Kashi grunted as she helped her uncle unload the last of the groceries from the pickup. "Why would you buy this much flour? Are you planning on feeding the whole town?" She lugged yet another sack of the flour up the three stairs, down the hall and into the kitchen. She was probably being dramatic, but the flour grew heavier with every step.
"Ask your Aunt Cee." He shrugged, carrying three bags to her one. "Though, as far as the whole town goes, she is selling her famous pies at a booth at the end of the summer fest in a couple weeks."
She set the bag down by the cellar door. "I don't trust myself with a bag of flour and cement stairs. We'll have a Kashi pie if I do that."
Her uncle chuckled at that. "Well I don't want to make you late for dinner with your dad. Get outta here Kashi. Tell him I say hey."
"Will do!" she was already halfway out the door, snagging her keys off a new hook screwed to the wall just for her.
Her dad was much more perceptive than her uncle. She'd have to be more careful with bringing it up. Felix however, annoying as he was, would be the key to getting her dad to open up. If he was interested in something, he didn't know how to drop it. Besides her dad was always trying to tell them about the adventures of his youth. They never listened. Hopeful Kashi could get some insight into this.
She parked her truck into its old spot, hopping down, to the gravel. There was another much older pickup there as well. Its green paint was tinged with rust. The passenger side door was massively dented.
The screen door swung open. Her dad smiled at her. "I missed you kiddo."
Despite herself she smiled, meeting her dad in a hug. "Missed you too dad." He squeezed her a little tighter than she remembered him doing.
"How's life as a ranch hand?" He pulled on one of her signature braids with a smirk.
Scowling and swatting his hand she recounted a few backbreaking tasks that had become her least favorite chores. "But it's kind of well, fulfilling." Kashi shrugged as she walked inside with her dad.
"Carr?"
"Hey Kashi." He waved, seated next to Felix on their old couch in the living room. They were playing cards.
"I invited company, hope you don't mind." He chuckled. "Though it sounds like you two already met each other?"
Kashi nodded. "Um I bumped into him in the library a week or two ago. I was getting another one of my novels." She looked pointedly at Carr as if daring him to contradict her. But he didn't break his promise about keeping her midnight visit a secret.
"Yeah she and… Sierra, right? They were in the library with some cake from a diner I just had to try."
Her dad's entire demeanor lit up at the mention of Belle's diner. "Oh that woman knows how to bake a mean butter cake. She'll give the recipe to anyone who asks, but it never turns out as good. I think it is an advanced marketing technique of hers. She'll draw you back in for that one of a kind dessert."
"Dad and I went yesterday." Felix piped up, an unusually pleasant smile on his face. "Belle gave us a whole cake to take home for free!"
Kashi whipped around to her dad who had turned red. She raised an eyebrow, a bemused smile rising on her face. "Really?" she asked, drawing out the vowels, turning to Felix, her eyebrows darting up and down. Felix choked on his water, a mixture of laughter and coughs coming from the teenager's mouth.
"Kashi that's enough." her dad chided half-heartedly. His face was still red.
Carr threw a card at Felix, resuming their game. "You're awful good at this for your age." he frowned at his cards. "Is it too late to take back that five dollars that I bet you?"
"Hey it's your fault for underestimating a fourteen year old." Felix said, laying down his cards smugly.
"If I'd a'known you were coming Kashi I wouldn't have invited him over." Her dad was finishing stirring something divine on the stove.
"Nah it's all good." Kashi grabbed the bowls from an upper cupboard, smiling at the familiar design. "I just figured I'd stop by and ask how you were doing. Believe it or not, I missed you. And don't tell him, but I almost missed Felix too." She chuckled at his howling over the newfound five dollar bill.
"Look Kashi, I didn't mean to drive you away, or be so hard on you."
"No I got that dad." She kissed him on the cheek, setting the dishes down. "Besides, I kind of like what I'm doing. And well, no offense, Auntie Cee makes way better pies."
She chuckled, dodging the towel her dad tossed her way. "You're the one that taught me not to lie!"
"Alright, alright." He laughed, setting the spoon in its rest. "Let's eat."
They were quiet for the first few minutes during supper. Kashi was almost upset. He'd never made food this good while she still lived here. Felix, who had definitely grown since she'd seen him last, was spooning himself a third helping.
"Chill out there with the food little man, you'll grow a second head." Carr said, conveniently forgetting to mention that he too was on his third bowl.
"True. It would be one more head to kick your ass with."
"Felix, watch the language!" Her dad chided. Kashi was trying to hide her grin.
"I'm just copying you dad." He shrugged. "The other day when you were talking to Whit I overheard you tell him that he was being a pain in—"
"Alright! Alright I shouldn't have. But you shouldn't either."
"Hey dad," Kashi said after the laughter died down. "I was curious, why didn't you ever do any expansion or make some deals with other companies and such? You could make a lot of profit." She met Carr's eyes before taking a sip of the broth as nonchalantly as possible.
"Oh I did. Your uncle and I tried to when we were younger, much younger. We met this guy from, what, Chicago I think? But it didn't work out. Your uncle got spooked and didn't pull through." Her dad shook his head. "Why, did your uncle tell you something?" his tone immediately revealed his suspicion.
"I mean, he mentioned something about a business deal that didn't work out, but nothing else besides that." Kashi shrugged.
Carr nodded, "I was reading some of the old newspapers the other day just for fun. My great grandma used to live here until she died. I was curious to see where I could find more about her. I came across a picture of you and your brother sir. It looked like a deal actually did happen."
James Thomson paused a moment. "Well it did happen. But there were more things going on than that first agreement. My brother jumped ship and cost us both a lot of money. He also buried the other man in debt as well."
Felix's brows shot up, his spoon clanking loudly. "Is that why you're so mad at Uncle Hudson? Because he cheated you out of that deal?" Kashi nodded to herself. This was exactly what she was hoping Felix would do. "Why did he leave if you were going to be rich? What happened to make him leave? Is that why—"
"Felix! Yes your uncle grabbed his portion then backed out and Hughes and I were left to pick up the slack, alright? No go put your dishes in the sink if you're done. It's your turn to clean up after supper." He stood abruptly, grabbing his dishes.
Kashi's brain was flying. Hughes. Hughes. She knew that name, where did she know that name? Her eyes met Carr's for a second. He could tell that she found something the moment she remembered.
Jeremy Hughes! She met him again with her uncle one of the first days she was working on his ranch! What were they doing together? She looked over to her dad who had seemed to relax a little. How much did he know about what was happening now?