Free The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O'Neal Page B

chased by a coyote, and I took her in. She slept on my tummy all night. Oh! And speaking of
that
…” She put her hands on her hips and gave Lavender a big grin. “Guess what? I felt the baby move last night!”
    Lavender blinked, trying to sort out the threads of that paragraph, but what she was really thinking was what a pretty thing Ruby was, all that shine to her. What the heck was wrong with that man of hers, anyway? It made no sense.
    “Congratulations! That’s a big moment, I understand.” As Lavender spoke, she sorted through the emails from Ginny. “As for the cat, I’m sure she’s one of the barn cats. There is a feral colony around, too, but they’re not inclined to sleep with humans.”
    “Feral cats? How do they live if there are coyotes?”
    “They’re quick and smart, and not all of them do.”
    Ruby blinked, her hand frozen, then said, “Oh.” She put the pancakes on two plates, turned off the burners, and carried them over to the table.
    “Nature is cruel,” Lavender said. The pancakes were light and fluffy, steaming with hot huckleberries. “These are gorgeous, girl.”
    Ruby poured maple syrup over hers and passed the bottle over. “I know that, about nature. But if a kitten shows up hungry and hiding from a coyote, a woman doesn’t have to be as cruel as nature.” She popped a bite of pancake into her mouth, raising her eyebrows as if to challenge Lavender.
    Instead, the older woman nodded. “Fair enough. I’ve got some tuna around here. She’ll like that, I betcha.”
    Just then Ruby’s face crumpled and she covered her mouth with her hand, raising a finger at Lavender before she ran for the toilet.
    While Ruby threw up, Lavender prepared a cup of chamomile tea and sweetened it with a touch of honey from her own hives. When Ruby returned, she said, “Try that.”
    Ruby nodded, pulling the pancakes and tea over to her. “Maybe I can eat now.”

    I’m writing this from my cozy little trailer, on the road. Outside, rain is pattering on the top of my roof, and, inside, my good dog Willow is snoring softly.
    Today I had the great good fortune to meet one of the community here, Tina Romero, from Rocky Ford. She was kind enough to invite me to her home, where she and some of her friends had made several cakes from “Cake of Dreams.” Thanks, Tina! I had such a great time.

    This is my Black Forest cake, which some of you might know was the very first cake I posted to this blog. Isn’t it pretty? Find the recipe
here.
    107 Comments
    9:17 TinaR
    Ginny is so gracious! We were so excited to meet her, and she was just as nice in person as she is in her blog. I’m goingto just say that her picture here doesn’t do her justice. She’s a very pretty woman.
    9:18 Young Girl
    So jealous! Wish I could have been there.
    9:32 Glenna
    I have baked that cake many times since the first time I read the recipe here. It’s a family favorite now.
    10:10 Hilda12
    You’re on your way!

Chapter 9
    Ginny awakened to the sound of car doors slamming and the shouts of children. The air in the trailer was stifling, because she hadn’t opened any of the vents or windows, and her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Willow was sprawled out in the longest stretch of space in the trailer, on the tile between the stove and dinette. She was sound asleep. Peeking out the window, Ginny saw a family piling into the rest-stop bathroom. Although she couldn’t see it, she heard the rumbling of a semitruck engine somewhere close by.
    Her mouth was dry. Her neck was stiff. She had to pee.
    Some adventure.
    Still, she stood up, finding her back and knees stiff from the long drive yesterday, and hobbled into the bathroom. It was a tight fit, but she loved the birch on the walls and the Art Nouveau glass mirror. The shower had been detailed with four tiny rows of glass tile inlaid in a chevron pattern, and it was big enough to stand up in. Some of the trailers she’d looked at made the bathroom and shower a