Cooking Up Trouble (11 page)

Tessa stood on the front porch and watched him drive away. She gazed after him until his tail lights disappeared. She had to admit that she'd enjoyed his company a little too much today. Grams might be right, that she'd been alone a little too long. Maybe it was time to start circulating again, to start making herself available.

T
he rest of the week flew by. Tessa planted snap peas, green beans, squash of every kind, eggplants, and more. By the time Grams came on Thursday, almost every garden bed was full.

“My mom never planted seeds until after Mother's Day,” Grams said. “And she always went by the
Farmer's Almanac.
”

Tessa nodded. She'd heard this lecture over and over again. “I felt lucky this spring. Thought I'd take a chance.”

Grams shook a finger. “You get antsy and plant too soon every year.” Then she smiled. “But it's worked so far, so why not?”

Tessa waited for Grams to sprinkle flour on the granite counter to roll out pie dough before asking, “So, did you order the rose bushes Miguel was telling you about?”

“I didn't need to.” Grams gave a small smile. “Miguel gave me two of them.”

“He never gave you roses before.”

“There's always a first time.” Grams studied the recipe for banana cream pie. She'd made it a million times and knew it by heart.

Tessa narrowed her eyes. “What's the deal?”

“Miguel's taking me to the city for supper tonight.”

“To the city?”

Grams nodded. “Two Q-tips on the town. Should be fun.”

“Q-tips?”

“Oldsters with white hair.”

Tessa stopped what she was doing to study her grandmother. Gramps had been gone a long time. Tessa had moved into the farmhouse when Grams moved into town. That was six years ago, and Gramps had died a couple years before that. She reached across the counter to pat her grandma's hand. “Have fun tonight.”

“Thanks, hon. I was hoping you'd understand.”

Tessa flipped on her stereo system, and she and Grams listened to big-band tunes while they baked. When they finished, and Grams was ready to leave, Tessa said, “Don't stay out too late. I can't handle the shop alone tomorrow morning.”

“I'll tell Miguel to set his alarm.” When Tessa's jaw dropped, Grams laughed.

Tessa locked up and walked to her house to find Ian sitting on the front porch, rocking in one of the wicker chairs.

“Brody's coming tomorrow afternoon,” he told her as he followed her inside. “I can't wait for him to see the lodge.”

“Did the comforters come?” The site had promised two-day shipping.

Ian nodded. “The rooms look great. I'll be open for business soon.” He showed her a few more pictures on his phone. The wooden floors were dotted with rag rugs. Lace curtains hung at each window. Old-fashioned blinds with fringed hems shaded them. The rooms looked homey and welcoming.

Ian fidgeted through supper. He reminded her of Darinda's boys, too antsy to eat. She fidgeted, too. She needed to tell him about Ned and the vandalism, but she couldn't think of the right words. He wolfed down his bowl of chili, slopped up more with cornbread, and was ready to take off the minute they finished eating.

“I need to tell you something before you go.” She'd tried to work up her courage over and over again, but hadn't managed. She didn't want to wait until his brother was here, so she squared her shoulders and the words spilled out. When she finished, she said, “Ned's a decent guy. He won't bother you again.”

Ian narrowed his eyes and studied her. “You like him.”

“He was one of my grandpa's close friends.”

Ian shrugged. “Then we're good.”

“Just like that?” She didn't expect Ned to get off so easy.

“You've done more than enough favors for me. I can do this for you.”

She blinked, feeling a rush of emotions she didn't want to explore. “Thank you.”

He grinned. “That's what neighbors are for. You keep telling me that.”

She grinned, too. He was right.

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and took off.

The peace and quiet felt good. Tessa put her feet up and flipped on the TV. She'd watch a few shows to relax.

She woke in the morning, feeling stiff and sore. She'd fallen asleep on the couch and she had to rush to shower and dress for work. No time for makeup. The damp ends of her hair dried fuzzy, even though she'd pulled her hair up to shower. She wasn't going to win any beauty prizes today. She dashed inside the bakery just before the first customer arrived.

Grams laughed at her. “And you were worried about me.”

“Sorry, I fell asleep on the couch.” She glanced outside the door when a couple entered the shop. “Luther must have given up on me, but Kayla's already busy at the farm stand. And Luther's on the tractor, mowing. Guess they don't need me anymore.”

Grams laid a hand on her shoulder. “That boy will always need you. Be good to him.”

“No worries there.”

The only worry for the rest of the day was trying to keep the line of people moving who came in and out of the shop. When the last customer left at five, she went to turn the sign in the door to CLOSED, but waited when Ian's Mustang pulled into the lot. She opened the door wider as he climbed out of his car and led his brother toward her. With a smile for both her and Grams, he said, “This is my older brother, Brody. He's staying at the lodge this weekend.”

