“You’re being awfully generous calling it a landing, Spencer. The doctor keeps calling it a spill, like Alpine just tipped me over and poured me out.” She folded her hands in her lap and sighed. “Mitch, did Spencer drag you along with him? I’m sure you’vegot better things to do with your afternoon than to visit an old, grouchy lady in the hospital. Probably see plenty of those daily in your line of work.”
“I just wanted to bring you these as a thank-you.” His eyes directed her attention toward the flowers beside him, currently getting lost in the vases of bigger blooms. “And to make sure you were doing okay.”
“You don’t need to thank me for anything, son.” She winced as she tried to adjust her position in the bed. Spencer moved to her aid quickly, placing a pillow behind her back to help her settle in but it clearly didn’t do much. “If anything,I’mthe one that should be thankingyoufor making the connection with Faith for the soiree. She’s already agreed to it. Good to have that off my plate, even if I was really looking forward to heading it up again this year.”
“You need to preserve all of your physical and mental strength and energy for your healing, Nana.”
“You sound like these dang doctors, Spence. You sure you weren’t away all those years getting your medical degree?”
“Nope.” He grinned fondly at his stubborn grandmother. “Just raising and selling cattle. But now I’m back, so I want you to lean on me however you need to. I’ve currently got everything under control at the ranch and the B&B. Unloaded another truckful of hay into the barn and put a load of linens in the wash before I headed out this afternoon. Just let me know what else I can do to help, and I’ll make sure it gets done.”
“For starters, I could really use some more Jell-O.” Josephine licked her chapped lips. “They only let me have the one serving this morning, even though I told them I’d be able to put away at least three. They’re stingy around here with their so-called sweets.”
Spencer was already on his feet. “I’ll see what I can hunt down for you. Don’t go anywhere.”
Josephine just rolled her eyes.
It would have been an appropriate time for Mitch to exit, too, but since Spencer was his ride, he wouldn’t be leaving until the man was back with the promised snack.
“So, Mitch.” Josephine rustled in her bed again, attempting and failing to find comfort on the thin mattress. She huffed out a grunt of defeat. “I got the impression that Faith hadn’t exactly already thought of running the Sweetheart Soiree. She seemed surprised by the offer when I presented it to her.”
“Really?” He couldn’t play dumb around this perceptive woman, so he didn’t know why he even bothered. “Yeah, you’re right. She hadn’t. I might have put that out there in the hopes that you would ask her to take it over.”
“Because you’re fond of her?”
“I am.” No sense in denying it. Josephine would easily call his bluff. “I know she’s more than capable. And I figured she’d be a shoo-in as one of the head bakers if she ran the show. That’s been her goal all along. I had hoped it might be a path to get her there.”
“She would have been a shoo-in anyway, but you’re right, she’s got full control now. The soiree is all hers.” Giving him a long look, Josephine said, “You know, Mitch, there’s one thing I’m even more passionate about than community service and small-town events.”
“What’s that?”
She winked, her light gray eyebrows waggling on her forehead. “Playing matchmaker…and I think you and Faith might make a spectacular one.”
CHAPTER 16
“Trinity, you’re on the arrangements. Jack, you’ve got the lighting and sound system covered.” Faith pointed the cap of her pen at each person as she spoke, mentally ticking the items off her list. “Holly, can I count on you for linens and table settings?”
The restaurant owner gave an affirmative nod. “I’ve got everything we’ll need in storage for my catering business. What color scheme did we decide on again?”
“Peach and navy.” Faith answered as she scanned her notes. “With gold cutlery if you have it, otherwise silver is fine.”
“I’m sure I’ve got gold, but I’ll double check tomorrow and circle back.” Holly wrote something down on a napkin, most likely a reminder to herself.
“That just leaves the dessert selections for the bakery showcase.” Faith didn’t know why, but this was the part of the meeting she had been most apprehensive to address. It felt presumptuous to believe she should be the lead baker, even if she was the chair of the soiree. The last thing she wanted to come across as was self-serving or overconfident.
“I think we all assumed you would do the baking,” Trinity spoke for the entire group, meeting the eyes of each person in attendance. It was a sea of bobbing heads, all nods and smiles.
“I mean, of course, I’m happy to,” Faith stammered. “But I don’t want it to seem like I’m hogging the baking spotlight.” Her words took a whole lot of gumption to actually get out. Why did she feel so weird about this?
“You’re definitely the most deserving with the most experience when it comes to desserts and delicacies,” Holly pointed out. “I’m happy to supplement your menu with some savory homemade breads and pastries if you think that would be helpful, but I know all of us here agree that you should take the reins if you’re up for it.”
Boy was she. Faith had perfected her meringue kiss recipe just that afternoon and was eager to have the committee members test them out. As if to prove her worthiness, she lifted the big glass cover on the nearby cake stand and stretched her arm to hold out the sugary treats. “Thank you all so much for your vote of confidence on this. I could justkissyou.”
The cheesy joke was met with a few “I see what you did there’s,” along with eager hands that darted out to snag the meringues.
“Faith, these are delicious.” Trinity cupped her hand under her chin to collect the crumbs. “So light and airy with the perfect texture.”
“And the flavor,” Holly added. “Lemon, but what else do I detect in there?”
