She made it to the café five minutes before opening, grabbed a cup of coffee, and wolfed down two bacon biscuits. “Does rain mean a slow day in the café business like it does in the carnie world?”

Jasmine poured a cup of coffee. “Not at all. If the ranchers can’t work, they come to the café to talk ranchin’, religion, and politics. So get ready for a very busy morning. I’ve got extra biscuits on the pans ready to put in the oven. They’ll be orderin’ sausage gravy and eggs to get the chill off. What happens to the carnival in rainy weather?”

“If it’s rainy and cold, folks stay home. No amount of whining or begging from their kids can get them out in the nasty weather. We’ll have a slow night and, according to the weatherman, the rest of the week is going to be chilly. If it’s not raining, we might have a fairly decent weekend to finish up the year,” she explained.

“You said ‘we,’ Liz. You’re not completely cut away from it, are you?” Jasmine asked.

“No, but I’m workin’ on it. I’ve been growing these wings for twenty-five years. I can’t get rid of them in just a few weeks,” she said.

“That’s understandable and honest. Time to open the door. The parking lot is already half full. Get ready for a rush,” Jasmine said.

Liz picked up her apron and tied it around her waist. She wondered if Raylen was still at her house.

If he’d left Hooter and Blister inside.

If he had ever told Becca about their sex life.

That put a frown on her face as she crossed the dining room, flipped the sign around to say OPEN, and unlocked the door. Surely, he didn’t tell personal things, even if Becca was his friend. She didn’t share the intimate things about their relationship with Blaze.

“Mornin’, Liz,” a regular old timer said. “Bring us six cups of coffee. I’m buying breakfast for us this morning, so put our orders on one tab.”

“Sure thing, Donny,” she said and headed toward the coffee pot.

The hectic morning gave way to a busy lunch rush. Closing time snuck up on Liz and she realized that she hadn’t seen Ace or any of the O’Donnell family all day.

She locked the door and grabbed a broom, but Jasmine took it out of her hands. “You need to get out of here and spend time with your family. I’ll get my cakes done for tomorrow’s dessert and then us girls are coming to the carnival.”

“Thank you so much.” Liz didn’t even argue. “I can’t wait for you to meet Mama and Aunt Tressa. Colleen and Gemma came by last night and helped me stock the midway. And Aunt Tressa made Raylen work with Blaze on the Ferris wheel.”

Jasmine stopped and leaned on the broom handle. “I knew they were all coming, but we’ve been too busy to gossip.”

Liz talked while she slipped her jacket on. “I was afraid they’d kill each other. I sure wouldn’t want to have to work with Becca. Then when they got it finished, all five of us did the debut ride. Tressa ran the controls and let us go around about a dozen times before she declared it was ready for use.”