Sweet Tea and Secrets (44 page)

“Thanks for understanding.” She started for the door then stopped. “You know what? You’re right. He doesn’t deserve any more of my energy. It’s the past, it’s time to put it way behind us.”

“Thanks, babe.” Garrett nodded, relieved. “You know what today is?”

“What?”

“The first day of the rest of our lives. A fresh start.”

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

“What are you going to do about the pearls?”

“They’ve been nothing but trouble. For John Carlo, and Pearl, and now us. They represent the past. Let’s leave the Pacini Pearls there too.”

“Maybe we can just tuck them away in the foundation of our new home and leave them to our little ones,” Garrett reasoned.

Jill smiled. “I love the sound of that.”

“Yeah, but we better get started, we’re not getting any younger.”

She slapped him playfully. “Hey, speak for your own self, old man. I’m still a hot young babe.”

He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “You won’t get an argument from me.”

His breath tickled her ear. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“We’re not going to talk about that again. We both know where we’ve been. I love you and I don’t want you to be hurt or lonely again.” Garrett tugged her closer, breathing in her scent. “Jill Clemmons. You are a real find.”

His words made her heart feel like a sparkler.

“I want you to marry me and I don’t want to wait. We’ll break ground on Bridle Path Estates immediately. If we work quickly, we could get the Artisan Center open before the spring traffic picks up with tourists heading to Virginia Beach on Route 58.”

“Was that a proposal?”

“No.” He knelt in front of her and took her hands.

 
Her eyes glistened.

“This is. Jill, will you marry me?” He held out his pinky.

“Yes.” She wrapped her pinky around his, her smile so broad she could barely speak. Nodding, she whispered, “Yes, I’d love to be your bride, Malloy.”

“I guess it’s official then. Come on, let’s go tell Pearl.”

She smiled and took his hand. They drove in that good kind of quiet all the way to town. Garrett stopped in front of Spratt’s and ran in to pick up flowers. Jill held the bag in her lap as they drove the church.

Garrett turned into the lot and they headed to the graveside.

Jill reached into the bag and took out the flowers. “There are two bouquets here.”

“I thought maybe we should acknowledge JCP over there, too.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “I never made the connection.”

“It came to me on the ride over.” He took her hand and they knelt between Pearl and John Carlo.

Jill held her hand up for Pearl to see—the one with Pearl’s wedding ring on it. Her tears flowed and Garrett’s eyes misted, too.

Garrett held her hand. “Don’t worry, Pearl. She said yes,” he said, looking heavenward. Then, he turned and looked into Jill’s eyes. “Pearl had a perfect match track record, after all.”

“We’ll have to wait to see if Connor and Carolanne are together before we bestow that title on Pearl,” she said with a slight smile of defiance.

“When are you going to learn?” Garrett tapped his finger on Jill’s nose. “Never doubt Pearl’s wisdom.”

THE END

RECIPE
FAVORITES FROM ADAMS GROVE

Pearl’s Sweet Tea

You’ll want to make this tea by the gallon, and please keep this recipe our little secret.

Glass jugs make all the difference, and I swear a good one with a spigot is the best way to go. Something about the way the tea splashes in the glass over the ice is just a little miracle all to itself.

The secret is all in the steep, ya’ see. Like anything that’s worthwhile, you have to give it the time to mature, to marry up and merge to its full potential. Love is like that ya’ know. Anyway, all tea has a temperature point of perfection and you really have to get that water boiling if you want to get it right.

Here we go!

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Place 3 family-sized tea bags (or 10 regular-sized tea bags) into your glass jug.

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Boil up a pot of water. (Be sure it’s less than a gallon of water because you’ll need to leave a little room for that cup and a half of sugar you’ll be adding!)

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Once the water has come to a full rolling boil, gently pour that bubbling hot water right over your tea bags in the jug.

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Steep for 3 to 5 minutes depending on how strong you like your tea. Me? I like mine nice and dark like a summer tan. I go for the whole 5 minutes.

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Stir. This is important. Stir in one direction. You don’t want to unstir it, now do you?

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Remove the tea bags with a slotted spoon.

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Now, swish in 1.5 heaping cups of sugar into the hot tea.

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Stir until dissolved.

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Top off the jug with some cold water or ice cubes.

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Chill on the top shelf of your refrigerator. The colder the better.

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Enjoy y’all!

Pearl’s Blue Ribbon Chocolate Pecan Pie

Butter Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour (refrigerated)

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter

6-8 tablespoons cold water

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The trick is in keeping the dough cold. Combine flour and salt in a bowl.

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Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until mixture becomes pebbly. Stir in enough water with a fork, just until flour is moistened. Don’t overwork, the mixture.

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Shape dough into a ball and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.

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Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12” circle. Fold into quarters and place in a pie pan. Unfold, pressing dough firmly against the bottom and sides. Crimp edges.

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Prick the crust with a fork. Butter the bottom of a smaller cake pan and set it inside the pie crust in your pie pan. Heat for 8-10 minutes in a 475 degree oven until lightly browned.

Pie Filling:

4 Hershey’s chocolate candy bars

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

3 large brown eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 handfuls of pecan halves

1 handful of coconut (optional)

Just a little tap of cinnamon and a secret pinch of nutmeg

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Your Butter Crust in your favorite pie dish—
Pearl was partial to ceramic pie plates.

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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In a double boiler melt only 3.5 of the chocolate bars and margarine and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly while you eat that leftover half of a chocolate bar.

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Whisk eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add sugar, corn syrup, chocolate mixture, and vanilla; stir until well blended. Mix pecans into chocolate mixture and then combine with the egg mixture.

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Set pie shell on heavy-duty baking sheet and pour in filling. Sprinkle the coconut across the top.

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Bake 50 to 55 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean from the center.

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Cool pie on wire rack to room temperature before cutting. Serve with whipped topping and a few shavings from the last bit of the chocolate bar if you haven’t already eaten it.

Garrett’s Favorite Fry Pan Meatloaf

1 lb of lean ground beef

2 eggs

2 pieces of bread cut in cubes

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 packet of Beefy Onion Dry Soup mix

Barbecue sauce to spread on top of the loaf

Flour, Salt, Pepper, Basil, tiny dash of Thyme

Oil

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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Mix all ingredients except the barbecue sauce in large bowl. Form into a ball and place in a bread loaf pan, leaving space around all sides. Push the side of your hand down the center of the meat loaf to create a dip and pour a generous amount of barbecue sauce down that slot.

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Bake for 50 minutes until the loaf is crusty on top and meat temperature reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.

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When the meatloaf is done, let it cool then place in the refrigerator to chill and firm.

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Slice the meatloaf in thin slices. Dip in the mixture of flour, salt, pepper, basil on both sides then fry in the oil forming a crispy coating and heating the cooked meatloaf to a serving temperature.

Jill’s Quickie Chopped Slaw Summer Salad