Page 21 of Truck Me
Once the cookies are cool enough, I plate one for each of them. I hand them over and wait on bated breath to see if they like them.
I’ve never made this recipe for my family before. My best friend, Sierra, loves them, but Brad wouldn’t eat them. He wouldn’t eat anything I cooked. That should have been a sign we would never work together long-term.
A huge smile covers Dad’s face after he takes his first bite. “Wow! Don’t tell your mother this, but these are the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.”
Rayne nods her agreement. “Yeah, so good. Can I have another one?” She asks around a bite.
I chuckle. “No, but there will be plenty here when you get home. You can have another then.”
“You should bake these for the spring fundraiser coming up,” Dad says. “It’s to raise money for the Oktoberfest. I bet you’d sell out.”
“Spring fundraiser?” I raise a brow.
“Yeah. Started it several years ago. Lots of baked goods and fun games for the kids. They hold it at the old elementary school in town. Converted it to a community center after the new school was built. But then, you’d know all that if you came home more often.”
I cringe at his dig but decide to ignore it. He’s not wrong. I didn’t come home often. It was too hard with Carol gone.
“I’ll definitely consider that. I love to bake, and it’s nice to finally have someone who appreciates it.”
Dad’s brow furrows. “Didn’t that fellow of yours like your cooking?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. He never really seemed to care one way or the other. He usually wanted to order takeout.”
Dad’s frown deepens. “And you wanted to marry this man?”
Before I can defend my relationship with Brad, one of my carnivorous plants snaps closed, causing Rayne to jump up from her seat. “Did it catch something?”
“Not sure.” I smile. “It’s possible. It’s about time for them to come out of plant hibernation.”
“That’s so cool. My mom loved plants, right?”
“She did.” I walk up behind Rayne and rest my hands on her shoulders. “She wanted to go to school for botany.”
“Is that why you keep these? To remember my mom?”
I nod. “Plus, I really like them. They’re challenging. It takes skill and care to keep them alive. And they’re really cool.”
Rayne looks over her shoulder and smiles at me. “Will you teach me how to take care of these?”
“Sure. I’d love to.”
Carol had been obsessed with plants and gardening growing up. She often talked about caring for carnivorous plants when she got older. After her death, I found myself wandering around the garden section of a home improvement store, looking at all the plants. When I came across a pitcher plant, I bought it without having a clue what to do with it.
That started my collection of carnivorous plants that now reside in the bay window in my parents’ kitchen. The window faces south and gets the best light.
“All right, kiddo.” I wrap my arms around Rayne for a hug. “Give Grandpa a hug and go wait by the front door. The bus will be here any minute.”
A few minutes later, Rayne is off to school. I rejoin Dad in the kitchen so I can finish baking the cookies. That’s when an idea hits me.
“Dad, do you think you’d be okay alone for a few minutes while I run some cookies over to Garret? You know, as a thank you for helping me last night.”
“Of course, sweetheart. I’m just going to finish up my coffee and go watch TV. Besides, I’m having a good day so far. I’ll be fine.”
I smile and nod. It has been a good morning with him. A great one, in fact. That makes me both happy and sad because I have no clue how many more days like this I’m going to get with him.
Rather than dwell on the unknown, I decide to count my blessings and get back to work. It’ll take me another thirty or forty minutes to finish baking, and I’d like to run these over to Garret before he gets too wrapped up in his day.
No need to poke the bear more than I already have if I can help it.