Roan kissed her forehead, winked, and sauntered out the door. Sabrina jumped off the bed to follow him.
“Traitor,” Jazzy hollered after the cat. Grabbed a pillow, fell back on the bed, daydreaming of building a future with Roan.
It was only after she showered and got ready for bed did she check her voice mail. She had a call from Traveling Nurses.
On Thursday morning, December 22, Roan showed up at the appointed time with Trinity in tow. At sixa.m., the sun wasn’t even up.
The competition didn’t start until eight, but Roan insisted they begin early to ensure they didn’t forget anything. He double- and triple-checked everything she’d loaded up the night before. He coached her on managing her time and anxiety and cautioned her against common cook-off pitfalls, regaling her with stories of his own competition missteps while Trinity napped on her couch.
“Thanks,” she said. “You made me feel better.”
“Now you’re thinking like a competitor,” Roan said. “You can do this, Rainbow. I have faith in you.”
The Lake Twilight marina pavilion had been set up with two dozen firepits for the twenty-four contestants. It surprised Jazzy how many people had entered the challenge and how far they’d come. Bakers from all across Texas as well as Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas.
“This is a big deal,” she whispered to Roan as they unloaded her supplies from his pickup truck. Trinity sat on the tailgate humming “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and playing a game on her father’s cell phone.
“The campfire cooking circuit has a loyal following,” Roan said.
“I had no idea campfire cooking was so popular.”
A horn honked and Jazzy glanced over to see Roan’s parents pull up beside them with Rio in the back seat.
Ava Sullivan rolled down her window. “Great morning for a baking contest!”
“Grammy!” Trinity said and shoved the phone back to Roan.
Roan’s dad parked their SUV and Jazzy helped Trinity down from the tailgate so she could go flying to her grandparents and aunt, full of four-year-old chatter. She told them all about the stocking for her at Jazzy’s house and her encounter with Sabrina. Which Trinity called “the most bootiful kitty in the world.”
The fifty-eight-degree morning weather was quite temperate after the weekend’s ice storm, but that was typical of December in North Central Texas. Balmy weather often followed a few days of below freezing temperatures.
Roan and Jazzy each grabbed a handle of the cooler packed with baking supplies and headed for the check-in table. His parents followed, as did Trinity and Rio, who were holding hands and skipping across the parking lot. Trinity singing “Skip to My Lou” at the top of her voice. She was such a happy child, secure in the love of her family.
It was a sweet moment that melted Jazzy’s heart.
She inhaled deeply, appreciating the company and the sunshine and buzz of activity. The airsmelled of the mesquite wood chips stacked by each firepit, along with the scent of breakfast tacos cooking from a Tex-Mex restaurant off the town square.
Jazzy checked in and received an assigned contestant number to wear pinned to the green-and-red apron they gave her imprinted with the contest logo.
“Lucky number thirteen,” Roan said.
“Good thing I’m not superstitious, huh?” she told Roan as he tied the apron around her waist and helped her attach the number.
“It’s just a number,” he said. “It has no power other than what you give it. I have every confidence in your ability to ace this challenge and take home that golden cookie statue.”
While she appreciated him and his family’s enthusiastic support, shewasstarting to worry about letting everyone down.
“Are we allowed to help the contestants unpack?” Roan’s mother asked the registration clerk.
“Sure, but only contestants are allowed in the cooking arena once the competition starts,” the woman replied.
“I’ll take Little Bit to the stands.” Rio reached for Trinity’s hand. The little girl was waving at the portable bleachers erected for the event. “Good luck, Jazzy.”
“Thanks.”
“Canna have a hug first?” Trinity asked, reaching out to Jazzy.
Her heart—already soft as butter—dissolved completely as she crouched to give Trinity a hug.