Free Moonlight Cove by Sherryl Woods Page B

edible.”
    “I should hope so,” Abby said. “It’s my third batch. Trace made me throw out the first two attempts. Even the twins turned their noses up at it, and those two little garbage disposals will eat anything.”
    “How on earth can you mess up rice pudding?” Gram asked. “Did I teach you girls nothing?”
    “You only had a year after Mom left to influence me,” Abby said. “I seem to recall you throwing me out of the kitchen in disgust on more than one occasion. I was no better at cooking than I was at needlework.”
    Nell chuckled. “That’s true enough. Let’s hope Bree has a knack for this, or you’ll all starve after I’m gone.”
    “First of all, you’re not going anywhere for a very long time,” Abby said, slipping an arm around Nell’s waist. “And second, for every failure that Bree, Jess and I have, you can count on Kevin to get it right. Our brother inherited the cooking genes in the family. You wait and see. He’ll come in here in a few minutes with something that will have our mouths watering. What was his assignment this week, anyway?”
    “He’s making my chicken and dumplings,” Nell told them. “I spoke to him a half hour ago, and he said his dumplings are lighter than air.” She looked doubtful. “We’ll see. It takes years of practice to get dumplings just right.”
    “Oh, I think you can count on Kevin,” Abby said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Gram might not be quite ready to yield her place as the family’s best cook. She seemed almost happier about their failures than about Kevin’s possible success.
    Jess stepped in. “Gram, no matter how good Kevin’s dumplings are, they won’t be half as good as yours,” she assured her grandmother.
    Nell looked pleased by the compliment. “I know you’re saying that just to spare my feelings, but I do appreciate it.”
    Abby flushed guiltily when she realized she’d inadvertently upset Gram, but she wisely didn’t prolong the conversation. Instead, she turned her attention to Jess. “You look tired. Everything okay?”
    “It’s been a wild couple of weeks at the inn,” Jess said, not about to reveal that she’d slept hardly a winksince that infamous kiss Will had placed on her at Brady’s. She hadn’t been able to get it out of her head. Always restless, she’d been even more so than usual since that night.
    Worse, Will had been making himself scarce. She’d even tried dropping into Sally’s at lunchtime, to no avail. Jake and Mack had been there without him. Since she didn’t want anyone to guess that she was practically chasing after him, she’d stopped going there or anywhere else she might bump into him.
    “Then it doesn’t have anything to do with your social life?” Abby said, a wicked sparkle in her eyes.
    “I have no social life,” Jess declared. “None.”
    “Really?” Abby said. “Then Will didn’t—”
    Jess cut her off. “I haven’t seen Will in ages.”
    Gram listened to all this without a word, but Jess couldn’t help noticing the smile that was tugging at her lips. She frowned at her grandmother. “What?”
    “I was just thinking that it’s a good thing Will’s coming for dinner today,” Nell said innocently. “The two of you will be able to catch up. Maybe get your stories straight.”
    “Will is coming for dinner?” Jess repeated. “Who invited him?” If it was her father or Connor, she was going to kill them. “And what do you mean about getting our stories straight? There’s no story.”
    “That’s not the way I hear it,” Gram said, then gave her a defiant look. “And I’m the one who invited him.”
    “But—” She was about to protest, but Gram cut her off with a chiding look.
    “You know he doesn’t have any family left in the area,” Gram said. “He should spend Sundays withpeople who care about him. Will has always been welcome here. That is not about to change just because it might make you uncomfortable.”
    “Who said anything about