Violet laughed, shoving a bottle of water at him. “You big goof. Stay hydrated.”
Tansy laughed then, her brows raised.
Willadeene instantly perked up at the sound, her head swiveling so she could study Tansy’s face.
“Oh, and, Tansy, Van asked that you thank Camellia for the honey cake recipe. He said he ate the whole thing.” Violet smiled.
Van and Camellia. Dane took a bite of his barbecue sandwich to hide his smile.
“That man.” Willadeene took one of the chocolate candy cookies from the plastic food container and shook her head.
Dane, Violet and Tansy all waited. There was nothing bad to say about Van Kettner. Dane had never met a more generous, bighearted gentleman in his life. If this woman tried, he’d set her straight—the consequences be damned.
“He’s more interested in recipes than finding a perfectly acceptable woman to take care of him.” Willadeene took a bite of her cookie.
Dane was pretty sure Van had found himself a more than acceptable woman—if he ever chose to act on it. He wondered how Camellia Hill would respond. He couldn’t imagine a better suited couple alive. Dane glanced at Tansy. She’d picked up on Leif and Kerrielynn. Did she know about Van’s feeling for her aunt? Maybe he should give her the heads-up, like she’d done about Leif and Kerrielynn?Maybe I should mind my own business.
“I don’t think Van minds being single,” Violet was saying. “It’s not like he hasn’t had the opportunity to settle down with someone.” She shrugged. “Back in the day, he could have picked anyone he wanted.”
“He still could,” Willadeene asserted.
Tansy shot him a wide-eyed look.
He was pretty sure they were thinking along the same lines.Willadeenethought thatWilladeenewas the perfectly acceptable woman. Dane suppressed a shudder. Poor Van. In a way, poor Willadeene. After seeing the way Van Kettner had looked at Camellia Hill in the grocery store a couple weeks back, Dane knew where Van’s heart lay.
“Some people are happier single.” Tansy came back, taking a cookie from the container Willadeene offered. “Van strikes me as content.”
Willadeene snorted. “More like people fool themselves into believing they’re happier single. But I suppose I’d rather that than see a marriage cut short because they rushed into it or picked the wrong person.”
Dane didn’t miss the side-eyed glance the woman shot his way.Yeah, yeah. She was talking about his father. He got it. The thing was Dane could remember when his father had been a happily married man. He’d loved Dane’s mother and had been a doting, if gruff, father and a savvy businessman, wheeling and dealing and always looking for opportunities to increase their income. But after Dane’s mother had died his father stopped being present, and he’d lost the drive to carry on business as usual. The only exception to that was the signature Viking Clover Honey. The last recipe his father had concocted had hit the shelves eighteen months after his mother’s death and become their most successful honey to date. Dane considered the clover honey a sort of last love letter from his father to his mother.
Today’s Harald Knudson was an entirely different man than the one Dane remembered from his childhood. That man wouldn’t have divorced three times, allowed his relationships with his sons to deteriorate or stood by while his family business fell into a precarious situation. While Dane acknowledged the man as his father, it was hard to respect him.
“These are delicious cookies.” Tansy took another.
“It’s so nice to see you two are still...getting along.” Willadeene pointed between he and Tansy.
Tansy almost choked on her cookie.
“Since we’re in charge of all these kids, I can’t pour a bucket of paint over her.” Dane took a cookie. “It’d set a bad example.” He shrugged.
Violet laughed. “I appreciate you two behaving.” She sent him another one of those meaningful looks, then added, “For the kids.”
“For the...kids.” Willadeene was wearing that delighted expression again—the one that triggered a dozen mental red flags.
“You-all get enough?” Violet called to the teens chatting and resting in the shade.
An overwhelming chorus of yeses echoed but the older boys jumped up for more food—Leif included.
“How’s it going, Leif?” Violet asked. “Having fun?”
Leif shrugged. “Thanks for the food.” He stepped aside so Kerrielynn and Crissy Abraham, Felix’s sister, could get what they wanted.
“We’re here to help clean up.” Kerrielynn’s shy smile was for Leif and Leif alone.
Dane glanced at Tansy at the same time she looked his way. She crossed her arms over her chest, self-satisfied. He had to smile.
“Such nice young people.” Willadeene gave them each two more cookies. “Good to see you-all working hard and making good choices...even you, Leif. After all that business with the Dwyer boys and all, it’s such a nice...surprise.”
