The five women clung to each other, warm bodies close, breath mingling, a sisterhood of shared remembrance. “I’m going to miss you all!” Jaymie said, releasing them finally and wiping the tears from her cheeks.
There was more weeping, more clinging, more hugging and more mutterings of getting together sooner this time. “So, Brandi, what are we going to do next summer?” Jaymie said with a teary smile.
“I am going to book us a week at Poplar Bluffs Campground, and we are going to go camping!”
“Exactly,” Jaymie said, pointing and laughing. “No more procrastination.” She thought for a long moment. “Maybe a long weekend is enough, given how busy we all are. Four days. Nothing but us.” She paused, then met Courtney’s sad gaze. “And our new friend, Courtney,” she added, and the woman smiled broadly, ducking her head to hide a happy tear in her eye.
“Agreed.” Brandi sighed, her eyes welling and mascara running. She teetered to Jaymie for one last tight hug. “We have to get going. I can’t wait to see my babies.”
They all got into the two cars, doors slamming, last shouts of farewell hollered. Then they drove away and Jaymie stood, alone, listening to the seagulls shriek and cry on the breeze. Hoppy, leashed to a nearby post so he wouldn’t get in the way of the cars, whined impatiently.
“Yes, sweetie. Let’s go to Valetta’s so you can play with Denver.”
• • •
Valetta had a couple of bronzed shirtless young fellows working in her laneway when Jaymie walked up.
“Aha, you found someone to do the catio?” she said to her friend.
Val stood, arms crossed, watching them work. They shoveled mixed concrete into wheelbarrows and trundled them around the back. “No, I told you what I’m going to do and I’m sticking with it. I’ve hired them to do the cement pad, but I’m hiring myself to do the work. I downloaded some plans, I’ve ordered the materials, and I am going to build it myself!”
“You know, I’m kind of handy too,” Jaymie said. “Jakob taught me how to install a new subfloor in my vintage trailer, but I did the work all on my own. And I’d love to know how to build a catio . . . or we could call it a catpoochio? We need one for Lilibet and Hoppy in the country. My poor little guy can’t go outside on his own because of the lack of fencing and the coyotes.”
“I’d love the help. I can’t do it yet, though; I have to let the concrete cure. But into September . . . maybe the middle? I’ll take a few days off and we’ll tackle it. You help me, and I’ll help you.”
“Sounds like a plan. That’ll give me time to get Jocie back into school and settled.” The breeze tossed the tops of the trees. Jaymie looked up, and the leaves turned over, showing silvery undersides. “Fall is coming.” She changed her mind about visiting, given how busy Val was at the moment. “I think we’ll go home now and get ready for the family’s return. Helmut offered to drive to the airport and pick them up. He came and got Jakob’s pickup this morning to leave at his mom and dad’s, so Jakob can drive home from the family farm. They’re due back this evening sometime.”
Val smiled. “You go then; be with your family.”
• • •
It was evening. She stood in the window of the cabin finishing up the last of the dishes from her lonely dinner. She set them to drain and walked out into the dark, the air crystalline and the white moon rising over the deep forest of dark pines and maples across the country road. A V formation of Canada geese flew, honking, overhead. Whenever Jocie saw them, in fall, she laughed and called it “flight training” for their migration south. Though they never really seemed to leave, gathering in stripped fields nearby to eat leftover corn and grain.
A breeze stirred the treetops and riffled over her bare arms. Nighttime temperatures were now dipping into the fifties . . . too chilly for bare arms. She dashed back in, grabbed a soft pashmina Becca had bought her on one of her trips, and wrapped it around her, sweeping her long hair up and over the wrap. She was dressed especially nicely, in a long skirt and pretty coral sweater with a V-neck, and the long silver necklace Jocie had given her.
She returned outside, making Hoppy stay in, despite his whining. She sat down on the chair by the door and waited.
There was a rumble down the road. She looked one way, then the other, and then . . . a white pickup in a cloud of gravel dust. It pulled off into their wide drive and the door flung open. Jocie, weeping, raced to her and flung her arms around Jaymie’s body and Jakob wrapped his strong arms around her too. She wept, her tears mingling with his and hers, all together, as the car door “open” signal binged, Lilibet meowed inside impatiently, and Hoppy yipped at the door, yodeling his greeting to his family.
“I missed you so much,” Jakob whispered in her ear, kissing it, his beard tickling in a familiar way. “I love you, liebchen; I love you to the heart of my heart.”
“I missed you too, Mama. I have so much to tell you!”
“I can’t wait,” Jaymie said, her voice smothered, as Jakob would not let go of her. She inhaled him, his smell, his beard balm, his mustache wax, and his pepperminty breath mingling with the scent of Jocie’s bubblegum-scented shampoo. Her beloved people were home . . . home and all together, finally. I’m the luckiest woman on earth, she thought, but could not say with Jakob’s lips over hers.
