26
F
rustrated that spending two hours in her hotshop hadn’t resulted in anything she’d be willing to show, Claire had returned to the task of emptying moving boxes when there was another knock at the door.
This time four women were standing on her porch. Each carried a covered dish, which made her feel a bit as if she’d fallen down a rabbit hole and landed in the 1950s.
“Hi,” the woman with gypsy hair falling in wild curls below her red knit cap said with a smile Claire had watched hundreds of times on television. “I’m Maddy Chaffee—”
“I know exactly who you are,” Claire said. “I’m a huge fan of your show. Although I can’t boil an egg, I cook vicariously through you.”
The TV chef’s laugh was even warmer in real life than on television. “Thank you. Maybe, once you get settled in, we can remedy that situation.”
“Doris and Dottie suggested I attend classes at your school.”
“We could definitely work something out,” Maddy assured her. She turned toward the other women. “This is Kara Conway Douchett. She’s our sheriff and married to Sax Douchett, who owns Bon Temps.”
“I’ve eaten there many times.” Claire smiled at the very pregnant woman. “How clever of you to have married a man who can cook.”
“I tell myself that every night,” Kara agreed with a bold, friendly smile.
“And I’m Charity Tiernan,” the third woman introduced herself. “I’m the town vet and I run a no-kill shelter. Just in case you happen to find yourself in the market for a dog or cat for your son.”
The other women laughed.
“Watch out for her,” Kara warned. “Before you know it, you’ll end up adopting a pet you never knew you needed.”
“Actually, since you mentioned it, I’ve been thinking about getting a dog.” Matt had always wanted one, but her mother had been allergic to animals.
“You guys can drop by anytime. We live above the clinic. In the yellow Victorian on Harborview?”
“I’ve seen it. It’s a lovely old house.”
“Thanks. I fell in love with it on the Internet, and although it took some work, I love living there. Even better now that I’ve filled the rooms with a family. . . . If you want, you can just talk with your son about what type of dog you think you’d like and I’m sure we can find the perfect match for you. Unfortunately, due to the economy, we’ve no shortage of canine candidates.”
“She’s a great matchmaker,” said the blond woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Malibu Barbie. “Which is how I ended up living with Butter, a rescued Persian.”
“It took a while, but I wore her down,” the vet said.
“I own Take the Cake,” the cat owner said with a friendly smile. “I’m Sedona Sullivan.”
“Oh, I was just in there yesterday and bought the best pie I’ve ever eaten.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry I missed you. I was probably in back with my hands in dough. I keep thinking I should add pies to the sign, but then I’d have to redo the entire logo, and the former CPA in me cringes at the thought of dumping a design I already have so much invested in, so I’ve been procrastinating.”
Belatedly realizing they were all still holding those dishes and standing on her porch, Claire said, “I’m sorry. Would you please come in?”
“We’d love to,” Charity said, “if you’re sure we’re not interrupting anything.”
“We mainly just wanted to welcome you to town,” Kara said.
“And feed you,” Maddy added. “We all know firsthand how stressful moving can be, so we thought you might like a few meals.”
“
Like
is a major understatement,” Claire said, resisting throwing her arms around all of them for a huge group hug. “If you don’t mind a mess, please come in. I still have some pie left, and I do know how to make coffee and tea.” Not that it was difficult to put the little cups in the machine and hit the brew button.
“Moving’s always a mess,” Kara said. “Fortunately, Sax and I agreed that we’re never moving again. And I, for one, never turn down pie.”
“But we can’t stay long,” Charity said as they entered the house and put their dishes on a counter cluttered with boxes. “I know you have a show in Portland soon, so you’ll probably want to get back to work. And Kara’s got a doctor’s appointment.”
“Not for another forty-five minutes,” the sheriff said. “And it doesn’t take more than twenty minutes to get anywhere in town.” She sat at the round table. “The trick will be getting back onto my feet.” She frowned down toward her black boots. “Which I can no longer see.”
“When are you due?” Claire asked.
“Although I feel and probably look like one of Shelter Bay’s whales, not for another three weeks.”
“I remember when I was pregnant with Matt. That last month seemed to take forever.”
“Doesn’t it? It was the same way with Trey, my son,” Kara agreed. “Of course, at the time my first husband was deployed, and I was eighteen, alone, and scared to death.”
