“Nine shelves,” Mom said. “That’s impressive.”

“Isn’t it? Solomon took the nine-shelf unit.”

Mom nodded. “Of course he did.”

“It works with meat and fish, and makes the best squirrel jerky you’ve ever tasted in less than six hours. Nobody can touch that time. Solomon knew it and grabbed it. He’s smart, he’s strong, and he has the best taste in everything.”

Mom gave a thumbs-up. “He knows his dehydrators. That’s for sure.”

“He does indeed,” Crystal said, then flashed a smug smile. “I also sold him the newest water-filtration pen that all the Ogunites are excited about. My point is, Solomon will survive wherever he goes. And what woman doesn’t find that an attractive quality in a man?”

“The survivalist instinct,” Mom said, pondering the words. “It certainly speaks to our most basic needs as women.”

Cave women, I thought, but didn’t say it aloud.

“I know!” Crystal beamed. “I’m so proud to be a small contributor to his evolution. He’s a budding naturalist and, oh, such a deep thinker.”

“Well, he is a full professor,” I said.

“Exactly.” She sighed. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that Solomon’s taken Bennie and Stefan under his wing. I know he only befriended them to learn more survivalist skills, but that’s a good sign, isn’t it? Bennie’s taught him how to shoot and reload, and last week, Stefan showed him how to skin a squirrel.”

“How thrilling,” Mom said.

“Isn’t it?” Crystal nodded excitedly. “But, personally, I think the boys will learn so much more from having a man like Solomon around as a role model than he’ll ever learn from them.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re right,” I said sincerely. I would warn her to stay away from Solomon later, but right now I wanted to keep her talking.

She leaned closer so she wouldn’t be overheard. “It’s sad, though, because Bennie and Stefan are so immature.” She laughed. “Seriously, I could live off the land better than those two knuckleheads ever could. And I can say that because they’re my brothers.”

“They are?” I didn’t remember them all being related.

“Oh, I mean they’re my church brothers. I’ve known them forever and, you know, they’re still boys.” She laughed and waved her hands philosophically. “They can be so juvenile.”

“I have brothers so I know what you mean,” I said, chuckling in camaraderie.

“But Solomon is a man.” She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

Mom stepped forward eagerly. “I simply must have another taste of that pineapple.”

“You know, Crystal,” I said, rushing to change the subject, “it’s been a long time since I taught at the institute, but I distinctly remember one woman who taught there. What was her name?” I thought for a few seconds. “Angela? Angelina?”

“Angelica.” Crystal nearly spat the word.

“That’s her,” I whispered triumphantly. “She was a piece of work.”

“I know it’s wrong, but I really hate her,” Crystal said in an undertone. “She’s horrible. Nasty. Brooklyn, I swear I never say things like this, but that woman is the B word.”

Whoa. The B word. That was some kind of serious condemnation coming from Crystal.

Her shoulders tightened and she busied herself by grabbing her fruit knife and slicing up fresh peaches to demonstrate the miracle action of the Monarch 5000.

“I didn’t like her, either,” I confessed.

“I’m so glad to hear that, Brooklyn,” she said. “I don’t like to speak ill of anyone, but she’s just a mean person. I don’t know what Solomon sees in her.”

“So they’re still dating?”

“If you want to call it that. But I’ve seen her with other men,” she whispered. “I call that cheating.”

“Have you had some run-ins with her?”

“Multiple run-ins,” she said, emphasizing every syllable. “I live in the Hollow, and my church members over there are my best customers. I’m always stopping by to drop off the latest updates on dehydrators and survivalist tools, plus I hand out free samples of my family’s orchard products. Everybody loves those.”

“I know I do,” Mom piped up.

Crystal grinned as she continued slicing up fruit. “Since Solomon is such a good customer, I’ve stopped by his place a few times, too. He’s been so nice to me, I like to bring him baked goods and things. The last few times I’ve come by, he’s told me I can come anytime and I think he means it in a special way. But Angelica is so rude. She actually threatened me once. I know it’s because she’s jealous that Solomon shows an interest in me. She chased me all the way out to my car the other day and said horrible things. It made me so mad, I wanted…oh.” She dropped the knife as blood spurted from her finger.

“Oh, goodness,” Mom said, grabbing a napkin and wrapping it around Crystal’s finger.

“Thanks, Mrs. Wainwright. I’m such a klutz sometimes.”

“What are you whispering about over there?” Melody asked, staring pointedly at her sister. “Get over here. I’ve sold two more dehydrators.”

“OMG, yay,” Crystal said unsteadily, then tried to laugh, but it came out a nervous titter. “Gosh, Brooklyn, you really got me going about that woman.”

“I’m so sorry.” I touched Crystal’s arm in sympathy. “Believe me, she used to drive me crazy, too.”

“So it’s not just me?” She loosened, then pressed the napkin tighter around the cut. “That’s a relief. LOL.”

Chapter 16

“I’m going to have to buy a new dehydrator just to assuage my guilt,” I said as I absently swirled the wine in my glass.

Mom nodded. “As long as you’re buying into the guilt, you can’t go wrong with the Monarch 5000.”

As the sun fell behind the ridge, Mom and I sat outside on the terrace, tasting the latest pinot noir Dad had brought home. He’d thought Mom would appreciate its lighter, elegant cherry and mocha tones, and he was right. I liked it, too.

Now that the sun was gone, the air cooled quickly and I wrapped my jacket a little tighter around me. I was waiting for Derek to arrive before Gabriel swung by to pick us up and drive us to Max’s for our nightly meeting.

“I really don’t need a dehydrator,” I said. “But I hated pumping her for so much information. Maybe I should buy one to pay her back.”

“It’s all for a good cause, sweetie.”

“I guess so. And she really wanted to talk. But it was awful to hear her talk about Angelica. It made me remember how nasty she was to me. I feel sorry for anyone who’s ever had to deal with that woman.”

“Yes, but you need to let it go. Crystal seemed to enjoy our visit.”

Poor Crystal. I could relate to her having to put up with the mean and nasty Angelica, but it flipped me out that Crystal was so enamored of Solomon. Had the guy really changed that much in the years since I’d known him? I doubted it. He had always been a ladies’ man, and now it looked like he was buttering up Crystal to make his move on her. I didn’t believe for a minute that he was faithful to Angelica.

The thought of him hitting on Crystal made me cringe, but Crystal didn’t seem to mind. She was so innocent, she didn’t even seem to realize that he might be trying to lure her into his bed. She had no clue just how manipulative he could be.

I took another sip of the pinot and tasted the dark cherry tones Dad was talking about, along with a hint of raspberry. “So Solomon has only recently developed an interest in survivalist stuff. Coincidence? Just when the Beauty and the Beast comes onto the market? And just when we find out about Max? It’s all connected, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is,” Mom said. “I don’t know the man, but if he’s living in the Hollow, he’s surrounded by Ogunites. And you know how they are. Not rough, exactly.”

“No, just rugged individualists,” I said dryly, finishing her thought. “Even the sheriff used to avoid going down there.”

“Yes, but it’s been cleaned up quite a bit since then.”

“It can’t be too awful if Crystal goes there every day to sell her products.”