Page 20 of Saltwater Sweets
“Thank you, dear.” Rose watched as Dex put the salad in one of the cooling trays and then returned to Maddie’s side.
“What did you two bring?” Rose asked them.
“Macaroni salad just like you showed me.” Maddie beamed as she gestured toward a colorful bowl.
Rose had spent the previous afternoon with Maddie, showing her different variations of macaroni salad. You’d think macaroni salad would be simple, but Rose knew a few tricks: different spices to put in the mayonnaise, different additions like hot dogs—which the little kids loved—and tomatoes, which could only be added at the last minute. It had been a joy to spend time alone with Maddie, and Rose could see why Dex was so smitten. Maddie was so smart and picked things up quickly. She was exactly what her grandson needed.
“Are these your pies, Gina?” Pearl turned from the dessert table to look at Gina, her left eyebrow raised.
“Yes. I may have overdone it. I brought six.” Gina shrugged.
Pearl laughed. “People are usually clamoring for more. I bet they won’t last but a few hours.”
Rose saw a look pass between Gina and Pearl as if they had some sort of secret. If they did, Rose had no idea what it was. That was okay. Everyone had secrets, and Rose suspected Gina had more than one.
“I even brought something homemade this time,” Jules piped in.
“You did?” Rose remembered the first town meeting the three cousins had been invited to, when they’d brought some god-awful dipped-fruit dish. Subsequent meetings had shown that their cooking skills had not improved, until now, apparently.
Jules rushed over to the dessert table and picked up a plate piled high with large cookies. “Chocolate chip cookies.”
Nick leaned in toward them. “I actually was the one who baked them.”
“Stop! Don’t give away my secrets!” Jules swatted at him playfully.
“Hey ho!” A vivacious senior citizen with red hair and a flowing hot-pink caftan fluttered up to the table.
Aggie Fletcher was a fun addition to town. Rose, Leena, and Pearl had had coffee with her a few times and even cut her in on one of their bets. She liked the way Aggie had brightened the outlook of their old friend Henry Barlowe, who was hurrying along in her wake.
“I brought pickled cucumbers. It’s my specialty.” Aggie set the dish down, and a round of greetings and hugs ensued.
“Hey, Gramps!” Nick hugged his grandfather. The two were still as close as they had been when he was a little boy.
Rose scanned the crowd as they talked about the various festivities of the day. It was a good turnout, and the mood was festive. Quite a difference from the somber town mood of last summer. Things were really looking up in Shell Cove.
At least, it was looking up for some of them. Rose’s gaze stopped at four people standing over by the bandstand. She dug her elbow into Leena’s side. “Look, there’s Deena, Chuck, and their children. Let’s go over and say hi.”
Leena followed her gaze, her eyes narrowing. “Things look a little awkward. We better get over there.”
They caught Pearl’s attention, said their goodbyes, and hurried over. They had promised Deena and Chuck they would help make a big deal out of how the two were perfect for each other in front of Sam and Cole, and it looked like there was no better time than now to make good on that promise.
* * *
Cole was actually enjoying the small-town vibe of the Shell Cove two-hundred-fifty-year celebration. The guys back at the office would have gotten a kick out of that.
It was hard not to feel upbeat, though, when everyone seemed so happy. And the grassy town common was laid out with balloons and streamers. The various food dishes made it seem more like a gigantic family picnic than an organized town celebration. Kids ran through the crowd giggling, couples strolled hand in hand, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Even Sam seemed to be a bit lighter today. Her shoulders were more relaxed, and her hair drawn up atop her head made her look like she was a teenager. And her crisp daisy-pattern dress was loose and flowy but somehow managed to hug her curves in a way that was innocent and sexy at the same time. She was giving off a total girl-next-door vibe, which Cole found a bit distracting.
Had the girl-next-door thing been done on purpose to try to make him forget any suspicions he had? No one could be that calculating. As Audrey had said, Cole was letting his imagination and his suspicious nature get the best of him.
Today, he was going to put his suspicions on the back burner and enjoy himself. He knew his father had been disappointed to hear his concerns about Deena, and he didn’t want to ruin the day for his dad. What if Audrey was right, and he was making too much out of it? He should back off and let his father make his own decisions.
Plus, it seemed like Deena was really trying. She was being very nice and had even gone out of her way to make his favorite seven-layer dip in addition to all the chocolates.
Cole suspected his father had told her that his mother usually made that dip for him. He could see how eager she was for his approval, so he made a big deal about it, dipping a chip in and gushing about how delicious it was.
Cole had more pressing matters on his mind than his father’s romance, anyway. His attempt at morning meditation had failed, but when he’d taken a walk down the beach, he’d hit pay dirt. A pile of burned driftwood indicated someone had been camping on a remote part of the beach just out of sight of any houses. He also found some tuna cans in the dunes.