“Oh, lordy.” Grams wiped her hands on the white apron that circled her waist.

Brody glowered down at her. Ian's brother was as tall as he was, but instead of an athletic build, he stood solid and strong. Like a bear. All bulging muscles. And instead of an easy smile, his expression looked forbidding—a warning to beware.

Grams was rarely at a loss for words, so Tessa stepped forward and held out a hand. “Welcome to Mill Pond.”

Brody's smoky-gray eyes narrowed on her. “You must be Tessa. Ian said you were pretty. You are.”

Tessa blinked. It sounded more like an affirmation of Ian's opinion than a compliment. “Thank you. How long are you staying?”

Brody glanced at his brother. “Only five days. I couldn't get away from work any longer than that.”

Tessa tried to remember if Ian had mentioned what Brody did.

Brody supplied the answer. “I own a construction company. Spring and summer are our busy seasons.”

Tessa nodded and looked to Ian. “Have you shown him the lodge?”

“He likes everything I've done.” Ian's grin spread from ear-to-ear. “He came with me to look it over before I put in an offer and he approves of all the changes.”

“That's because you helped him,” Brody said. “I saw the chandeliers Lily picked out. Frilly for a lodge. You've made everything work.”

Tessa tried to deflect the compliment. “That's because Ian and I like a lot of the same things. It made it easy.”

Brody's frown made Tessa worry she'd said the wrong thing. She glanced to Ian for help, but he shook his head. “Brody and Lily don't get along. They usually avoid each other. I think you two are going to hit it off, though.”

“Aaah!” She motioned to the empty cases. “I'd send you home with a cake or pie, but we sold out.”

“Are all the cookies gone, too?” Ian sounded disappointed.

Tessa tilted her head toward the kitchen. “I have the frozen cookies we baked.”

“Ian baked with you?” Brody crossed his arms over his chest.

Ian shrugged. “It was a rainy day. I didn't have anything else to do. Tessa let me lick the bowls.”

“You run a business. There's always something to do.”

“Nothing as important as licking bowls.”

A smile softened Brody's expression. “Mom used to let us do that.”

Ian raised his eyebrows at his brother. “If you're nice to Tessa, she might let
you
bake with her.”

Brody's gray gaze turned on her. He studied her long enough that Tessa squirmed. Then he smiled. “I'd like that.”

Oh, lordy.
But Tessa dug deep to make him feel welcome. “I take it you like cookie dough, too?”

His whole face lit up. “Mom used to leave extra dough in the bowls for me. I was her favorite son.”

“Were not!” Ian laughed. “But I'll take you up on the frozen cookies, Tessa.”

She led them to the back of the barn and the kitchen. Grams quietly followed. What was up with her? Gramps always said that Grams would chat up the devil if he popped into her kitchen.

Ian halted at the granite-topped island and stared at the coffee cake, waiting there.

Tessa dug a bag of frozen, chocolate chip cookies out of the freezer and scooted both the bag and the coffee cake toward him.

“I couldn't.” But he didn't sound very sincere.

“I baked it for you and Brody. I thought you might like it tomorrow morning.”

Ian reached for it. “You sent a coffee cake home with me when I first moved here. Is this the same kind?”

She stared. “I don't remember what I gave you. I took it out of the freezer. This is a sour cream with streusel.”

“I love streusel.”

She smiled. “I know.”

Brody tossed Ian a dark look. When Ian looked at him and said, “What?” Brody only shook his head.

Ian sighed. “Well, I think Brody's had all the fun he can stand. I'm going to drag him home.”

She and Grams walked them to the shop door and watched them leave. The minute they were gone, Grams turned to Tessa. “I want one.”

“He might be a little young for you.”

“Then you have to marry him so I can look at him.” Grams started cleaning the glass case.

Tessa grabbed the broom to sweep. “He's scary,” she said. “Too intense for me.”

Grams put away her dishrag and sighed. “When men like that soften up for a woman, it's like watching a flower bloom.”

Tessa stared at her. “What did you do with my real grandma? She doesn't wax rhapsodic.”

Laughing, Grams hung her apron on a peg and started for the door. “Talking about blooms, I have two, new roses, and Miguel is bringing supper to my place tonight, something he cooked.”

“You're seeing him two nights in a row?”

“For enchiladas, I'd give him a foot massage,” Grams said. “Maybe more. See ya, kid.” And she was gone.

Tessa shook her head. Who knew Grams was such a wild child? She took her time finishing up before she locked the barn and started to her house. Tomorrow was Sunday. Her day of rest. And then she remembered. Darinda and David were doing the carry-in to welcome Ian to Mill Pond. She'd already made the dessert, so all she had to do was show up and enjoy herself. But Brody would be there. And she'd feel like she had to be on her best manners.

She shrugged.
To hell with it.
She was tired. She walked home and crashed on the couch for the rest of the night.

