Page 34 of Moonshine and Magnolias (Just Add Peaches #1)

Between serving the meal and keeping things running in the kitchen, dinner had been a welcome distraction for Wendy.

The compliments about the pork roast with grilled peaches were enough to guarantee Anthon had the job for the wedding and any other upcoming events, which eased one burden from her mind.

The sexy historic burden still awaited her. She had searched for glimpses of Rob all afternoon while readying the Hall for Mrs. Lurz’s retirement party, but didn’t see him hanging around. He also hadn’t shown up for dinner. It crossed her mind that he was avoiding her. She didn’t blame him.

The cousin burden had returned with its usual selfishness.

Brandi had disappeared in the middle of the dinner shift.

She had been setting up flatware when dinner guests arrived, but when Wendy went to pull her into the kitchen, she was gone.

Two hours later and she still hadn’t come back.

Even knowing what Wendy had going on tonight, her cousin thought only of herself.

So much for her pledge to be all in at the Hall.

“I’ll help you clean.” Jordan stacked some plates and napkins onto a tray, her long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and her thick glasses slipping down her nose.

Even in the navy Fountenoy Hall polo shirt, she still managed to look sleek.

“ You can tell me all about what you plan to do with Rob.”

“Really not the time right now,” Wendy muttered.

“And you shouldn’t be doing Brandi’s work.

” Thinking about Rob made her stomach swirl and her face heat up, but she had also caught herself grinning and letting her imagination play out their talk.

It was as if she was living two distinctly different lives.

One where she convinced herself to take a chance and let herself feel.

The other where she needed to be in charge and keep to a schedule with her emotions safely hidden.

Life number two was exhausting.

She cleared another setting and followed Jordan into the kitchen where the lingering aroma of roasted meat was soured by the smell of bleach from the sanitation sink.

Anthon stood at the island, putting the last of the leftover food into the refrigerator.

He looked up when Wendy entered. “I’m about finished here. ”

“You did great, Anthon,” Wendy said.

He nodded, more like he knew how well he did than in any appreciation. “I look forward to working with you again.”

“Thanks so much,” Wendy said as he headed out the door.

Brandi’s desertion made itself even more evident by the stack of dirty pots and pans waiting for attention by the three-compartment sink.

Classic rock played quietly on the radio, emphasizing the emptiness of the kitchen.

Wendy opened the massive dishwasher to load the plates and utensils.

Or to slam them into an open space. Where the hell was her cousin?

“Hey, whoa.” Jordan put a hand on Wendy’s arm. “You don’t want to have to clean up broken ceramics, do you?”

“You know what?” Wendy took another dish off the tray. “I don’t really care.” She shoved that one in the dishwasher as well.

“Those poor plates did nothing to you!” Jordan said.

They existed. Right now, that was enough.

She managed to rein in her annoyance and grumble at the dishes instead of beating them into submission.

“I’m just really frustrated. Eulalee was exhausted after cooking, even with Anthon’s help.

Thank goodness there was enough wine and whiskey so no one seemed to notice the slow service.

” How did her cousin blow off her responsibilities without a trace of guilt? It would be a secret worth selling.

“It was a lovely evening, Wendy.” Jordan’s voice was calm. “The party will be even lovelier.”

“Don’t try to placate me. Mrs. Lurz has been the librarian for over fifty years, and this place is going to be overflowing tomorrow. Brandi needs to learn she just can’t leave on a whim.”

“Are you sure her absence is the only thing bothering you?”

Jordan didn’t need to know part of her anger at Brandi was a screen for hiding her anticipation about talking to Rob. She looked at the plate in her hands and shoved it at Jordan. “Here.”

She left her friend loading the dishwasher and went back into the solitude of the dining room. Rob’s quiet strength was a beacon for her, if she could let herself be part of it. Where she could just be Wendy, and not the fixer or organizer or the voice of reason.

Rob’s heat and hunger had called to the woman inside her, and she’d let herself go with the overwhelming feeling until she crashed. Now the four walls boxed her in while extra energy burned her inside. She needed to get out, to move. No dish or cousin would be safe in her presence until then.