Vintage Eats
Hobo Packets: Kid-Friendly Camp Meal
By Jaymie Leighton
Some of my fondest childhood memories are from our annual camping trip to Lake Huron. Mom declared it her vacation too, so for many meals we would do something simple, like sandwiches or canned beans. But my dad, memorably, took a page from his own childhood one year and told me (I was seven or eight) about Hobo Packets. When he was a kid (in the Dark Ages, he informed me, which qualifies this as a vintage recipe!), he was a Boy Scout, and they did campouts. His own favorite foodie memory was making Hobo Packets with his troop. Something about pairing food with a memorable event made it important to him, and he passed that on to me. The next year I begged to repeat the experience, and it became a family tradition, whether we were camping or just out on Heartbreak Island at the cottage after a long day cleaning it up for the next renters!
Hobo Packets are simply a protein of some sort, paired with vegetables and potatoes in a foil package, cooked on an open campfire. However, there is no reason in the world why you couldn’t do this over your backyard fire, in the barbecue, in your fireplace, or even in the oven!
The very first thing is to start your fire. Get it going with some good chunks of hardwood that will burn slowly, and add in some charcoal briquettes, if you like, then let it burn down to embers. You want heat, hot red coals that will last for a while, not flames. While the fire is burning down, make your Hobo Packets.
The beauty of foil pouches is that you can customize one for each diner’s taste. Here is a list of ingredients to start you off and some simple tips that will make the experience more enjoyable.
Assemble the ingredients:
Protein
There’s no law that says you need to use meat. You could do vegetarian packets for the vegans in the family. For those who eat meat, consider boneless chicken (thigh or breast), boneless steak (a thin cut), or best of all, to me, a thin ground beef patty seasoned with onion soup mix or just garlic and onion. You could even make your packets with chunks of sausage, if you prefer!
Vegetables
I always start out with thinly sliced potatoes—you could use sweet potatoes, if you like—but other than that, the ingredients vary according to what I have. So you could include any combination of carrots, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, or bell pepper rings. Hard veggies like the carrots and potatoes should be sliced thinly if they are included raw, and the others should be in smallish pieces. I always put in some whole garlic cloves; the flavor permeates everything deliciously.
Seasonings
You could go crazy, but don’t add too much! A little sea salt and freshly ground pepper is all you need, bu
t my friend Rachel put together Hobo Packets for me and a group of our friends, and she, a newly inspired cook, used fresh herbs to wonderful effect. So if you’re doing this at home and are close to your herb garden, consider sprigs of thyme, sage to go with chicken, rosemary to go with beef, or even some variations, like lemon thyme, or tarragon if you want to be fancy! And don’t be afraid to add a pop of citrus with wedges or slices of lemon, or even orange slices! If you make your packets with sausage, add some apple slices!
These would be super fun to do with kids. I’ve been told that picky eaters are more likely to eat what they have a hand in cooking. My Jocie is not at all picky, but we’re going to do a girls night, just her and me, and we’ll definitely do these together!
To make the packets, start with a double layer of heavy-duty foil; this is all-important, because you don’t want the precious juices from your meat and veggies to drain away! Lay the foil out and coat the cooking area with olive oil or butter, then, starting with the potatoes, layer your veggies and seasonings, then layer in your meat and herbs. Some say the meat should go on the bottom, but I’m not sure it matters. Top with dollops of herbed butter if you want a real taste treat. Take a second layer of doubled heavy-duty tin foil and put it over the top, then bring up the bottom edges and crimp the bottom and top foil layers together, making a nice tight seal all the way around so none of the juices escape.
These should be nestled gently in among the coals and allowed to cook for at least thirty minutes, but better, forty. Some people say you should cook them on a grate, rather than in the coals; truth be told, if they’re on the coals there will be some charring on the bottom, but I love that part. If you don’t like the char, put them on a grate close to the heat and turn them occasionally, with tongs, being careful not to pierce the foil. When you take these out/off of the fire, let them rest for ten minutes and carefully open! There will be steam, so watch your fingers.
And . . . enjoy! Throw more wood on the fire and eat right there, in the great outdoors. Or . . . indoors by the fireside. Half the fun of this method of cooking is in sharing the experience!
Books by Victoria Hamilton
Lady Anne Addison Mysteries
Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark
Revenge of the Barbary Ghost
Curse of the Gypsy
Vintage Kitchen Mysteries
A Deadly Grind
Bowled Over
Freezer I’ll Shoot
No Mallets Intended
White Colander Crime
Leave It to Cleaver
No Grater Danger
Breaking the Mould
Cast Iron Alibi
Merry Muffin Mysteries
Bran New Death
Muffin But Murder
Death of an English Muffin
Much Ado About Muffin
Muffin to Fear
About the Author
Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the bestselling author of three mystery series, the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, and the Merry Muffin Mysteries. Her latest adventure in writing is a Regency-set historical mystery series, starting with A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder.
Victoria loves to read, especially mystery novels, and enjoys good tea and cheap wine, the company of friends, and has a newfound appreciation for opera. She enjoys crocheting and beading, but a good book can tempt her away from almost anything . . . except writing!
Visit Victoria at: www.victoriahamiltonmysteries.com.
Table of Contents
Cast Iron Alibi
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Cast of Characters
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Vintage Eats
Books by Victoria Hamilton
About the Author
Cast Iron Alibi Page 26