Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)

“It’s cheese. Did you expect it to break into song?”


“If it did, you’d make a lot more money. I’m just saying. So, what’s the next step?”

“It needs salting before we age it.”

He sighed. “Why do I know I’m not going to shake salt on the top and call it a day?”

“Because you’re more than a pretty face.” She pointed to the pans she’d already laid out and the large glass containers of water. “We need a twenty-three percent salt brine solution. They’ll soak in that for twenty-four hours.”

“Twenty-three percent? You’re that precise?”

“If I want the flavor right. After that, the cheese will age in a fourteen percent salt brine solution for about sixty days. We do that at sixty degrees, which is why I use the front part of the cave, where it’s warmer.”

He shook his head. “How do you remember this?”

She pointed to the shelf above their heads. Several notebooks were lined up. “I’ve done a lot of research, I’ve taken classes and I’ve screwed up a lot. I find that’s the best way to learn. I was smart enough to start with small batches, so I didn’t lose too much in the process.”

They carefully transferred the cheese from the molds to the trays, then Heidi and Rafe slowly added the twenty-three percent salt brine. She covered the trays with cloth and stripped off her gloves.

“That’s it?” he asked.

“Until tomorrow. Then I’ll put them into individual, airtight containers with the fourteen percent solution. From there, they go to the caves and do their thing.”

“And it’s cheese in sixty days?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Put me down for five containers,” he told her. “I’ll pay retail. I’m that kind of guy.”

She thought about teasing him, saying that each container would cost him twenty thousand dollars, but found herself unable to speak. Probably because she’d just figured out that either she or Rafe wouldn’t be here in sixty days. No doubt, by then the judge would have ruled and, regardless of the outcome, one of them would be gone.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“SO,       RAFE HAD THIS NEW BIKE that Mayor      Marsha had given him,” Shane was saying. “He rode it everywhere.”

The five of them sat at an old wooden table Rafe and Shane had      brought out from the barn. The trees around the house provided shade, and a      light breeze cooled the air. On the table were the remnants of their meal. The      ribs May had spent all afternoon slow cooking, homemade mac-and-cheese, salad      and ice-cold beer.

Worried about the paint and her plan to deceive the world,      Heidi would have sworn she couldn’t eat anything. But a single bite of May’s      dinner had been enough to make her ravenous, and she’d eaten her share of      everything. Now full and more relaxed than she’d been in days, she leaned back      and listened to the brothers trade stories about their past.

“I loved that bike,” Rafe said, narrowing his gaze. “You stole      it.”

“I traded it for horseback-riding lessons.”

“It wasn’t yours to trade.”

“I wanted to learn to ride a horse.”

“Things went downhill from there,” May admitted. “I found them      fighting in the barn. Rafe had a black eye and Shane’s nose was bloody.” She      glanced at her middle son. “You shouldn’t have taken his bike.”

“So you said at the time.”

“Did you get it back?” Heidi asked.

Rafe nodded.

“Obviously, you learned to ride a horse,” she said to      Shane.

“Yup. Never did do that well on a bike, but that’s okay.”

Everyone laughed. Heidi saw Glen reach for May’s hand. The      older couple was still together, and if she didn’t know her grandfather as well      as she did, she would have sworn they were in love. Glen had always done his      best to avoid any long-term entanglements, but with May, he was different. She      didn’t see any signs of him wanting to get away.

“Remember when Clay brought home that old dog?” May asked. She      laughed. “I’d never seen a dog so ugly. He insisted it was a fine-looking animal      and that we should keep it.” Her smile faded. “We couldn’t, of course. I could      barely feed my children. There wasn’t any extra for a pet. But it would have      been nice.”

“You have your animals now,” Glen reminded her.

“I do, and there’s plenty to eat.” She raised her glass. “To my      boys, who have made me proud.”

Heidi joined in the toast.

After dinner, everyone helped clear the table. Heidi shooed May      out of the kitchen, saying the other woman had done enough with dinner. She was      going to clean up. Glen and Shane drifted away, but Rafe stayed.

“I can do this,” she told him.