Dyer Consequences (27 page)

“No tickling, Marty!” Megan cried.

“That wasn’t me, it was Greg.”

“Dude, touch me and you’re a dead man.”

That caused the group hive to shake with laughter, just as Curt and Jayleen charged into the room.

“What in Sam Hill are you folks doing?” Curt cried out. “Kelly, are you in there?”

“I’m here, Curt,” Kelly called when she stopped laughing.

“Lord, girl, you sure gave us a scare,” Jayleen said as she pulled out a chair. “What were you thinkin’ when you drove up to that ranch?”

“She wasn’t,” Lisa declared sternly. “You know Kelly. Act first, think last. I swear to God, you’re going to give us all a heart attack one day.”

“I agree with you, Lisa,” Mimi said. “And I’ve decided to take action.”

“What are you going to do, Mimi, cut off Kelly’s yarn credit?” Greg teased.

“Since we can’t stop Kelly’s sleuthing, I’m taking countermeasures, so I can survive the stress.” Mimi lifted her chin. “I’ve enrolled in a tai chi class. I’m going to learn to relax. Burt’s coming, too. He doesn’t want another heart attack.”

“Oh, wow, now I’m feeling way guilty,” Kelly said, as she clumped to the chair Steve held out for her.

Curt pulled out a chair beside Jayleen and leveled a stern gaze at Kelly. “That may not be a bad thing, Kelly girl. Whatever it takes to change that risky behavior of yours. If a cast on your foot doesn’t slow you down, I don’t know what will.”

“How about house arrest?” Jennifer suggested. “How does that work, Marty?”

Marty, hunched over the pie remains, looked up with a smile. “I’m afraid it doesn’t apply to Kelly. She hasn’t committed a crime.”

“Well, if she gives us all heart attacks, it’s a crime,” Megan said.

Kelly held up her hands, surrendering to the group’s goodwill. She could feel it wrap around her. Warm had never felt so good. “Folks, I promise I will put the sleuthing on hold.”

“Ha!” Lisa scoffed. “That’ll be the day.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“Burt, take away her junior detective license.”

Kelly laughed and kept her hands in the air. “Promise.”

“We’ll hold you to that,” Burt said, nodding.

Jennifer spoke up. “I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you, Kelly. We received another offer on your property. This one’s from an out-of-town buyer. An investor. Unfortunately the offer is pretty low—”

“Sell it.”

Jennifer stared at Kelly. “Kelly, it’s still way below market. Thirty-five thousand below. There’s no need for you to take that kind of loss, we can—”

“We’re taking the offer. I don’t ever want to see that ranch again. Bobby nearly killed me today. There’s no way I could ever live up there, even if I burned down the barn and house myself and let Steve start from scratch. I would never forget. It’s over. Jayleen was right. There’s bad juju hanging over that place.”

“Are you sure, Kelly?” Lisa asked. “You’ll be short on your loan then.”

“That’s okay. Curt will help me find the money, won’t you, Curt?” She smiled over at her silver-haired ranch adviser.

“Sure will, Kelly. Money’s always the easiest thing to find, believe it or not.”

“Okay . . . ,” Jennifer said with a sigh. “If that’s what you want. I’ll bring the papers over tomorrow for you to sign.”

“Thank God you’re gettin’ rid of that place,” Jayleen said. “You want to sell all those alpaca to my friend? I’ll take care of it for you, Kelly.”

“Sell every one except that big smoke gray male. Can’t remember his name. He stood in front of me, like he was protecting me from Bobby.”

“That sounds like Zuni. Yeah, he’s the dominant one, all right.”

“All the time I was trying to get Bobby to talk, I was hiding the phone behind Zuni so Bobby wouldn’t see. If it wasn’t for Zuni, I wouldn’t be here right now. So I want to keep him. I’ll board him with you, Jayleen, if it’s okay.”

“No charge, Kelly,” Jayleen said with a wide smile. “My pleasure, believe me.”

Pete stepped up then and announced, “Listen, if Kelly’s selling the Bad JuJu Ranch, I say it’s time to celebrate. Who’s up for more pie and coffee? There’s pecan and chocolate rum—”

“Stop right there, Pete,” Kelly ordered, pointing straight at the good-natured café owner and friend. “You’re not serving us. You’re one of my good friends, and friends serve each other. So, put your butt in that chair and sit down.”

Pete blinked, then his smile spread. “It’s no problem, Kelly—”

“Butt in chair, now!” she commanded.

“That’s her Alpha Dog voice, so you’d better obey, Pete,” Steve said, laughing. “Otherwise, she’ll come over there and jerk your neck like she does with Carl.”

Everyone broke up laughing at that. Jennifer rose from her chair. “Lisa, Megan, come with me. I know where the goodies are. Marty, grab the coffeepot. We can trust you with that. Greg, grab cream and sugar. Steve, keep Alpha Dog in her chair while we set up.”

