“Here you go, sweetheart.” Rosie brought a steaming bowl of oatmeal porridge and placed it in front of Blake, who drew in a deep breath.
“Mmm. Smells so good. Just like home.” She dipped the spoon into the creamy porridge, took a taste then closed her eyes as she savored the cinnamon flavor. “I miss your cooking. You’re the best, Mom.”
Rosie chuckled. “And if you keep the compliments coming you know I’ll be cooking for you till I take my last breath.”
When Blake was halfway through her cereal Becky walked in, dressed in shorts and a Jonas Brothers T-Shirt. She looked surprised to see Blake at the breakfast table. “How come you’re up so early? Who gets up at this hour when they're on vacation?” She dropped onto the chair beside her sister. “Morning, Mom.” She gave their mother a wave.
“Got lots to do, Squirt. This isn’t a vacation.” She dipped up another spoonful of oatmeal.
“What do you have to do?” Becky asked, looking curious. “I thought your business was only in Pequoia now.”
Blake’s hand stilled and the spoon that was on its way to her mouth froze midway. She lowered it back into the bowl.
“My business is in Dallas,” she said gravely. “Today I’m going to exterminate a rodent.”
CHAPTER SIX
If there was one thing Peggy Thatcher loved it was her plants. And they didn’t have to be flowers, either. Ferns, Ficus trees, vines and creepers – anything would do. When she wasn’t busy mayoring her little town she was outdoors digging in her vegetable garden or turning the soil at the roots of her fruit trees. Sun, sky and dirt – that was her heaven.
Today, as was her habit, she whistled as she dug away, so caught up in her task that she almost missed noticing that she was no longer alone. It was that bright yellow hat that gave Barbara away. She would never be able to sneak up on a soul with that glaring thing on.
“Well, you’re in a good mood today,” she said as she walked around to the side of the house where Peggy had her patch of dug-up earth.
“And why shouldn’t I be?” Peggy straightened and began pulling the gloves off her hands. “Aren’t I always in a good mood?”
“Not really,” Barbara said, her tone dry as chip. “You’re happiest when you’ve been meddling in someone else’s business. What have you been up to? Who’ve you been messing with now?”
Her hands now free of the gloves, Peggy dropped the protective gardening gear on top of the cobbled pathway and jammed a fist on one hip. “I haven’t been messing with anybody, Miss Nosy Parker.”
“Maybe not since this morning, you haven’t. But what about poor Ryder? You almost scared him off with all your talk about weddings and babies.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the only one.” Peggy was frowning as she threw out the reminder. “From what I can recall you were the loudest one, singing praises for Blake.” She pursed her lips and adopted a simpering pose, one hand up and limp at the wrist. “She’s such a sweet girl,” she said in a high, falsetto voice. “A man would be a fool to let her slip through his fingers.”
“I do not talk like that.” Now it was Barbara’s turn to frown. “You take that back, Peggy Thatcher.”
Peggy laughed. “All right, all right. Maybe you don’t sound that bad but your voice does get squeaky when you get excited.”
Barbara gave her a rueful grin. “Maybe just a little bit.” She walked over to the garden bench that had been set in the shade of an apple tree. There she made herself comfortable, sinking down onto it with a sigh and stretching her legs out in front of her.
“But seriously, though,” she said as she stared at her sandaled feet with interest, “why were you giving Ryder such a hard time? If he likes Blake he’ll ask her out in his own time.”
“And that’s what I’m afraid of,” Peggy said and went over to join Barbara on the bench. “His own time could take forever.”
“But what’s that got to do with you? Shouldn’t that be Blake’s concern? And remember, he’s been in town just shy of a week. Apart from the fact that he’s handsome and charming, what in the world do we know about him?”
At those words Peggy gave a grunt. As usual, Barbara was the voice of reason. “You’re right,” Peggy said. “I’m an old fool and I got carried away. It’s just that Blake’s not getting any younger. I don’t want her to make the same mistake I did.”
“What’s in the past is in the past, Peggy. You don’t turn back the clock.” Barbara reached over and patted her friend on the knee. “And you can’t live your life through someone else.”
Peggy gave a soft grunt and then she looked away. “You know me better than anyone. You know what a mess I’ve made of my life. I don’t want it to happen to Blake. I’ve known her less than a year but she’s the closet thing I have to a daughter.”
“Yes, but she’s got to live her own life.”
“I know, but what if I help her along? If I’d had someone to guide me when I was young maybe I would have a husband and a family right now. Maybe some grandkids.” Her voice turned wistful. “I don’t want Blake to end up like me.”
“You have a pretty good life, Peggy. Everybody knows you and loves you.” Barbara gave her a gentle smile. “You’ve done well for yourself. You’re mayor of our town.”
Peggy shook her head. “But it’s not the same. You know that.” She drew in her breath then, slowly, she let it out with a deep sigh. “I could have had a family but I threw it all away. I was too independent.”
“You did what was right for you at the time.”
Lost in her memories of the past, hardly hearing what Barbara was saying, the words continued to spill out of Peggy’s mouth. “When Jeffery asked me to marry him I turned him down even though I loved him. I was so confident back then. I told him I wasn’t ready. I had too much to do. How could I tie myself down when there was so much to accomplish? I hadn’t even finished my degree yet.” She grimaced and then a smile crept onto her lips but it was a slow, bitter smile. “I actually thought he would wait for me. Can you imagine that? I did my first degree and then moved on to a graduate degree and even a second one, sure the whole time that I could count on Jeff to be there waiting when I was good and ready to settle down. What a laugh.”