Page 54 of The Scars I Bare
I laughed. “You have an excellent memory. And, no, I will not be cooking, Molly has been trying to drop off some meals for me, and I keep refusing. Maybe it’s time I cashed in on that offer?”
“Now, wait a minute, is that…are you asking someone for a favor? Be careful, Cora; people might start calling you a local yet.”
I couldn’t help the grin that was plastered on my face as I walked away.
A local? Someone who gossiped with their friends, borrowed cups of sugar, and participated in town events?
The idea would have scared me a week ago.
But today? Today, I kind of liked it.
Dean telling me he had feelings for me? That thought still scared me.
But not enough to change my mind about dinner.
Lizzie was in her third retelling of her first day of school when the back door to the kitchen opened. I’d just sat down with a glass of iced tea and a mound of paperwork from the school when Molly came through with several grocery bags and an old woman.
“Um, hi.”
“Hi! Oh, hey, Lizzie! How was your first day?”
I made a hand gesture, trying to let her know to avoid the question entirely unless she wanted to be here for the next five hours, but it was too late. Thankfully, Lizzie must have decided to keep the long version for only me.
“Good,” she responded. “Some of the kids think I’m weird, but after I said that Dean was my boyfriend, everyone liked me.”
“Lizzie!” I squeaked.
“I said he might have a crush on you, too,” she said before I caught her giving an obvious shake of her head in Molly’s direction.
That, of course, sent both women into a fit of laughter.
“Speaking of Dean, I heard you were having him over for dinner, so I thought I’d come over and cook something rather than sending you over frozen stuff.”
My cheeks flushed red. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Of course she does,” the older woman said. “She’s been trying to marry off that man since the day she took off his engagement ring.”
I really had no words, so I instead just stepped forward and helped them with the bags they’d carried in.
“Oh, where are my manners?” Molly said, setting what was left of the bags on the counter. “This is Terri. Terri, this is Cora and her daughter, Lizzie. They just moved here—”
“I know. You told me in the car on the way here!”
Molly smiled sheepishly. “Right. Anyway, Terri is an old family friend. Jake grew up living next door to her, and now that we live in his family home, we have that privilege, too.”
Terri chuckled under her breath. “Privilege? It’d be a privilege if you two would get curtains, so I didn’t have to see your naked behinds all the time. You wouldn’t believe how much those two—”
“Okay!” Molly exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. “Wasn’t there something you wanted to check out while you were here, Terri?”
She smiled like a Cheshire cat. “Nope. Just being nosy.”
“Well, why don’t you make yourself useful and chop all these wonderful vegetables from the garden?” She turned her attention back to me. “Terri supplies a lot of the fruits and veggies for the inn. She has been for several years since I took over.”
“I can’t take all the credit anymore.”
“Yes, you can,” she said. “Just because you’re using our land to grow more doesn’t mean it’s not your handiwork.”
The woman made a grumbling sound but seemed pleased by the praise. She helped herself to some of the carrots from one of the bags and began making quick work, chopping like a pro. It was an impressive sight. Molly did much of the same with some onions and a few stalks of celery, giving me some time to look over several sheets of paperwork I needed to review.