Pete started to rise from his chair, so Kelly pointed at him again, dropping her voice into Alpha Dog range.
“Stay!”
she ordered then held up her hand, signaling the command.

Pete obeyed with a good-natured smile, while Kelly’s friends hooted with laughter.

Kelly snuggled closer to Steve on the sofa. Across her living room, a favorite television program was continuing, characters indulging in their own banter.

“I meant what I said, you know,” she said into Steve’s chest, inhaling his warm scent. Sweat, wisp of aftershave, and pecan pie. He smelled good.

“About what?” Steve murmured into her hair, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding Kelly close.

“About the sleuthing. I’m taking a break.”

“Uh-huh.”

“No, really. I can’t keep worrying people. I’ve driven Mimi and Burt into tai chi classes. Next thing I know, Lisa will be scheduling meditation between yarn sessions.”

“Hmmmm. Not a bad idea. You could use a little meditation.”

She gave him a playful squeeze. “What I need is to get out of this cast. It’s starting to itch.”

“Good sign. That means it’s starting to heal.”

“Oh, great. You mean I have to scratch for another two weeks?” She gave a shudder while Steve chuckled.

“You’ll get the cast off right in time for softball season. Last week in March.”

“Hey, you’re right. Fantastic. How long do you think it’ll take to get my foot back to normal? I don’t want to lose my spot at first base.”

Steve ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. “Not long. Why don’t you ask Lisa to start working with you now, so you’ll be ready for rehab when it comes off?”

The image of lovable but bossy Lisa being in charge of rehabilitating her ankle made Kelly groan. “Oh, no. I forgot about rehab. And with Lisa, yet.”

Kelly flinched, while Steve laughed so hard Carl woke up.

Collapsible Cloche

This delightful hat is stylish, easy to make, and the perfect "roll-up.” The brim rolls to create a versatile edge to be worn with a big roll or smaller roll on a cold day when it needs to be pulled down to cover the ears. It rolls up in a purse or suitcase and comes back to shape, making it a great travel companion. Embellishments such as twisted ropes or braids can be added to make this a very personal cloche.

Approximately 110 yards of bulky yarn or any combination of yarns to obtain gauge.

US Size 11—16- or 20-inch circular needle (or size necessary to obtain gauge)

US Size 11—double-pointed needles (for crown shaping)

Tapestry needle

Stitch markers

3 sts = 1"

Using the circular needle, CO 60 (63, 66) sts (or a multiple of 3 that produces the right size for you). Join in a circle, being careful not to twist sts. Mark the beginning of the round, and work in st st until the hat measures 9‘ or desired length from the beginning, depending how big you want your roll to be.

Change to double-pointed needles and work decreases as follows:

Rnd 1:
*K1, k2tog*. Repeat from * to * to the end of the round.

Rnds 2-4:
Knit

Rnd 5:
*K2tog*. Repeat from * to * to the end of the round.

Rnd 6:
Knit

Rnd 7->:
*K2tog*. Repeat from * to * until 6 sts remain.

With a tapestry needle, weave the 6 sts together and pass the yarn to the inside of the hat. Pull tight and weave in the end. Weave in the ends from the very beginning inside the roll.

Pete’s Pecan Pie

This recipe for pecan pie is one of my family favorites. I’ve made it for family occasions for years—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and whenever we wanted a superrich, delicious dessert. Our family has always been big on pies. I developed this particular version by tinkering with several different recipes until I got the flavor I liked. You can make it with or without the addition of bourbon or rum. No matter which way you choose, it’s yummy. Enjoy!

1½ level cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons salt, as desired
1 stick regular butter, cold
4-5 tablespoons cold water

Measure flour into a mixing bowl and stir in salt. Mix well. Cut in cold butter with pastry blender or two knives. Mixture should be coarse and crumbly. Sprinkle in tablespoons of cold water gradually, mixing well with fork until all dry ingredients are moistened. Form pastry into a large ball. Lightly flour rolling surface (pastry cloth, wax paper, or other) and rolling pin. Roll ball into a circle wider than glass pie plate, so there is at least a 1-2 inch overhang. Fit crust into pie plate, trim overhang, and flute edge of crust as desired.

This recipe allows for an ample amount of pastry. Do not be concerned if pastry tears when trying to remove from rolling surface. Butter crust is light and delicate and tears easily, but is also easily repaired. Fit crust into pie plate and “seam” together the torn edges by dipping a finger into cold water and lightly brushing across the edges. Edges disappear when baked, and the fragile quality of the pastry when handling is responsible for the melt-in-your-mouth flakiness of the butter crust.

3 large eggs
⅔ cup dark brown sugar, packed
dash of salt
1 cup dark corn syrup
⅓ cup butter, melted (not margarine)
1-2 tablespoons bourbon or rum, if desired
1½ cups pecan halves

Beat eggs thoroughly with brown sugar and salt. Add corn syrup and butter. Beat until well mixed then add bourbon. Add pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell.

Bake in a moderate (350 degree) oven for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.