“It’s almost time.” Erin drew in a ragged breath, her chest as tight as the knot in her apron. “Is everyone here?”
Kylie nodded. “I think so. Lucas just drove up.”
The knot tightened.
Erin hadn’t spoken to him since Max was released from the hospital the day before, but she hadn’t stopped praying that Lucas had reached a turning point in his relationship with God. And his family.
She could tell he’d been touched by the fact that no one had budged from the waiting room until Max was released from the hospital later in the afternoon.
Oddly enough, Erin was the one who’d felt out of place. No one questioned her right to be at the hospital, but the curious glances cast her way let Erin know that everyone was wondering what—if anything—was going on between her and Lucas.
They weren’t the only ones.
“Sorry I’m late.” Lucas shucked off his coat as he walked through the door. “I had to play a quick game of Candy Land with Max and my mom before I left.”
“Quick?” Arabella laughed. “That game can last all day.”
“I should have remembered that before I agreed” came the wry response. “Erin and I played two games with him the other night. I’ve performed surgeries that didn’t take as long.”
Once again, Erin felt the weight of those curious eyes upon her.
Zach came to her rescue.
“Arabella is going to give each of us a job,” he said. “We have two hours until we meet up with Reverend West for Christmas caroling.”
Each of them had a job to do—and a part to play—in their plan to catch a criminal.
Kylie had taken advantage of her six-hour shift to tell anyone who would listen how excited she was that all the Claytons were going to meet at the Cowboy Café that evening to prepare the food for Jasmine and Cade’s reception dinner. Zach was confident the local grapevine would take it from there.
After Erin closed up for the day, Arabella and Vivienne had hauled in their state-of-the-art baking supplies and cookware to boost Jerome and Gerald’s meager supply.
“Everyone smile for the camera,” Jack said.
Erin appreciated the man’s attempt to lighten the moment but the reminder that they’d met for more than a social get-together weighed heavy on everyone’s mind. Zach had hidden two video recorders inside the café. One in the kitchen and one in the dining room.
Everyone had been willing to put their own schedules on hold for the moment. If Zach’s plan didn’t work, then another case of food poisoning would be attributed to the café and more attempts would be made to “persuade” the Claytons to leave town.
Arabella stepped forward. “I think we should start with prayer.”
As if by silent agreement, everyone gathered in a circle.
One by one, everyone spoke a few simple words, straight from the heart.
There was a moment of silence after Erin finished praying. And then it was Lucas’s turn. For a second, she thought he would pass. Even though she’d sensed that he was on speaking terms with the Lord again, it was another thing to speak to Him out loud, with his family listening.
“Lord.” Lucas’s husky voice seemed to catch on the word. “Thank You for bringing us together tonight. Thank You for…family. But most of all, thank You for loving us no matter what. Amen.”
A familiar, tinkling laugh followed Lucas’s quiet benediction.
“Well, look at this! For a second, I thought I accidentally walked into church instead of the Cowboy Café.”
“Mom.” Arabella twisted her hands together as Kat sauntered in. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I suppose that’s because no one remembered to invite me.” Kat shed a red leather coat a shade lighter than her hair and tossed it over the back of a chair, a good indication that she intended to stay.
“Jasmine said that she and Cade were babysitting my granddaughters tonight because all the Claytons were meeting at the café to make food for the reception. And since I’m a Clayton…” Her green-eyed gaze swept the faces of the people gathered in the kitchen, almost as if she were waiting for someone to challenge the statement.
“That’s great,” Vivienne said with forced cheerfulness. “We need all the help we can get.”
Kat patted her niece’s cheek. “Of course you do, dear. Now, what can I do?”
“There’s a box of petit fours on the table.” Arabella stepped in and pointed to one of the tables. “You can attach a frosting rose to the top of each one.”
Erin hid a smile. Arabella had put her own mother in the corner to keep her out of trouble.
Brooke, Mei and Kylie sat together, putting together sprays of colorful silk flowers and greenery to form centerpieces for the reception tables.
Under the supervision of Arabella, Vivienne and Erin, the men filed into the kitchen to help with food preparation.
“Jasmine and Cade wanted a fun reception with a Western theme, so we’re going with chicken and ribs and all the fixings,” Erin said.
“And the best part is, we get to sample as we go,” Cody said with a grin.
The men pitched in like troupers, their banter dispelling the tension that continued to mount as the evening wore on.
“This is going to work,” she heard Zach tell Lucas at one point. “We’ll find out who’s been causing all this trouble and then all you have to do is finish out the year.”
Erin left the kitchen, afraid to hear Lucas’s response.
Erin was avoiding him.
Lucas tried to catch her eye several times over the course of the evening but she flitted from person to person like a butterfly, never staying in one place for more than a few minutes.
Smiling at everyone but him.
Lucas wasn’t sure what had caused the change in Erin, but he knew they needed some time to sort things out. Alone.
“Erin? I think Lucas needs a lesson in making gravy,” Kylie sang out.
Lucas pretended to be offended. “What’s wrong with adding some texture?”
Erin left her station to examine the contents bubbling in the pot. “See this wire whisk? It’s your new best friend.”
She would have moved on, but Lucas caught her arm. “Max wants to see you.”
That earned a smile. “How is he doing?”
“Feeling well enough to beg for a candy cane off Mom’s tree,” Lucas told her.
A faint smile touched Erin’s lips. “I’m glad he’s feeling better.”
