Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
L eni was saved from answering Chevy by Duke calling them into the kitchen.
“Y’all come on in,” Duke said. “Don’t let this breakfast casserole get cold.”
Chevy showed Lorna how to use the knee scooter, the way to position her injured leg on the cushioned pad and more importantly, how to use the handbrake, while Leni carried Izzy into the kitchen and placed her in the bouncy seat in the center of the table.
Maisie and Elizabeth cooed over the baby while Dodge set out the paper plates, plastic cups, and cutlery that Duke had brought. Chevy poured cups of milk and orange juice while Duke served up thick slices of an egg dish laden with country sausage, hash brown potatoes, and gooey cheddar cheese.
Elizabeth pulled herself away from playing with Izzy to set out a bowl of sliced berries then opened the last container, which was filled with mini muffins. The scents of bananas, nuts, and vanilla filled the air.
Leni took a muffin as the dish was passed around and popped it into her mouth. It was still warm, and she groaned at the delicious perfectly moist cake. “These are amazing,” she told Elizabeth.
The other woman waved her compliment away. “They were easy. I whipped the batter up in five minutes. They took longer to bake than to make, and they were in the oven for less than fifteen minutes.”
“You made these this morning?” she asked, in awe of Elizabeth. She’d barely gotten herself dressed and her teeth brushed.
“I’ll give you the recipe,” Elizabeth told her.
“Thanks.”
Maisie raised her hand as if she were in a classroom. “Can I get it too?”
“Leni loves to bake,” Chevy said. “Or I guess, you used to,” he said after she’d shot him an arched eyebrow expression. “I remember you said baking was like chemistry, and you loved the preciseness of the measurements and the chemical reactions that the different ingredients combined to create. I always thought that was such a cool way to look at baking.”
Leni blinked as heat warmed the back of her neck. She hadn’t known he’d thought that. “I’m surprised you remembered such a funny thing about me.”
“I remember everything,” he told her, then cleared his throat as he must have realized everyone was staring at them. “And I could never forget your butterscotch and chocolate chip cookies. I still think about them.”
I still think about you.
She tore her gaze from his. Not the time or the place to analyze that thought.
Turning back to Elizabeth, she tried to think of something to change the subject. “So, where’s Ford this morning? Not that we need any more people squeezed into this kitchen, but I haven’t seen him since I’ve been back in town.”
“He stayed at the ranch to get the rest of the chores done,” Elizabeth told her.
“You know, the oldest brother is always the most responsible one,” Dodge said.
“And except for Elizabeth, Ford’s usually happiest when he’s on his own,” Chevy explained. “You know how some people have FOMO, the fear of missing out. Ford more often has JOMO, the joy of missing out.”
The group laughed together as Elizabeth nudged Chevy’s shoulder. “Not that he would be joyful at missing out on seeing you, of course,” she tried to tell Leni. “He’s just more of a loner.”
“And prefers the company of his dog to most people,” Chevy added.
“I get it,” Leni told Elizabeth. “I’m not offended. I’ve known these guys a long time.” Although it had also been a long time since she’d seen or hung out with any of them. “And I’m thankful Ford took the bullet of the extra chores so Chevy and Dodge could build the railings for the stairs. They’ll really help Lorna to get up and down those front steps.”
“Not that I’m planning on going anywhere any time soon,” Lorna said, gesturing to her bandaged ankle. Chevy had stacked a couple of throw pillows on the kitchen chair next to her and helped prop her foot up on them.
“Why would you need to?” Leni asked, grinning over at Maisie. “Now that we’re set up with tacos and baked ziti. This seems like the perfect time to catch up on your reading or the latest season of Bridgerton.”
Lorna let out a wistful sigh. “I am anxious to see what kind of mischief Lady Whistledown is up to. But I also miss my coffee shop. I haven’t been there in weeks.”
Leni glanced at the kitchen clock and popped out of her chair. “Oh shoot. Speaking of the coffee shop, we open in thirty minutes. I need to get ready to head down there.”
No one came in before the church crowd, so they opened late on Sunday mornings and then were closed on Mondays.
“No, you don’t,” Elizabeth said. “Because we’d like to help you all with that, too.”
“We would’ve just gone in and opened the store ourselves,” Duke told her. “But we didn’t have the keys to get in.”
Elizabeth held a hand up to ward off Leni’s objections. “Don’t worry. I know my way around a coffee machine. I spent three summers in college working as a barista. Sometimes it felt like I was earning a degree in Caramel Macchiatos along with my Accounting one.”
“And I can handle bussing the tables and serving pastries and generally chatting up the customers while Elizabeth makes the coffees,” Duke told them. “I’m looking forward to it. It sounds like fun to me.”
Leni exchanged looks with her sister. “I guess it would be okay. One of the Johnson girls, Emily, is scheduled to work today. She’s still learning the drinks, but she’s great at managing the register.”
“It sounds great to me,” Lorna said. “Experienced help that I don’t have to put on the payroll and figure out taxes for? Yes, please. And honestly, I could really use my sister today.” She turned to Elizabeth. “I know your family runs a restaurant, so I have every faith in your shop skills. And don’t worry, within the first three days of taking over the place, Leni had re-organized my supply closet, created an opening and closing schedule, and made color-coded cards detailing exactly how to make all the drink recipes.”
Leni looked down at her feet. “Sorry. It just made more sense to have it all organized and the recipes and closing procedures written down. And your supply room was total chaos—you had the plasticware next to the syrups and the coffee next to the cleaning supplies. Now it’s all logical, and you can easily find things.”
