never knew where.” He snapped his fingers. “I wonder if she’s originally from Round Top.”
“I don’t know.” Darlene filled up a glass of tea for Layla. “But that explains a lot.” She grinned as she shook her head, thinking of the snake encounter. She walked to the den.
“Here you go.” She handed Layla the glass, and now she definitely recognized her from her movies. Unbelievable.
Layla took the tea, then stood up when Grace and Skylar came downstairs. At the same time, Chad and Cindy walked in. After introductions were made, they all moved into the dining room. Brad offered the prayer, but Darlene caught him with one eye open, looking at Layla. She shook her head. At least everyone else was too young to know who Layla was.
“Amen.”
Brad was practically swooning. Darlene kicked him under the table.
“Ow.”
“You pick lasagna every year,” Ansley said to Grace as the lasagna was passed to her. She scooped out a small portion as she frowned. “Does this have eggs in it?”
“Are you allergic to eggs?” Cindy asked.
Chad grunted. “No. She’s not allergic. She’s collecting them.”
Darlene cut her eyes at Chad. He just shrugged, shoveling a generous amount of lasagna onto his plate.
After everyone had served themselves, the room went quiet. Darlene glanced around the table, trying to keep her eyes from straying toward Layla, especially since Brad couldn’t seem to get his eyes off her. The guests were all eating, except maybe Skylar, who was dissecting her lasagna, peeling the noodles away from the meat and stacking them to the side of the meat sauce and cheese. Darlene kept watching as Skylar forked out mushrooms and other vegetables, also pushing them to the side. When she was done, she had three piles, and Darlene wondered which one she would eat.
“What are you doing?” Chad asked Skylar, smirking.
Skylar shrugged, her cheeks blushing. “I—I just like to eat it this way.”
Chad elbowed Cindy, and both of them grinned. Darlene wished Chad was sitting beside her so she could kick him under the table too.
Layla cleared her throat. “I hear it’s healthier to eat your food that way.” She smiled at Skylar, then began to pick her own lasagna apart.
Darlene had never heard of such a thing. But it was a kind gesture, and Skylar seemed to relax.
From there, the conversation drifted to a girl at school who was pregnant, the math teacher who was having an affair with the PE teacher, and then lastly, Ansley’s English teacher who picked her nose all the time. Darlene didn’t think she’d ever heard a worse display of improper talk at the table. Layla probably thought they were all a bunch of bumpkins. And Brad was laughing.
“I’m pretty sure this is not how I raised my children to talk at the dinner table.” Darlene glanced around. “Don’t you have something else to talk about?” The kids paused momentarily, then just kept on talking. She glanced at Layla, who locked eyes with her and grinned. Darlene just shook her head and smiled.
At the end of the meal, Brad spoke up. “If everyone’s through eating, maybe it’s time for Grace to open her presents.” He leaned back in his chair. “I think there might be something out behind the barn . . .”
Grace jumped from her chair and ran toward the door . . . followed by Ansley, Chad, Cindy, and Skylar.
“I’m guessing a car?” Layla helped herself to another piece of garlic bread as the door slammed behind all the teenagers.
“Not a new car. It’s a Ford Explorer. Big enough to be safe, sporty enough not to be embarrassed in, and old enough that we could afford it.” Darlene waited until Layla finished her bread and laid her napkin across her plate. “Let’s go see if she likes it.”
Darlene, Brad, and Layla went outside. She could hear the chatter coming from the other side of the barn. A few moments later, Grace emerged and ran toward them.
“Thank you, Mom! Thank you, Dad!” She threw her arms around them both, and Darlene kissed her on the forehead.
“You’re welcome, my sweet girl.”
An hour later, Grace thanked Layla for the card and check, and she opened the rest of her presents. Chad and Cindy gave her a gift card for Royer’s Restaurant in town. Ansley gave her a pink blouse she’d been eyeing at Bealls in La Grange. Her favorite gift—besides the car, of course—was a silver ring that Skylar gave her. There was a beautiful angel on it, tiny and delicate. Even though