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“Last I saw, your family was pretty much huddled around them,” Beth Ann added, slowly backing out of the kitchen as Katherine noticed a hint of cheerful satisfaction in her voice.“You know, I should get back out there and make sure the twins aren’t telepathically summoning the leader of their planet. Are you coming?”

Katherine nodded as Beth Ann disappeared through the swinging double doors. When she looked at Zach, his attention quickly shifted to the oil in his pan, pretending that he’d been waiting for just the right temperature to fry the eggs to lacey perfection. But they both knew he wasn’t fooling anyone.

Sometimes, Katherine felt sorry for Zach when he got that particular look on his face. It wasn’t exactly a deer-in-headlights sort of look, but it was the same overwhelmed expression she’d seen countless times on her dad’s face. The look of a nice guy being outnumbered by females.

“Try to finish Frank’s order as soon as you can. Maybe we can get them out the door before Bella tells thereplacementpart of her story.”

“You got it!” Zach called out, but Katherine hadn’t stuck around for his response. She was already on her way to the dining area to search for her mother and sisters, determined to intervene the inevitable.

“Sorry about the wait. It’s been a hectic morning,” she explained after doing a quick scan of the diner. Fortunately, Bella was nowhere to be found. She did, however, spot Beth Ann standing by the bathrooms, pointing, not so discreetly, to the door of the ladies’ room, mouthing the wordsin here.

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Katherine slid into the big corner booth next to her sister, Andie. A conversation between her mother and sisters Ellie, Andie, and Georgie about kids getting chickenpox started, leaving her and Maddie with nothing to say on the subject.

“You know, you should really go by Ava’s Salon,” Maddie suggested, reaching across the table and grabbing Katherine’s hands to inspect her cuticles.

Katherine loved her sister Madeline, but they had very different ideas about what was important. While Maddie was never one to leave a moment to silence when she could talk about fashion, beauty treatments, or spending money, Katherine didn’t care about anything that didn’t relate to family or food.

“I hook those girls up with so much business. I’m sure Ava and I can work out a deal to get your nails done for free.”

“I know.” Katherine tried to smile. “You’ve told me that before.”

“If you think about it, it’s like me giving you a gift.”

“That’s okay, Mads. It’d be a waste anyway. Between cooking and gardening, they’d just look like this again.”

“So go back for regular visits,” Maddie insisted before Katherine could find the words to turn her down again. “You know, men really like women with pretty hands. One might even put a ring on it.”

At that uncomfortable bombshell, the chickenpox conversation abruptly ended, and everyone turned to look at Katherine.

“O-kay…” She blushed, yanking her hand free from Maddie’s and reaching for a menu. “Anybody hungry?” As Katherine studied the menu like she’d never seen it before, she could feel everyone staring at her. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Zach and I concocted a new special. Is anybody up for giving it a try? It’s a good one.”

In silence, they continued to stare as she babbled.

“Mom? What about you? Don’t you want to know what it is?”

“Darling, are you alright?” her mother finally asked, a concerned look on her face. “What’s all the rush about?”

“I’m not in a rush. I’m just hungry.” Katherine’s eyes darted back and forth at the faces surrounding her. “Besides, if lunch is anything like breakfast, I’ll have to get back to the kitchen sooner rather than later. Zach can only handle so much on his own.”

Seemingly satisfied with her reasoning, everyone picked up their menus as Katherine breathed a sigh of relief.

“When are you planning on making Nan’s homemade chicken and noodles again?” Ellie asked after several moments of silence. “Can’t you just make it a regular item?”

“No.” Andie reached across the booth and whacked Ellie with her menu. “Nan’s noodles are special. They’re comfort food and better in the fall when the weather turns or the winter when there’s snow on the ground. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Wow, Ells, major food fail. Has that dusty old library got your brain cramped again?” Georgie smirked, taking her turn at giving Ellie a whack with her menu.

“Cut it out!” Ellie scowled at Georgie.

“See what you started!” she snapped at Andie.

“Girls…” their mother softly reprimanded from the other side of her menu. “We’re in public. Please try to behave yourselves.”

“For your information,” Ellie began, her voice soft and sweet again, “that dusty old library, as you call it, is up for the Best Small Library in America award.”

As the table exploded with excitement, Katherine forgot her worries.

“That’s amazing!” Georgie said with uncharacteristic enthusiasm.