Farewell to Cedar Key by Terri Dulong Read Free Book Online Page B

posters, and a small bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers.
    Extending her hand, she said, “For you,” and placed a kiss on my cheek.
    She had been doing random kindnesses like this as long as I could remember. I knew all children were special, but I always thought my daughter was one in a million.
    â€œThank you so much.” I placed a kiss on her cheek before reaching into the cabinet for a vase. “Very pretty,” I said as I began arranging the various blossoms of purple, blue, and yellow.
    â€œNana and Grandpa’s for dinner at six, right?”
    Oh, geez. I had completely forgotten and had planned to whip up Orli’s favorite—baked macaroni and cheese.
    â€œRight,” I said. “Oh, hey, I think I have some good news.”
    â€œGreat. Are we going to Dad’s for Christmas?” she asked while removing the pitcher of lemonade from the fridge.
    â€œAh, that’s not my good news, but . . . we might be one step closer to figuring out whether I can go.”
    I joined her on a stool at the counter while she munched on a freshly baked oatmeal cookie, courtesy of my mother, and told her about my job interview.
    â€œThat is great news. I’m happy for you, Mom. Really. I just hope if he offers you the job, you’ll be able to get away so we can go to Boston.”
    That was my wish, too, although it seemed pretty doubtful that as a new employee it would be possible, but I planned to stay positive.
    â€œWell, we’ll know more on Friday. Going to get your homework done before we leave for Nana’s?”
    â€œYup,” she said, grabbing another cookie and heading to her bedroom.
    I was putting the kettle on to make a cup of herbal tea when the phone rang. It was Mallory.
    â€œHolding out news from your best friend, huh?” she said.
    â€œI only found Ben’s message on the recorder when I got home,” I told her.
    â€œBen’s message? I’m talking about your job interview on Friday. Actually, your lunch with the new doc in town.”
    I heard the humor in her tone. “Oh, right. I was going to call you about that, and then I got busy at work and only came in a little while ago. But yeah, I do have an interview . How’d you find out so fast?”
    â€œI bumped into Chloe at the chocolate shop. You don’t sound very excited about it. What’s wrong?”
    â€œNo, I am excited. But it’s not definite that he’ll hire me, so I don’t want to get my hopes too high. And if I do get hired, it’ll most likely interfere with the trip to Boston that Orli has her heart set on.”
    â€œHmm, I see what you’re saying. Well, my fingers are crossed that it’ll all work out perfectly for you. Are you busy this evening?”
    I let out a groan. “Dinner at my mom’s. Why?”
    â€œOh, okay. I had a question about that new sock pattern I’m working on. Not a big deal. I’ll be at the knitting group tomorrow evening and you can help me then. It’s not as if I don’t have another dozen or so projects in the works that I can do this evening.”
    I let out a chuckle. She was right. Was there any serious knitter who didn’t have way more than one project going at the same time?
    â€œOkay,” I said. “If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you at the shop tomorrow evening.”

7
    â€œT hat was delicious, Mom,” I said as I helped her to clear the table. Although Delilah did cook most of the meals for my parents, on her evenings off my mother proved herself to be a very adequate cook.
    â€œOh, thank you. I was lying down for most of the afternoon, so I wanted something that would be easy to put together. The chicken dish was a recipe from an old Good Housekeeping magazine. I’m glad you liked it. I can copy the recipe for you.”
    â€œGreat,” I said, knowing I’d probably never use it. While I wasn’t a bad cook, I tended to