Chapter 7
STARLA
I glanced over at Ma, wondering how in the world she was still functioning.
Other than a brief pause for lunch, she hadn’t stopped moving since before I came downstairs this morning.
Now she was finally sitting, but she was nowhere near still.
She was directing traffic as Graham–Sarge–and his sons carried crates of jars and other canning supplies in from the Gators they’d used to haul everything from the barn to the house.
She barked orders without missing a beat and never slowed her hands as she cut the tops off the strawberries stacked in cases beside her chair.
Occasionally, she’d find one that was too ripe or too damaged for her recipes and toss it into the bowl with the strawberry tops.
She froze those in batches and handed them off to the chickens during the worst of the summer heat.
I felt glad the chickens would enjoy the treats, but I wouldn’t be around to see it because I was about to drop dead of exhaustion.
“I brought drinks!”
I looked over and saw a young man I was sure I’d seen before carrying more grocery bags than I could manage in three trips.
Another followed him with two trays of iced coffees that looked downright heavenly.
Since no one had introduced me to either man yet, I knew they hadn’t brought one for me, and the thought made me want to weep at the missed chance for a delicious caffeine boost.
“Starla, these two young men are Jasper and Theo, two of my habitually late grandchildren.”
I stared at them in shock as the realization hit. I did know them. When I left, they were about nine years old and absolutely adorable.
“And even though Granny won’t admit how happy she is to see us . . .” Jasper began.
“I saw you this morning, Jasper,” Ma interrupted, her tone dry as a bone.
Theo suddenly dropped to one knee beside her chair and lifted his hands as if he were praying.
“Please forgive me, dear Grandmother. I was only late because Jasper acts like every trip in that piece of junk he loves so much is a scenic drive through the countryside. We all know that no matter how hard he presses the gas, that truck won’t move faster than a snail on sand. ”
Ma didn’t even glance at him, completely ignoring his theatrics as she worked.
“You’d be more likely to arrive on time if you got out and walked,” she said.
“He drives that rattletrap like it’s a priceless work of art instead of the junk it is, and he barely goes faster than Graham.
Every time I’m forced to ride with either of them, I wonder if I’m going to die of old age before we get where we’re going.
I’d get twice as much done if I could drive myself. ”
“Oh, good grief,” Sarge said, appearing in the doorway. “There’s a reason you don’t have keys to any of the vehicles, Ma.”
“Of course there is,” she snapped. “I clearly enjoy being hauled around like a sack of potatoes anytime I need to get somewhere.”
“I don’t think that’s the reason,” Sarge muttered.
Ma ignored him and frowned down at Theo. “Stop being foolish and get up off the porch, son. There’s work to be done.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Theo said. Once he was back on his feet, he bent down to kiss her cheek. “We brought you something.”
Jasper scoffed. “I’m not giving her a thing after she insulted my truck and my driving.”
“Then I’ll make sure to skip your plate when I’m passing out pieces of strawberry-rhubarb pie.”
“A caramel vanilla latte, just for you!” Jasper announced, changing his mind instantly at the mention of dessert. He set the iced coffee in front of her with a flourish. “Now, what can I do to help that pie along?”
I finished organizing the recipe cards in front of me just as Ma ordered, “Sit down and start peeling carrots. When you finish those, slice them with the mandoline and put them in water to soak.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jasper said as he pulled out a chair. When Ma frowned at him, he added, “I’ll get started right after I wash up.”
“And what would you like your favorite grandson to do?” Theo asked.
“By the time you find him, I’ll have something figured out, but until that happens, you can peel carrots with Jasper.”
“You wound me, Granny.”
“I’m probably not the first to consider it,” Ma muttered, leaning forward to take the straw in her mouth for a long sip of coffee. Her eyes closed as she hummed loudly, and I smiled at her reaction.
When she opened her eyes, she said, “I’d be up for three days if I drank more than one of these, Starla, so help yourself. I know they brought plenty.”
“I’d hate to take one since they . . .”
“I ordered one for you,” Sarge assured me, pulling another cup from the carrier and setting it in front of me. “Are you ready to start our assignment?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said. I took a sip and immediately understood Ma’s look of satisfaction. I couldn’t help the small moan that escaped. “This might be the best iced coffee I’ve ever had. Hopefully it’ll perk me up.”
