by Robyn Neeley
Casey attacked him, rolled him over on the quilt and almost tumbled him off the haystack.
“I’ve got a plan,” she announced.
“I’m not sure I want to hear it. Especially if it involves telling those nice old ladies — what are you doing?”
Casey straddled him and trapped his face between her palms, kissed him once more and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.
“We’re going to get a head start on the children,” she said. “If I’m safely pregnant by the time the LSAT scores come out, the ladies will be understanding when I suggest that they donate the scholarship to another deserving local individual.”
“Something tells me you’re aiming to get me plugged full of ghostly buckshot.”
“Don’t you want to cooperate in saving me from law school? What if I do better than you did?”
“I’d be damned glad. Then I could stay home and write while you put up with all the crap young lawyers have to put up with from the older lawyers, the peculiar rulings of judges, and the crazy clients. Not to mention the mean clients, the vengeful clients, and the spaced-out clients.”
“I am so not going to law school,” she insisted. “That’s my final word on the subject. How you get me out of it is your affair.”
“If you passed the LSAT, you probably owe it to the world to become a lawyer. Especially if you really aced it.”
“You’re enjoying this, Kalin McBryde.”
“You’d better believe it. I’m going to love having a smart wife who can support me in style. If you don’t go to law school, you’ll have to buy Cap’n Bob’s and turn it into a big sensation. We need a regular income if I’m going to maintain the positive mental attitude that will allow me to write my three or four novels a year.”
“You can’t do this to me,” she wailed. “It’s evil.”
“On your feet, you shameless hussy. When you start messing around with my future income, it’s time to postpone the lovemaking and attend to the subject of income generation. I’ll call Joe — ”
Casey rolled him over once more and lay on top of him, kissing him while she fitted her hips against his. After a minute or two of that, Kalin lost interest in sending her to law school and set about showing her how best to please him. She devoted herself to the subject, secure in the knowledge that he would please her just as thoroughly.
Later, as they curled together beneath the quilt, Kalin said softly, “I stopped by the hospital before I came looking for you. Your grandmother is doing as well as can be expected, according to Uncle Jack.”
Casey realized abruptly that Alice no longer inhabited the comatose body that lay so still in the hospital.
Kalin hugged her and said tenderly, “We can wait to be married until after things settle down.”
“I’ve already gotten the word from her.” Casey snuggled her face against his neck. “The sooner I marry you, the sooner she can quit worrying about my future, or what that cooking school has done to me.”
“Is that right?” Kalin grinned. “In that case, I’ll get things set up right away. Do you want a church wedding, or will a justice of the peace do?”
“Granny would have a fit, but I’d rather the JP.”
“If she gets better, we can be remarried in the church.”
Casey nodded, touching one of his broad eyebrows.
“Darling, don’t cry.”
Casey put her face against his shoulder. “I never even asked if you’d forgiven me. I’m so sorry, Kalin. It wasn’t until today that I suddenly understood why you broke up with me five years ago. I was going to promise to change before I asked you to marry me.”
“Darling, once we’re married, you’re going to have to change.” He held her, kissing her forehead. “If you think I’ll let you rattle pots and pans in the kitchen while I’m waiting for you in bed, forget it.”
“You should at least make me swear on the Bible, or sign something in blood. It’s the minimum I deserve after being so selfish.”
“You weren’t selfish, Casey,” he said gently. “You were just very single-minded. Once I started checking into your background, I began to understand how your history and upbringing had affected you. Imagine how I felt when I realized how badly the things I’d said had hurt you.”
“They didn’t hurt me as much as I deserved.” Casey lifted her face but could see nothing in the darkness. “You were right about one thing. I should have reminded you of how you responded when we kissed. You were as enthusiastic about it as I was.”
“Maybe more. I hoped to win you back by showing you gradually that certain things between us hadn’t changed.”
“I hope they never do,” Casey said, and kissed him.
At dawn, they returned to the house at last, and Casey looked around the kitchen. The old farmhouse looked the same as it had the evening before, yet everything had changed somehow. Perhaps the inanimate objects sensed that their mistress had departed. Or perhaps she saw things from an entirely different perspective.
She blinked back tears and glanced up to see Kalin’s concerned, blue gaze on her face. “You look different, darling,” he said. “More at peace.”
She stepped into his arms. “I never realized it before, but I was terribly driven, and for all the reasons you said. Thank you, Kalin.”
Kalin’s arms tightened around her. “Thank me? For what? For hurting your feelings so badly you had to stay away for five years?”
“For caring enough about me to point it out. I don’t know if I would have ever stopped to reason it out on my own. It was easier to work until I was too tired to think.”
“That was what terrified me.” He kissed her ear. “I was afraid you’d collapse before I could get through to you. If your grandfather was still alive, he would probably have shot me for sure.”
