Page 11 of Already Home

“It’s nice,” the friend said, then spotted Jenna. “Hi. We justtasted that cracker. It was fabulous. Do you have the recipe?”

“Ah, yes. It’s an easy spread or it can be a tart filling. Youcan use what you have on hand to fudge the ingredients.”

The short woman laughed. “What I have on hand is a bottle ofwhite wine and a few Lean Cuisines.”

The oven timer beeped. Jenna pulled out the mushroom tarts. Thewomen rushed over and took napkins, then juggled the hot appetizers until theycould take a bite.

“Delish,” the taller one said with a sigh. “I don’t suppose youhave this recipe, too?”

Jenna had the recipes in her head. “I could write it down, ifyou’d like.”

The women exchanged glances and started to leave. Just thenViolet burst through the door, her tray empty, and about a half dozen peoplebehind her.

“I know,” she was saying. “If you think those are great, waituntil you try the mushrooms. You’ll die. I’m serious. They’re fabulous. We don’thave the recipes printed up yet. New store glitch. But by the end of the week,we’ll have the recipe cards ready. And Jenna, the brilliant chef and owner, isdoing a whole class on appetizers. So come back and get the recipe cards, thensign up for the classes.”

Jenna felt anything but brilliant. Regardless of what she’dbeen in the rest of her life, she’d always felt good in the kitchen. Now shedidn’t know what to do there.

She watched as potential customers swarmed around the tarts.Soon the tray was empty. She’d already put another batch in the oven. At leastthey liked the food. That was something.

While she answered questions about getting the crust right,Violet rang up several purchases. The idea about the recipe cards was a goodone. Maybe they could offer different recipes every week. Although Violet hadmade an excellent point when she’d said that people needed something to buy on aregular basis. Maybe she could come up with recipes that used different gadgetsor something.

“Jenna? Is that you?”

She turned toward the speaker and saw two women her own age hadentered the shop. They were both tall, exquisitely dressed, with perfect hairand makeup. Kimberly was as dark as Caitlin was fair. They were beautiful andfamiliar.

Jenna smiled. “What are you two doing here?”

“Beth called our moms,” Kimberly said with a smile, as shehurried toward Jenna and hugged her. “Why didn’t you tell us you were back?You’re opening a store! It’s darling.” She stepped back. “Look at you, allcheflike.”

Caitlin gave her a hug, too, along with a double air-kiss. Herwhite-blond hair swung in around her face before falling back into place.

“I was so worried about you,” Caitlin said, resting her long,pink-tipped nails on Jenna’s arm. “We heard about Aaron,” she added in a low,sympathetic voice. “So sad, but you’re obviously just peachy. The store is todie for. Really. I love it.”

“We should get together,” Kimberly said. “Call Jolene and goout. The four of us. It’ll be like it was in high school.”

Affection surged through Jenna. “I’d like that,” she admitted.Hanging out with friends would be good, she thought. A reminder that life couldbe normal.

“Me, too,” Caitlin said. “Soon.”

“How about dinner?” Jenna asked. “Sometime this week.”

The two other women exchanged glances, then turned back toJenna.

“God, no,” Caitlin said with a laugh. “If you could see myschedule.”

“Mine, too,” Kimberly told her. “I thought once the twins werein school, my life would finally slow down. But not at all. And keeping a decenthousekeeper is practically a full-time job. But maybe we could get together forcoffee. You know, some morning.”

Caitlin nodded. “I can do coffee. I’ll call Jolene and see ifshe has an hour free.”

An hour. Jenna forced a smile. “Sure. Let me know.” She pulleda business card out of her pocket and wrote her cell on the back. “Give me acall.”

“Will do,” Caitlin promised as they headed for the door. “Welove your little store.”

* * *

The afternoon went pretty much like the morning. A fewcustomers drifted in, there were a handful of sales, mostly driven by thecoupons Violet had printed. Jenna made more trays of appetizers, which broughtin people, but when they found out she didn’t have recipes, they driftedaway.

By five, Jenna felt tired and discouraged. She looked around atthe full shelves, the carefully planned stock she’d been so proud of, andrealized operating a successful business was more complicated than she’d everthought. She needed a plan and some knowledge about the market and a good doseof common sense. Something she’d apparently missed out on when she’d been busylearning how to debone a chicken.

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