Sweet Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page B

urged.
    “After you.” She touched Marla’s
elbow and edged her toward the serving line. She noticed that the other woman
took only tiny spoonfuls of the salads and a scant dipperful of the beans.
    “Saving room for the cake,” she
said when she caught Sam noticing her small portions.
    Sam scooped enchiladas onto her
own plate, wondering again about the conversation in the kitchen.
    Someone else pulled Marla aside
at that moment. She gave the newcomer a bright smile and went along. Sam found
a spot to sit at one edge of the living room. She watched Marla interact with
her guests and decided she’d probably misinterpreted the earlier conversation.
    “Sad, isn’t it?” The voice beside
her was Camille, if Sam recalled correctly. “The way Marla keeps hoping Tito
will come home.”
    “She told me she believes he’s
alive and well somewhere,” Sam said, remembering Marla’s comments yesterday in
the bakery. “Can’t she find out where he is and contact him?”
    Camille shrugged. “She tried. She
reported him missing. I don’t think the police treated it very seriously. And
then she hired some investigator. But that didn’t work out either.”
    Sam stared at a spot on the
carpet. Maybe Beau would know something about the case.
    “It was really hard when Tricia
died. Tito’s wife,” Camille said. “Gosh, she was so young. It just didn’t seem
right. That little girl, all alone. She seemed so lost.”
    “Marla really loves her, doesn’t
she?”
    “Jolie is all the world to her
now.”
    Someone tapped on a glass and
Marla’s voice again rose to get everyone’s attention. “We have a lovely
memorial cake for Tito,” she said. “And I want to introduce you to the talented
baker who made it.”
    Sam blushed as all eyes turned to
her.
    “Samantha, would you do the honor
and cut the cake?”
    She nodded and made her way to
the table. Within minutes she’d handed out dessert plates to nearly everyone.
Jolie and her friends held back.
    “I want one of the big roses,”
Jolie said.
    At choruses of “Me too!” Sam
worked out ways to make cuts that gave each girl a slice of the cake with a
whole rose on her plate. They wiggled with delight and headed back to Jolie’s
bedroom with their treasures.
    The other guests began to
surround Sam when she went back to the living room with a small slice of the
red velvet cake, and she found herself explaining what kind of shop Sweet’s
Sweets was and giving directions to the place. Several of Marla’s friends
promised to come by and others talked about upcoming birthday orders. By the
time she caught sight of Marla again, Sam realized the crowd had thinned.
    “I think I’ve overstayed a bit,”
she said when Marla walked up to her.
    “Oh, nonsense, Sam. Everyone was
delighted to meet you.”
    Sam looked at the ruins of the
meal. Most of the serving bowls were gone, taken away by whoever brought them,
but there were the remains of the cake alongside splotches of spilled food on
the tablecloth.
    “Let me stay and help you clean
up,” she offered.
    Marla started to defer but Sam
could see that she was tired. Through the doorway to the kitchen she could see
the two neighbors scraping plates and loading them into the dishwasher.
    “With several of us working on
it,” Sam said, “it’ll only take a few minutes.” She headed toward the table and
began carrying the remaining dishes to the kitchen. A platter from a cupboard
provided a good place for the leftover cake, and Sam expertly cut it into
pieces, arranged them on the platter, and set the messy cake board aside to be
taken away.
    Diane finished wiping the counter
tops and Deborah had put detergent into the dishwasher and started the machine.
Sam lost track of them for a few minutes and when she looked again, they were
saying goodbye to Marla who had stretched out on a couch in the living room,
looking worn out.
    “Is there anything else I can do
for you, Marla?” Sam asked, as the two neighbors walked out