Chapter 20
Cream Cheese-Stuffed Strawberries
Rinse one pound of large strawberries. With a paring knife, remove the tops and cores. In a mixing bowl, beat one package of cream cheese, ¼ to ½ cup powdered sugar, and one teaspoon vanilla extract until creamy. Fill a frosting bag with the cream cheese mixture and pipe it into the strawberries. Crush enough graham crackers to fill a ½-cup measure, and dip the strawberry tops in the crumbs, or sprinkle them over the tops. If not serving immediately, refrigerate the strawberries until serving.
Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.
Barely two blocks from Dallas’s office, I clicked the air conditioning up another notch and noticed a familiar person to my right. Luke Stetson stood in the front yard of a lovely two-story home painted a muted olive green. His Harley was parked in the driveway, so I figured he must live there.
Watching him water the flowerbeds with a high-powered sprayer attached to a yellow garden hose, I thought of how Luke had stopped during his run and apologized to me and then told me his secret. Before I had a chance to talk myself out of it, I stopped and hopped out of my Mountaineer.
“Hey, you’re going to kill those flowers if you don’t change the setting on that sprayer.”
Luke startled and turned toward me—with the water still going full blast. I screamed as an icy stream hit my midsection.
“Oh, no!” He released the trigger and dropped the hose. “I’ll grab a towel.”
I didn’t say anything, just sucked in my stomach away from the dripping fabric that was my new rayon blouse. At least it would dry quickly. The coral color had deepened from the water, and my khaki capris were a bit soggy around the waistline too.
Luke jumped down the last three steps of his porch and handed me a fluffy blue bath towel. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking—you startled me.” The worried look on his face added a few creases to his forehead, and he wiped his hand across it, as if subconsciously smoothing the tanned skin. “Did I ruin your shirt?”
“No, it’ll dry quickly in this heat.” I blotted at the water on my arms and held the towel awkwardly.
“Sheesh, I can’t believe I did that.” Luke’s expression was contrite, and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.
“Don’t worry about it.” I handed him the towel. “I was just trying to save your flowers.” I motioned to the petunias that had been taking a beating from his trigger finger.
Luke glanced at the flowers, and his shoulders drooped. “I’m not much of a gardener. One of my clients offered to do some landscaping in trade for a bill reduction. He said I needed to water them every day when it heated up.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from smirking. The garden hose at my feet vibrated with the pressure from the water. I picked it up, and Luke immediately stepped back. “I’m not going to spray you. Let me show you how to water your flowers so you don’t kill them.”
“Hey, thanks.” He moved closer so he could see the different nozzle settings. “I grew up on the east coast. You don’t have to water much there.”
“No problem. I grew up an hour and a half from here—in the desert. I know all about irrigating.” I explained to him how and when to water the petunias and the few shrubs that banked the sides of his house. Then I handed him back the hose. “You could also install some drip lines, so you wouldn’t have to do it by hand.”
“Thanks, Adri.” There was a question in his eyes, and I realized he probably wondered why I had stopped by his house.
“I didn’t know you lived in this neighborhood.” I stopped myself before I blurted out that the guy I was dating worked just around the corner.
“Yeah, I moved in two months ago. Bought the place through a realtor who works around the corner.”
“No way.” I hesitated, wondering if life could be this coincidental. “His name wouldn’t be Dallas Reynolds, by chance?”
Luke rubbed the back of his neck with the damp towel. “Yes, do you know him?”
“I’m on my way back from his office right now.” I was embarking on dangerous territory, and I could anticipate what the next question might be—boyfriend? The problem was, I didn’t know how I would answer it. Luke was more tactful than I deserved.
“Thinking of buying some property?”
“No, I bought a condo three blocks from here.” I pointed down the street. “You know the ones with the river rock and tan stucco and a one-car garage?”
“Yeah, that’s a nice area. Are you close to the road or farther back?”
“Mine is the third one in the complex.”
“Great location. So, how do you know Dallas?”
Here was where I needed to decide how much explanation I wanted to give. Smoothing the damp material of my blouse, I looked at the ground. “He wanted me to go to lunch.” I raised my eyes to Luke’s to gauge his reaction. “But this is the best I could do today.”
“Huh. Small world.” The skin around his eyes tightened, but then he straightened and gave me a look I was sure he’d used in court before. “Do you like him a lot?”
“We’ve been dating for about two weeks. He’s very nice, and he likes weddings.” I lifted my chin and waited to see how he would react to my little barb.
Luke laughed but remained focused. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He definitely was a lawyer. I nodded. “Yes. I like Dallas.”
“But?”
“I didn’t say but.”
“Yes, you did—I mean, you didn’t say it, but you didn’t have to. I could hear it in your voice. You’re hesitant.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What? Are you cross-examining me now?”
He laughed again. “I’m just trying to figure
