s the first time this place has felt like a home instead of a project, and I’m not sure if that’s because I finally hung a few pictures… or because Penny’s going to spend the evening with me.
My phone buzzes across the counter and I move to pick it up. I see it’s from Derek.You owe me combat pay. They’re picketing Millie’s because I’m “the enabler.” I’m hiding behind a Ficus.
I snort and thumb back,Welcome to Whynot. It’s not hell, but you can see it from here.
Three dots bubble, then,If I get smote by a church lady with a doily, tell my parents I died as I lived… dangerously.
I snort, but before I can reply, headlights sweep across the window. A beat later, there’s the soft knock I already know, and when I open the door, Penny’s there with two white bakery boxes stacked in her arms andwind-flushed cheeks. I don’t know that she’s ever looked prettier in a white sleeveless blouse with a yellow cardigan draped over her freckled shoulders and a knee-length skirt in olive green with white embroidered flowers at the hem.
“Congratulatory offerings,” she says. “One pecan pie, one chocolate cake.”
“Sweet Cakes?” I guess.
She shakes her head. “Muriel insisted on making these herself. I think she had some friends help, but she’s quite proud of herself.”
“Can she do that?” I ask, popping one of the tops and looking in.
“Well, she can walk and she can stand up with her Rollator. Should she be baking? Your guess is as good as mine, but you try telling that woman no.”
“Pass,” I say dryly. “You’re going to put me in a sugar coma.”
“I’m trying to fortify you for battles ahead.” She leans up and kisses my cheek. “Hi.”
“Hi.” It comes out soft. “You look… beautiful.”
She has an unusual beat of shyness where her cheeks pinken, and she ducks her head before looking past me. “Something smells amazing.”
“Chicken pot pie, just like my mama makes,” I say, a tiny bit of sadness weaving through my words.
Penny’s smile folds into something gentler. I’dprovided her a text update on the slightly productive conversation I had with my parents. “They’ll come around. One thing at a time.”
We walk into the kitchen, and I set the boxes on the counter near my phone. I see Derek’s texted again.Update. Someone made a sign: Agents of Sin Sleep at Millie’s. Am I in danger of going to hell?
“Bless him,” Penny says when I show her the text. “He’s going to earn that commission today.”
I don’t bother answering him because I know that he’s just bored and wants conversation. He’d expected we’d work tonight and eat dinner together, but I had to disappoint him.
“Sorry,” I said when leaving him on the porch at Millie’s. “But I don’t have a lot of time with Penny, and I want to spend as much of it as I can.”
Derek was surprisingly gracious. “Go. Be with your girl.”
I serve up dinner with the wine, and we eat at the island like people who haven’t sat down since lunch. Penny talks with her hands, describing her day at the diner, including how Ruby trained a new waitress who kept calling everyone “sir,” even the ladies. I fill her in with more details about how it went with my parents.
