Greetings were exchanged, then Noah went inside to put the food on the table.
“Noah.”
“Hey, Macy, how you doing?”
No one looking at the woman approaching him would recognize her as the one she’d once been when married to that asshole who’d abused her. This one was natural and happy and someone he now counted as a friend. Short, with a cap of mousey curls, she was cute and married to Brad Gelderman, the younger of the Texans who’d made Howling their home.
“Really good, Noah. Put your food there.” She waved at a table. It was then he saw her. Lani was in the kitchen, getting a cake out of a box. She wore the cap and baggy jeans, but her shirt was long-sleeved and fitted and showed off her curves.
“Hi, Lani.”
She didn’t turn, simply raised a hand, then went back to what she was doing. He watched as she transferred a little girl’s dream cake to the bench.
“Is that Cinderella and that chick from the water, Ariel?”
She nodded again.
Even someone like him, who had never been into Disney princesses, was impressed. It had two layers. The bottom cake was deep green/blue, the color of the sea, and had fish and other sea creatures around it, all made of different colored frosting. A circle in the side had a picture of Ariel in it. The top was the same but a softer blue, and there was princess stuff around that. On top of that was a large gold crown.
He watched as she put it on a plate, then tweaked a few things. When she was done, Lani stood back to take a look.
“That’s seriously cool. You do it yourself?”
She nodded.
"You got laryngitis?”
“What?” She turned to look at him. Those eyes really were something special.
“The nodding thing. I wondered if you’d lost the use of your vocal cords.”
She studied him, but whatever was going on inside that head, she left in there. Her face was now shuttered.
“You’re very clever.” He nodded to the cake, thinking he’d flatter her into speaking to him.
“Thanks. I have to go.”
“No, you don’t. Rose wants you to stay and join in the fun.” Branna appeared. “And I just called Mrs. C to tell her how wonderful the cake is, and she said you’re done for the day. So stay.”
“No, thanks.”
“It’ll be fun, and Rose will be disappointed if you leave.”
Branna was good at getting people to do what she wanted. It was all done in a gentle way, but usually the result was that you ended up where she wanted you to be.
“Rose, come and look at your cake and then help me convince Lani to stay.”
The little girl skipped into the kitchen and stopped, her eyes going wide.
“Wow!” She clapped her hands. “It’s way better than the one Chloe had.”
“And that’s not really a nice thing to say, is it?” Branna placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Chloe loved it. That’s what matters, Rose.”
The little girl drooped her chin.
“Sorry, Mommy.”
“All right. Now, I was just trying to convince Lani to stay. Maybe you could ask her?”