“Screw that.” She straightened her skirt and marched out of the dining room, away from the pictures of her ancestors, ignoring the flutter that told her she was being irresponsible.

Her schedule could wait. Or someone else could take care of them for a change.

She grabbed her bat from the office and high-tailed it to the orchard.

The sun had fallen behind the great hills when Wendy made it to the rows of trees, casting the sky in ribbons of bright orange and pink and blue. The familiar, welcoming scent of peaches greeted her. As did the familiar thwack of a bat.

Brandi stood with her back toward the house and tossed a peach in the air. With precision timing, she sent the fruit straight into a tree .

Annoyance churned in Wendy’s gut. Based on the mound of peaches at the base of the tree, her cousin had been out here for a while. Instead of where she belonged, helping with the guests and food and table service.

The insanity would be to call Brandi out.

It hadn’t worked the previous twenty million times, so instead, Wendy took a deep breath and sat on the lawn next to the bench, watching her cousin toss the fruit in the air and smack it with her bat.

Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail and her gray shirt had splatters on it.

Sitting had the unexpected benefit of calming her down. The grass tickled her hands and the sweet scent of early summer helped her relax.

After a few moments, Brandi lowered her bat and turned around. “What.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were looking at me.”

“Your swing isn’t as fast as it used to be.”

Brandi waited, as if expecting her to say more. “That’s it?”

Wendy shrugged, still basking in the peaceful evening. “I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know yourself.”

Brandi tapped the bat against her toes and studied Wendy as if she was trying to tell what Wendy was thinking. Finally she tossed her bat to the side and picked up a piece of fruit. “Well, let’s see what you’ve got, hot shot.”

Wendy positioned herself with her bat raised and knees bent, though her skirt kept them confined.

This was a good approach. No arguing. No demands or excuses or frayed tempers.

They were alike in as many ways as they were different.

There had to be common ground for them. Peachball practice was a start.

Brandi pushed her three-quarter sleeves above her elbows, then picked up the fruit and tossed it up a few times, a frown on her lovely face. Finally, she drew her arm back and pitched. The peach sailed by Wendy faster than she expected.

No matter. She repositioned herself, and the next time, she tapped the edge of the fruit. They both watched as it careened into the hill.

They repeated the process a few times with no words spoken between them.

Playing was easier than talking, and the silent companionship gave Wendy time to analyze.

To assess. To keep her knee-jerk reactions out of the equation that was her cousin.

Brandi wasn’t missing her scheduled shifts to piss her off, but there had to be a reason.

Maybe it wasn’t something Wendy agreed with, but she should wait to hear it instead of being blindly judgmental.

Appearances were only the surface of things.

She of all people knew that one too well.

The next two pitches buzzed by her knuckles. “You’ve been practicing.”

“Maybe you’re just rusty.” Brandi grinned at her, then threw a fastpeach.

Wendy’s favorite. She swung and lobbed that sucker well over Brandi’s head and into the orchard. “And the crowd goes wild!”

Brandi threw her arms in the air and did a passable imitation of a cheering crowd. Just like they were back playing on their high school team.

Except it wasn’t high school anymore. Wendy met her cousin at the makeshift mound.

“How do you do it?” Brandi asked, leaning against the tree.

Wendy furrowed her brow. “You’ve been playing just as long as I have.”

“No, I mean.” Brandi waved her arms to encompass the Hall, the orchard. “This. It’s so effortless for you. You always know everything and you’re so put together. People respect you. I have nothing to show in my life that I didn’t have given to me.”

That’s what happened when going out with guys became more important that studying, when moving in with someone and letting him take care of her held more appeal than learning to take care of herself.

Their senior year, Brandi had barely maintained the grade point average needed to stay on the team.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you I abandoned Jordan in the messy kitchen to take a quick break?”

“You? Left incomplete work?” She shrugged, but a smile tugged at her lips. “A little.”

“I’ll have to go back soon to make sure she didn’t run away screaming.”

“Jordan can handle it. She’s like you. I don’t know how either of you puts up with me.

” Brandi kicked the pile of peaches that lay at her feet and they scattered around her.

“Thank you for not telling me I told you so or that it was all my fault. I know it was. I’m hoping my work here will change that. Even though I earned it only by birth.”