Read Buzzkill (Pecan Bayou Series) Online
Authors: Teresa Trent
Buzzkill (Pecan Bayou Series) (21 page)
“Good morning,
Happy Hinter,” Leo said, planting a kiss on the back of my neck.
“Good morning,
weather guy.” I turned around to face him.
“Are you ready
for your wedding present?” he said, continuing to kiss me.
“Oh yes,” I
answered.
Leo’s kisses
stopped. “Do you hear something?”
I sighed, “No,”
and pulled him back toward me. He wasn’t getting away that easily.
He started to
kiss me again, and then stopped. “I definitely hear something.”
“Ugh,” I
groaned. I heard it now, too. I got out of bed and pulled my cell phone out
from under the heap of a wedding dress we had torn off together the night
before.
“The Eyes of
Texas are Upon You” came jingling out from under the covers. “Can you believe
it?” I said. “It’s my dad.”
“Maybe there’s
trouble with the boys,” Leo said as he grabbed a pair of shorts.
I opened the
phone. “Dad? You do know I’m on my honeymoon, right?”
Dad chuckled on
the other end. “Yes, I’d heard that.”
“What’s going
on?” Leo whispered way too loudly from across the room. I shrugged my
shoulders.
“What’s up,
Dad?”
“Just tell Leo
we’re ready when he is.”
“Huh?”
“Just tell him,
darlin’,” said my dad.
After a lively
breakfast of sausages and eggs delivered by a smiling Frau Josephine, Leo drove
us out onto the muddy roads.
The town was
decorated in hearts and flowers, with a string of hearts hung over Main Street.
We passed Ruby Green’s shop, which seemed to have exploded in pink, and
Bernard’s photography storefront had an advertisement for Spring Little League
pictures. Benny’s Barbecue had spelled out “Best Wishes Betsy and Leo!” on
their metallic sign. Luckily Leo seemed to speed up past the hardware store, so
my faith in his gift-giving ability was reassured. Nothing like a new saw to
say “I love you.”
Leo guided the
car down a street that led into one of the older neighborhoods.
“Okay, you got
me. What is my wedding present?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” He
patted my knee. Now I was getting nervous. We were driving toward a street that
held Pecan Bayou’s most historic houses. Some of the homes had been built as
early as the 1860s and had withstood hurricane after hurricane. The two-story
Victorian homes stood tall in the February light. Leo finally slowed the car in
front of the old Morrison house. It was a rambling red brick home with a
wrap-around front porch that held rockers, a porch swing and a big red heart on
the front door. I remembered going inside a couple of times with Aunt Maggie
when I was a child. Mrs. Morrison, the remaining family member who lived in the
house, had died about a year ago.
“Why are we
here?” I asked.
“Look again,”
Leo said.
The lights in
the house were on, which meant somebody was home. I looked at the front door
again and suddenly noticed it wasn’t a big heart on the door. It was a big red
bow.
“Leo? Why is
there a bow on the door?”
“Because I believe
that no matter how big the present, it should have a bow on it,” he said.
My brow furrowed
as I looked back at the house. Wasn’t there a “For Sale” sign on that house
last week?
Leo was now
smiling so widely I could see every tooth in his mouth.
“Do you like
it?”
“Like … the
house? You bought the house?” I was really confused now.
“Well, I sort of
bought the house. It was a wedding gift.” He answered my question slowly and
clearly.
“A wedding gift?
This is your wedding gift?”
“This is a gift
to the two of us, and this card is for you.” Leo handed me an envelope with a
woman’s handwriting on it.
I gulped as
thoughts rushed through my head. “If we’re going to be living in Dallas, why
would we need a house here?” I said.
“Because we’re
not going to be living in Dallas.”
This was getting
stranger and stranger. I put my hand to my forehead as confusion spread from
temple to temple.
“We’re not
living in Dallas? We’re staying here?” I knew I sounded like a four-year-old,
but it was all too much to fathom.
“Let’s get out,”
Leo said, opening his door. He came around to my side to help me out of the
SUV, but I was already out the door by the time he got there.
“On the first
day of our lives together, I have to make a confession to you,” he said. I
looked up at him as we walked down the sidewalk. Is this where he tells me he
really has another wife or maybe a penchant for pork rinds?
“I quit my job.”
Here we go.
“Because I got a
new job.”
My heart was
trying its best to release itself from the confines of my ribcage.
He continued.
“Remember when Mark was going to Houston to interview for a job? What we didn’t
tell you was he wasn’t the only one who interviewed. Your new husband is now a
meteorologist for Pecan Bayou and the three surrounding counties. I will be
forecasting for the airport, the county and the hurricane bureau. I’ll also be
the on-air guy for the regional news.”
We mounted the
steps of the grand old house. Leo pulled a key out of his pocket and dangled it
in front of my nose. He put the key in the lock and opened the door. “Welcome
home, Mrs. Fitzpatrick.”
“What about the
boys? I mean, they’re all set to start school Monday in Dallas.”
He shook his
head. “Don’t worry, we’ll register both boys here.”
I opened the
door and started to step inside. Leo pulled me back and then lifted me in his
arms. Depositing me on the other side of the doorway, he said, “What do you
think? Enough room for all of us?”
I glanced around
the empty rooms. In the corner of the living room was a large bouquet of red
roses with glistening Valentine’s hearts.
“Martha Stokes
made these especially for me. I’m afraid I had to let her in on the surprise.
She said to tell you something about making every day a good one?”
“This house? For
us?” I couldn’t stand it any longer. I ran and jumped into Leo’s arms, knocking
him to the ground.
“I guess that
means you like it,” he said as I plastered him with kisses.
“I love it! I
love it! I love you! I love you!” He returned my kisses and then pulled me up
off the floor.
