Page 25 of The Sheriff's Mistletoe Bride
“You can make yourself useful in addition to your appetite,” Ally responded, setting down the coffee mugs on the cabinet.“You can retrieve the butter dish and the jams from the refrigerator.There is quite a selection of those thanks to Tori’s expert stocking of the food in this wonderful kitchen.”
It wasn’t long before the three of them were seated around the table with its burnt-orange tablecloth with all things fall embroidered on it—acorns, maple leaves, cornucopias.The house had been placed in full Thanksgiving holiday mode when she had arrived.Matt remarked on it as he moved aside the salt and pepper shakers shaped like turkeys to reach the butter dish.
“I’m sorry if this is all a bit much.But Tori always tried to outdo each year’s decorations when it came to holidays.She managed to get our grandmother’s collection from storage, and she has just added to it with a vengeance.But it was all part of wanting to make this place into our forever home as she called it while we were in foster care.”
“Your forever home.”Ally smiled.“I like that.And I think all of her decorations are beautiful.They make it even more special.You’re lucky to have such a place in your family.”
“I suppose we are.Tori had her heart set on finding a home where we would all come and be a family once we left the state’s care.And she found Destiny’s River and it has turned out to be a good home for all of us.We each took a different route to get here but seems like it just sat waiting until we needed it…coming to it on our own time.The only one not here on a permanent basis is our youngest sibling, Rance.Maybe he’ll get here when he decides to settle down.And I’m boring you with our family stuff.”
“No, really, I enjoy hearing about family histories and things like that.”
“You probably have your own, also.”It was a kind prompt for sharing, she was sure.Ally shook her head.“Not really.My family was a bit different from others.But I think it’s time we get started on that baking.I know you don’t want to spend an entire Saturday on such a thing.”She stood up and began clearing their empty glasses.Jillie stood and followed her example.Matt let the subject drop and soon Ally was handing them each an apron from the pantry.
“I found these, and I think they’re great.And what a coincidence, they have your names on them,” she said with a grin as she handed a pink and white one with ruffled trim to Jillie, and a navy and white checked one to Matt.
“Another of Tori’s ideas.She had these done up for when we cook out or whatever over here in the spring and summer.I don’t think she would mind in the least if you used hers.”
“Dad, we need to get Ally an apron of her own, too.”
Matt looked at his daughter and Ally was about to say something when he spoke.
“That’s a good idea.We’ll have to do that.”Why hadn’t he played it off and rerouted the child’s thinking so that she didn’t express her ideas before he spoke?It was a nice idea but then again, she wouldn’t be here long enough to ever wear it.That dimmed the moment until he spoke again.
“Ready when you are, Chef.How hard can it be to bust out a few cookies?”
*
Ally had tofight back several smiles and bite off a few laughs over the next three hours.The sheriff had found out how hard a ‘few cookies’ could really turn out to be.For the first batch she had given him simple instructions to follow, but they’d ended up being very crispy instead of the soft, chewy morsels they were supposed to turn into.In fact, crispy was a compliment to the blackened misshaped blobs on the cookie sheet.Whereas Jillie’s were coming along nicely, the sheriff gave it a good second try.
“Perhaps instead of salt, you use the sugar instead?”Ally gave her diplomatic assessment as Jillie spit out her bite of cookie from his second batch into the garbage.
“Why don’t I mix the batter and the doughs, you place them on the pans and roll out the dough on the others for me?We’ll have an assembly line.”
Matt looked at her, then he looked down at his apron.“Why is it that you stay so pristine as you cook and even Jillie only has a little patch of flour and a butter swipe on her apron?Whereas I’m hard-pressed to find a spot that isn’t covered with some ingredient on my apron.It looks like I rolled myself in the flour instead of the dough.”
“Well,” Ally considered, her words meant to be constructive, “they say that the mark of a truly great chef in the making, is that he really looks like he gets into his food.That would be apt in your case.”
Jillie burst out laughing.Ally bit the inside of her cheek to hold back.Matt looked at them both.
“You both would crack the first minute in an interrogation—if it took that long.Nice try, but I think the saying goes that when a chef is larger in size it means that the food is good enough for even him to eat.Or some such notion.But I appreciate the effort to spare my feelings.”
“Good idea that you become my sous chef in the baking department,” Ally capitulated.
“Which is a fancy way of saying, Dad,” Jillie had to add, “that you get to be on sink duty.”
“That I can do.”
Ally shook her head.“That comes after you take the cookie cutters and make four dozen turkeys and four dozen maple leaves out of this sugar cookie dough I have waiting right here.Then I’ll keep an eye on it in the ovens and begin on the pastry dough recipe to give to Tillie for the rolls for Sunday at the café while you get started on the dirty pans.Sounds like a good plan.”
The phone rang and he smiled.“Saved by the bell—if I’m needed in my office.”His conversation was short and sweet.
“Let me guess, Dad, you have to go to the office.”
“Nope.”Matt shook his head and dropped the cell back into his shirt pocket.“You, Miss Smarty-Pants, are going with your aunt, who is on her way to pick you up, to go have the fitting at Verna’s shop for your costume for the play.Miss Verna needs to move your appointment up and Aunt Tori is taking you since she knows I’m elbow-deep in flour.”
After a moment of thinking, he asked, “How did she know that?”
“Guess she knows you pretty well and made an educated guess when you mentioned you were helping make cookies,” Ally replied with a simple smile.
