Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack Read Free Book Online

wrong and hypocritical for me to do anything the least bit investigative after I shut Tess’s and Caro’s ideas down.
    At the door, Sadie took a deep breath.
    “Hi,” Sadie announced as she entered the kitchen, a big “no agenda” smile on her face. The woman who had to be Lori Hendricks—there wasn’t anyone else here—looked up from where she was cutting a honeydew melon. Lori was stocky, with dark red hair—dyed at home, Sadie would bet—and a black bandana tied around her forehead biker style. She wore a yellow T-shirt and black athletic shorts and had green flip-flops on her feet—she cast a sharp contrast with Nikki Waters, though they had both been doctors’ wives at one point. “Nikki said you could use an extra set of hands,” Sadie said.
    “Absolutely,” the woman said, smiling back. “There’s a cutting board over there—I’ll grab you a knife. I’m Lori, by the way.”
    “Nice to meet you. I’m Sadie,” Sadie said. A hundred questions began lining up in her brain as she retrieved the cutting board. Since Lori was helping with the luncheon, did that mean she’d had an amicable relationship with her ex-husband? Why did they get a divorce in the first place? How long had it been since they’d split up? Was Dr. Hendricks a good dad? Did Lori have any idea why his car wasn’t where it should have been on the Sunday before it was discovered? Sadie tried like crazy to push the questions away as she washed her hands and dried them with paper towels from the dispenser beside the sink. Don’t give in, she told herself. Be strong.
    “I really appreciate the help,” Lori said when Sadie came back to the counter. There was a big, grey garbage can between them, and Lori handed Sadie a chef’s knife. “I think two great big bowls of the fruit salad would work pretty well—what do you think?” Lori had already filled one large metal bowl a third of the way full.
    “Sounds good to me,” Sadie said, positioning her cutting board so that it wouldn’t slide on the counter. She wished she had an apron, but since Lori wasn’t wearing one she assumed there weren’t any available. She’d just have to be extra careful. “And then we’ll just store it in the fridge overnight?”
    “Yeah. I brought stuff to mix up for a dressing, but I thought we should probably wait until tomorrow to add it, don’t you think?”
    “Makes sense,” Sadie said even though, from her experience, she thought it didn’t really matter. In fact, letting the flavors of the dressing and the fruit blend overnight could be really good. Still, she wasn’t in charge. “What kind of dressing are you making?” Sadie asked.
    “I just put together plain yogurt, some maple syrup, and vanilla—nothing fancy.”
    “Sounds good,” Sadie said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had maple syrup in a fruit salad, but I imagine the natural flavors complement each other.”
    “Exactly,” Lori said. “But I can’t really take credit. Nikki gave me the recipe several years ago—she’s a great cook. I like it ’cause you don’t really have to measure anything—just a little of this and that until you like the level of sweet and vanilla. Then mix it all together—easy breezy.”
    “Simple and delicious are the best kind of recipes,” Sadie said as she picked up one of the four cantaloupes laid out on the counter. There were also five honeydew melons and four big watermelons. She hoped there were strawberries somewhere. And maybe mangos, too—mangos were so good in fruit salad.
    Sadie sliced the cantaloupe in half, scraped the seeds out of the middle with a big spoon, and lay it cut-side down on the cutting board. Using the knife Lori had given her, she cut off the rind, exposing the orange melon below the surface. She sliced, and then diced the melon and then lifted the handfuls of fruit and dumped them in the bowl. Through every motion, she tried to not to think about how to begin a meaningful conversation with this woman.