Page 15 of Hot to Trot

Bluck.

"Morning," Rayne said, scooping an arm around her son and dropping a kiss on his head. She snagged a corner off the pastry and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, strawberry. My favorite."

Scarlet gaped. Her sister never ate anything that wasn't "of the earth." Which certainly did not include anything that came in a box or contained frosting and dyes.

Rayne moved on to her husband, grazing his scruffy cheek with a light kiss."Morning to you, too. Again."

A devilish light appeared in Brent's eyes. Scarlet wanted to barf.

"Morning, baby," he said, tugging her toward him so he could cop a cheap feel. Okay. Maybe a pat on the bottom wasn't a cheap feel. Maybe it was a sweet display of affection.

Bluck.

"You, too, Scarlet," Rayne said with a little smug smile as if she knew her sister’s thoughts.

Did she think the little display of family bonding session would erase the bonehead decision made in marrying Brent? Scarlet wasn't that easy. Even if some people thought she was.

"Morning," Scarlet said, pushing a piece of asparagus to the top of the plate in order to make a roof over the family of disgusting eggs. Who in the world ate asparagus for breakfast anyhow?

Rayne grabbed a floral-patterned plate off the buffet and loaded it with asparagus and one piece of toast. Guess that question was answered. Yuck. Rayne sat next to Brent and buttered her whole-grain toast with fresh-churned butter from the farmer's market. She brushed her husband's hand. "So have you decided what you are going to do about the library vote?"

Brent took a sip of coffee. "I'm going to publicly oppose it. Harvey Primm is a jackass."

"Brent," Rayne warned, glancing at her son.

Henry laughed behind his pastry.

"What are you talking about?" Scarlet asked, shoving her plate away. ''And why the devil are you mixing goat cheese in with perfectly good eggs?"

Rayne blinked. "Huh?"

"The eggs." Scarlet waved a fork at her abandoned plate.

"They're the signature breakfast dish. Organic brown eggs with goat cheese and sauteed baby spinach and cremini mushrooms. People rave over it.”

Scarlet shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say. But do I really need goat-cheese breath in the morning?"

Rayne glanced worriedly at Scarlet's half-eaten plate. Scarlet shouldn't have said anything. Her sister would be in the kitchen, trying out a new recipe.

"So what's Harvey up to now?" Scarlet asked, changing the subject before she had to taste test other weird dishes. "Didn't he already get the liquor laws changed?"

Rayne nodded."Yeah. Last year. Now we have to buy liquor outside the city limits. In fact, the inn had to obtain a special license to serve champagne and Bloody Marys on Sunday. This time it has to do with a children's book at the county library."

Scarlet's internal radar received a bleep. "A children's book?"

"Yeah, a children's book," Brent said. "He's hoodwinked the library board into removing it from the shelves."

"Why?" Scarlet asked.

"Because it deals with witchcraft. No different fromHarry PotterorThe Chronicles of Narnia,but he's convinced the book will 'rip the innocent veil from the children's eyes.' Ridiculous." He snorted and set his fork on the empty plate before him.

"Have you read it?" Scarlet asked Rayne.

“I have,” Henry said, resting his hands on his chin and looked suitably adorable."The Magpie's Jewel.It's really good. There's this ruby that has a curse trapped in the center of it. And this one wizard dude, well, he gets this, um, scroll thing and reads about the jewel. But then this magpie steals it from the most powerful witch in the world. So these kids have to find the jewel before this crazy dude does or he'll rule the world."

Henry paused for dramatic effect. Scarlet wasn't exactly following the story plot, but he certainly seemed excited about it. "They find it, and find out this bird is really the spirit of their grandfather who was killed by the evil wizard. It's a really good book. I wish they wouldn't make them take it out of the library."

Brent smiled at Henry. It made Scarlet feel uncomfortable because she could see the love in the man's eyes. Rayne's wordsrang in her ears.He loves me and Henry.Scarlet swallowed her doubt and redirected her attention to Primm and the book in question. "So what is the community saying?"

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