Page 34 of Frosted and Sliced

“I knew I would,” Burke said and opened the door to the car for her.

CHAPTER 15

The Pelletier maple farm sat on the far reaches of the county. Though Jenna was now an Archer, she and her husband both worked the farm. Jenna dwelled inside doing office work and dealing with customers and shipping while her husband oversaw much of the manual labor her father was too old for. Georgette had no idea what that was, but she was interested to find out. All she knew about maple syrup was that it came from trees and needed to be boiled. What did they do now, in the off season?

A lot, as it turned out.

No other customers were at the farm when Burke and Georgette pulled up. The storefront was small, since most of their maple went toward commercial production for big stores and national markets. But they maintained a small storefront that sold their line of maple products, as well as fresh eggs and some local goatmilk soaps and beeswax candles. Basically everything anyone who kept livestock tended to have on hand to sell. Georgie was interested in all of it, but Burke was a man on a mission. Jenna, apparently alerted by the crunch of their tires on the long gravel lane, stood and exited the office, her smileof welcome turning apprehensive when she saw Georgette and Burke exit his car.

“Oh, it’s you,” she greeted them.

Georgette had no idea how to reply to that, so she let Burke take the lead, trying not to hide behind him as they made the short walk to the building.

“Georgie told me this is the place to go for maple syrup,” he said. If Jenna noted the odd intensity and harsh scrutiny, she didn’t let it show. Instead her face once again resumed a professional smile as she eased aside, welcoming them toward the building.

“We have a lot of products. Please come in. Are you looking for anything in particular?” The question was directed toward Burke. His eyebrows scrunched together.

“It’s not for me. It’s for Georgie. You know she’s a chef, right?”

Jenna waved her hand like a gaggle of gnats circled her face. “Right, she cooks breakfast for people. I know.”

He tipped his head. “She’s a classically trained pastry chef, specializing in French pastry, and could literally work for the finest restaurants in the entire world. She has incredible connections. I’m surprised you didn’t know that. It would seem like you two have a lot in common; one of you makes a food item and one of you knows what to do with it.”

“Oh, I guess I didn’t realize…” Jenna trailed off, her hand going to her flawless hair, giving it a nervous pat. She cleared her throat. “Of course, that’s great, Georgie. How can I help you?” She said the last five words the way people sometimes do, loudly and with so much enunciation that Georgie almost couldn’t understand them.

“I’m still trying to decide what I need,” Georgette said. She wanted to buy things, eggs, syrup and honey especially, but there was some little part of her that didn’t want to supportJenna, who had done so little to support her over the years. She supposed that was petty. On the other hand, she didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard to gain Jenna’s support and get on her good side. Jenna had an entire posse of friends ready and willing to do her bidding. She had always been that type, a queen bee. While Georgie had remained mostly ignored, Elyse had far too often been in Jenna’s crosshairs. It was hard not to remember that now, hard to be the bigger person. But Georgie had always considered herself kind, mostly because she knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of so much unkindness. For that reason she made herself pick up a carton of eggs, a large jar of honey, and a half gallon of maple syrup. The syrup and honey were expensive and would strain her budget, but she also immediately thought of a half dozen recipes that would make good use of them.

“It’s quiet out here,” Burke noted, while Georgie strolled the shop and inspected things.

“It’s the off season,” Jenna said.

“What happens then? You’ll have to forgive me, I’ve never seen maple production in person. I’m kind of an idiot when it comes to this stuff.” He aimed for self-deprecating, but it was hard to view him as an idiot in any setting. Burke was one of those people who radiated control, and maybe that was what Georgie found so comforting about him.

“I’d love a tour, if that’s possible,” Georgie echoed, coming up beside Burke to offer support. He rested his arm on her shoulders, as if they were a couple on a date. Jenna’s sharp, assessing gaze bounced between them. It was clear she wanted them gone, but she picked up her walkie talkie and pressed the button.

“Mitchell, I’ve got some customers who’d like a short tour, if you’re available.”

Mitchell, Georgie knew, was her husband.

The walkie crackled and then Mitchell’s voice said, “Sure. Send ‘em out.”

He sounds much more cheerful than his wife,Georgie thought. Jenna, with a sour look that was close to a sneer without being a sneer, motioned them toward the door. “Head toward the barn, he’ll meet you.”

“Thanks,” Georgie said.

Jenna gave her a tight smile that looked fake, but that was nothing new.

Georgie took a step away but then remembered her purchases. “Oh, wait, I need to pay for these.”

“I’ve got it,” Burke said, handing Jenna the correct amount of cash from his wallet.

“No, you don’t have to,” Georgie said, feeling bad. He was currently out of work and also renovating her attic. There was no way she wanted him to pay for her expensive ingredients.

Burke made no reply, beyond gathering Georgie’s items and holding them bundled in his arms like a baby. She would have beleaguered the point, but he strode toward the door. Georgie trotted dutifully behind him, tossing one last glance at Jenna. Jenna, meanwhile, stared at Burke’s departing back with a frown. She caught Georgie watching her and pasted on her fake, tight smile, adding a little wave that seemed more like a brushoff, but maybe Georgie was being overly sensitive. She hadn’t said anything mean or negative, and that was something.

Burke deposited Georgie’s food in the car.

“You don’t have to pay for my things, honestly. I have money,” Georgie said, fishing for her wallet in the crossbody purse slung over her side.

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