IN THE KITCHEN,Dot stirred the creamed spinach while Grace mashed the potatoes with a mixer. They chatted about life in Cedar Falls.
“How long has the farm been in the family?” Dot asked while she set the table using dishes and silverware from an antique sideboard.
“About a hundred and forty years, believe it or not,” Grace said. “Joe’s the sixth generation. It’s a tough way to make a living, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She looked out the kitchen window where Joe was feeding the dogs in the fading sunshine. A car with its headlights on pulled into the drive.
“Are we expecting one more?” Dot asked, counting the number of plates and people again.
“Oh, that’ll be Danny. Remember him from the bookstore? He comes every Sunday.”
“Ah, yes. Of course. Great.” Dot tried to sound casual about it despite the flutter in her heart. Straightening her back and smoothing her hair, she wondered if he’d remembered her.
Because, despite her pledge to focus on her career for the year before looking to date again, the sad-eyed boy from the bookstore had been on Dot’s mind.
Chapter 25
Let’s pray.” Joe Taylor offered a palm to Harper who sat next to him, and after a beat, she caught on and held his hand. Everyone around the table joined the chain. Joe said grace.
“Amen.”
The table was filled with wholesome, nutritious food. Grace had plated a fresh green salad with mustard vinaigrette and a fresh roll with salted butter at each setting.
To Mary’s relief, the main dish was pot roast, not chicken.
Jake caught her eye and winked. “Gotcha,” he said.
She rolled her eyes in reaction. Though after seeing the axe, she didn’t want to think about how the beef got to the table either.
Dot sat across from Danny, who was quiet but laughed at the banter. The twins teased him a lot, and he seemed to like it. They told stories of how he used to fall asleep in the living room when they played video games and how Grace would call Danny’s mom and say she’d take him to school in the morning.
“All my best childhood memories are in this house,” he said.
“And he was always the best behaved.” Grace put a hand on Danny’s back.
Dot liked hearing about his childhood—she was fascinated by his story and curious about, well, him. She tried to put the brakes on her feelings, but someone, maybe Danny, had cut the lines.
AFTER DINNER, DESSERTwas a platter of Scotcheroos.
“What are these?” Mary asked.
“You don’t have Scotcheroos in New York?” Jake teased. “You haven’t lived.”
“They’re a Wisconsin special,” Grace said. “A mix of peanut butter Rice Krispy treats with chocolate on top. Always served with homemade vanilla ice cream.”
“Courtesy of Bessie,” Tommy said to Harper.
“Every grandmother in Wisconsin knows how to make these,” Joe said.
While they enjoyed dessert, Dot asked Joe to tell her more about what rural Wisconsinites were feeling about the election.
“Oh no! Mom’s got a rule. No politics on Sundays,” Tommy said.
“It’s all right.” Grace nodded for Joe to go ahead. “They’re here to learn, not to argue.”
Joe said things had really changed since he was a young man. “Growing up, everyone I knew was a Democrat,” he said. “Now just about everyone outside of town votes Republican.”
“Why do you think that is?” Dot asked.