Read Hope Springs - 05 - Wedding Cake for Free Online

And I just don’t want to see it go to waste.” He took a breath and looked intently at Louise. “I don’t want them to squander what Roxie and I worked so hard to save.”
    Louise shrugged. “So change your will, give the money to a charity. Tell your daughters it’s for their children. There are lots of options of how to fix this to be the way you want it.”
    George nodded. “I’ve thought of all of that. But there always seems to be some way that Ted can figure out how to get the money or at least get into the house and steal everything. And if I’m sick, who’s to say he won’t squander it all before I die? I mean, even if I took themout of the will, one of the girls will have to have my health care power of attorney, and they could wipe me out while I’m still alive.”
    “Okay, George, so you’ve got all of this trouble with your money and your girls. I still don’t understand why you’re here to see me.” Louise wanted answers.
    “I came to see if you would marry me,” he said.
    Louise couldn’t believe what she had just heard and she began to choke. She coughed and sputtered, knocking over her glass as she reached for a napkin. George jumped up from his seat and stood behind her. He started slapping her on her back until she finally could speak and tell him to stop, that she was fine.
    He walked over to the kitchen sink, grabbed the dishrag, and began mopping up the spill from the table. When Louise caught her breath, she reached for a handful of napkins and finished cleaning the mess. She stood up and walked over to the trash can and threw away the wet napkins. George wrung out the dishrag into the sink and hung it back over the faucet. He took in a deep breath and went back to his seat. Louise sat down again across from him.
    “You okay?” he asked.
    She nodded. “I don’t think I heard you right,” she noted, sitting forward in her seat and bracing her hands on the table.
    George sat back in his seat as well. “No, I think you heard me ex-actly right,” he responded. “I asked you to marry me.”
    He waited and then leaned in to Louise. “So, in case you choke again, I need to know, you want me to perform the Heimlich maneuver this time?”
    Louise just shook her head and fell back in her chair.

Cocktail Meatballs
    1 pound ground beef
    2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
    1 egg, slightly beaten
    ½ teaspoon salt
    ⅓ cup finely chopped onion
    ⅓ cup finely chopped green pepper
    1 tablespoon butter
    2 tablespoons brown sugar
    1 can tomato soup
    4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
    1 tablespoon vinegar
    1 tablespoon prepared mustard
    Mix beef, crumbs, egg, and salt. Shape into 50 balls. Place in shallow baking pan. Broil until brown. Turn over. Spoon off fat. In saucepan, cook onion and pepper in butter until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour over meatballs. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
    —Lester’s Barbecue Shack

Chapter Five
    I don’t understand.” Jessie had ordered and handed the menu to the waitress. She and Louise and Bea were meeting for lunch. Bea was late, and Louise told Jessie the news before they even found their seats.
    “I’ll have the special and we’ll have one more joining us. She wants the diet plate with pasta instead of the green salad and she wants her chicken fried instead of grilled.”
    The waitress looked at Louise with raised eyebrows and shook her head. “Is Beatrice on her way or do I need to hold the orders awhile?”
    Louise smiled. The three of them had been regulars at Lester’s Barbecue Shack for years. Nothing Beatrice did surprised any of the servers or cooks. There was the whole Christmas cake debacle in which she made promises about Lester making cakes that he never intended to make. Once she had even gone back to the kitchen to show the cook how to prepare her sandwich. She was known to be afussy customer but she was loyal, and because of that, Lester didn’t kick her out.
    “Just wait a few minutes. Bea had to go to the