Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
My phone buzzes across the counter and I move to pick it up. I see it’s from Derek. You owe me combat pay. They’re picketing Millie’s because I’m “the enabler.” I’m hiding behind a Ficus.
I snort and thumb back, Welcome to Whynot. It’s not hell, but you can see it from here.
Three dots bubble, then, If I get smote by a church lady with a doily, tell my parents I died as I lived… dangerously.
I snort, but before I can reply, headlights sweep across the window. A beat later, there’s the soft knock I already know, and when I open the door, Penny’s there with two white bakery boxes stacked in her arms and wind-flushed cheeks. I don’t know that she’s ever looked prettier in a white sleeveless blouse with a yellow cardigan draped over her freckled shoulders and a knee-length skirt in olive green with white embroidered flowers at the hem.
“Congratulatory offerings,” she says. “One pecan pie, one chocolate cake.”
“Sweet Cakes?” I guess.
She shakes her head. “Muriel insisted on making these herself. I think she had some friends help, but she’s quite proud of herself.”
“Can she do that?” I ask, popping one of the tops and looking in.
“Well, she can walk and she can stand up with her Rollator. Should she be baking? Your guess is as good as mine, but you try telling that woman no.”
“Pass,” I say dryly. “You’re going to put me in a sugar coma.”
“I’m trying to fortify you for battles ahead.” She leans up and kisses my cheek. “Hi.”
“Hi.” It comes out soft. “You look… beautiful.”
She has an unusual beat of shyness where her cheeks pinken, and she ducks her head before looking past me. “Something smells amazing.”
“Chicken pot pie, just like my mama makes,” I say, a tiny bit of sadness weaving through my words.
Penny’s smile folds into something gentler. I’d provided her a text update on the slightly productive conversation I had with my parents. “They’ll come around. One thing at a time.”
We walk into the kitchen, and I set the boxes on the counter near my phone. I see Derek’s texted again. Update. Someone made a sign: Agents of Sin Sleep at Millie’s. Am I in danger of going to hell?
“Bless him,” Penny says when I show her the text. “He’s going to earn that commission today.”
I don’t bother answering him because I know that he’s just bored and wants conversation. He’d expected we’d work tonight and eat dinner together, but I had to disappoint him.
“Sorry,” I said when leaving him on the porch at Millie’s. “But I don’t have a lot of time with Penny, and I want to spend as much of it as I can.”
Derek was surprisingly gracious. “Go. Be with your girl.”
I serve up dinner with the wine, and we eat at the island like people who haven’t sat down since lunch. Penny talks with her hands, describing her day at the diner, including how Ruby trained a new waitress who kept calling everyone “sir,” even the ladies. I fill her in with more details about how it went with my parents.
“So, your mama’s still pretty upset?” she asks.
“She’s in a right state for sure. Tried to use my dad as a go-between. Even though we’re sitting in the same room, she’d say… ‘Roy… tell your son that I am thoroughly embarrassed by this.’ And then my dad would sigh and turn to me sitting two feet away, and say, ‘Son… your mom is thoroughly embarrassed by this.’”
Penny covers her mouth with her hand and giggles. I chuckle, because it is as funny as it is frustrating. “And what’s your dad really think?”
“See… that’s the interesting thing. I don’t think he’s as put out by it as Mama claims. He was trying to be the peacemaker, but he never said anything derogatory to me. The opposite, really.”
“Maybe you need a private conversation with him,” she suggests.
“Yeah, probably. He’s the only one who could probably reason with her.” I watch Penny slide a forkful of the pot pie into her mouth. “So… things are looking to get weird.”
She lifts her eyebrows, chewing.
“Pap asked for a case of my books to sell from the bar.”
Penny smiles, nods and swallows, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. “Oh, I love him.”
“He said, and I quote, ‘If folks are gonna drink and gossip, they can read somethin’ worth their time.’ He’s planning a ‘Books and Bourbon’ night. Wants me to do a reading tomorrow.”
Her face lights up with excitement. “Please say you’re going to do it.”
“I told him I’d think about it.”
“Translation… you already said yes.”
I shrug, caught. “Translation… I already said yes.”
“Larkin’s told me she’s going to add them to her reading shelf in Sweet Cakes,” Penny adds, smug. “People can read about love while eating croissants and lemon bars. She made a little sign that says ‘Love pairs well with frosting.’”