Page 19 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

“Better not. I’m making tuna casserole and sweet corn.”

“Oof.” he grunted, thumping his fist against his heart. “Incredible.”

She laughed and left his office with a wave. “I’ll see you later.”

Dean watched her go, feeling a glow of contentment in his heart. Once she’d gone, he glanced back out into the garage andsmiled. Noelle’s love and care had led him to Jeff, and that more than anything made him believe that everything was going to work out great with his new employee.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Vivian sat down on the couch at her daughter Hazel’s house, feeling full and comfortable. Hazel had prepared a chicken pot pie for dinner, and it had been one of the best meals Vivian had eaten in a long time.

“I love cooking,” Vivian said with a chuckle, “but I think food always tastes better if you didn’t have to prepare it yourself. You really did an excellent job with that pie, honey.”

“Aww, thanks, Mom.” Hazel sat down next to her mother and kissed her cheek. “Samantha made the pie crust. She loves doing it and it’s such a big help to me.”

“You did?” Vivian turned to her granddaughter in surprise. “That was an excellent crust, Sam.”

Samantha, who was in the middle of doing some kind of dance in the middle of the living room, smiled and shrugged. “I like doing it. It’s easy.”

Vivian laughed. “Making a good pie crust is definitely not easy. Your mom did a great job of teaching you.”

“Well, I had a great teacher myself.” Hazel winked. “And Samantha started helping me bake when she was like, three, so she’s got years of experience.”

All three of them chuckled, even Samantha, and then a timer went off in the kitchen.

“Speaking of baking, I’d better go check on those cookies,” Hazel said, standing up and hurrying back into the kitchen.

Vivian smiled at her as she went. Hazel was wearing a soft pink blouse and beautiful gold earrings. Just before starting to date Jacob, Hazel had spent a lot of time investing in herself and learning to love and care for herself better. Dressing up a little bit more had been a result of that, and Vivian knew that Hazel’s outward appearance showed how much more she valued herself.

“Are you excited about school starting again?” Vivian asked Samantha as her granddaughter flopped down onto the couch beside her.

“Yes.” Samantha brightened. “My friends and I always eat lunch together and I heard that the teacher I’m going to have is really nice and does fun field trips. And!” She gasped and turned to her grandmother eagerly. “I have to show you my cheers! I’m trying out for cheerleading squad soon.”

“Cheerleading squad?” Vivian echoed supportively. “That sounds like a lot of fun.”

Samantha hopped up off the couch, and Vivian soon realized that the “dancing” that Samantha had been doing a few moments ago was actually choreography for the cheers she was practicing.

Vivian grinned delightedly as Samantha called out cheers for her school, posing confidently throughout her exuberant choreography. Once Samantha was done, Vivian applauded enthusiastically.

“Just amazing,” she said warmly as Samantha dove back onto the couch, grinning and panting.

“That’s what we have to do for the tryouts,” Samantha said. “We got a video that we had to watch to learn it. I had the wholething memorized in a couple of hours.” She looked proud of herself, and Vivian felt proud of her as well.

“Amazing, Sam.” She kissed her granddaughter on the head. “I know you’re going to knock these tryouts out of the park.”

“I hope so.” Samantha’s enthusiasm faded a little bit and she frowned slightly. “Most of the girls on the team have been cheering for a couple of years already, and I’m worried that I’m a little late to the game, you know? Like what if they don’t pick me because there are already too many girls who really know what they’re doing?”

Vivian shook her head. “Don’t you worry about that. There must be room on the team for more people, otherwise why would they have tryouts?”

“Mm, that’s a good point.” Samantha brightened.

“Besides, it’s never too late when it comes to chasing after something you’ve always dreamed of doing.” She hugged her granddaughter tightly. “I’m proud of you for doing this, and I bet it’s all going to work out beautifully. You did those cheers very well.”

“Thanks, Grandma! I’m really excited about—” Samantha stopped talking as the phone began to ring. “Oh, let me get that. I think it’s Willow calling me about the tryouts.”

Samantha scampered over to the phone, and when she said, “Hi, Willow!” eagerly, Vivian knew that her granddaughter’s guess had been correct. Vivian settled back against the couch cushions comfortably while Samantha scampered out of the room, chatting with Willow about what she was going to wear to the cheerleading tryouts.

“The cookies are ready!” Hazel sang out, waltzing into the room holding a steaming tray of tea and cinnamon chip cookies. “Oh, and my daughter is missing. That’s okay. That’ll give us a moment to chat more easily.”

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