Life After Wife (Three Magic Words Trilogy, #3)(35)

“I won’t gripe about the Dr Pepper, if you’ll make me one.” He watched her slice the tomatoes thin and place them between the cheese and meat.

“Deal!” she said.

He chuckled. “I was too busy all day long to eat much, but it smelled good, didn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah! It was a wonderful idea. Kept the folks here, and the notepads and pens were a nice touch, too,” she said.

Elijah’s jaw went slack, and his mouth fell open. He was almighty glad there was no food in it. He popped his palm against the side of his head as if trying to knock something out of his ear.

“Oh, stop it.” Sophie laughed. “I’m not a coldhearted witch. I admit it when something is a good idea and works. Here, you can have this one, and I’ll make another for myself.” She cut it in half diagonally and handed the plate to him. “Throw a few barbecue potato chips on the side and you’ve got a meal fit for the gods.”

He opened the cabinet, rustled around until he found the chips, and carried them to the table. “Where’d you learn to make this?”

“At home. My dead ex-husband hated sandwiches. I can cook, but he made enough money that he hired a maid and a cook. She made meals to his specifications. Sometimes I got so tired of fancy food that I picked at it and later snuck off to the kitchen for a bologna and cheese sandwich. I’ve eaten dozens of them sitting on the floor with the refrigerator door open for light.”

“Was he crazy? You should have sent him over to the war zone. Let him live on dehydrated soup and canned meat for a year, and he’d think he’d died and gone to heaven to get bologna and cheese,” Elijah said between bites.

“He was raised in a wealthy household and used to that kind of thing. I was raised up in a middle-class house. Oil and water don’t mix,” she said.

“What really happened between y’all?”

“He married me because he wanted a wife. Single television evangelists do not do as well as married ones. But he also wanted to continue to chase skirts. I have to admit that he was very discreet. I had no idea until I found a note and a jewelry receipt one day. A little investigation on my part, and a bunch of investigation on the part of a P.I., turned up more than I wanted to know. I was going to confront him about it, but he died in a plane crash on the way home. There were two women in the plane with him. His father and the publicist paid their families off and wanted to give me money to keep quiet,” she said.

Not once had Sophie been to a therapist. Aunt Maud had had to drag the story out of her, and right there in the kitchen she’d told Elijah the whole thing without batting an eye. She’d actually told him more than she’d even told Kate and Fancy. What in the devil had gotten into her?

“Did you take the money?” Elijah asked.

She shook her head and the towel fell off. Her hair hung in tight little ringlets, water droplets hanging inside the curls like dew drops on red roses. “There was this enormous insurance policy that quadrupled if he was killed on an airplane. I didn’t want or need their hush money. Aunt Maud rescued me and brought me here. It’s home, Elijah, and I meant it when I said I’d buy your half.” She sat down at the table and reached into the chip bag.

He laid a hand on her arm. “I know you did. And I was serious about buying you out. We had a big farm out in West Texas. Even split nine ways, I’ve got the money to do it; plus, I lived simply for the past twenty years, so there’s my military savings. But I’ve got to be honest, Sophie. I like having a partner. Uncle Jesse used to say that a ranch needs a woman. I expect it does, but it doesn’t have to be a wife, does it?”

His touch on her arm felt as if he was branding it with hot steam. She was sure there would be a hand-shaped burn print when he removed it, but there wasn’t. So he wasn’t interested in anything permanent other than friendship. She could do that…as long as he kept his kisses to himself.



They hit the ground running the next morning. The smell of smoked ribs filled the air when they walked out the back door together: Sophie in her mint-green T-shirt with the rhinestone outline of a longhorn bull on the back, her green cowboy boots, and a fresh pair of starched jeans. Elijah wore a white shirt, starched jeans, and his boots had been polished to a shine.

They were dragged off into two different directions the moment the early-bird buyers spotted Elijah and Tillman saw Sophie. She was soon knee-deep supervising the waiting staff and being nice to everyone. Her smile was more genuine that day and didn’t hurt her cheeks nearly so badly.

“I’m doing ribs, brisket, and we’ve got coleslaw and potato salad to put out on the table. Until lunchtime, I’ve got cold roast beef and barbecued pulled pork on the tables for the early birds to make sandwiches. Did I forget anything?” Tillman asked.

“Sounds like you’ve got it under control. Keep the soda pop iced down in the tubs and the sweet tea and lemonade pitchers full, and we’ll be all right. It’s going to be another scorcher, and they’ll be thirsty all the time,” Sophie answered.

“From the looks of the crowd, I’d say we’re going to have a bumper-crop sale this year. Your aunt Maud would have fought you on the extra expense, but it’s going to bring in a heck of a profit,” Tillman said.

Sophie nodded. “You are right. I’ve never seen so many buyers.”