Read Online The Potluck Club—Takes the Cake by Linda Evans Shepherd - Free Book Online

open and Lisa Leann rushed inside, stamping snow off the bottom of her furry snow boots, which perfectly matched her fur-trimmed, camel-colored suede jacket. I suppose she thought it complemented her red hair and all. Honestly, was color and fashion the only nonsense that woman kept in her head?
    As soon as she saw Clay, she ran to him. “Clay, darlin’, look at you. My, you are a handsome one.” She looked at me out of the corner of her eye and spoke even louder. “The girls around here are starting to notice. Why, two of the single women in that Sunday school class I teach asked me about you just the other day.”
    David noticed my stare and turned to watch the exchange.
    “I told them, the next time I see him, I’m inviting him to our class. It would make things a lot more interesting.” She cackled. “Don’t you think? I’m heading that way now, and I could give you a ride. Care to join me?”
    Clay looked embarrassed, but he nodded his head. “Sure.” He paused as if to make sure I was watching. “I guess. Yeah.”
    “Well, good. After all, there’s not a finer bachelor in town than you.”
    She turned to leave then acted surprised to see me. “Donna, I hadn’t realized you were sitting there.”
    “Ah, yeah.”
    Lisa Leann looked David up and down as if she thought he were a stale donut. Then in a fakely sweet voice said, “David, I guess you’re about ready to head back for California.”
    “No, ma’am,” David said with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m glad you stopped by our table. I was just about to make an announcement.”
    Clay stepped closer. “What sort of announcement?”
    David grinned at his audience. He looked at me. “Some of you knew this was coming, but today it’s official. I’m here to stay.” He paused, staring at me. “It seems I’ve fallen in love.”
    I stared back, not daring to blink. He continued. “Not only with this place but with the people. I said to myself, ‘Summit View’s the place you should be.’ So here I am. My furniture is already en route and...” He craned his neck to look out the window. “There’s my realtor pulling up to the café now.”
    He turned back to me. “Donna, would you help me look at houses this morning? You don’t have to be at work for a while yet, do you? I could really use your advice.”
    All I could do was nod my head, while Lisa Leann said, “Honestly, David. Are you sure this is the wise thing for you to do?” She brightened. “Your girlfriend in LA, she’s coming to join you?”
    David winked at me then looked back at Lisa Leann. “I’m single and looking,” he said with a grin. “I’m liking what I’m seeing right here in Summit View.”
    Lisa Leann, who looked less than amused, shot a quick glance back at Clay. “Oh, I see. Though I’m sure you’ll get bored at our simple way of life and head back to Tinsel Town lickety-split.”
    “We’ll see about that,” David said, still grinning.
    Lisa Leann’s voice seemed to cool. “Well, we will, won’t we?”
    She turned to me as David’s realtor, a Mrs. Wanda Whittman, walked up to the table. Wanda usually goes to Grace Church on Sunday mornings, that is, when she doesn’t have a fish on the line. And David could be a whopper. By the gleam in her eye, I could see she thought so.
    Mrs. Whittman paused, waiting for a break in the conversation. She was as much a fashion plate as Lisa Leann, dressed from head to toe in winter white cashmere, including her long flowing sweater jacket with fur trim. The posh black sunglasses she wore on top of her high-styled blonde hair were the crowning touch.
    But Lisa Leann wasn’t ready to let Wanda get in on the conversation yet. “Oh, Donna dear, good news from your soon-to-be stepmother, Miss Evangeline Benson.”
    I felt my eyebrows cock. What an unsettling thought to have that woman as my stepmother. I crossed my arms. “What did Miss Evangeline have to say?” I asked.
    “Her wedding to your dad is going to be the