A Gentle Rain (54 page)

Papa shifted from one foot to the other in rhythm with Elvis's lyrics. Mama balanced her left foot on the toe of his shoe. She looked up at him in the moonlight, smiling. They kissed.

So itgoes, Elvis sang. Some things are meant to be.

Ben

It had been quite a summer, and the autumn was quite an autumn. I kept trying to put it in words, but this was the best I could do: People want to be part of something bigger, something deeper, than themselves. Something that's worth livin' for, worth dyin' for. Something so wonderful they'll risk being laughed at, risk being called crazy, risk swimming alone through the darkest water, determined to dive so far down they find something special, something that can last forever. Something they'll risk lovin' even after that love hurts them.

I believe in that something, now.

I believe in lovin' Karen.

The night after Mac and Lily's marriage, as Karen and me were climbing into bed, I handed her a little package wrapped in gold tissue paper. She unwrapped it and started smiling.

"It was in my office safe," I confessed. "It's the mask of the notorious El Diablo Americano."

Her smile became a sly simmer. She looked at me with love and happiness and a gleam of pure, wicked invitation in her blue eyes. She held out the mask. "Put it on," she whispered.

I obliged.

It's the cowboy way.

About Deborah Smith

With more than 2.5 million copies in print worldwide, Deborah Smith is one of the best-k nownn and most beloved authors of romantic, stylish, contemporary Southern fiction. Her novels have been compared to those ofAnne Rivers Siddon, Pat Conroy, and other prestigious Southern writers. Among other awards, her work has been nominated for the Townsend Prize for Literature and she has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine, which also named her 1996 New York Times bestselling novel, A Place To Call Home, one of the top 200 romantic novels published in the twentieth century. In 2002 Disney optioned her novel, Sweet Hush, for film in a major six-figure deal.

As a partner, co-founder and editor of BelleBooks, a small Southern press owned by her and four other nationally known women authors, Deborah edits the acclaimed Mossy Creek Hometown Series. She lives in the mountains of north Georgia with her husband, Hank.

Heirloom Florida Recipes

Boiled Swamp Cabbage

The Seminoles call this "Taal-holelke." First, you'll need the heart of a cabbage palm - one of those short, stocky palms that grow wild all over the state. It's also known as a sabal palm. It's Florida's state tree.

Remove the palm's tough outer fronds down to the tender white center. Chop that center into narrow strips or cubes, just as you'd cut an ordinary cabbage for cole slaw. Cook slowly in a little water for about a half hour. Add salt and sugar (or cane syrup) to taste.

Have you noticed the "Hearts of Palm" sold in the grocery store? Yep, that's from the cabbage palm.

A note from Kara: Harvesting the tender "bud" of this palm kills the tree. Commercial harvesting of wild cabbage palm is decimating native palm forests in Mexico.

Seminole Fry Bread

This sounds simple, but it takes practice. You'll need oil, self-rising flour, and water. In a big bowl, mix the flour and water with your hand, stirring slowly. Once your dough is ready, dust your hands with flour then form the dough into small pancakes. Drop those into an iron skillet at least two inches deep and filled with enough oil to make the pancakes float.

The oil should be very hot before you drop the dough. If your oil is right, your pancake will only need to sizzle for about five seconds per side. When the pancake is golden brown, dip it out and drain the excess oil on a towel.

Seminole Grape Dumplings

Cook a half gallon of wild grapes until they boil (use just enough water to cover them.) Strain the juice out through a fine, clean cloth. Save all your juice. You'll need it.

Mix twelve cups of grape juice, two cups of flour, two teaspoons of baking powder, and one teaspoon of shortening. (Put the grape juice in last.)

This combination should give you a stiff dough. Soften by adding a little more grape juice, as needed.

Add some sugar or cane syrup to the remaining juice, bring it to a boil, and drop in your dough dumplings.

Fried Florida Gator

You'll need a couple of pounds of alligator meat, cut into small pieces. Sprinkle them with garlic, salt and pepper to taste. In a bowl, mix three eggs and three-fourths cup of mills.

Using about one cup of flour, roll your gator chunks in the flour then drip them in the egg/mills batter.

Deep fry the battered meat at about 325 degrees until golden brown.

The World of A Gentle Rain

Resources For Further Reading

About the Seminole Tribe of Florida:

Here are a couple of interesting websites about Seminole history and culture.

Modern Seminoles speak two languages-both still used today. One is Muscogee, which they share with the Creek Tribe, and the other is Miccosukee. The languages are related and have some similar words. For example, "dog" is "ef-fa" in Muscogee and "ee-fee" in Miccosukee.

Many Florida place names were derived from one of the Seminole languages. A few examples:

Miami - "That place"

Ocala - "Spring"

Palatka - "Ferry crossing"

Homosassa - "Pepper place"

Hialeah - "Prairie"

About the Cracker Horses and Cracker Culture of Florida:

Search the Internet and you'll find lots of references. The Wikipedia online encyclopedia is a great place to start.

The novels and memoirs of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, including Cross Creek and The Yearling, are a must read! Also take a look at a popular contemporary film about Rawlings' life in Florida, titled Cross Creek, starring Mary Steenburgen. The movie was shot on location in Micanopy, Florida, a great little old-timey town near Gainesville. If you want to step back in time, visit Micanopy. The town was also the setting for a sweet Michael J. Fox movie called Hollywood. Doc

To learn more about Bone Mizell and the world of pioneer Cracker cowboys, there's no better book than Florida Hunter, Cow The Life and Mizell, Bone of Times by Jim Bob Tinsley. It's published by the University of Central Florida Press, in Orlando. The book's cover features the famous Remington picture of Bone Mizell that Ben mentions to Kara.

Deborah Smith

returns to romance with

The Crossroads Cafe

Two damaged people. One special place. Live. Love. Believe.

Heartbroken and cynical, famed actress Cathyrn Deen hides from the world after a horrific accident scars her for life.

Secluded in her grandmother's North Carolina mountain home, Cathyrn at first resists the friendship of the local community and the famous biscuits served up by her loyal cousin, Delta, at The Crossroads Cafe, until a neighbor, former New York architect Thomas Mitternich, reaches out to her.

Thomas lost his wife and son in the World Trade Center. In the years since he's struggled with alcohol and despair. He thinks nothing and no one can make his life worth living again.

Until he meets Cathyrn.

"A plethora of memorable secondary characters add depth, humor, and charm to this heart-wrenching story of two appealing characters who overcome soul-shattering tragedies to find themselves and each other. This beautifully written, emotionally complex story will appeal to fans of both romance and women's fiction."

-Library Journal

"I absolutely loved this book. These characters are wonderful! My favorites have been A Place to Call Home, Sweet Hush, and now, Crossroads Cafe. You have a true heart for people's emotions. I can't wait to recommend this book off our shelves here at the library."

-Kathy Bolton, Librarian, Worthing Libraries, Ohio

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