Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch (The Ryan Family #1) by Carolyn Brown

Chapter Seven



Anna Grace was already in the kitchen and had the table set for two when Cricket came out of the bedroom the next morning. She took one look at Cricket and a broad smile covered her face.

“You and Bryce had sex last night, didn’t you?” she asked.

“No, but we had kissing and we’re having ice cream tonight, and, I hope, more kissing,” Cricket answered. “What do you want to learn to make today?”

“Quiche,” Anna Grace said, “but we’ll have to do that another day. From the recipe I read, it will take a while.”

“Not really.” Cricket pulled a readymade piecrust from the freezer and unwrapped it. “I keep these on hand for times when I’m too lazy to make the crust. Get bacon, half-and-half, cheese, and eggs from the fridge.”

“Are you serious?” Anna Grace asked. “I was just teasing. Quiche is something that the Belles always serve when they have a brunch meeting, and I love it, but it has to bake, and we need to get to work.”

“We can get ready for work while it cooks and take about half of it with us. Tommy can have the rest when he wakes up,” Cricket said. “Put four pieces of bacon on the bottom of the crust while I beat up the eggs. Then we’ll add the half-and-half, cheese, and other ingredients, and pop it in the oven.”

“Is it really that easy?” Anna Grace asked. “From the way Aunt Sugar talked, I thought it took a long time. The recipe in the book I looked through yesterday looked harder than that.”

“Do you know anything about cheeses?” Cricket asked.

“No, but it said to grate the cheese, and doesn’t that take a long time?” Anna Grace measured the half-and-half for Cricket.

“Not if you buy it already grated,” Cricket answered. “There are some shortcuts. You will have to go shopping with me one evening after work.”

“That would be great,” Anna Grace said, “and now, back to the kissing. How did it make you feel?”

“It was totally different from when any other guy kissed me,” she said.

“That’s the way I felt when Tommy kissed me good night on the second date,” Anna Grace sighed. “It was like two soul mates found each other, and he says the same thing.”

“But what if Bryce doesn’t feel the same?” Cricket asked. “He told me that he was lucky to have found me, but what if that’s not real, and when something better comes along, he breaks my heart? I’ve been hurt bad before, and I don’t want that again.”

Anna Grace put all the ingredients back where they belonged. “Just trust your heart. I did mine, and I’m happy for the first time in forever. And, Cricket, the way Bryce looks at you tells me that he’s not going to break your heart. He really does like you a lot.”

Cricket slid the pie in the oven and started for her bedroom. “Thank you for that. Who would have thought I’d be getting romance advice from you?”

“Who would have thought I’d be sharing a house with you and learning to cook and garden?” Anna Grace stopped her long enough to give her a side hug. “This is a whole new world, and I’m loving it.”

Cricket hugged her back and then stepped away. “I don’t think I’d love your world if our situations were reversed. When Jennie Sue’s parents were killed in that car wreck, Rick and I came to the house with her.”

“I remember that night,” Anna Grace said. “You stayed out by the pool most of the evening.”

“Yep, because I let the whole bunch of you intimidate me,” Cricket admitted. “But that’s in the past, and we’re living in the present.”

“And so, looking forward to the future.” Anna Grace grinned.

* * *



Amos, Lettie, and Nadine were all waiting at the front door when Bryce opened the drugstore that morning. The three ordered coffee and honey buns and sat down at one of the tables together.

“Heard you went fishin’ last night,” Amos said. “Catch anything?”

“Nope,” Bryce said. “They weren’t bitin’.”

“Goin’ back tonight?” he asked.

“No,” Bryce answered. “Tonight, Cricket and I are going to Sweetwater after work for ice cream and a drive through the country.”

“So y’all are dating?” Amos asked.

“I hope so,” Bryce said with a grin.

“We’ve got a whole raft of prescriptions coming in,” Tandy yelled from the back of the store. That started a day busier than any he’d had all week. Bryce could hardly believe it when he looked at the clock, and it was ten minutes until five. Ilene was wiping down all the tables, and Tandy was counting out the bills in the cash register.

At exactly five o’clock, Ilene locked the front doors, Tandy put a bag of cash into the safe and locked it, and Bryce hung up his lab coat. “I can’t tell you two how much I appreciate your efficiency. I’m so glad you stayed on to work for me. This could have been a nightmare if you hadn’t.”

“You ever think maybe we’re putting a little more pep in our step because we don’t want you to be late for your date?” Ilene teased as they all three left by the back door.

“Well, thank you for that, too.”