Lorna laughed. “Don’t be sorry. I love having an engineer for a sister. And I know you can’t help yourself when it comes to organizing and creating structure. So, I especially love it when my house and my store benefit from your giant brain.”
“That settles it then,” Duke said, putting what was left of the food into the refrigerator then wiping the last few stray crumbs from the counter into his palm and dumping them in the sink. “We’d better get going.”
Leni wrote her and Lorna’s numbers down then got the spare set of shop keys from the kitchen drawer and passed them all to Duke. “Emily should be there before ten, and she can show you how to get everything set up. And these are our numbers so don’t hesitate to call or text us with any questions. And if you get stuck, or have a big rush, call me and I’ll come down to help out.”
“Don’t you worry,” he said, giving her a wink. “We’ve got this. You just take care of your family.”
After Duke and Elizabeth left, Dodge took Max outside to help him work on the railings while Chevy carried the bassinet down to the back living room. Maisie helped Leni get the sofa bed made, and the room set up while Lorna nursed the baby.
“Ugh, I think there’s still blood matted in my hair,” Lorna said, as she nestled a sleeping Izzy into the bassinet.
“I can help you figure out how to cover your bandaged foot and forehead so you can take a shower before they put the cast on your ankle,” Leni told her. “Then we can pack up some of your bathroom stuff and a few clothes to bring downstairs for you.”
“I brought a book, so I’m happy to sit in here and watch the baby if that would help,” Maisie offered.
“That would be great,” Lorna told her.
It took almost an hour for Lorna to shower and for her and Leni to get everything moved down to the living room.
“I’m exhausted, and it’s not even noon,” Lorna said, leaning her head back so Leni could brush out her wet hair.
“I’d love to take Max down to the library to check out some books if you want to take a nap,” Maisie said. “And if you have a stroller, I can take Izzy too.”
“You’re so sweet,” Lorna told her. “The baby usually sleeps for a few hours in the morning, so I have another hour to nap, but I’m sure Max would love to go. He loves going to the library. But you’ve already done so much.”
The librarian waved away her objection. “Nonsense. I’m happy to help. And I think this morning has been a ton of fun.”
“First tacos and now taking Max on an adventure. I don’t know how to repay you.”
Maisie looked down at the sofa where she ran her finger over a broken seam. “You don’t have to repay me anything, but I could always use another friend or two.”
“Sold,” Lorna and Leni said at the same time, then the three women laughed together.
Maisie collected her things while Lorna crashed out on the sofa.
“I’ll walk you out,” Leni told her, following her onto the front porch. Just to be polite. Nothing to do with wanting to check on the progress of the railings. Or the cute cowboy who was helping to build them.
Country music was playing from a speaker on their toolbox, and the two brothers were laughing with Max as Chevy held a board up to the frame they’d built along the side of the stairs while Dodge set a screw. They’d already made great progress. One of the railings looked to be finished.
Chevy held his hand out to steady Maisie as she maneuvered down the front steps and around the tools and boards.
“Oh, I love this one,” Maisie said, as a new song started.
Still holding her hand, Chevy pulled her into his arms and crooned loudly along with the lyrics as he two-stepped Maisie down the sidewalk. She stumbled as he spun her around in an intricate maneuver, then her face went pink as she let out a nervous giggle.
“Now, be careful with her,” Dodge warned. “That’s my girl you’re tripping up there.”
“Tripping is right,” Maisie said with a laugh. “On my own two left feet. I can’t do those complicated steps.”
“You know who can?” Chevy asked as he passed Maisie off to Dodge then bounded up the steps to sweep Leni into his arms. “This girl right here. She’s a great dancer.” He triple-stepped her around the wide front porch then as the tempo of the chorus picked up, he swung her around, twisting their arms over and around their heads as he skillfully executed a pretzel.
It had been years since Leni had country danced. Heck, years since she’d danced at all, other than the few times by herself in the kitchen when a good song came on. But somehow, with Chevy, the boy who had taught her how to swing dance and two-step, she fell back into their old rhythm and all the steps came back to her as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.
Her logical mind would usually be trying to count steps or over-analyzing her movements, but somehow, with Chevy, her body surrendered to his lead, and she let him spin and steer her around the porch, one hand cupping her neck and the other cradling her outstretched palm.
He grinned down at her as he pulled her close and promenaded her in a circle. She felt dizzy and breathless—both from the dance steps and from Chevy’s beaming smile that was meant just for her.
“My turn,” Max called out, lifting his arms. “I want to dance, too.”
Chevy laughed and let go of Leni to scoop up the little boy and spin him around, amazingly still in time with the music. Max giggled and whooped and sang along to the chorus with Chevy.
Leni leaned back against the front of the house, trying to catch her breath and calm her heart.
Sometimes, she forgot how much fun Chevy was. How he could turn anything into a party. He had a zeal for life—and probably a bit of a middle child’s desire for attention—and had a way of taking the most menial task, like building railings for a set of steps, and turning it into something exciting and fun.
It was so easy to be around him, so easy to get pulled back into his orbit.
She had been on the shy side in high school, a brainy nerd who cared more about reading books than attending football games or parties. No one really paid much attention to her at all. Unless she was with Chevy.
There was something about him. About the way he was with her. Like he just got her. She didn’t know how or why, but he saw beyond the nerdy brainiac and the quirky side of her.
They shouldn’t have worked. The fun, loving cowboy who craved attention and the shy, timid bookworm who was happy to be on her own, escaping into her books and dreaming of dragons and time-travel and sci-fi adventures in space.
But they did.
He drew her out of her shell, and she made him laugh. And they just worked.
Right up until the day he’d broken her heart.