Page 32 of Recipe for Rivals
Alice chewed on her lip. “I want to go home.”
My stomach constricted. New York home, or our apartment on the other side of town home? It took her so long to warm up to people, but she’d had years to grow used to her New York friends. “You were so excited to see Kendall.”
She lowered her voice. “Penny is here, Mom. She’s not nice.”
My body froze while my brain sped up, flashing through bits of conversations and moments with Alice, trying to figure out ifI’d heard of this girl before. I came up empty, but a warning bell flashed in my head. “What do you mean?”
Alice closed down. “Can we go home?”
She meant our Texas apartment, at least. That was something of a relief.
The back door swung open behind us, chatter snaking outside.
I straightened reluctantly and tugged her down the steps. “Let’s see if we can find Ben in the bounce house. We can make faces at him through those mesh windows.”
We did that, standing outside the bounce house for what felt like ages. I held Alice’s hand, and we waved at Ben doing somersaults and high jumps inside. He could meld with any group of kids. He’d always been good at that.
I couldn’t wait anymore. I crouched to Alice’s level and tucked a loose lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “What did Penny say that made you think she isn’t nice?”
Alice’s wide blue eyes met mine. “She’s Kendall’s BFF. You can’t have two BFFs, Mom.”
“Why not? Don’t we try to collect friends?”
“A BFF isn’t just a friend,” she said with gravity. “It’s abestfriend.”
“Well, maybe she needs a reminder that Kendall can be both her friend and yours. Should we go try?—”
“Dinner is served!” Travis Partridge called from the porch. Even off duty, in a gray T-shirt and jeans, he looked like a police officer.
I glanced down at Alice. “We’ll talk about this later?”
She frowned.
“Let’s go eat,” I finally said.
We went inside where people were dishing up plates and chatting with each other, the smell of smoked chicken and grilled vegetables wafting through the kitchen. People milled about, the essence of this party both familiar and wildly foreign.The presence of a police family was so comfortable and recognizable, this group made me feel like I fit in even if they were all strangers. The door blew open behind us and Kendall barged in with a group of girls. She noticed Alice. I found myself holding my breath, hoping on repeat she would invite my baby to eat with her.
“Alice!” she said, her face lighting up. “You’re here!”
Alice said nothing. I nudged her in the back. “Do you want to go eat with Kendall and the other girls?”
Kendall didn’t give her a chance to refuse. She took her hand. “Come on! My mom put cupcakes in the back. Let’s get some before they’re gone.”
Alice looked at me over her shoulder, wide-eyed and nervous. She could eat cupcakes for lunch for all I cared. Carter wasn’t here to enforce veggies and I was just glad she was socializing.
Which one of the pesky girls following her was Penny, though?
I smiled encouragingly at Alice until she disappeared around the corner.
“How is everyone settling in?” Chad asked, startling me. I hadn’t seen him approach, my attention was so heavily on my daughter. Ben was in line, holding a paper plate, so I wasn’t worried about him.
“We’re getting there.” I smiled to soften my vague response. He didn’t want the real answer anyway. Most people didn’t. It was just a way to start a conversation. Besides, my nerves were a little frayed. I didn’t want to talk about myself. “Do you work with everyone here?”
“Almost everyone.” He stepped a little closer, lowering his voice. “That one by the corn is our station secretary, and the man talking to her is our captain.” He continued, giving me a rundown of each adult in the room and their position in the police station or who they were related to. I had the sense Chadwas leaning closer with each explanation, given how I could smell his aftershave stronger than the chicken.
“Thanks,” I told him, shifting away like I was going to join the line. “Are you going to get a plate?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He followed me.