Casey refused to let him move out of her arms. “Actually, he and Granny are very pleased that I’ve finally come to my senses, and that the old homestead is going to be the home of a new generation of Gray descendants.”
Kalin chuckled. “Did I ever tell you your grandfather took me aside one day and mentioned, perfectly casually, exactly what he’d do to me if I was so rash as to take advantage of your underage, feminine loveliness?”
“Grandpa said that?”
“He did, I promise you. He sounded remarkably like Uncle Jack.”
“Grandpa?” Casey was shaking her head.
“He was remembering your mother, darling. From all I can find out, every young stud at East Chambers High was panting after her.”
Casey hugged him, hard. “That’s another thing. You gave me back my mother.”
“Hush, darling.” He kissed her eyelids. “I just talked to people who remembered her. The more I heard, the more I began to realize that there was another explanation for her behavior. You had a right to know that.”
“Thank you.” She drew in a quivering breath. “You can’t imagine what it meant to me to know that she fought for me.”
Kalin sifted his fingers through her hair. “You were definitely worth fighting for, darling. In this case, I’m glad she didn’t succeed. Your life would have been totally different if you had been recognized as Derrick Davenport’s daughter.”
“That’s what he said.” Casey closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of Kalin’s fingers. “He claims he did me a favor.”
“Is that so?”
She opened her eyes and saw Kalin smiling at her.
“Do you want to know what else my mother said?”
“Of course.” His smile widened.
“She said I should seduce you, because the last thing you wanted was for me to be ashamed of the way you made me feel.”
Kalin nodded. “I was ready to throw away all the promises I’d made myself and take advantage of your physical response to
me. Then I was going to insist that you quit work and marry me, especially if you got pregnant. At the time, it looked as though that was the only way.”
She grinned. “So why didn’t you?”
“You saved me the trouble.” He led her to the living room. “What happened out there tonight?”
“Didn’t I tell you that spirits walk on Old Christmas Eve?”
Kalin glanced cautiously around the room. “Did I ever tell you I was the sort of easily terrorized kid who stayed awake nights for months after telling ghost stories around a campfire?”
“No, and if you did, I wouldn’t believe you.”
“If you’re going to tell me you talked to your mother’s spirit tonight, I don’t think I want to hear it.” He glanced around once more, then gave in to curiosity. “Did you see anyone else?”
“They were all here. Your father, my father — ”
“My father?”
“He doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.”
“That sounds about like him,” Kalin said, disgusted.
“My father told him his own son doesn’t respect his memory. Maybe you ought to respect your dad’s memory a little more. I’d rather not have him infesting my visions next year.”
Kalin stared at her, clearly uneasy.
“Granny apologized for teaching me to be ashamed of my mother’s history. As you said, she didn’t realize the impression I’d get. Grandpa came, and so did my mother.”
Kalin let his breath out on a long sigh. “It sounds like they were all eager to talk.”
“Granny said all they wanted was my happiness.” She grimaced, disappointed. “Do you think this means they won’t be coming to see me next Old Christmas Eve?”
“Once you’re married and happy?” Kalin laughed. “Talk about an incentive to keep you happy.” He bent to pick up a small package that had been newly placed beneath the Christmas tree and handed it to her. “It’s now officially Old Christmas day, so you can open the last package now.”
She took the beautifully wrapped little box and worked at the wrapping while Kalin pulled her down to sit beside him on the sofa.
“Here. Let me do it.” Impatient, he took the box and shucked off the wrapper. “I want to see you wearing that.” He extracted a glittering diamond ring and slid it on her left hand.
“Oh, Kalin, it’s beautiful.” Casey’s surprise gave way to great joy as she realized Kalin had intended to ask her to marry him before she proposed to him. “I wish Granny could see it.” Her smile went crooked. “She told me not to let you give me a diamond ring, or the stone would end up in someone’s breakfast biscuit.”
He laughed. “Then we’ll get you another one. Don’t you know I’d give you anything you want?”
“That’s supposed to be my line.” She stared at the Christmas tree he had given her and dropped her gaze to the photograph of her mother. “You’ve already given me so much.”
“Actually, you’ve given me even more.” He touched her lips tenderly with his index finger. “And that’s not even mentioning that you’ve done more for my sister than all the expensive counselors Mom took her to. So don’t be surprised if Mom tries to give you a car for a wedding gift.”
“Lydia?”
“My dad,” Kalin said. “He had started drinking more and more, and then he’d come home and start in on Mom and Lydia. They didn’t want to worry me, so I never knew a thing about it until after he died. Lydia was a basket case for a while there.”
Casey closed her eyes, thinking of Lydia’s bright beauty. “Lydia has a real vocation in the restaurant business. All she needed was a good restaurant to test her skills on.”
“You’ve made me happy, my mother happy, and you’ve made my sister happy,” he enumerated. “What can I do to make you happy, darling?”
“Do you really want to know?”
He looked at her with some alarm. “What?”
She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Get the SETEX Farmer’s Auxiliary to award that law school scholarship to someone else.”
“That will not be easy.” Kalin regarded the Christmas tree in thoughtful silence.
“I know, but if anyone can manage it, it’s you.”
He turned to her and took her in his arms. “In return, I want a promise from you that I never have to spend another Old Christmas Eve in the barn. If I see my Dad, or even yours, I can guarantee you I’ll never be the same.”
Casey promised and kissed him with all the love in her heart. Somehow she held in her laughter, although the effort required was enormous.
“What?” he asked, when he was able to speak.
“Someday your little girl will want to spend the night in the barn, and you’ll have to — ”
“Bite your tongue.”
“As for the Ladies Auxiliary, I still think the best plan is to have a baby right away.”
“They created that scholarship especially for you.” He looked thoughtfully at the Christmas tree again. “I hate to disappoint them.”
“Do you have any better ideas?”
“Yes. I’m going to make love to you again.”
Casey blinked, then laughed shakily.
“So long as you have a concrete plan of action,” she said, and slipped her arms around his neck.
Deep Dark Secret Cheesecake Recipe
Deep Dark Secret Cheesecake Cookie Crust
Ingredients:
3 cups dark chocolate wafers, finely crumbled
1⁄4 lb. unsalted butter, melted
Instructions:
Mix crumbs with melted butter and stir well.
Press into chilled, buttered 10-inch springform pan.
Bake in preheated 350-degree F oven for 10 minutes.
Cool, then chill in refrigerator.
Cheesecake Filling
Ingredients:
Twelve 1-ounce pieces semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Five 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Crust
Instructions:
Prepare cheesecake casing.
Bring all ingredients to room temperature by allowing them to set out of the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Combine the semisweet chocolate pieces and the butter in a double boiler and melt. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Beat the cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until it is smooth. Do not overbeat.
Add sugar in thirds, blending well at medium speed after each addition.
Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine all eggs and egg yolks and beat lightly. Add beaten eggs, a third at a time, to creamed mixture, beating lightly to incorporate the eggs throughout the mixture.
Add cooled melted chocolate and heavy cream in thirds, alternating chocolate and cream and beating at medium speed after each addition.
Sift the cocoa powder over the cheese mixture in thirds, beating at medium speed after each addition.
Using a rubber spatula, stir the sides of the mixture down, then begin folding the mixture, going deep into the bowl and over the top, for 3 to 5 minutes.
Gently fold mixture into prepared casing or crust.
Bake in preheated 350-degree F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees and bake for 50 minutes for a soft-set center. For a firm-set center, bake for 1 hour.
Crack the oven door slightly, using a wooden spoon wedged in the top of the door to hold it open slightly, and cool in this manner for 1 hour.<
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Take a very thin, short spatula, open the oven door, and working swiftly, without jiggling the cheesecake, ream around the metal ring of the springform pan twice to loosen the cheesecake from the edge of the pan.
Close the oven door, leaving the wooden spoon to hold it slightly ajar, and allow the cheesecake to cool completely in the oven for 6 to 8 hours then refrigerate.
About The Author
Kathryn Brocato was born in Texas, grew up in Arkansas and graduated from high school and college in Southeast Texas, where she and her husband, Charles, are scientists and business owners. A true believer in the happy ending, she is a lifelong reader and writer of romance. When she is not writing, Kathryn enjoys birding, gardening, and tending her backyard chicken flock.
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SNEAK PEEK EXCERPT FROM Nickolai’s Noel by Alicia Pace Hunter
Piece By Piece might be on its way to becoming the Hard Rock Cafe of quilt shops. Not even noon, and two celebrities had already walked through the door of Noel Verden’s little patchwork emporium.
First came country music superstar Jack Beauford—who maybe shouldn’t have been such a surprise since his ancestral home, Beauford Bend Plantation, was located nearby. He’d come with Noel’s friend, Emory Lowell, to bring a quilt that Noel needed to make a pattern from.
But if Jack Beauford’s appearance had surprised Noel, seeing Nickolai Glazov, who played center for the Nashville Sound, walk into her shop had practically sent her into outer space. True, a hockey player—even one of Nickolai’s caliber—wasn’t as recognizable to the world at large as Jack Beauford, but Noel wasn’t the world at large.
She loved hockey—and the Sound in particular—the way other Southern women loved football. Much as hockey had been late in coming to the South, Noel had been late in becoming a fan, and there was still a lot she didn’t understand about the game. But, merciful heavens, she loved the chaos, the fast pace, the noise, and—if she were going to be honest—the fights. Noel knew these were odd things for a quiet, mild-mannered woman to love, especially one who spent her days patiently fitting pieces of fabric together with perfect precision and the tiniest of stitches to paint a picture meant to last several lifetimes.