Page 76 of The Rainbow Recipe
Evie grabbed a couple of the small flower arrangements Mavis had contributed and carried them to the parlor tables. She shook her head at her veterinarian cousin, who was soothing her pet raven’s feathers while Psycat sprawled on the sofa back, watching through narrowed eyes. “Shhh. Jax’s sister is in the library. Roark refused to come unless Ariel did. And I think she really wants to be here, so we rashly promised her a quiet place.”
Iddy set the raven on his perch on the mantel. “With all these men you’ve collected this past year, I’m amazed we’re not all hiding under the beds. I always thought this house too huge until today.”
“Victorians had large families. And Jax collects the men, not me. He and Roark and Reuben are setting up a security company to travel around, inspecting the machines his father’s company is producing. They want to put their heads together after dinner.”
“Why not before?” Iddy opened a folding chair to fit in an empty spot at one of the tables.
“They’re all out back bonding over football and working up a hunger.”
“Pris threw them out, did she?” Iddy shoved two more chairs under the last table.
“To be fair, she gave them all knives this morning and let them hack veggies. It’s only after the discussion turned into a food fight that she flung them out. Let’s see how many helpers we can squeeze into the kitchen. I’m starving.” Evie checked that every table had a jar of assorted utensils. Looked like they had enough forks, at least.
“Appetizers! Pris said she made enough to hold us until the turkey is ready.” Iddy stopped to answer the front door and let in one of the neighbors, who carried a green bean casserole and wanted to talk about her cat. Iddy handed the casserole to Evie and gestured for her to go on without her.
Balancing the bowl on one arm, Evie snatched a crab puff hors d’oeuvre off a narrow table in the hall. Munching, she passed through the kitchen with all the chatting women mixing and filling bowls, set down the casserole, and continued on out to the yard.
“Good thing y’all aren’t dressed fancy for dinner,” she called at the men chasing a ball under a bright blue sky.
Reuben already had Roark in a head lock, which seemed to have nothing to do with the ball Dante and Jax were flinging. Jax had invited Nick Gladwell to join them since his client couldn’t go home until the authorities were done with him. But the Brit in his tweedy jacket and luscious sweater only looked confused by the action, rightfully so.
“Everyone here yet?” Jax called, letting the ball fly past him toward the distant fence. He and Dante had repaired the missing slats and added crossbars all the way around to make the yard more secure.
“Far as I know. Clean up and grab some appetizers. One of you might want to take nibbles up to the kids. They’re being very well behaved.” Evie hugged Jax as he reached the porch. “Where’s your jacket?”
“In Dante’s room,” he whispered, before nibbling her ear. “We’ve got the kids covered. You just magic that food onto the table.”
“Buffet. We’re doing buffet. Wash up.” Reveling in the closeness, loving the buzzy feeling his attention offered, she kissed his smooth jaw. Then she returned to the kitchen as Pris removed the bird from the oven and set the tofu roast inside.
“Half an hour,” Pris called. “Iced tea glasses out? Wine for those who want it?”
Even Mayor Larraine had been pressed into service taking glasses out of cabinets, apparently because she was challenging Pris’s recalcitrance. “Girl, if you don’t open that café, I’ll have to kill you.”
“Zoning, licensing,” Mavis shouted over the racket, adding wine bottles to the glasses stacked in the breakfast nook. “No one’s starting anything until you fix the council.”
“Ah, honey, that’s all done.” The mayor poured wine and helped herself to an appetizer. “After I let them zone out their competition, they let me set the licensing rules. It’s like negotiating contracts with a school of fish, you gotta cast a wide net.”
“So the Bella building will be zoned for a restaurant?” Evie asked through an appetizer adorned with curls of carrot. “And I won’t be charged for running my business here?”
“Knock wood and the creek don’t rise, whole downtown block will be zoned for small retail and restaurants,” Larraine confirmed. “We need shopping, not more offices. And your business is grandfathered in. We’re not touching residential zoning either.”
“I can do anything I want with the garage? Cool.” Not that she wanted to do anything...yet.
Pris carried an enormous porcelain dish of cornbread dressing to the dining room without comment.
Evie followed, directing her to the last hot plate on the sideboard. Any more electric burners and she figured the ancient wiring would melt. “Cooking school for kids,” she murmured as she helped settle the dish in place. “Does that qualify as a small business?”
“Not retail or restaurant,” Pris said curtly. “Still not ready. No money.”
“Small business loan?” Reading her cousin’s aura, Evie had a feeling Pris was hoping a certain studly Italian would find a way to stay here before she committed.
They both knew that wasn’t happening.
The doorbell gave its cranky squeak, followed by pounding on the knocker.
“I’ve got it,” Jax shouted. He was pulling on his sports jacket as he traversed the wide hall.
Evie could see Roark carrying a plate of appetizers to the library for Ariel, which made her heart glow. The angry madman she’d first met was mellowing, if only a little. Instead of shaving his tangled black curls, he’d tamed them, concealing his skull tats, and he’d left out most of his metal. Without the attitude, he was one handsome hunk.
