Sit! Stay! Speak! by Annie England Noblin Page B

pie and pretend I made it?”
    â€œYou can’t feed a store-bought pie to the likes of Jasper Floyd,” Wanda said. “You want him to think you’re cheap and easy and lazy?”
    Addie shook her head from side to side, wide-eyed. “A store-bought pie can say all that?”
    â€œIt can say that and more.” Wanda stared into Addie’s empty cabinets. “You think Jasper’s mama feeds him store-bought pie?”
    Addie didn’t know how to respond to that question. She’d never met Jasper’s mom. Did his mom still cook for him? Was that normal? She couldn’t remember the last time her mother cooked for anyone, let alone her adult daughter.
    Wanda sighed and slammed the cabinet doors shut. “Put that recipe in your pocket, honey, and grab your keys. We’ve got some shopping to do.”

CHAPTER 14
    T HE ROAD TO J ASPER ’ S FARM WAS MOSTLY UNPAVED . F ELIX stirred occasionally from his nap in the front seat to growl at the bumpy ride. It was funny to Addie that Felix liked to ride in the car. There were days when he was afraid of his own shadow, but if there was a car door open, Felix was going to jump in. It didn’t matter how far they went—the second Felix was in the seat, he fell asleep.
    It was the first time that Addie had seen the Delta countryside since her visits with Aunt Tilda. The land was lush and green, and miles of cotton and cattle stretched out in front of her. Here the mighty Mississippi deposited rich soils over millions of years. She remembered her aunt calling it the land of rivers.
    After several miles, Addie came up on what looked like an old farm. Although the land had been tended, the buildings were in terrible disrepair. The graying boards of the barn were leaning to one side, and it looked to Addie like a strong gust of wind might bring the whole structure toppling to the ground.
    The house was almost completely demolished, with only the remnants of a chimney left standing. There were pieces of the house everywhere—from what Addie could tell, a native stone house.
    This must be the old Jones farm, she thought. Bobby’s accusations from the night before ran through her head. If Bobby was that upset, she could only imagine how the Jones family must feel. Addie had no desire to see Redd as angry as he’d been the night of the fair, and she wondered if the rest of the family was like him.
    She didn’t notice the Floyd farm until she was upon it. Her breath hitched in her throat as she took in the magnitude of the property. She turned left up the driveway, the house growing larger and larger as she approached.
    The house was an 1830s mansion, which from the outside gave Addie a sense of antiquity, a farm meticulously kept over time. Addie had never seen anything like it in her entire life. The vast house, dwarfed only by the vastness of the land surrounding it, stood in the shade of at least four pin oak trees.
    Addie hesitated. She considered throwing the car in reverse and flying back down the driveway before anybody had the chance to notice she was there. She didn’t really need to apologize, did she? After all, Jasper had pushed her. He’d wanted to know.
    She looked over at Felix, who panted excitedly. Addie guessed she didn’t have much of a choice now. She was already here. And the pies would go bad if she didn’t find someone to eat them. Rolling the windows down a few notches, she said to Felix, “Sit here. I will be right back.” She’d just drop off the food and leave. No big deal, right?
    Addie opened the back door and pulled out the basket full offood. She took a long look at the house before trudging up the front steps and up onto the huge wraparound porch.
    Addie rang the doorbell, and when a middle-aged woman answered the door, panic began to rise in her throat. She hadn’t thought this through. She hadn’t even called first. She didn’t even have Jasper’s