“Yes, ma’am, I did and I am going to shower right now.”
“Good. Now who is this?” She waved her spatula in Amanda’s direction. She instantly felt her cheeks warm.Please let this woman like me, she thought.
“Geez, I’m so sorry. Miss Leona, this is Sam’s friend Amanda. She’s visiting the ranch for the weekend. I thought she could join us since we have enough to feed Jesse—”
“Oh, we have enough to feed a small city. Of course you can join us for brunch.” She looked over at Amanda before she focused back on the crepe slowly browning in the pan. “We met last week at that lovely wedding.”
“Briefly, ma’am. Yes. Yes we did.”
“And she watched the worst movie ever with us last night,” Lilah added with that same kind smile she’d greeted her with. Amanda already liked her.
“Well, it’s nice to see you again. Yvonne, where are my grandsons?”
“They are over at Zach’s, showering. Which I am going to do right now. I’ll be back in a minute . . . to help you finish preparing this delicious meal.” Evie winked at Amanda, then ducked back down the hallway. Amanda knew she was in perfectly good hands, but that didn’t help her back away from the edge of a possible freak-out. She was in Leona Lovell’s kitchen. In her actual home. How was she supposed to handle that? She realized there was only one thing to do. Get the freak-out out of her system.
“Um, I hope this isn’t too much, but I am a huge fan of your work. My mother is even a bigger fan. I had a horrible case of the flu in fifth grade and she let me watchGlory in the Nightand just—”
Miss Leona glanced over at her. Just the corner of her lip tipped up in the slightest grin, trapping Amanda’s voice in her throat. She was not going to cry in the middle of this woman’s kitchen. Miss Leona carefully slid the finished crepe on top of the small stack she’d started, then set the pan back on the stove. She turned toward Amanda and, as if in the most magical slow motion, held open her arms. With a gracious flick of her wrists and careful nod of “get your ass over here,” she beckoned Amanda into her warm embrace.
“This is like being hugged by Jesus,” Amanda whispered. “This is the hug I’ve been dreaming of my whole life.”
“I find the hugs help calm the excitement,” Miss Leona replied, her voice light and causal. Like she might in fact be our Lord God herself. Amanda soaked in her grandmotherly love just long enough for it to seep into her heart. She took in her light floral perfume and the softness of her flowing top. Who made thousand-thread-count tops? She logged it all deep within her mind so she could conjure it up in her darkest moment. When things got really bad, she usually turned to her mom, but from now on, she’d think of the time Leona Lovell took pity on her and gave her the best hug in the history of hugs.
She took the hint when Miss Leona started to release her and stepped back out of the elderly woman’s personal space.
“Isn’t that better?”
“Much. I still might ask you for an autograph for my mom before I leave. If that’s not too much. I know I am being rude. I am so sorry.”
Miss Leona patted her hand. “Oh, you’re fine, baby. We’ll make sure you get that autograph before the day is over. You want something to drink? Lilah, get her something to drink.”
Lilah was already hopping off her seat before Amanda could make up her mind. “Let’s see.” She opened the industrial-size fridge, revealing a wide variety of beverages. “What can I get for you?”
“Water is fine.”
“And you should try some of the pomegranate punch Lilah made. It is delicious,” Miss Leona added.
“And I will also have some of that punch,” Amanda added obediently.
Lilah grabbed a fancy glass pitcher out of the fridge, then whispered, “Don’t worry. She’s my grandma and I still think it’s all pretty cool.”
Normally Amanda wouldn’t have believed her, but it was Leona Lovell. She absolutely did.
* * *
Brunch turned into a late lunch, but Amanda didn’t care at all. She was just happy to be a part of the gang. She sat at the island with Lilah and helped her pick out some dresses she was shopping for online. When Evie came back, fresh as a daisy and as gorgeous as ever, Amanda got to watch her in action as she and Miss Leona followed through on cooking enough food for a small village and Jesse. Amanda had caught Evie in a few clips ofThe Dishand faithfully followed her on Instagram for years now, but the real thing was impressive as hell.
Sam and Zach joined them and then Corie arrived with Vega soon after. She was still a bit overwhelmed being in Miss Leona’s home, but Sam was right. She felt completely comfortable hanging around with him and his family. She insisted on helping Lilah and Zach set the table and when Jesse finally arrived from some meeting in town, they sat down to eat. Amanda found herself between Sam and Vega and directly across from Evie and Zach. Jesse and Miss Leona were at either end of the table.
“So, my grandbabies. And friends. Who has news for me?” Miss Leona said after Jesse delivered the grace.
“Oh, I do,” Lilah perked up. “Well, it’s not my news, but it’s news.”
“Go ahead,” Miss Leona chuckled.
“Well. You know we do the date auction every year—” She looked Amanda’s way. “Jesse and I work with the chamber of commerce to raise money for various things. We helped take over this date auction that raises money for seniors in the area.”
“Lilah’s been crushing it actually,” Jesse said in his strong, deep voice, though he didn’t take his eyes off the loaf of French toast piled on his plate. “They already asked her if she could help with some of the summer programming this year.”