I grunted at Dove’s “Good morning” and headed straight for the coffeepot. She floured her hands and started kneading the huge lump of dough on the counter, all the while getting on my case about what happened at the parade.“I don’t want you going back to town.” She smacked the white lump with a practiced hand. “There’s absolutely no reason to until Gabe catches that crazy person.” She always bakes when she’s upset. A part of me contemplated extending my visit just to enjoy the fruits of her stress.“Dove, that might not ever happen,” I said, nibbling on a piece of sausage. “I can’t hide out here forever. I have a life. I have a job. And—” I glanced at the kitchen clock. “I have an appointment. Where’s Daddy?”“He said he’d be here shortly. You just do what Gabe tells you and stay out of trouble.” She wiped her hands on the large white towel pinned around her waist. “And you’d best be watching yourself with those two boys. You know you’d just as well be playing with lighted dynamite as getting into the middle of two bulls with their hormones all fired up.”“Please, no bovine analogies this early in the morning,”
