they wanted to sell magazines. They made her feel as if she were part of the town and they wanted to get to know the real her.
There were so many introductions she knew she’d never remember everyone’s names. Next to her, Karri was similarly becoming part of the town, and on Skye’s other side, Trent stood quietly or chatted with his own friends while still holding on to her hand.
“Here you go, hon,” Mary Jane said, handing her a plate of fried chicken on top of waffles and smothered in syrup.
“Thank you.” Skye smelled the food and her mouth watered.
“You know that is not a Lenny- or Jim-approved meal,” Karri said as she winked at Skye and pinched off a piece of the waffle.
“I won’t tell if you don’t,” Skye said to her best friend who was moaning with pleasure after sampling the fried chicken.
“Deal,” Karri said, turning to Mary Jane. “How did you get it fried like this?”
“Don’t you know how to fry chicken?” Mary Jane asked as if she’d never heard such a thing.
“Well, I’ve had to limit my cooking to low-calorie, low-carb, dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free foods for Skye’s Hollywood diet,” Karri told her.
Suddenly all eyes were on her and there were several audible gasps. Someone started crying.
“Bless your heart,” Miss Ruby said with a pitying look.
“You poor child,” Miss Winnie said as she dug around in her purse and pulled out a slice of apple pie in a plastic container. “You better eat this. Then you’ll feel better. A good slice of apple pie fixes everything.”
Skye was forced to drop Trent’s hand as the apple pie was shoved at her. She really shouldn’t . . . but then Trent pinched off a piece and held it up to her lips. She opened her mouth and his fingers caressed her lip as he placed the morsel of pie in her mouth. “Oh my God,” Skye groaned in a very sinful way. Trent’s eyes darkened in passion and it was then she realized she sounded as if she had climaxed, which she might have since that was the first bite of real sugar she’d had in years.
“I told you my apple pie could make you see God,” Miss Winnie said saucily to Miss Ruby.
“We’ll just see about that,” Miss Ruby harrumphed. “It’s a bake-off and Miss Skye will judge it.”
Skye looked over to Trent as the place emptied so fast she was left alone holding the piece of pie and the chicken and waffles. “What just happened?”
Karri looked around the now empty diner and shrugged.
“It’s a bake-off. Everyone is running home to make their best baked goods. These will be secret family recipes going back generations. This is great. I’ve never gotten to be the recipient of a bake-off. We’re going to have so much food at our house,” Trent chortled as he rubbed his hands together with glee.
Our house. That had to mean he was open to giving them a chance, it just had to.
An hour later Karri was unpacking at Tinsley’s house and Skye found herself looking up at a two-story house with a large verandah. The flowers lining the verandah surprised her. She didn’t know why, but when she thought of Trent she thought of him chopping down trees, not planting flowers.
Large old trees lined the property and kept the hot sun from the yard. A barn sat to the right of the house with a style of windows she’d never seen on a barn before.
“That’s my workshop,” he told her when he saw her looking at the barn.
“Can I see it?”
“Sure, but it’s not very interesting.” He set her bags down and dug a set of keys from his pocket as they walked over the paved driveway toward the locked barn doors. “I like these doors because I can open them up wide if I need more natural light or if I want fresh air. Fall is the perfect time to work with them wide open.”
Skye noticed that he was nervous as he unlocked the door. She wondered how many people got to see his workshop. She knew Karri hadn’t gotten to see it when she came.
Trent pushed open the door as Skye looked about in wonder. A massive metal industrial fan hung from the top of the barn. Exposed ductwork led out of the back of the building. The inside walls were painted white. The floor was beige epoxy with little fleck of color. And while it was clearly a workspace, it was