“Do you want to
see the rest of it?” he said, gesturing grandly.
“Yes! But wait,
who else knows?”
“Well, read the
card.” I had almost forgotten the card I still clutched in my hand. I ripped
open the back of the envelope. Inside was a short message.
Dear
Betsy,
When
I returned to Pecan Bayou there were many surprises. Some good, some bad. You
were not the same little girl I left, but a wonderful young mother and an
incredible woman. In our short time together, I recognized that I had missed
out on so much and that my leaving robbed both of us. For that I am truly
sorry. I can never get back those years in the past, but I would like to try to
make some new memories in the years to come.
The
house you are standing in was willed to me by my Aunt Lavinia Morrison. I was
trying to sell it and hated to see it go out of the family. This is my wedding
present to you and Leo. May you have many years of love and happiness.
Your
Mother,
Charlotte
I held the
letter close. What an incredible gift! Not only had she given us this beautiful
house, but she found a way to give me the thing I truly wanted. I could stay in
Pecan Bayou with all of the people I loved.
“Is this what
all the secretiveness has been about?” I said.
“This and my new
job.”
“I can’t believe
she did this,” I said, looking at the written message on the card.
“She told me she
wanted to do it,” Leo said. “She had to do it to finally start being the mother
she should have been all along. Are you okay with living here now that you know
it’s a gift from Charlotte?”
I looked around
at the ten-foot ceilings, and my eyes caught on the ornate fireplace with the
intricately carved mantel. It was amazing.
“Yes, I think
our family will be very happy here.”
Sirens started
wailing out in front of the house, jolting us both. We went back out on the front
porch to see everyone we loved gathered outside. Our friends and family were
jumping up and down by my dad’s cruiser. Zach and Tyler came running up the
stairs, almost tackling us with their exuberance.
“Welcome home,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick!”
I put my arms around
and Leo and felt that here, deep in the heart of Texas, I was home.
Homemade Calamine Lotion
1/4 cup zinc oxide
4 teaspoons pink kaolin clay
4 teaspoons baking soda -or- 2 teaspoons calcium hydroxide
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon glycerin (optional)
3-4 drops lavender, peppermint, camphor, tea tree or other
antibacterial/antipuretic essential oil (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a small
bowl and whisk until smooth. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Used with permission from
Nourishing Joy
www.nourishingjoy.com/homemade-calamine-lotion
******
Tea Tree Dandruff Shampoo
Add 1 drop of tea tree oil per 1
ounce (30 mL) of shampoo. Wash as usual.
******
Best Times to Buy Things for a
Wedding
Wedding dress: January, February
Wedding ring: Around the holidays,
Christmas and Valentine’s Day
Invitations: It’s not so much when
you buy them but what you include or exclude from them. The more extras you
get, the more you pay.
******
Application for Hives
Make a paste out of baking soda and
water and apply to the affected area.
******
Birdie’s Pecan Pralines
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white Karo (light corn)
syrup
1 small can of condensed milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Two drops maple extract
Dash of salt
Boil first four ingredients to 210
degrees on candy thermometer on medium heat. Add pecans and continue boiling to
soft boil at 238 degrees on candy thermometer. Remove from heat and ad butter,
vanilla, maple extract and a dash of salt. Cool to 100 then stir and drop by
teaspoon onto wax or parchment paper.
******
Birdseed Bags for a Wedding
Tulle/mesh material (this can be
found on a spool at the fabric or craft store or can be cut from a large piece)
Satin ribbon to match the wedding
colors
Birdseed
Rubber bands
Cut a 6-inch square template out of
cardboard. Use this to cut as many pieces of fabric as bags needed for your
wedding. You should have one bag per guest. Take one mesh square and put a
tablespoon or so of birdseed in the middle. Gather the mesh around the birdseed
to make a bag and fasten it with a rubber band. Tie a piece of ribbon around
the banded section.
******
Recipe Gift Book
For a bridal shower gift, have
everyone bring a family recipe to create the bride’s first cookbook.
******
Quickly Dry Out Wet Clothes
Put your wet clothes in the dryer
with a towel and let it run for fifteen to twenty minutes. Put your feet up
and listen to some accordion music.
******
How To Attract Bees To Your
Garden
These plants will attract bees to
your flowers and vegetables.
Thyme
Clover
Creeping Mint
Cherry Trees
Apple Trees
Pumpkins
Zucchini
Don’t rake up all the leaves in the
fall. The bees may want that for a winter home.
******
Thank you for purchasing this
book! If you would like to read more about Betsy and her life in Pecan Bayou
check out the other books in the series.
A Mystery for Ghost Hunters!
When Betsy's Aunt Maggie wants to drag her along on a ghost hunting excursion
at the local abandoned tuberculosis hospital she isn't sure if she quite
believes in ghosts. When she comes upon a fresh spirit in the form of a body,
she starts to rethink about what really is haunting the hospital.
Writing Can Be Murder!
When local writers present their books at the Pecan Bayou Library, one author
gets a killer review. Betsy Livingston, there to talk about her own
gripping book on helpful hints around the house, finds herself the prime
suspect for the murder. Join Betsy in her second mystery as she tries to
clear her own name in this hilarious tale of small town Texas life and murder.
Give me land lots of land....and a
puppy on the loose. When Betsy Livingston's puppy runs away, she has no idea it
will lead her to a murder on a movie cowboy star's estate. Not only has there
been a murder, but the town reports sightings of the dead cowboy himself. He's
out to seek revenge on all who wronged his daughter who became the victim of
her own money-loving butler. Enjoy a little time on the Fourth of July in the
tiny town of Pecan Bayou Texas where old cowboys never die...