Free Drop Dead Chocolate by Jessica Beck Page A

with my name on it, I’m dropping out. Is that clear?”
    “Hang on. I can’t stop other folks from campaigning for you if they decide to. It would be impossible to police all of April Springs looking for unauthorized campaign materials.” She was being unreasonable, but I could only push her so far.
    “Perhaps, but I’m putting you in charge of it.” She touched my cheek gently and said, “Thank you. I wasn’t sure I could feel better, but you’ve managed to cheer me up a little. What do you say to some lemon chicken for dinner?”
    “Do you really feel like cooking?” I asked as I got off the couch and moved over by the fireplace.
    “What’s the alternative? Can you imagine me going anywhere out to eat without someone whispering behind my back?”
    “You’ve got a point,” I said.
    “Besides, cooking might help me take my mind off my troubles. You can … Never mind.”
    “What were you going to say?” I asked.
    “I was about to add that you could invite Jake, but that’s not within the rules, is it?”
    “Don’t worry. We’ll have fun with just the two of us,” I said. “Do you need any help in the kitchen?”
    “I’m fine. Why don’t you grab a quick nap if you can, and I’ll wake you when dinner is ready.”
    “What makes you think I’m sleepy?” I asked as I fought off a yawn.
    “Dear daughter, with your working hours, how can you not be? Now, go on and leave dinner to me.”
    I wasn’t about to fight her, especially since I knew that if I kept talking, I might find a way to make it worse instead of better. I stretched out on the couch, and the next thing I realized, someone was knocking on our front door. For a split second I hoped that it was Jake, but I knew that he wouldn’t be paying me any surprise visits until this case was solved.
    “I’ll get it,” I said as I stood and stretched for a second.
    “That woke you, didn’t it?” Momma asked, coming out of the kitchen wearing her favorite apron.
    “I needed to get up anyway,” I said.
    She stayed long enough to see who it was, but the second she saw that it was Grace on the porch, she waved and then headed back into the kitchen.
    When I motioned Grace inside, she asked, “Hey, got a second?” Grace clearly realized that I’d been taking a nap, most likely from my disheveled hair. “I woke you, didn’t I?”
    “No, it’s fine. I had to get up anyway. What’s up? I thought you and Peter were spending the day together.”
    “He left,” she said, looking sad as she admitted it.
    “For good?” I asked.
    “No, of course not. He was supposed to be on vacation, but his boss called him in to work. There’s some kind of business emergency and he’ll be gone at least a week, maybe more.”
    I did my best not to smile too broadly at the news. “His loss is my gain, then.” I stepped aside and invited her in. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
    She took a deep breath, and I knew she was taking in the enticing aroma of Momma’s famous lemon chicken. “I shouldn’t,” she said.
    Ignoring her, I yelled out, “Momma, can Grace stay for dinner?”
    “Suzanne,” she said reprovingly as Momma came out.
    “Of course she can. How are you, dear?” Momma asked.
    “I’m fine. Sorry about what happened today.”
    “As are we all,” Momma said. “Wash up, ladies. We’ll be eating in three minutes.”
    Momma vanished back into the kitchen, and Grace turned to me. “Did I say the wrong thing just now?”
    “With my mother, I doubt you could. She seems to cut you a great deal more slack than she ever did me,” I said with a smile. “You’re always welcome here, and you know it.”
    “I know I haven’t been that great a friend lately,” she said as we took turns washing our hands in the hall powder room. “You know how I am when there’s someone new in my life. I tend to get a little tunnel vision.”
    “I understand,” I said. “If I had a boyfriend who lived in town, I might be the same