Page 39 of Cupcake of the Month
“So, what, are they trying to wear you down so you’ll pay them to stop?” Wendy asked.
Jordan shrugged. She couldn’t do that, even if she wanted to, not with her professional reputation at stake. “Maybe that’s it. It’s not a secret in West Hartford that my parents and brothers have a ton of money. But I’m not going to let them win. My life’s on the line, here.”
“That seems completely unfair.” Brandi hit a ball high over Wendy’s head. “Not that I’m complaining you had to spend time with us.”
“You’re not telling us everything.” Wendy tossed a ball up and caught it in her glove.
Count on Wendy to pick up on the unspoken. “Oh, there’s so much more. We’re in it for the long haul tonight,” Jordan said.
“In that case, it’s time to switch positions.” Brandi handed Jordan the bat, then took her mitt and replaced Wendy at pitcher. “Speak.”
“I got a job offer.”
“Didn’t you just say you weren’t taking on new clients?” Wendy asked.
Jordan brought up the bat and went on her second narrative of the night, explaining how she met Congresswoman McGraw and the conversation that lead to this new position.
“Isn’t this communication with her constituents something she can do with direct mail?” Wendy asked.
“Let me ask – what do you do with the unsolicited mail in your mailbox?” Jordan said.
“Toss it.” The cousins spoke at the same time.
“Exactly. Not only that, but this is more personable and approachable. People might be intimidated talking to a congresswoman, but not to their friendly neighborhood person in a grocery store.” She swung at Brandi’s pitch and tipped the ball. “There will be a party in a couple of weeks to introduce me to the masses. I don’t see the point since she knows I’m not staying in Georgia, but she’s the boss. You both better be there.”
“Luke McGraw’s her son, right?” Brandi fluffed her hair. “I dated him.”
“Gives a new meaning to hitting a home run,” her cousin teased. She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “Or maybe not.”
“Batter up!” Jordan chimed in.
The women dissolved into giggles. Wendy used to disapprove of the way Brandi had lived, and Brandi had spent more time finding her worth in men than finding it in herself. The cousins finally had a good balance going on at the Inn.
Wendy caught the next pitch and tossed it back to her cousin. “So what are you going to do when the case against you is laughed out of court?”
If only it were that simple. “Then I give Mrs. McGraw my research and head back to Connecticut.”
Jordan struck the ball with the force of her failures. It sailed high over Brandi’s head and got lost in the orchard. Jordan handed Wendy the bat and took up the pitcher’s position.
“What else?” Wendy tapped her shoes with the bat. It didn’t matter that this was a friendly practice. She had her rituals.
So much for keeping discreet thoughts about Josh. “Theremight be one more thing.”
“Really?” Brandi tossed the ball from one hand to the other. “Might be?”
“You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to,” Wendy said, shooting a glare at her cousin.
“You guys seem to already know something,” Jordan said.
“I might have seen your hasty exit to the vendor area at Plates of Macon with a certain tall, dark, and blue-eyed chef,” Brandi said.
“I see.”
“And we’ve observed...” Wendy pursed her lips in thought. “Moments in the kitchen over the past couple of days.”
“Anything else?” Jordan palmed the ball, ready to pitch.
Wendy got into a batting stance. “We didn’t mention anything because we figured you’d bring it up when you were ready to talk about it.”
