Page 22 of It's a Wonderful Knife

“We should meet for drinks sometime when we’re back in LA. I can always use a doctor as a friend.”

Looking a bit flustered, he said, “I don’t live there anymore.”

“Don’t you ever visit?” Gianna asked.

Max wrinkled his brow. “I will eventually, I’m sure.”

“Call me when you do,” she said. “I’ll give you my number later.”

“Is this your first time to the farm?” I interjected, hoping to distract her from gazing at Max like he was a pork chop.

“It is.” She sighed. “I just broke up with my boyfriend. I thought it might be nice to get away from it all.” Her gaze slid ever so subtly toward Santiago. “I hoped I might find some distractions while here.”

Joey asked suddenly, “Does the staff eat with us?”

I frowned. “Not usually. Why?”

He shrugged. “No reason.”

I noticed his eyes following Chloe as she moved around the table helping to serve the guests. Chloe was a pretty girl with dark hair and eyes like her mother. I suspected she was a bit old for Joey, but judging by the spark in his eyes, he liked her.

A platter of fried chicken arrived at our spot, and Joe balanced it carefully. “Take some chicken, Joey.”

“Okay.” The boy grabbed two legs and surprisingly also grabbed some for his grandfather without being asked to do so. That made me think Joey was fonder of his grandfather than he let on. After losing his parents, odds were he was just going through a rough patch and lashing out. Joe seemed like a patient man. If he just hung in there, I suspected they’d be all right by this time next year.

I took three pieces of the crunchy chicken, and Max took one wing. I frowned at him, and he shrugged. He wasn’t a huge meat eater, although he did eat meat. Maybe it was the fried part he wasn’t thrilled about. He took a generous helping of the salad and a moderate amount of mashed potatoes, no gravy.

“Here,” I said, putting a biscuit on Max’s plate. “You have to try one of Elle’s biscuits. They’re perfect. Golden on the outside and fluffy on the inside.”

“Perhaps you should start a fan club for Elle.” He smirked. “Or maybe for the biscuits.”

“Maybe I will.” I grinned. “Trust me, you’ll join the club after you eat that biscuit.”

Ezra was at one end of the long table, and Mona at the other. Once everyone had food on their plates, Mona stood and dinged her knife against her water glass.

“Hello again, everyone. I’m so happy you’re here with us this year. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Your repeat business is the reason we stay in business.” She smiled at us. “Now for the bad news.” She laughed. “In a minute, Chloe is going to come around with a red basket. I’d like you to put your cell phones in that basket, please.”

We all groaned, even though we’d known this was coming.

Mona laughed. “I know, but you’ll be glad in the long run. Did anyone bring a laptop or an iPad?”

No one raised their hand or spoke up.

“Okay, then. Just drop the phones in the basket, and we’ll move along. We just want everyone to relax and settle in. I’m sure you can survive a week without Twitter and Instagram. We have lots of fun activities planned for you folks, so you won’t be bored.”

“Anything planned for tonight?” Santiago asked.

Mona shook her head. “No. Once dinner is over tonight, we’ll let you all go back to your cabins. I’m sure most of you are tired from the trip.”

“An early night sounds good to me,” Penelope said.

Mona smiled. “I figured. Just enjoy the meal. Elle has truly outdone herself tonight with this feast. I even heard a rumor that there might be pecan pie after.”

I perked up, and Max laughed beside me. When I glanced over, he was shaking his head and watching me. “I’ve literally never seen a man so in love with pie.”

My face warmed, but I smiled. “Not all pie, just Elle’s.”

“I may have to watch out for this Elle person. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”