Travis paused in the act of pouring the wine. “Is that...?”
“Yes. Fresh & Easy. Yes.” Bethany scrambled to find the phone. She sat and pressed the phone icon to return the call.
Travis set the glasses on the table and sat across from her, his gray-green eyes reflecting her excitement and nervousness.
“Hello, this is Bethany Parker. I’m returning your call.” Her words ran faster than Daphne’s dog after cupcakes, her stomach tightening like it was slowly being squeezed in a vise.
“Yes, hello, Bethany. This is Francine Richmond, chief marketing officer at Fresh & Easy baking company. Sorry for the late-night call—I’m overseas, and there’s a bit of a time change. But I have what I think will be exciting news for you, and I didn’t want to wait another moment to share it. Your recipe for Grandma Lou’s Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting has been selected as the winner in our baking contest. Congratulations.”
Bethany released her breath all at once. Adrenaline poured through her veins. “Wow. That is amazing news. I’m...I’m so excited. I can’t begin to tell you how much. Thank you.”
“Not only did your recipe receive more than tenthousand likes on our website, but we’ve made your chocolate cake in our test kitchen, and our chefs and tasters agree it turned out fabulous.”
“I’m so glad you liked it.”
“We loved it. We wanted to alert you early that you’re our winner so you can prepare for potential media calls. However tempting it will be, it’s extremely important you don’t share this exciting news for another forty-eight hours, okay?”
“Certainly, I won’t.”
“Not until we have a chance to distribute our press release. Then you’ll be free to share. We’ll email you full details and give you permission to share the news once we’ve posted an announcement on our website. Congratulations again, Bethany. We’re so pleased you entered our contest with such a wonderful recipe.”
“I’m honored to win. Thank you again.”
Bethany ended the call and dropped the phone like a hot coal.
Travis’s eyes met hers. “We won the contest?”
She shrieked and shot up from the chair. “Oh... My ... God! We won. We actually won, Travis. I can’t believe it. This is like...like some sort of amazing dream.” She held out her arm. “Pinch me, please, and tell me this is real.”
Travis jumped up and hugged her. Then he pinched her arm and laughed, his face glowing with excitement. “I’ll do better than pinch you. This calls for a toast.”
He picked up one of the glasses he’d set on the table and raised it high in the air. “To our dear Grandma Lou and her famous chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.”
Bethany smiled and clinked her glass with his. “Hear, hear.” She gulped the wine like it was fruit punch. She wasgoing to need quite a bit if she had any hope of sleeping a wink tonight.
The soundof tires on pavement had Hank reaching for his whiskey glass. He reminded himself to cut back on his alcohol consumption, but not today. Today, he was meeting his dad and stepfamily after years of avoidance. “Connor, they’re here. Get the door, will ya?”
“Sure,” Connor agreed, closing the textbook he’d been studying and leaving the room, an eager bounce in his step. Connor didn’t share the depth of his bitterness toward their father, although Hank knew there must be scars buried deep.
Voices echoed in the foyer. He drained his glass and set it on the bar, his heart tripping into high gear. What had he been thinking to put himself through this?Give him a chance to explain. Maybe something he says will ease your anger...help you understand his neglect.Bethany’s gentle voice in his head centered him, reminding him why he had agreed to the difficult reunion.
And then his dad entered the family room with Connor close on his heels. His stepmother and sisters—strangers—followed behind, looking around his home withoohs andahs.
His father crossed to stand in front of him, much frailer and grayer than the last time Hank had seen him. “Son, it’s good to see you.”
Hank nodded, not up to giving the old man a hug. “How was the drive?”
“Long, but we made it. You remember my wife, Linda.”
“A pleasure, Hank,” Linda said, with an agreeable smile.She had silvery blonde hair, rosy cheeks, and a laugh that seemed sincere. “We are so happy we could come for a visit. Your father talks about you night and day. You must know how proud we are of you and your success. Thank you for making time for us. We know you’re busy.”
“I’m glad we could make it work.” Hank nodded and smiled, wondering if he meant it.
“And these are your sisters, Willow and Glenna,” she said, turning to the two teens. “Girls, this is your brother Hank.”
“Hi,” Glenna said, with a small, awkward smile. His youngest sister couldn’t have been more than thirteen, with a narrow, little face and stick-straight blonde hair falling past skinny shoulders. She tried hard to hide a mouth full of metal.
“Hi, Glenna,” he said, smiling. “Nice to meet you.”