“I was eighteen, too,” Claire shared as she cut the remaining pie into five pieces. “But I had my mother, who stepped in and helped a lot.”
“My mother missed Trey’s birth,” Kara said. “Since I got pregnant in high school, then eloped, I wasn’t exactly her favorite person at the time.”
“I’m sorry.” Claire’s mother had been a rock. Only now was she beginning to realize how much she’d depended on her.
“That’s okay.” Kara shrugged. “She and I had a double wedding this past summer, so life moves on.”
“That’s nice. I lost my mom this summer. I can’t count how many times a day I miss her.”
“I’m so sorry.” When Kara’s eyes misted up, Charity reached into her purse, pulled out a Kleenex, and handed it to her. “Thanks.” She dabbed at her eyes even as she managed a crooked smile. “Hormones,” she complained.
“I remember those well.”
“Wow,” Sedona said, looking out the window at the shipwreck. “You’ve got a dynamite view from here.”
“That was my main reason for buying the cottage,” Claire said as she placed the plates of pie on the table. “I knew it was going to take a major renovation.
“Fortunately,” she said to Maddy, “your husband comes highly recommended.”
“He’s always been good with his hands,” the chef said, which drew knowing laughs from the other women.
“Maddy and Lucas were high school sweethearts,” Charity volunteered.
“It was like something out of one of those old teen romance movies,” Kara said. “Lucas was the rich summer boy and Maddy, who’d been orphaned, was the herb farmer’s granddaughter. Everyone thought for sure they were going to get married; then Lucas made the bonehead move of breaking up with her.”
“Well, technically I broke up with him. Which was what he wanted me to do,” Maddy said, shaking her head. “Because I wanted to get married and he wanted me to stick to my dream of going to Europe to expand my culinary skills. . . . Fast-forward, I ran off, heartbroken, then later made the mistake of marrying the wrong man.”
“I—” Claire slammed her mouth shut so hard her teeth rattled, but she knew the damage had already been done.
“You know.” Maddy smiled. “Don’t worry, just about everyone on the planet has seen my former husband’s sex video.”
“I haven’t,” Claire said honestly. “But I did hear about it.”
“It was not a fun time. But it turned out well, because I came home to lick my wounds and figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. What I never expected was for Lucas to be here, too.”
“He’d agreed to add an addition to her grandmother’s farmhouse.” Sedona continued the story, patting her heart. “And the sparks were still there.”
“Maddy didn’t want to admit it,” Charity said.
“But it sure was fun watching him wear her down,” Kara said. “One of the things you’ll learn,” she confided in Claire, “is that living in a small town requires us to invent our own entertainment.”
“And Lucas and Maddy definitely provided a lot last spring,” Charity finished up.
“I met your husband this morning,” Claire told Maddy as she joined the other women at the table. “He had some great ideas.”
“He always does. I was kidding about the hands thing. But he really is an excellent contractor.”
“From the work he did at the Dancing Deer Two, I can see that,” Claire agreed.
She took orders for three cups of coffee. Kara had come prepared with her own tea bag of an herbal blend from Lavender Hill Farm.
“Sax became the caffeine police the minute I told him I was pregnant,” she said with sigh. She took a bite of the pie and moaned. “Oh, my God. That’s so good! And fortunately, I’m eating for two, so calories don’t count. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
The others laughed, and for the next ten minutes Claire enjoyed the type of girl talk she couldn’t remember having in, well, perhaps going all the way back to school. Her days had consisted of work and having lunch with her mother, who, as a children’s book illustrator, also worked at home. She did get away on sales trips and to trade shows, but while there was a social aspect to those occasions, they were also focused on business.
“Did Matt or Dillon tell you about the basketball team crabfest?” Charity asked.
“No. Is that what it sounds like?”
“If it sounds like a fund-raiser, you’re right. It’s also this Friday night at Bon Temps. It’s like a typical school spaghetti supper, but with a local coastal twist. The menu is boiled Dungeness crab, salads, bread, and desserts. Along with soft drinks, coffee, and tea.”
Terrific
. Wasn’t that just what she needed? “I can’t begin to handle spaghetti. Let alone crab. I probably would’ve given Matt food poisoning last night if Dillon Slater hadn’t steamed the clams I bought at Farraday’s.”
