Benita started to ask about the third mug of tea when the kettle came to a boil. Ms. Helen turned off the burner just as the front doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Ms. Helen gave Benita a critical look. “Try to look pleasant, dear. We don’t want our company to think I’ve been beating you.”
“Yes, Aunt Helen.” Benita stood to trail her relative to the foyer. Ms. Helen’s soft laughter floated back to her. Benita shook her head at her relative’s twisted sense of humor.
Ms. Helen stood on her toes to check her peephole before releasing her locks. She stepped back, pulling the front door wide. “Alonzo, how nice of you to stop by.”
“It’s good to see you, Ms. Helen.” Their guest’s warm baritone rumbled across the threshold before he entered the foyer. Ms. Helen closed and locked the door behind him.
Sheriff Alonzo Lopez was old enough to be Benita’s father, but that didn’t detract one bit of her appreciation for his exotic good looks. He removed his brown campaign hat, revealing his still-dark, wavy hair. His tall, lean, broad-shouldered frame was impressive in his sheriff’s uniform: brown shirt, black tie, and green gabardine pants. Or maybe it was his build that made the uniform look impressive.
His dark, coffee-colored eyes smiled at her. “Welcome home, Benita. How are you?”
“Fine, thank you, Sheriff. And you?”
“I can’t complain.” The understatement of the year, considering the happiness and well-being Benita felt radiating from him in waves.
“No, you can’t, considering you’re marrying one of the most wonderful people in Trinity Falls. Congratulations.” Benita watched with delight as Alonzo’s smile spread into a grin. She felt a twinge of envy.
According to her great-aunt, Alonzo had been in love with Doreen Fever—now the mayor of Trinity Falls as well as manager of the café at Books & Bakery—since they were in high school. Now nearing retirement, the sheriff was finally going to marry the great love of his life. In contrast, Benita had just broken up with her high school sweetheart. Wasn’t life something?
“Doreen is one of the most wonderful people in town.” Alonzo’s expression softened at the mention of his fiancée. “Your great-aunt is equally a treasure.”
Benita smiled in agreement. “You shouldn’t let Aunt Helen hear you say that, though. It’ll go straight to her head.”
“Save your backhanded compliments.” Ms. Helen waved a small, seemingly frail hand. “Would you like some tea, Alonzo?”
Benita frowned as she recalled the three mugs of tea on the counter beside her great-aunt’s stove.
“If it’s not too much trouble.” Alonzo tucked his campaign hat under his arm.
“No trouble at all.” Ms. Helen led them back to her kitchen. “We were just about to have some ourselves.”
Alonzo waited for Benita to follow her great-aunt before accompanying them to the kitchen. How had Ms. Helen known to prepare three mugs of tea? Had she known Alonzo was on his way? But she’d seemed surprised to find him on her doorstep. Benita shrugged the mystery aside. She had enough weighing on her mind. Vaughn had broken up with her after eighteen years of their on-again-off-again romance. And she needed to find a way to convince Ms. Helen to move into an assisted living home.
About half an hour later, Benita cleared the table after their tea with Alonzo and prepared a light lunch for Ms. Helen and her. She slid a glance toward her great-aunt, who was enjoying a second mug of chai tea. Her relative seemed in good spirits after the sheriff’s report on his department’s morning activities. In Los Angeles, Benita was bombarded with news bulletins about drive-by shootings, home invasions, and mu
rders. In contrast, this morning, the Trinity Falls Sheriff Department had freed a toddler whose head had been stuck in a staircase banister. Deputies had investigated a prank at Heritage High School involving students who’d nailed shut the teachers’ break room. Alonzo suspected the perpetrators to be the same ones who’d nailed shut the high school’s exterior doors last Halloween. Benita was reassured that the national crime wave hadn’t spread to Trinity Falls.
“Never a dull moment in Trinity Falls, is there?” Benita was only half joking.
She lowered the burner under the pot of homemade chicken soup she’d prepared for dinner last night. The air swelled with the scents of seasonings and fresh vegetables. Benita pulled her homemade wheat bread from the refrigerator to make sandwiches as she waited for the soup to boil. She was rarely inspired to cook like this in L.A. Why was that?
“That’s what I keep telling you.” Ms. Helen crossed to the dishwasher to add her mug to the machine. “Do you need help preparing lunch?”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“That’s what I love about your visits.” Ms. Helen returned to her seat at the kitchen table. “As brief as they are, I never have to do anything while you’re here. You wait on me hand and foot.”
“Actually, Aunt Helen, that’s one of the things I wanted to speak with you about. I’m concerned about your living alone.”
“Why? Because of the recent crime spree? Now you know how I feel about your living in Los Angeles.”
Benita’s living in Los Angeles was a different matter from her great-aunt living on her own anywhere. But Ms. Helen wouldn’t take kindly to that sentiment. “I realize Trinity Falls is comparatively safe.”
Ms. Helen snorted. “You mean, compared to anyplace else you’ve ever lived?”
Benita ignored her relative’s commentary. She pulled from the refrigerator sliced chicken breast, honeyed ham, and cheddar cheese. “The fact is, Aunt Helen, I’m concerned that you’re getting older. You need help getting around and taking care of things.”