Sarge held out his hand to help me up. I appreciated the gesture more than he could know, since every part of my body was tired and aching.
I followed him to the other end of the porch, carrying the recipes I’d organized in one hand and my coffee in the other, trying very hard not to stare at his ass while I walked behind him.
I wasn’t successful.
I realized he’d caught me when he suddenly stopped. My eyes snapped up to his face and found him smiling. We were far enough away from the others that his voice didn’t carry when he asked, “Does this mean I get a free pass to watch you walk the next time I’m behind you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said primly, attempting to breeze past him.
If my red face didn’t give me away, my damn watch did.
It started chiming a heart-rate alert right then and there.
Sarge started chuckling as I slammed my coffee down on the folding table I’d helped set up earlier and set the recipes beside it.
When I yanked my watch off and shoved it into my pocket, he laughed outright.
“Enough with the chit-chat. Let’s get to work.”
“You haven’t even been back for twenty-four hours, and you already sound just like Ma.”
“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“If the bar sits that low, I’ll make it my mission to raise it at least one notch every day.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll find that I always mean what I say and say what I mean, Starla. I’ve been told it’s one of my most infuriating qualities.” He flashed a cheesy grin. “I get it from my mama.”
“That’s funny. I blame my most infuriating qualities on my parents too.”
“That’s usually where they come from.”
“I wouldn’t know.” I looked at the table in front of us, stacked with the trays and supplies Ma had ordered to be set here, and sighed. “I hope you know what we’re doing, because if this goes sideways, I’m going to blame you.”
“Ma didn’t explain the plan?”
“She did. In excruciating detail,” I admitted. “But I’m still worried I’ll screw something up and ruin the whole batch.”
“Even if you do, Ma can’t stay angry for long, and she certainly won’t blame you. She seems harsh, but it’s all a bluff.”
“I know. I just don’t want to let her down.”
Sarge’s expression softened. “One thing you should remember about my family is that they love hard and fight harder. You could burn this house down around us and Ma would still love you, Starla. You can’t get rid of us that easily.”
“I would never want to try.”
Sarge spent the next few minutes explaining how Ma had always done things. After a while, he stopped and asked, “What’s going on in that head of yours right now?”
“I was just wondering if there might be a more efficient way to do this.”
Sarge chuckled. “There probably is. But this is how we’ve always done it.”
“No, I’m sure . . . This is the perfect way to get everything done.”
“Talk to me, Star. What are you thinking?”
“Ma is the expert here. If this is how she wants things done, then that’s how we’re going to do them.”
“Ma! Can you come down here for a minute?” Sarge called over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Ma adores you, Starla. Short of choking out one of her family members, there’s nothing you could do to change that.”
“I knew you were a smart girl,” Ma said, appearing from behind us. “Five minutes alone with him, and you’re already plotting his death. Welcome to my life.”
“Ma, Starla has an idea about how to make this more efficient,” Sarge said. “She wanted to run it by you to see if it’s something you’ve tried before. If not, we’d like to implement it for this batch.”
“What’s your idea?” Ma asked, her eyes assessing the supplies in front of us. “I’m open to anything that makes life easier around here, as long as it’s not a shortcut that backfires in the end.”
I took a deep breath and explained how I thought we should organize the assembly line, streamlining the layout so every tool and ingredient sat in the exact order we’d need them.
“How have I never thought of that?” Ma whispered, genuinely shocked.
She pulled me in for a quick hug. Sarge bit his lip to keep from laughing when I let out an involuntary squeak as Ma squeezed me tighter than anyone her age or size should manage.
When she finally let go, Ma smiled up at me.
“I knew having you come back to take over the reins was a good idea, but you just clinched it. I have no idea why that never occurred to me. I could kick myself for doing it the hard way all this time.”
She shot Sarge a stern look. “Follow her directions, and let’s get this done, son. Before we know it, Starla’s going to have this operation running smoother than a politician’s promises.”
Sarge stared at me, then leaned down to kiss Ma’s cheek and teased, “I’m an old pro at getting bossed around by a beautiful woman who is smarter than any of the men in this family, because you’ve been training me for it my entire life.”