“Just checking up on you two. How are things going?”

“Addy is deciding what cookies to bake next. Roxie and Loren are bringing pizza out for supper.”

“Good. You have any tomato plants left?”

“You planted all those you got the other day?” She watched Addy bringing the baking ingredients out to the counter.

“Just say you haven’t tossed any in the compost yet. I’ll be over in an hour or so.” He clicked off.

“Your dad is coming over. We better get a plate of cookies ready to send home with him so he doesn’t kidnap you.”

“He’s glad I’m here, says he doesn’t worry about you this way.” Addy checked the refrigerator. “Better put butter on the list, along with walnuts, oh, and powdered sugar. These bars will take the last of it.”

Ginny turned and picked up the notepad she kept on the counter for just this purpose. “Oh, look.” She pointed out the kitchen window. “Three hummingbirds on the feeder at once.” The two watched, with identical grins lighting their faces.

“Remember the one we found that time we thought was dead?”

“I do and he was torpid. I’d never known about that before.” Ginny looked off to the left to the birdbath. “Look, the hens are up here.” Two of the lighter ones were up on the low birdbath, drinking.

“Do chickens like to bathe like other birds?”

“Nope, they take dust baths. You’ve seen their wallows inside their fenced area.”

“I know but I thought maybe they did both.”

Spook whined at their sides.

“Outside?”

He leaped and yelped. “Okay, okay.” Ginny let him out the back door.

The lemon bars were cooling on the rack on the counter when Sam arrived. “Kid, do you never quit?” he asked after petting Spook and hugging his mother, in that order.

“Making up for not getting to bake while school is going on.” She pushed a plate of chocolate chip cookies toward him. “Walnuts just for you.”

“What else you two been doing?” He reached for a second one.

“Didn’t your mother teach you not to talk with your mouthful?” Ginny asked, wearing an innocent look.

“That kid might take ’em away before I get enough.”

“Right, you want coffee?”

“You have to make it?”

“You know that Keurig you bought me for Christmas last year? It works.” She handed him a mug and pointed at the black machine on the counter by the stove.

“Yeah, we gave you the single one and yet you still mostly use the old one.”

“Because it makes a potful. It has a timer to set for the morning so I wake up to the smell of coffee and it would probably poach eggs if I asked it to.”

“Sure, coffee-flavored eggs. Ugh.” He reached for another cookie. “What about the lemon bars?”

“Not ready to cut yet, sorry. Besides, they don’t really taste good warm, oh hey…” She picked up the cookie plate and put it in the microwave just long enough to warm them. When she pulled out the plate, she sniffed the cookies. “Roxie taught me to do this. She says the fragrance of hot cookies or baking bread will sell a house almost every time.”