Just Desserts Read Free

counter and in his kitchen.
    Quinn stepped into the oven outside and slipped on his Ray-Bans and Cubs cap. He rang Eddie—told him that he and the rest of the crew could take the afternoon off. Then he walked toward the farmers market to find Sadie.
     
    ***
     
    Sadie dug around a wooden crate of Swiss chard and rhubarb in the back of Lindy’s Sweet Organics delivery van. The greens displayed on the table looked dry and wilted. Wilted Swiss means bitter, not neutral. She chuckled. “Thanks for covering for me, Lindy.”
    “Not a prob. I can use the extra cash.” Lindy retrieved a spray bottle from a milk bottle crate. She spritzed ears of corn. “You need to take a break from the diner and your dad. What are doing tonight?”
    Her best friend, Lindy, had arranged the sweet corn in cast iron skillets on the gingham-clothed table. Sadie admired the display even though it hadn’t sold the abundance of corn. “I’m not sure. I’m hoping Bryan makes it into town.”
    Lindy didn’t respond. Her spray bottle squirts kicked into high gear.
    Sadie tucked the ruby-red chard into her Trader Joe’s bag. “What? Why the silent treatment?”
    “Simple. That guy’s a dick and you know it. I wouldn’t be a friend if I kept that info to myself.”
    “What? Eddie’s any better?” Sadie shoved the greens so hard into the bottom of the bag the thick stems cracked.
    Lindy squirted Sadie in the face. “You, me, and Eddie have known each other since kindergarten. Don’t get all high and mighty. Eddie’s the guy for me, he loves me, and he’s a great guy. You know what a good guy is like. Don’t you, Sadie? They stick around when you’re down in the dumps. Bryan couldn’t manage to pull himself away from his spring break frat boy party in Florida to go to your mother’s funeral.”
    “It wasn’t a party. It was his mother and father’s silver anniversary and happened to be in Naples.”
    “Right. And I have some swampland for you to buy. Interested?”
    “Eddie isn’t God’s gift, Lindy. What’s he doing since he dropped out of Madison? Grub work?” Sadie immediately regretted dissing Eddie and realized her sting was just plain mean. Lindy and Eddie were her two oldest friends. The summer heat must have turned her brain to mush. “I’m sorry.”
    Lindy smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “You’re forgiven. This time. I’ll cut you some slack considering you and your dad are my favorite customers, and your mom was my foodie idol.” She squirted water at a splotch of red beet juice spattered on her white T-shirt and tried to rub out the stain with a piece of paper toweling. “I miss her, too.”
    Sadie grabbed a bunch of spinach off the table and stuffed it in her bag with the chard.
    Lindy added, “Actually, Eddie’s been apprenticing with Quinn Laughton all summer to get his plaster business off the ground. He’s molding trims for house renovations. It’s a craft. And guess what? We’re planning to move in together this fall.”
    “I’m excited for you two. A love nest with Eddie.” Sadie hugged her. “Are you sure his work with Quinn will pay off? He seems kinda cocky.”
    “There’s worse in the world. Eddie looks up to him. Quinn loves vintage. He owns the renovation company that’s rehabbing the Wrigley mansion and he’s eco-friendly. His updates are all green. He’s an earth-loving entrepreneur. Not a slick, suck-up type like Bryan. Not to mention he’s hot. Didn’t you notice? Or are you blinded by the Bry?” Lindy sang, imitating the Bruce Springsteen tune.
    Sadie remembered Quinn’s full lips and felt like she couldn’t breathe.
    Lindy stepped to the other side of the table and started to spritz the cobs of corn again.
    From around the corner of a man-size Sweet Organics sandwich sign, Quinn appeared. He leaned over a basket of pattypan squash on the table, picked one up, and played heads or tails with it. “I’m expecting to hear the Walton’s in this neck of the woods,