Colton set a palm on my shoulder and stepped in close behind me.
“It’s pretty great, huh?” I said, turning in the small space.
He moved his palm to the small of my back, stabilizing me as I arched for a better look into his eyes. “I think you’re amazing.”
Funny how Colton Wise had been a stranger at Thanksgiving, but on Christmas Eve, he felt a lot like home. “Is that right?”
“Mm-hmm.” He dipped his head in my direction and whispered into my ear. “I have to make a call. I won’t be long.”
“Okay.” I stepped back, slightly disappointed and clearly unable to read the man’s signals. I blamed my head injury. And the abundance of presumptuous mistletoes. “Everything okay?” I asked, pulling his attention from the phone.
“Yeah.” He forced a tight smile. “Everything’s good.” He stepped outside, and a pile of snow blew in to replace him.
I watched his path outside the window, talking on his phone in a snowstorm. Another man with secrets.
“Merry Christmas,” Dot said, sidling up to me with two steaming mugs of cider. She passed one to me, and I wrapped my palms around its warmth.
“Merry Christmas.”
We stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the snow fly beyond the glass.
“You doing okay?” she asked, inhaling the fragrant steam with a smile.
“Yep. I’ve been thinking about the acts of kindness I told Farmer Bentley I was performing, and I know how I want to fulfill the last one.”
“Oh yeah?” She slid a sly smile my way. “Do tell.”
“I will foster the next injured or abandoned animal you bring me until I can find it a forever home. Goat, squirrel, turtle, whatever. My last act of kindness is for you, or rather for the things I know are most important to you.”
Dot tipped her head against my shoulder. “That’s perfect! Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
A soft chorus of “Silent Night” began, and we turned away from the window, focusing instead on the beautiful moment at hand. Inside the old Mail Pouch barn, my cider shop dream come true was filled to the rafters with music and laughter, good friends, and gourmet cider.
It was the beginning of my new adventure, and I couldn’t wait to get started.
RECIPES
Winnie’s Slow Cookin’ Cider
Everyone loves homemade apple cider, so why not brew up a batch for your next party or get-together? Better yet, make a pot for yourself. Garnish with a handful of chopped green apple and a cinnamon stick for fun. You can serve this simple recipe hot or cold, but you can’t go wrong with cider.
1 dozen apples in a variety of flavors.
2 large oranges
1 lemon
4 cinnamon sticks
3 teaspoons whole cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
Wash your apples thoroughly, then slice them before adding them to your slow cooker.
Peel and quarter your oranges and lemon. Drop the pieces into the slow cooker with your apple slices.
Add cinnamon sticks and cloves.
Fill the cooker with water.
Cover and cook on low all day or even overnight! Keep cooking until the apple slices are soft and tender.
Mash the ingredients in the cooker, then continue to cook another 1 to 2 hours.
Cover a large pot with cheesecloth and slowly pour the apple mixture in. Repeat the process several times as needed to catch large pieces.
Strain once more with a fine-mesh strainer to eliminate smaller bits. Repeat until the cider is smooth.
Add vanilla extract and sugars while your cider is warm. Stir.
Pour and enjoy hot or cold! Refrigerate or freeze leftover cider.
Hunk of Heaven Tater Salad
Got a potluck coming up? Not sure what to bring? Knock ’em dead with some tasty tater salad, a long-held country tradition sure to make folks smile. Just remember, tater salad is personal. Take your time with the measurements and keep at it until the flavor is just right for you.
6 large or 8 medium-size potatoes
4–6 hardboiled eggs
1½ cups real mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup onion, chopped
Paprika as garnish
Peel and boil potatoes. Cool. Dice.
Peel and chop eggs.
In a medium bowl, blend mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until smooth.
Add potatoes and coat well.
Mix in onions and eggs.
Dash with paprika for pizzazz.
Hank’s Mama’s Dump Cake
There isn’t anything simpler than dump cake, and it’s guaranteed to bring folks running. So, next time you’re in a hurry to whip up something sweet, grab these four ingredients from the kitchen, and you’ll be the hit of the party.
Note: You can use any combination of pie fillings and cake flavors to suit your fancy. Granny loves cherries and chocolate cake. Dot prefers peaches and yellow cake. Winnie likes pineapples and cherries. The recipe’s so simple you might as well try all three!
1 21-ounce can of cherry pie filling
1 16-ounce can of crushed pineapple
1 boxed white cake mix
1½ sticks of butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix cherry pie filling and pineapple together in a medium bowl.
Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Sprinkle cake mix over fruit.
Add pats of butter evenly across the top.
Bake 45 to 60 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.
Happy eating, y’all!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you, dear reader, for picking up this book and for giving Winnie and Granny’s story a chance. You might not realize it, but you make my dream possible. I can’t thank you enough for that.
Thank you, Martin Biro, and the entire, amazing Kensington team for seeing merit in my work and for making it better. I will never stop celebrating that win. Thank you, Jill Marsal, my agent extraordinaire, the beautiful magician who never stops believing in me and always keeps me busy.
Thank you, Jennifer Anderson, for reading all my words. I owe you so many hugs and coffees and glasses of wine. I hope you’re running a tab. Thank you, Darlene Lindsey, my blessed mother-in-law and dear friend. I couldn’t do this without you, and I can never repay you. Thank you, Mama, for making me believe I can move mountains, and Daddy, for teaching me to climb them. Your love of West Virginia inspired this series, and I hope I can do it justice.
Last but not least, Bryan, kids, what can I say? I forget things and talk to myself and sometimes wear pajamas for weeks on end, but I love you all with every ounce of myself, and I know that one day you will change the world. You’ve already changed mine irrevocably.
Winnie Mae and Granny Smythe’s story is just beginning . . .
Look for the second Cider Shop Mystery,
PULP FRICTION
A Kensington mass-market paperback and e-book on sale Spring 2020!
Julie Anne Lindsey is a multigenre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. When she’s not creating new worlds and organizing the epic adventures of fictional characters, Julie can be found carpooling her three kids around northeastern Ohio and plotting with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today she hopes to make someone smile; one day she plans to change the world. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Visit her online at www.JulieAnneLindsey.com.
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