Skipping ahead a bit in Hedge House. It’s the next day and Jacob has decided that Cara needs to get out for a bit. He speaks first.

“Why don’t we get out for a bit after lunch? I’ll take you to the shop and introduce you to Tamira. I know she’d like to meet you.”

Cara winced. “I’m so sorry. I should have gone before now…”

Jacob shook his head. “You’re only one person, Cara. You haven’t learned how to be in two places at once yet.”

After lunch she climbed into the passenger seat of Jacob’s old battered blue Dodge pickup. It smelled like earth and engine grease with a trace of manure, and she smiled as she buckled her seatbelt.

“What’s so funny?” he asked as the engine growled to life.

She shook her head. “I remember riding in a truck with you and my father to go get ice cream. I think it was red, but it smelled just like this one.”

Jacob smiled. “They say that the sense of smell the most primitive and is tied directly into the memory section of the brain.” 

“True.”

“And when we’re done at the shop we’ll go get ice cream.”

She laughed and leaned back into the seat as he pulled out onto the road, feeling oddly content and comforted.

Tentative Blurb:

When Cara Hawthorne returns to the childhood home she had been torn away from twenty years earlier, she thinks it will be to do nothing more than settle her grandmother’s estate and return to her job as a junior lawyer at a prestigious law firm in Tulsa.

But every nook and cranny of the house and gardens unearths long-buried memories, and when the town’s mayor sets his sights on her and the property she finds herself caught up in a centuries old battle with powers she has only barely begun to understand

Find more great reading
at the Sunday Snippet group.

Picking up from last week’s snippet of Hedge House.

The afternoon passed in a blur of names and faces that Cara was certain she would never remember, and by the time it was time for supper the kitchen counters were laden with containers of cookies and cakes and the refrigerator was stuffed full of casseroles.

“That should be the last of ‘em,” Jacob said as yet another person that Cara wouldn’t remember drove away. “The only one missing is Betty Thompson and she’s in California visiting her grand kids.”

Car’s gaze traveled over the counters. “I don’t think there’s room for anything else anyhow.” She looked at Jacob. “Do they really think I’m going to eat all this? Or should I save it for a wake? What is the tradition here?”

“You’re expected to tell them how wonderful it was next time you see them, and thank them again… profusely. You get bonus points for asking for the recipe.”

“I’m never even going to remember who was who, let alone what they brought.”

Jacob chuckled. “You’ll meet them all again at the viewing.” He studied her for a moment. “So, what do you think of your new friends?”

“I felt like I was on display. Like…” She paused, searching for the right words. “Like they weren’t here because they cared about her, but because they wanted to see what sort of person her granddaughter was. I have the feeling they’ve all gotten together for coffee somewhere and are discussing everything from my makeup to my shoes and analyzing every word I said and every movement and expression I made.”

“You’re probably not far off. But it’s more likely that there are several small groups of them and what is said in one will get repeated to members of the others.”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure if I’m amused or offended.”

“Go with amused. You’ll have a happier life.”

She smiled. “You are helping eat this,” she informed him.

“You don’t have to eat it all at once. Some of it can be frozen. Just be sure to take a bite or two first so you can rave about it.”

“You’re still helping me eat it.”

He laughed and took a thumbprint cookie from a plate. “There. I’m helping.”

Tentative Blurb:

When Cara Hawthorne returns to the childhood home she had been torn away from twenty years earlier, she thinks it will be to do nothing more than settle her grandmother’s estate and return to her job as a junior lawyer at a prestigious law firm in Tulsa.

But every nook and cranny of the house and gardens unearths long-buried memories, and when the town’s mayor sets his sights on her and the property she finds herself caught up in a centuries old battle with powers she has only barely begun to understand

Find more great reading
at the Sunday Snippet group.

Picking up from last week’s snippet of Hedge House. Cara is about to meet the first of the “Casserole Brigade.”

“Cara, I’d like to introduce you to Amy Potts. Her husband owns the hardware store here in town but their son runs it now.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Potts,” Cara said, extending her hand.

“Oh, honey, there’s no need to be so formal. Your grandmother and I were old friends. We went to school together.”

“It must be hard to lose someone you’ve known for so long.”

“Yes. Losing her is leaving quite a hole in this town. I know you’re going to be busy and overwhelmed, so I brought you a pan of lasagna. Mr. Wylde has put it in the refrigerator for you.”

“Thank you so much. That will be very much appreciated. Would you care for some coffee?”

“I would, dear, but perhaps another time. My grandson is in the car waiting for me. I don’t drive and he took the time to bring me here. You should meet him sometime, he’s about your age and such a fine young man.”

“Did she just try to play matchmaker?” Cara asked when the door had closed behind Mrs. Potts.

Jacob laughed. “She’s been trying to get that grandson of hers married off since he turned eighteen.” He sobered. “Be careful of her, Cara. She’s a busybody and if the truth isn’t interesting enough she makes sure to embellish it until it is.”

“I take it that the ‘hole’ my grandmother left was in her gossip base?”

“Very perceptive. Yes, your grandmother was the talk of the town in more ways than one.”

Before Cara could ask for clarification the doorbell rang, announcing another covered dish. 

Tentative Blurb:

When Cara Hawthorne returns to the childhood home she had been torn away from twenty years earlier, she thinks it will be to do nothing more than settle her grandmother’s estate and return to her job as a junior lawyer at a prestigious law firm in Tulsa.

But every nook and cranny of the house and gardens unearths long-buried memories, and when the town’s mayor sets his sights on her and the property she finds herself caught up in a centuries old battle with powers she has only barely begun to understand

Find more great reading
at the Sunday Snippet group.