Sedona arched a blond brow. “Wow, that was fast work on his part. Isn’t he too cute for words?”
“Really?” Claire pretended nonchalance. “I didn’t notice.”
The obvious lie caused the other women to laugh.
“Seriously,” she insisted as looks were exchanged. “He just came over to talk about Matt’s place on the team. Then my clams began crying—”
“Oh, that’s so creepy when they do that,” Kara said. “I grew up eating them, but I’m still always afraid that when I open the refrigerator, there’s going to be a giant clam waiting to suck me in. Just like some old black-and-white horror movie.”
“I know! I felt exactly the same way.”
“Great minds,” Kara said. “Dottie and Dorothy told me I’d like you. And they were right.” There was a trill from her purse. She dug out her phone, then sighed as she read the caller ID. “It’s Sax.”
“There’s a surprise,” Maddy said.
“I think that’s a record,” Sedona said. “It’s been at least ten minutes since he called.”
“It’s because of those damn Braxton Hicks,” Kara muttered. “He won’t stop hovering.” She hit the button, then rolled her eyes as she listened to what Claire took to be husbandly words of concern.
“No, darling. I’m fine. Really . . . Yes, of course I’ll call you if I go into actual labor. But don’t hold your breath, because it isn’t going to be for another three weeks. . . . No, really? . . . Thanks for letting me know. Whatever would we do without that expectant father book? And yes, I know I have a doctor’s appointment today, and if you don’t hang up and get back to work, I’m going to be late.
“No. I won’t speed. I’m the sheriff, remember? It’d be humiliating to be stopped by one of my deputies. Good-bye. I’ll see you this evening. Thanks to Charity bringing up the basketball crabfest, I’m now craving Jake’s butter-roasted crab, so how about you, Trey, and I going out to the Crab Shack for dinner? . . . Great . . . Love you, too.”
She hung up and shook her head with exasperation. “Thanks to my beloved husband’s news flash, I now know that babies have been known to come early.”
“You should call Phoebe,” Maddy suggested. “In case Dr. Parrish failed to inform her of that possibility.”
“Speaking of Phoebe,” Charity said, “has anyone spoken with her today?”
“No. She asked yesterday if she could take the day off to stay home to help the new dog she was adopting from you settle in.”
“That’s just it,” Charity said. “She never showed up.”
“What?” Sedona and Maddy said at the same time.
“That’s not like her at all,” Maddy said. “She’s always very dependable.
“Oh, she wasn’t exactly a no-show. Ethan called and said something had come up and they’d have to put off the dog adoption for few days. Which is fine, since I don’t exactly have a line outside the door waiting to take the dogs home. But there was something in his voice. . . .”
She glanced over at Claire. “I’m sorry. It’s rude to be talking about someone you don’t even know.”
“I’ve seen her on a couple of your shows,” Claire said. “She’s very good.”
“She is. You’ll hear the story, so we might as well fill you in.”
As the women told her about the former Stephanie Fletcher, now Phoebe Tyler, Claire realized what a strong bond they’d formed. She hoped that their visiting was their way of letting her know that their circle could include one more.
“I just realized we got sidetracked and I never finished filling you in on the crabfest,” Charity said. “You don’t have to worry about cooking. Jake, from the Crab Shack, is a member of the boosters, so he boils and donates the crab.
“The boosters pay for the drinks, and Sax is not only supplying the space, but tossing in some popcorn shrimp with his famous Come-Back sauce as an appetizer. Also, Sedona’s sweet enough to supply the cupcakes, Lavender Hill Farm kicks in the salad, and the Grateful Bread supplies the rolls and bread. All the families have to do is buy tickets, show up, and let the boys serve them dinner.”
“I can handle that,” Claire said, trying to imagine Matt serving her dinner. “I’m glad you let me know. It’d be just like Matt these days to spring it on me ten minutes before we were due at the school.”
“Give him time,” Charity said. “Gabe and I adopted two children last year. There was an adjustment period, since both Johnny and his sister, Angel, had practically grown up in foster care. But Johnny’s making honor roll and he’s on the team with Matt. He says your son’s a phenom.”
“So they say. His dream is to get to the pros, though I’d much rather have him concentrate on his schooling and get an education. Which is why I was so grateful Coach Slater gave him a wake-up call about grades and scholarships last night.”