Fresh Tracks by Georgia Beers Read Free Book Online

nearly
    enough time with Amy, especially over the past year, and she was starting to feel guilty
    about it.
    "I think so. She started as a chef for me about three years ago. We hit it off right away and were immediate friends. However, it soon became obvious that our styles of running
    the kitchen were very, very different. And you know me..." Amy let the sentence dangle,
    looking chagrined.
    "You couldn't let her run things her way," Molly supplied with a knowing smirk.
    "Exactly." Amy shook her head at her age-old inability to understand her own reactions to certain situations. "So, we had to
    decide which was more important, Laura running my kitchen or us being friends. As luck
    would have it, Shadow Oaks had a scout looking for a kitchen manager-slash-head chef.
    Laura jumped at it."
    "Smart girl," Sophie commented, stretching out in the leather club chair, her socked feet crossed at the ankle on the matching ottoman. "That place is the retirement community of some of the richest people in western New York. Tons of money there."
    "They love her. It was a great move for her. And she and I are still very good friends,"
    Amy said.
    "Everything happens for a reason," Molly said. "Or so I've been told."
    "Okay," Darby piped in. "If that's true, then give me a reason for this: why is there no Christmas tree in this joint?" Darby looked around, her blue eyes scanning the downstairs just to be sure she hadn't missed one someplace. "Are you slipping, Aunt Ame?"
    Molly smiled. "You know, I almost asked the same question."
    "Me, too," Sophie said. "You're the queen of interior decor, it's only two days after Christmas, and you're having a party. Where the hell's the free?" The good-natured tone
    of her voice took any sting out of her words, letting Amy know she was razzing her.
    Jo tugged at a lock of Amy's hair. "Told you."
    Amy held up her hands in surrender. "I didn't get to it. We had such a ridiculously chaotic holiday, we only just got here Sunday night, and I completely forgot."
    "Then I say we get to it now." Darby- stood up, tugging her low-rise jeans a bit higher on her hips. "There are seventy-five acres out there and I know my Aunt Jo has a saw. Let's go find a little tree." She glanced expectantly around the room for support from the
    others.
    Amy seemed a little panicked. "I don't have any decorations for it here."
    "I saw popcorn in the cupboard," Molly offered. "We could string some of that. Some pinecones would work, too. Cranberries?"
    Amy looked uncertain, no doubt seeing her neat and organized living room in unplanned-for
    disarray.
    "We'll figure it out, baby," Jo reassured her often anal-retentive wife. "The fresh air will do us all good. Let's show off our land. Wanna?"
    The sky was once again a crystal blue, the sun shining so brightly some of the women had to
    shield their eyes and scramble to their cars for their sunglasses. Jo and Amy led the way
    along a path that wound through the woods which Jo had worked on for almost two years.
    Sophie jogged up beside them, leaving Molly and Darby to follow.
    "I really despise winter," Molly said as Darby fell into step beside her, "but I have to admit there are times when the snow is just gorgeous. I'm almost hesitant to say that if I lived
    in a warmer climate, I think I'd miss it just the teeniest bit."
    "I'm right there with you," Darby agreed as her old, beat-up boots crunched through the whiteness. "I hate being cold, but this..." She made a large sweep of her arm to encompass their surroundings, being sure to include Molly. "This is breathtaking."
    Molly smiled and looked off into the woods, pushing her sunglasses up onto her head as the
    trees filtered out the sun. "So. Darby. What do you do? You've graduated, I take it.
    Weren't you majoring in computer science or something brainy like that?"
    "Yep." Darby nodded, inordinately pleased that Molly remembered her course of study and trying hard not to stare at her. The white down ski jacket looked adorable on