motivated by an excuse to end the conversation, but Kate would take what she could get.
The screen door clattered as he hurried out of the house, and Kate heard Gram call good morning to him. Decades ago, Joan Denby had been able to coax Kate out of her shell when she was feeling abandoned by her father. Maybe now Gram could work her magic on a sullen teenage boy.
There were so few bags that Luke got them all in one trip. Kate offered to help put away the groceries, but Gram said to just leave them out for baking. She then made Luke’s day by giving him permission to hook up his game console to the living room TV while the two women worked in the kitchen.
Once he’d happily scampered off to lose himself in a digital quest, Gram raised an eyebrow in Kate’s direction. “Am I wrong, or was there some tension between the two of you?”
“Always.”
Gram patted her arm. “Hang in there. The teen years are difficult. I seem to recall a certain summer where you and Crystal fell for the same lifeguard at the local pool and life as you knew it was over!” She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead in melodramatic parody.
Kate chuckled in spite of herself. “Okay, I suppose even I had my tantrums.”
“And you grew into a wonderful woman. Luke has a good heart.”
“I know. I just wish he’d share it with people more often.”
Gram disappeared into the walk-in pantry and returned with a sack of flour and an armful of spices. “Do you want an apron to protect your dress? It’s pretty. Brings out the green in your eyes.” She beamed proudly. “You’re sure to make a good impression in it.”
Alarm bells sounded in Kate’s head, as jarring as a classroom of seven-year-olds all playing xylophones for the first time. Suddenly she recalled a phone conversation with Gram a few months ago. Her grandmother had gently hinted that Luke might do better with a male role model in his life and asked if Kate ever dated. When Kate had said no, Gram had dropped the subject. Now, Kate wondered if her grandmother had simply been biding her time.
“Gram, this welcome party... It’s not going to be a lineup of the county’s eligible bachelors, is it? I told you, I’m not ready for romance.”
Her grandmother smiled sadly. “I lost my husband, too. I understand. But you’re in the prime of your life, with a lot of years left ahead of you. Damon wouldn’t want you to be alone.”
That answer did nothing to settle Kate’s apprehension about the party. “Today isn’t going to be you, me, and a dozen single guys between the ages of twenty and fifty, right?”
“You have your grandfather’s active imagination. As I told you last night, I invited some families. Now, can we get started? I’ve got several desserts I want to bake, and my oven will only hold so many things at a time.”
Telling herself to quit being paranoid, Kate lost herself in the comforting rhythm of working alongside the woman who had taught her how to cook. The first dinner she’d ever fixed for Damon had included her grandmother’s chicken and dumplings recipe. The hours passed quickly. In seemingly no time, afternoon sun streamed through the windows and the kitchen smelled like a decadent bakery. Unfortunately, the kitchen was nearly as hot as the inside of a bakery oven.
At least outside there was a breeze. Kate covered long folding tables with vinyl tablecloths, glad she hadn’t bothered with makeup. It would have melted away. They drafted Luke to dump ice into the drink coolers and pretended not to notice all the food he stole off the veggie tray. Beans simmered on the stove, and a vat of potato salad waited in the fridge. The smell of brisket cooking made Kate’s stomach rumble. While she waited for the grill to heat up so she could throw on some sausages, she opened a bag of tortilla chips and taste-tested Gram’s homemade salsa.
Gram handed her a cold water bottle, her eyes glinting with mischief. “You might want this.”
Kate nodded. “It’s a little hotter than I remembered.”
“Well. Everyone needs a little spice in their lives.”
As Kate sipped her water, two vehicles came down the dirt road that led from the street to the farm. The second was a battered pickup; the one in the lead was a sedan that was probably older than she was but gleamed as if it were washed and waxed daily. As soon as it pulled to a stop, the back door opened. While the driver and front passenger were still dealing with their seatbelts, two blonde blurs of energy spilled out. Followed by a tall man with ink-black hair.
Cold water splashed over her fingers, making her realize she was squeezing the bottle in her hand. “Gram!” She couldn’t keep the note of shrill accusation from her voice. “That is Cole Trent.”
Her grandmother ducked her gaze. “Oh. Did I, um, forget to mention he was invited?”
A single glance across the shaded front yard confirmed the suspicion that had been growing inside Cole as his father drove. Joan Denby’s granddaughter was indeed the beautiful blonde he’d met yesterday. Two single moms with sons moving to Cupid’s Bow at the same time wasn’t impossible, but it would be an unlikely coincidence. When the possibility had first occurred to him that the woman they were welcoming to town was the same one he’d met at the gas station, he’d discounted it because his mother had made it sound as if the newcomer’s son was closer to the twins’ age.
Then again, his mom had proven that her ethics were flexible when it came to introducing him to single women.
He had to admit, on some level, he was excited to see the blonde again. Judging from her tense body language as she talked to her grandmother, the feeling was not mutual.
“Hey, it’s that lady!” Mandy announced as the adults unloaded folding chairs and covered dishes from the car.
Gayle Trent glanced at her granddaughter. “The older one, or the younger one?”
Mandy frowned, momentarily perplexed that someone over thirty might qualify as young. “The one with the ponytail. We met her yesterday. Her son’s a big kid. He and Alyssa took a—”
“I didn’t take it!” Alyssa interrupted, her face splotched with red.
“Why don’t we leave what happened in the past?” Cole said, steering his girls away from his mother’s blatant curiosity. He had not yet shared the Great Candy Bar Heist with her. “Come on, let’s go meet our hostess.”
He tried to recall whether his mom had mentioned Joan’s granddaughter by name but drew a blank.
“Sheriff Trent!” Joan Denby waved him over with a smile. “So nice to see you—and your girls. They’re getting so big. This is my granddaughter, Kate Sullivan. I hear the two of you have met?”
“Briefly, but I didn’t catch a name.” He set down the chairs he carried and extended his hand. “Nice to officially meet you, Kate.”
Her gold-green eyes narrowed and, for a second, he didn’t think she would shake his hand. She did, but the contact was as fleeting as social protocol allowed.
“Sheriff,” she said stiffly.
He
