Page 53 of The Lyrics of Love

Nash lifted a bite of the enchiladas onto his fork and held it up. “Pops, you’re gonna love this when I make them for you.” He smiled at Tenley and ate the bite.

“I’m glad you stopped by, Nash,” Carter said.

“Hey, I’m glad I’ve already preordered your cookbook from Amazon. When does it come out?”

“The week of Thanksgiving,” Carter said smoothly. “I’ll be doing a book tour promoting it, while Tenley, my wife, promotes her first fantasy novel.”

“Why is your cookbook different from others?” Nash pressed, wanting to give his new friend’s book a strong plug.

“I like to think of it as an extension of my vlogs. Like Carter Clark’s Cooking 101. It teaches you basic terms. The difference between dice and mince. How to braise, brown, and sauté. How to scramble an egg and boil an egg or pasta. It also has tons of pictures which shows you, as well as explains. It also has several of my easy-to-make recipes.”

“Well, you’ve made a believer out of me,” he said with enthusiasm. Then Nash grinned. “And my lady is gonna be so impressed with this meal.” He offered Carter his hand. “Thanks for the lesson, Carter.”

Then turning to the camera again, he added, “And don’t forget to support Make-A-Wish America. You can make a donation on your own—or you can download my new single and I’ll see they get your money that way.”

“Thanks, Nash. This has been Carter Clark with the latest edition of A Fireman’s Guide to Surviving in the Kitchen. Until next time.”

He smiled at Tenley, knowing Carter did the same. Then she lowered the camera, beaming at them.

“That was fantastic!” she praised. “You two play off one another so well.” She looked to her husband. “You know I love watching you cook, but having someone do the steps as you explained added a nice dimension. I’m not saying convert to that format permanently, but the idea of having guests stop by and cook with you could really be…” Her voice trailed off as Tenley became lost in thought.

Then she clapped her hands. “That’s it, Carter. This is what we pitch to the Food Network. They’ve been on the fence after we shot the pilot. What if you had people on the show and you did what you just did with Nash? Sometimes it could be a celebrity, but it could be anyone. Another first responder. A teenager. I think people would really tune in, not just for you and how you make cooking simple, but to watch others follow your instructions.”

Carter went to Tenley and kissed her soundly. “You’re exactly right. Let’s call Elmo Nichols now.”

“Elmo?” Nash asked.

“He’s Tenley’s and my agent. This is genius.” He kissed his wife again, hard. “And thanks so much, Nash.”

“If you’re that grateful, can I really take this home for dinner with Rylie tonight?”

“Be my guest. Tenley can help you box things up. And thanks again for asking about my cookbook. The way you talked about Make-A-Wish. That was really generous of you, offering for the proceeds of your single to go to them.”

He shrugged. “They do good work. I guess I need to call my manager and let him know what I’ve committed to.” He glanced to Tenley. “Could you send me the video, too? I’d like for Chuck, my manager, and Phil, my attorney, to see it.”

“Will do.” She tapped on her phone. “I’ve sent it to Carter and Elmo. Let me get your number, Nash.”

She handed him her phone, and he quickly input it for her as Carter excused himself.

“Done,” Tenley said. “Let’s cover those enchiladas and find some containers to put the soup in. But I want to keep some of the soup. It looks amazing.”

“Keep as much as you’d like,” he told her. “As long as I can put a bowl of it in front of Rylie tonight.”

As Tenley placed foil over the enchiladas, she said, “I’m happy you’re seeing Rylie. I think you two will be good for each other.”

Nash smiled. “I think so, too.”

CHAPTER 18

Rylie said, “I’ll be sure to hold it for you until next weekend when you’re back in the country. You’ll be pleased because it’s in mint condition. Thank you so much.”

She hung up the phone and did a little jig. Jerry joined in the dance and then asked, “What are we dancing for?”

Laughing, she said, “You know that late Victorian carved mahogany slant-lid desk I bought at yesterday’s estate sale? Sold it to the eccentric guy who always wears the bow ties.”

“That’s fantastic, Rylie. Selling it sight unseen.”

“It’s in terrific shape. I thought he might like it. I would have bought it anyway, knowing I would eventually find a buyer for it, but I wanted to offer it to him first. He’s actually in Hong Kong now on business but flies back next week. He said he and his wife will pick it up. He wants to make it an anniversary gift to her.”

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