Free Blackberry Crumble by Josi S. Kilpack Page A

but reserve the juice. Chop cherries and set aside.
     
    Cream butter and shortening, add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, cherry juice, and eggs. Mix well. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until combined. Add chopped cherries and chocolate chips. Mix until combined.
     
    Drop by rounded teaspoons (or use a 1-inch scoop) onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown slightly. (The center of the cookie may still appear uncooked.) Cool on pan for 2 minutes before moving to cooling rack. Makes 3 dozen.
     
    *Milk chocolate chips work, too, but they have a higher tendency to scorch, so don’t overcook. I prefer white chocolate chips; they keep the cherry flavor center stage.
     

Chapter 10
     
    Sadie could hear Mindy talking a mile a minute when she reached the Baileys’ house. The front door was open, with only the screen serving as a barrier. She stepped into the shade of the porch and sighed with relief. It was maybe eighty yards from her house to Mindy’s, and she was already sweating. She took a deep breath, prayed for calmness, and then rang the doorbell. Mindy’s voice got louder but didn’t stop as it approached the door.
     
    “ . . . So then I said, what did you think I was calling you for, you’re a plumber right? And he goes, Well, lady—but I didn’t even let him finish. I said, Don’t call me lady when you’re treating me like some stupid teenage girl who doesn’t know a floater from a wax ring. I mean, really.” She pulled open the screen door while she paused for breath. Her frizzy blonde hair was pulled up into a high bun on top of her head, and her cheeks were flushed. Sadie suspected it was due to the thrill of having a new set of ears to fill with her babble.
     
    An instant smile lit Mindy’s face when she recognized Sadie, reminding Sadie that while Mindy could be annoying, she meant no harm. Sadie just hoped she didn’t accidentally cause any harm. The woman could have easily told Sadie’s entire life history to Jane in twenty minutes.
     
    “Oh, hi, Sadie, how are you doing? You brought me cookies?” She pushed open the screen door. “You shouldn’t have, but you know we never say no to your treats. I honestly don’t know how you find time to bake with everything else you do in a day. My kids are lucky to get a store-bought cake on their birthdays, that’s how often I bake anything around here.” She took the plate, not seeming to realize that Sadie had yet to speak a single word.
     
    “Speaking of birthdays, did you know Gina turns fifteen on Thursday? Fifteen—as in a full decade and half of another decade. That is just cra-zy! Do you remember when she was born?”
     
    “Anyway,” another voice cut in. Sadie looked past Mindy and glared at Jane, who was coming toward her. “Thanks for your time, Mindy. You’ve been very . . . informative.”
     
    Sadie scanned Jane’s face for sarcasm, but took smug satisfaction in the wide-eyed look on her face that held none of her usual, arrogant superiority. Go Mindy.
     
    “Oh, are you leaving already?” Mindy said, turning toward her guest with her eyebrows raised. “You should stay for some cookies. And milk, of course. You can’t have cookies without milk. When I was a little girl, my mother made cookies twice a week and kept the leftovers in an old bread bag so we could have cookies after school every day.”
     
    Jane smiled and nodded as she reached the door. “Yeah, that sounds great. I better go though.”
     
    Sadie stepped back, giving Jane a pointed look as she passed her on the porch.
     
    “Well, at least let me get you a baggie of cookies to take back to Denver with you. I always love to have something to snack on when I have to drive long distances, which is probably why I had to buy a size sixteen the other day. I’ve never been a size sixteen in my life. Well, other than when I was pregnant. I found that buying larger sizes gave me more