W
hen Tessa walked into Darinda's house carrying tiramisu, Darinda whipped it out of her hands and placed it on the counter in the kitchen.

“I love you, girl!” Darinda wrapped her in a tight embrace. When the boys saw the bag of cookies in her hands, they came to hug her legs. That's when Ian and Brody walked through the door.

Brody raised his dark eyebrows at her. “You have a strange effect on people.”

“Not me, my cooking.”

Darinda released her and hurried to welcome Ian and his brother. She hugged Ian, then slowly looked Brody up and down. “Man, you're one daunting dude.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

Darinda frowned at the bare finger on his left hand. “No wedding ring? No woman's snagged you yet?”

“Divorced,” Brody growled.

“Bitter and ugly?” Darinda was like that. She could ask impertinent questions in a breezy fashion and get away with it.

“Worse.” Brody rolled his shoulders, as though unhappy even thinking about it.

“Well, you're among friends here. We love your brother.” Darinda led them to the French doors that opened onto the back deck, where David manned the grill, and friends surrounded him. The deck's steps led down to a cement patio that circled a kidney-shaped pool. “We don't live on the lake, so we had to make do. Hope you brought your swimsuits.”

“They're in the car. We got your message.” Ian looked at Tessa. “Did you bring yours?”

She had, but she'd feel self-conscious wearing it in front of the two McGregor brothers. “I usually just hang out and yak with Darinda.”

“But you brought it?” Ian persisted.

She sighed. “It's in my bag.”

“Good, then we can dunk you.” A sparkle lit his brown eyes. “That's a small bag. It must be a small suit.”

“Will you stop it?” Darinda gave him a playful push. “Tess is stubborn enough, if you bug her, she digs in. Leave her alone.”

Two arms circled Tessa from behind and Keavin's chuckle filled her ears. “Hey, Tessie!”

She didn't have to turn around to see who held her. She smiled. “You're still here?”

“I'll be around. I'm house shopping and staying with Mom and Dad for a while.”

David called from the deck, “The chicken's ready, folks! Time to eat.”

No one needed to be told twice. People grabbed plates and headed to the deck. Picnic tables had been lined up across the cement patio. Garth Roarke and Leona hurried in at the last minute, bearing three bottles of white wine.

Everyone loaded their plates, sipped drinks, and settled in for a good time. Ian and Brody sat across from Tessa and Keavin.

Brody scowled at him. “I'm Ian's brother. I heard you're getting married soon.”

Keavin blinked, but nodded amiably. “In a few weeks. And you? How do you like Mill Pond? Are you thinking of moving to the area, too?”

“Not in the immediate future, my construction company's in upstate New York. But I like it here. Ian's found a good spot for a resort.”

“Is your family in New York?” Keavin looked up and down the tables. “Most of the folks here have lived in Mill Pond all their lives.”

Brody swallowed a bite of potato salad. “Our parents and two sisters all live near Ithaca.”

That's the first she'd heard of two sisters. Come to think of it, Tessa had forgotten Ian had a brother until Brody showed up. She turned to Ian. “You have two sisters?”

“Bridget and Maeve, salt of the earth.”

Brody made a disgusted noise. “They always gave me hell. He's the baby of the family. Everyone spoiled him.”

Ian grinned from ear to ear. “Hey, I learned to work it. Either that, or the girls made me play tea party with them or dressed me up like some doll. I learned to stay on their good side.” He nodded toward Brody. “Some people never figure things out. He battled them most of his life . . . and lost.”

Brody chuckled—a deep, pleasant rumble. “Bridget can be a hellion if you cross her. She has red hair and the temper that goes with it.” He narrowed his eyes at Tessa. “You seem awfully easy-going for a ginger.”

“Ginger?” She frowned, and Brody laughed.

“But I could be wrong about that.”

They yakked about homes and families for the rest of the meal, and Tessa enjoyed hearing about Ian's childhood. By the time they finished their desserts, David turned on the outside stereo and music pulsed in the air. People changed into their swimsuits, and the party moved to the pool.

“Get moving,” Ian told Tessa. “Last one changed gets tossed in the water.” He and Brody left the table.

“I think he'd do it,” Keavin said. He hurried to find his suit.

Tessa shrugged. She didn't have the best figure in the world, but she didn't have the worst, either. Her only fussing point was her creamy skin that barely hinted at a tan, no matter how much time she spent in the sun. But what the heck? She slipped into Darinda's bedroom and came out in a modest black bikini.

When Ian spotted her walking toward them, he stopped talking in mid-sentence and stared. Brody followed his gaze and shook his head. “All that baking, and you don't have an ounce of fat. No wonder my brother spends so much time with you.”

Tessa hurried to shake her head. “We're friends, nothing more.”

“Then you're an honorable woman,” Brody said, “because if you teased him, he'd be in trouble.”

