Small Town Rumors(73)

“Good mornin’,” she yawned.

He laid the book aside. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did, and thank you again. I thought I was okay after we got out of the pool, but when I got into bed, I remembered the hankie that Daddy gave me just before he left. I lost it, and it brought on more tears.”

He moved to sit beside her on the bed. “That’s the way grief works. One minute you think you’ve got it all under control, and then the simplest thing will set you off, and you’re a mess again. A month after he passed away, I found Daddy’s little notebook where he kept all the phone numbers of places he liked to buy his seed, and just looking at his handwriting tore me up. I bawled like a baby.”

“Then I’m not completely insane?”

“No, darlin’, you are not.” His deep drawl soothed her.

She turned so that she could wrap her arms around Rick’s neck. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

He tipped up her chin, and before their lips ever even touched, she felt as if she was drowning in his dark-green eyes. The kiss started out as a sweet brushing of lips, then it deepened into a fiery-hot passion.

Jennie Sue pulled away when she heard the bathroom door at the end of the hallway close. She stood up and tugged at the bottom of her nightshirt. “I’d better go on back to my bedroom.”

“Jennie Sue, it may be the wrong time to ask, but what are we going to do about this thing between us?”

She bent down and kissed him. “I’m going to hope that it’s more than a passing fancy for you.”



Cricket was waiting in the dining room when Jennie Sue arrived with Rick right behind her. She barely glanced up as she kept putting cookies in plastic bags. “I can’t stand the idea of wasting a single bit of this food.”

“Have you had breakfast? I’ll be glad to make us bacon and eggs or whatever y’all want,” Jennie Sue asked.

“I would love pancakes,” Rick said.

“Something neither of us can make unless we use that mix that you just put water in.” Cricket kept right on working.

“Pancakes it is. Bacon, sausage, or both?”

“Bacon,” they said at the same time.

“What can I do to help?” Rick asked.

“Can you fry bacon?” She nudged him with her shoulder.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then you can do that while I make the pancakes.” She sniffed the air. “Do I smell coffee?”

“I made a pot. Hope that’s okay,” Cricket answered.

“It’s better than okay. It’s great. We’ll have a cup while we are getting breakfast ready. And while we eat, I want you both to be my sounding board. While I was getting dressed this morning and packing a suitcase of things I want to take to my apartment, I came up with some things I need to bounce off you,” she said.

“Ideas about what? You really need to take time to think about everything and not rush, Jennie Sue,” Rick said.

“Mabel told me to listen to my heart, so that’s what I’m doin’,” she replied.

He followed her into the kitchen and asked, “What if this chemistry we have is just a passing fancy for you? You now own a huge company, not to mention this house and property. What if I’m only—”

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Rick, what we have has nothing to do with money. It’s something deeper than that, something in our hearts. To me, it’s not a passing fancy. It’s like the seed that you plant in the spring. With some tender care, it could grow into something fruitful.”

“I think we can work with that.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Now, where’s a good cast-iron skillet so I can do my part about gettin’ breakfast ready?”

“Under that cabinet.” She pointed and then set the electric griddle in the middle of the table.

When he’d fried a pound of bacon and they were all seated, she poured the batter out in six perfect circles. A picture of Percy throwing away the first pancakes she’d made after they were married because they weren’t perfectly round flashed through her mind. She quickly hit the mental “Delete” button, determined that she was never going to think about him again.

“Okay, I can already see that those are the lightest pancakes I’ve ever seen. What’s the secret?” Cricket asked.

“I only give out my recipe to people who don’t hate me,” she answered.

“Okay, okay, I don’t hate you anymore.” Cricket grinned.

“So are you only my friend because I make good pancakes, because you feel sorry for me, or because I like your brother?” She flipped two pancakes onto Cricket’s plate.

“All of the above. When did you start liking Rick?” Cricket asked. “I thought y’all were just friends.”

“It’s been a slow process. And the secret to good pancakes is beating the egg whites until they are almost like meringue and then folding them in gently. Gives them little air pockets that make the pancakes very light. I’ll text you the link to the recipe. I found it on Pinterest.” Jennie Sue put two on Rick’s plate.

“Oh, my!” Cricket moaned when she took the first bite. “These are fabulous.”

Jennie Sue slathered her pancakes with butter and poured syrup over them. Then she flipped the ones on the griddle before she took the first bite.