Page 88 of Recipe for Rivals
She drew her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “I sure hope you do, kiddo. It’s been such a treat having you three around.”
Time for a subject change. “How is Phoebe doing?”
“Her neighbor has really stepped up, but she might have to move into a facility soon. Her motor skills will be deteriorating quickly.”
“That’s terrible. Do you need to go out and see her again?”
“Maybe next week,” Gigi said. “I need to look at the schedule. Her long-term memory hasn’t been affected yet, so she still knows me.”
“Don’t worry about the schedule. I’m here, Gigi. Use me.”
She gave me a smile but didn’t say anything more. We watched the rest of the game until it was almost time for lunch, and Gigi walked back to the tables with me to start plating the desserts. A few older police officers and firefighters were manning the oversized grills and heating coals while women set up the burger fixings and table of potluck sides.
“I put everything under the table to keep it out of the sun.” I reached down to pull out the foil tins holding all the cakes and shrieked, dropping them back on the ground. They were teeming with ants, the little bugs crawling all over the foil inside and outside, covering my cakes.
“Oh, no,” Gigi breathed behind me, noticing at the same time.
I pulled out the plastic tote box and cooler holding the plates, forks, whipped cream and berry compote, and they were blessedly untouched. But the cakes were ruined. All one hundred of my mini angel food cakes were spoiled. I wanted to lie down on the grass and cry.
No, not the grass, because ants were everywhere.
“Don’t pick them up,” Gigi said, slapping the tin out of my hands when I bent over it again. “Those will bite, and it hurts.”
I trusted her, so I left my cakes on the ground. “Garbage bag?”
“Good idea. I’ll find one. You figure out how to salvage this.”
Salvage it? How? Give everyone a scoop of berries and top it with whipped cream? I wasn’t sure I had another option. By the time Gigi returned with an oversized black garbage bag and we managed to get all the cakes into it without getting bitten, the game was over and people were breaking up, taking down their camp chairs and moving to the picnic tables.
Dusty waved at me while he crossed the grass toward his side of the tables. The man was going to win now, no competition. He pointed at me with both hands and then dragged histhumb across his neck in the universal symbol ofyou’re going down.
I put my hands on my hips, and shook my head, unable to dampen my smile. Yes, I was going down. Yes, he would win.Ugh.
A large hand slid over my lower back, and I jumped, turning to see Chad leaning close, his hand dragging to rest on my waist. “Are you ready?”
Those little ants felt like they were crawling all over my body now. My gaze sought Dusty, whose jaw was hardening, obvious even from here. I stepped back until Chad’s hand fell and indicated the black garbage bag. “Well, we’ve had a bit of a setback.”
He folded his arms across his chest and nodded along like he was listening. He didn’t seem offended by my placing boundaries, but maybe he was just good at putting on a stone face. Cop skills.
“Ants got into the angel food cakes,” I continued. “They’re gone. We only have berries and cream.”
“Okay, well…I guess we serve berries and cream,” he said easily. I didn’t know why that was such a relief to me. This was a silly fundraiser contest and the outcome wasn’t going to make or break my friendships in this town—or so I hoped. All the same, it was a relief to know he wasn’t angry.
“It’s a plan,” I said.
“I’ll get started on the sliders.” He nodded toward the older gentleman standing at the grill. “People will start picking up plates in about twenty minutes. They’re going to make announcements about the winner of the ticket sales and the game and all that. I think the chiefs are going to rib each other a bit, too. We have time.”
My smile grew. I loved being around a police family, and the firefighter family wasn’t too bad, either.
He smiled softly, tipping his chin down like we were sharing a secret. “Don’t worry too much about ruining the dessert. Wewon the football game, at least, so hopefully this doesn’t lose the whole thing for us.”
My whole body tensed as Chad walked away. Guess I’d mistaken his attitude earlier. Hopefully this doesn’t lose the whole thing forus? He was riding high on the endorphins of winning the flag football game, but that didn’t give him a license to be condescending. Like if we lose, it’s because of me, and not because Dusty could possibly make better burgers?
It almost made me want to trash the rest of my dessert and guarantee him a loss. I glanced up and caught Dusty watching me again. A smile curved over my lips.
Or maybe not.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX