One Bad Egg (A Rainy Day Mystery Book 5)

by Jeff Shelby

  I held up my hand. “I'm not interested now. I gave you the opportunity to air it out and you tried to make me feel stupid for doing it. I can put up with a lot of things, but not that. So. I'm going to go home, put my feet up, and polish off one more glass of wine.”

  “You could do that here,” he said. “Jill already went to bed.”

  I was surprised that the offer didn't even tempt me a little bit.

  Because it didn't. This was not the Gunnar who made my knees weak, the Gunnar who was easy to be with and who made me feel special. This was a different Gunnar entirely, and I didn’t know what role, if any, he had in my life.

  Maybe I was jumping to conclusions, and maybe I was overreacting—I’d been known to do that a time or two.

  But maybe I wasn’t.

  And that thought alone was enough for me to give it a rest: the conversation, the night…and maybe even our relationship.

  I turned and opened the door. “No, thanks. I'm good.”

  I walked away from Gunnar's home, the cold wind biting into me. I tucked my chin to my neck and shoved my hands in my pockets, searching for warmth.

  I hadn’t lied to Gunnar.

  I was good.

  A little confused, maybe, but I was still good.

  I was no longer sure about Gunnar and the idea of us. I didn't know how to interpret or handle the chain of events over the last forty-eight hours. I didn’t know what to think of his jealousy, or his pettiness, or the way he was so ready to dismiss the fact that something had even happened.

  But I did know one thing.

  I wasn’t in the mood to play games. As he’d pointed out time and time again, I was at a stage in my life where I needed to focus on not wasting time. To go after what I wanted. To not think about the past or the future but to focus on the present.

  I was going to do that.

  Whether it included Gunnar Forsythe or not.

  THE END

  Make sure you don't miss out on future releases by signing up for Jeff's monthly newsletter right here!

  And if you enjoyed ONE BAD EGG, please consider taking a few moments to leave a brief review for other customers. Thank you!

  Keep reading for a special bonus!

  My wife suggested that since there are several dishes mentioned in the book, it might be fun to include the recipes for several of them. So as a small bonus, here are a few things to try when Thankgiving rolls around! -JS

  Pillow Rolls

  Ingredients

  4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

  ½ cup warm water

  2 cups warm milk

  6 tablespoons shortening

  2 eggs

  ¼ cup sugar

  1 ½ teaspoon salt

  7 cups all-purpose flour

  Directions

  In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, eggs, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough.

  Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (this usually takes 5-10 minutes). Dough will be sticky. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to completely coat dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

  Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 24 pieces. Shape each piece into a roll.

  Place on greased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Cover and let rise again until doubled.

  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool briefly on wire racks, then serve warm with butter, honey, or jam.

  Originally published in Taste of Home as Pillow Soft Dinner Rolls (Aug/Sept 2005)

  Cranberry Pear Sauce

  This is the only cranberry sauce we serve at Thanksgiving, and it is ridiculously simple to make.

  Ingredients

  12 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries (we prefer fresh)

  2 ripe pears, peeled and cored, cubed small

  1/2 cup honey (you can substitute agave or another sweetener, but honey is what we use)

  1 cup water

  Directions

  In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil on high heat.

  After the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the cranberries burst open and the sauce thickens.

  Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool before refrigerating.

  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

  Irish Colcannon

  Irish Colcannon is a little bit like mashed potatoes, except it includes a bunch of different vegetables. The final consistency should, in fact, be like mashed potatoes, but with well-distributed pieces of leek and kale. Feel free to try it with butter, sour cream or cheese. Although not typically served with colcannon, they make a delightful addition.

  Ingredients

  1 lb potatoes, sliced (approximately 3 large russet potatoes)

  2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced

  2 medium leeks

  1 cup milk

  1 lb cabbage (about 4-5 cups chopped)

  2 garlic cloves, minced

  ½ teaspoon mace

  1 teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon pepper

  2 tablespoons butter

  1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)

  Directions

  Cook the potatoes and parsnips in water until tender.

  While thee are cooking, chop leeks (whole leek, both greens as well as whites) and simmer in the milk until soft.

  Cook cabbage and have warm and well chopped.

  Drain potatoes, then season with mace, garlic, salt and pepper. Beat well.

  Add cooked leeks and milk.

  Blend in cabbage and butter.

  Garnish with parsley, if desired.

  This recipe originally appeared on food.com