“I'm not Sadie. I'd never do that.” The words came out sharper than she intended. She felt herself blush.

Brody studied her. “I see we each have a past. Yours hurt, too.”

“It was a long time ago. I'm over it.”

“The hell you are. Neither am I.” Brody took her hand, and together, they jumped into the deep end of the pool.

When they surged out of the water, Tessa asked, “What happened to you?”

Ian cannonballed next to them, drowning them in his wake. Brody raked his hands through his thick black hair and said, “Married a woman who loved my money more than she loved me. I didn't see it until it was too late. I don't want Ian to make the mistake I did, to marry the wrong woman.”

“Lily's not the wrong woman,” Ian sputtered, shaking water from his face and hair as he joined them.

Brody shrugged massive shoulders. “We disagree. And stop shaking yourself off like that. You're like a wet dog running loose in the house.”

Ian swam closer to Tessa. “Just because I'm the youngest in the family, Brody always thinks he's right.”

“You can't hide behind your friend,” Brody grumped. “I
am
right.”

Tessa shook her head. “My brother's eight years older than I am, and he's the same way. Always giving me advice.”

Brody smirked. “See? We learn by experience, and I have more experience.”

“Not every woman marries for money,” Ian protested.

Brody tread water. “You do have a lot of it, though. But that won't save you. Mine didn't save me. Lily likes bright lights and action. She's not going to last here.”

“That's the perfect thing about it,” Ian argued. “She travels all week long. By the time she comes here, she'll be ready to relax and spend time together.”

“Doing what? How close is the nearest nightclub? Fancy restaurant? Has Lily spent a quiet night in front of a fireplace in her entire life?”

“She entertains clients or they entertain her all week. When she comes here, we have the lake and boating. Everything's at our fingertips.”

“If you say so.” If Brody's expression could grow more forbidding, it did. He looked at Tessa. “Do you like Lily?”

“She's always nice to me.” A noncommittal answer, and that was all she was going to give. She knew better than to get in the middle of two brothers, especially these two. Both had dark hair. Both were good-looking enough to turn heads. One was charming. One was brooding. And she'd better be careful with both of them.

Darinda called from the middle of the pool, “You boys stop arguing among yourselves. Go mingle. I'm stealing Tessa. I want to hang with my buddy.”

Ian pouted until David motioned for him and Brody to join the group of men, talking sports. “You're going to have to change allegiances now,” he said. “We're all Colts fans. Baseball's up for grabs.”

And the conversation took off.

When Tessa reached Darinda—hot and sexy in a yellow bikini—she glared. “How can you look that good after having two kids?”

“I married an Italian. Lots and lots of sex. It's great exercise.”

Tessa rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I gotcha, girl. I know what your problem is. You haven't had any for so long, you're drying up, and both of those brothers are hot.”

“Stop it. Ian's taken, and Brody's so intense, he scares me.”

“But there are good scares and bad,” Darinda said, never dipping below her waistline, so that her cute, black curls still looked gorgeous. Tessa had jumped in the deep end and her hair was doing who-knows-what. “It's like watching those
Scream
movies,” Darinda went on. “You scream ‘Don't go in the basement,' but you know that actor won't listen to you. And it's not your fault he's gonna die. You tried to warn him, so it's all good. You WANT that thrill.”

“This is my life,” Tessa said, “not a movie.”

“I'm just sayin', all thrills aren't bad.”

“They're not all good either.” Tessa leaned back against the edge of the pool and let the water buoy her body.

Darinda shrugged. “I don't think it matters. I think you're already smitten.”

“Smitten?” Tessa stared at her.

“Too bad that cute Ian's already taken, because girl, you and him are like jam on toast.”

Tessa didn't deny it. “But he
is
taken, and I know how it feels to be betrayed.”

Darinda nodded. “History sucks. Experience can be worse than PMS.”

Tessa bit her bottom lip. “I need to get some distance before I'm in trouble.”

“Ain't gonna happen, friend. That's like trying to keep positive and negative magnets apart.”

“I'm screwed, aren't I?”

Darinda gave a slow nod. “But I'll be here to help you pick up the pieces. This time, though, once you're done licking your wounds, you're not hiding again. You're gonna turn into a Valkyrie and go out to find your man.”

Tessa laughed. “If you say so.”

“I don't just say so, I'm gonna kick your ass if you duck and hide again.”

How lucky was she to have such a good friend? “Agreed. I got it. I've been a weenie long enough.”

Darinda's smile could light the world. It curled into a sign of happiness now. “Hallelujah! My girl's come back from the dead.”

The rest of the party went remarkably well. By the time Tessa left to drive home, she was tired, but happy. Ian might break her heart, but she knew that ahead of time. It wasn't his fault or hers. And afterward, she'd learn from her mistakes. And this time, she'd be ready to move on.