Lucas was aware of the looks and smiles being exchanged between the kitchen crew.
Was I thanking You yesterday for my family, God? Because right now I could use a few minutes alone with Erin…
A tap on the window drew everyone’s attention.
“That’s our cue,” Vivienne said.
Lucas saw Reverend West, his wife, Laura, and several members of the congregation waiting for them on the sidewalk.
“And just in time.” Cody sighed. “Those little frosting roses were staining my fingers pink. A guy has a reputation to uphold, you know.”
Vivienne batted her eyelashes. “Don’t worry, honey. With that five o’clock shadow, you still look like a tough cattle wrestler.”
“Wrangler.” Cody heaved a sigh. “The word is wrangler. What did New York City do to you, sweetheart?”
“It made me appreciate Clayton, Colorado, even more.” She gave him a radiant smile.
“I can’t remember the last time I did this,” Lucas muttered as he shrugged his coat on.
“I do,” Mei said. “But you weren’t singing with the carolers. If I remember correctly, you were caught pelting them with snowballs.”
She was right.
“I didn’t stay away long enough,” Lucas complained. “You still remember all of my stupid mistakes.”
“Not all of them.” Vivienne sashayed past, knotting a colorful scarf around her neck.
“She’s right.” Zach thumped him on the back. “There’s waaay too many.”
“But the past is in the past. And we love you.” Mei linked her arm through his.
Lucas felt his throat tighten.
Maybe his family was willing to forgive him, but he had a lot to make up for.
Starting with the slender redhead who had managed to slip out the door when he wasn’t looking.
A half a block from the café, Erin realized she’d left her mittens in her office.
“I’ll be right back,” she whispered to Kylie as the carolers crossed the street.
“Hold on.” Someone snagged her arm. “If I can’t sneak away, neither can you.”
Erin felt Lucas’s touch all the way to her toes. “I forgot my mittens,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No.” Yes. “I’ll catch up in five minutes.” Erin didn’t give Lucas a chance to argue. With a quick smile, she broke free and jogged down the sidewalk toward the diner.
She skirted around the back of the building and unlocked the door. All the lights were off, but the mouth-watering scent of BBQ lingered in the air.
Erin was about to enter her office when she heard a noise. Her heart jumped into her throat.
As far as she knew, everyone in their group was still caroling with Reverend West.
She took a few careful steps toward the kitchen, listening intently even as she scolded herself for having an overactive imagination. There was no way Samuel or one of his cohorts would choose to break into the café now. Not with the other side of the Clayton family gathered a block away, singing around the Christmas tree in the town green.
It’s an old, creaky building, Erin told herself.
The confrontation with Vincent and Maurice had her spooked, that was all. But it still didn’t prevent a cold shiver from racing down Erin’s spine as she heard the noise again.
She peeked around the doorway and her knees went weak with relief.
Kat Clayton stood in front of the row of pies, still warm from the ovens. Erin wasn’t that surprised to see her, given the fact the woman had turned up her nose at the idea of caroling. Kat had started out with the group and must have doubled back at some point to take shelter from the cold.
But Erin couldn’t let the woman’s presence mess up the trap that Lucas’s family had gone to such lengths to set, either.
“Kat?”
Kat jumped a foot in the air and dropped whatever she was holding onto the floor. It spun out of her hand and stopped at Erin’s feet.
“What are you doing here?” Kat squawked.
“I forgot something.” Erin automatically bent down to retrieve the object Lucas’s aunt had dropped.
“Leave that alone.” Kat charged toward her, her face twisting with something akin to panic.
“What…” Erin’s mouth dried up as she stared at the tiny glass medicine dropper in her palm. “What is this?”
Kat’s nostrils flared. “It’s mine, if you must know. My medicine.”
Erin looked at the clear liquid in the dropper. And then at the food they’d spent the last few hours preparing. “You put something in the food.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Kat drew herself up and glared at Erin. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you don’t want Jasmine and Cade to get married.” It was beginning to make sense. Jasmine’s wedding dress. Everyone had assumed one of Samuel’s relatives was responsible, but to cause trouble in Lucas’s family, who better than a member of that family?
“You are so naive.” Kat’s shrill cackle echoed through the empty diner. “I don’t care about the wedding. Although, I could buy them a nice gift with the money I earned. Especially now that we don’t have to split it with Vincent.”
The money she’d earned?
Erin took a step back and slipped the dropper in her pocket, unnerved by the almost gleeful expression on the woman’s face. “You were helping Vincent.”
“Helping him?” Kat snorted. “Vincent is all muscle and no brains. He was helping me.”
“But…you’re Arabella’s mother.”
“Thank you for the reminder” came the cutting response. “But I don’t owe my darling daughter a thing. Arabella made her choice to stay in Clayton. Just like you did.” She shrugged. “A woman has to do what a woman has to do.”
And this woman had definitely come unhinged.
“You put poison in people’s food!” Erin remembered Max lying in the hospital bed, so small and fragile, and felt physically ill. “You’re crazy.”
“Like a fox.” Kat winked at her as the front door opened and a familiar voice called her name.
Lucas.
Thank You, God.
Before she could open her mouth, Kat beat her to it.
“We’re in the kitchen, Lucas,” she wailed. “Please, hurry!”
Lucas rounded the corner at a run, his gaze sweeping over the room and settling on Erin.
Kat latched on to his arm. “I came back to get my purse and caught Erin putting something in the food.”