“What’s your secret on those chicken-fried steaks?” Jancy asked as she joined Nettie in the kitchen.
“Double breading. Dip them in the milk mixture, then in flour, then repeat the process. And get the grease very hot. Overcooking toughens the meat, and grease that’s not hot enough makes for soggy bread on the outside. Plus, I put two tablespoons of cornmeal in the flour,” Nettie told her. “Watch me do these two. You can do the next couple, and I’ll watch to make sure you do it right. Like good bread making, it’s technique as much as recipe. What’s goin’ on up front that you are back here?”
Jancy did not take her eyes off the process, and when it was her turn, she did it exactly like Nettie did. “I volunteered. Seemed like Vicky and Emily needed some more time together.”
“You are a quick study, and I mean in more than just cookin’, girl. You can do the rest,” Nettie said. “And tomorrow morning you’re doin’ the hot rolls. I’m thinkin’ that maybe when the baby is born I’ll trade a few days a week in the diner for rockin’ the little one up at the house, but keep that under your hat. I’m not ready to announce it just yet.”
“You got it.” Jancy smiled.
That evening when they closed up the diner and headed to the house, there was not a single tart left on the cake stands. Nettie had made crusts and had them ready to go for the next day. Cream cheese was set out to soften to speed up the filling process, and the strawberries’ glaze had been made.
“How long has it been since someone hid an engagement ring in a tart at the diner?” Emily asked as they walked four abreast on the path from the diner to the house.
“Must have been last Valentine’s Day,” Nettie answered. “Eddie Don Anderson proposed to Melanie Drumright that day. He put her ring right in the top. It was so pretty that I took a picture of it.”
“We should have taken a picture every time and kept a scrapbook,” Emily said. “So Jancy, you want Shane to propose that way?”
“Hey!” Jancy threw up both palms. “I’m not rushing into anything. If the past has taught me anything at all, it’s to slow down and think about things.”
Nettie crossed the porch and sat down in the swing. “One of you young’uns bring out some good cold lemonade. That breeze feels like it’s comin’ from a bake oven.”
“I’ll do it.” Jancy disappeared into the house.
Vicky sat down on the top porch step, and Emily joined Nettie in the swing.
“I love this time of evening when we can get some fresh air.” Nettie sighed.
“Something that don’t smell like grease or strawberries?” Vicky asked.
“Never thought I’d hear either of you say something like that.” Emily kicked off her shoes and rolled up the legs of her jeans.
“Never thought I’d say it,” Vicky said. “What time is Ryder picking you up this evening?”
“In half an hour. I’ve got time to grab a quick shower and get dressed,” she answered. “All four of us are going up to the lake for a swim.”
“Not a very exciting date,” Vicky said.
“The excitement isn’t where you go, Mama. It’s who you go with. And you should encourage Andy a little. He gets stars in his eyes when he looks at you.”
“Listen to her,” Nettie said. “She’s a smart kid.”
“Amen.” Vicky’s head bobbed up and down several times. “She really is smart, but I’ve got too much on my plate for romance. Besides, those stars in your eyes are because you are so in love right now.”
“What’s this ‘right now’ business? I’m going to be in love with Ryder until we die at the same minute, and then we’ll hold hands and go to heaven together.”
Vicky shuddered. “Don’t talk like that.”
Emily hugged her tightly. “It won’t happen until we’re married eighty years. We have it all planned.”
Nettie shook a finger at Emily. “Don’t make plans like that, or God will get out the monkey wrench.”
“He already did. The birth control pills failed and I had to deal with Nicole—lordy, but I hate that name. In both instances it didn’t pull us apart but made us closer,” Emily said.
Nettie kicked off her shoes. “Like I said before, we got a smart kid.”
The sun was setting behind the trees on the far side of the lake that evening when they arrived. Shane had a quilt draped over his arm as they made their way from Ryder’s truck to the shoreline. He flipped it out under the drooping branches of a weeping willow tree. Emily and Ryder went on down the banks of the lake toward a swimming hole they’d all used since they were in high school.