Welcome to Recipe for Romance!
I have a new book coming out this month! Yay! It’s called IN PLAIN SIGHT and the heroine is the Sheriff of Summit Springs, Colorado. But if you haven’t read the first book in the series (or rather the story that connects to the one coming), here it is.
Let’s get started. I’m sharing a snippet of BROKEN CHAINS, the 5th book to be published in a multi-author series for Summit Springs Sapphic Romance. Merida is estranged from her family so she’s REALLY surprised when she gets an inheritance from her grandmother.
An official looking envelope with a lawyer’s name from Indianapolis, Indiana sat on the table and Merida paused.
What’s this?
It was addressed to her new legal name Merida Roark, the name she’d picked when she left her family behind due to their unreasoning homophobic hate. She’d cut off all ties, changed her name, closed her social media and bank accounts, and fled to Colorado. It had hurt at first, but the freedom to be who she truly was made up for it and now she didn’t think of the family at all.
Who the hell would send me anything official?
She took a deep breath, inhaling the soothing scent of peony, and opened the letter. Thick paper with a fancy letterhead slid out of the envelope and she started to read.
Dear Ms. Merida Roark,
I have the distinct honor and regret to inform you of the passing of Edna Bernice Edgerton of Indianapolis, Indiana. According to Edna’s last will and testament, an inheritance fund of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) has been awarded to you as her beneficiary.
Merida stopped reading and tried to breathe. Edna Bernice Edgerton had been Merida’s paternal grandmother before she left the fold. None of her family had supported the person she was. In fact, some had blatantly ignored her wishes and set her up on several blind dates with men who’d been told she was looking for a husband. Her father even went as far to suggest the only reason she wasn’t interested in men was because she hadn’t had sex.
I hadn’t had sex with men.
The idea grossed her out even now. She shook her head and kept reading.
Please return the following affidavit signed and notarized, with your current mailing address and email, and a certified check will be mailed out to you. Please respond within 30 days of receipt of this letter.
In the event that the beneficiary, Merida Leighann Roark, is no longer living, please have her representative inform us immediately. The monies will then be held in trust for the Edgerton family as per Mrs. Edna Bernice Edgerton’s will. Thank you.
Sincerely,
William T. Marks,
Attorney at Law.
Merida blinked. Her paternal grandmother had set aside fifty thousand dollars for her.
Holy shit.
She’d known Granny Bernie was loaded, but she’d cut the entire Edgerton clan out of her life so she figured that was that. And Granny Bernie never said a thing supporting Merida’s attraction to women. She’d said exactly nothing. When the family belittled or derided her, Granny kept her stern silence. When the family asked Merida to not attend family functions with her girlfriends “because the children shouldn’t see that kind of thing,” Granny never overrode them.
So why the hell would she leave me fifty grand?
Gramma's Gluten-Free Lemon Bars
Everyone likes lemon bars – even Mr. SM, who hates lemon desserts – and this is a great recipe to sweeten up even the most sour person at the party.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup 1:1 Gluten-Free all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Mix ingredients and spread in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Press into the bottom until it fills the whole pan.
Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 10-15 minutes. Check often, burns easily! Let cool.
Lemon Confection
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten with fork
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Mix until smooth and pour over crust.
Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 15-20 minutes, or until firm. Again, it burns easily, so watch closely.
Let cool in the pan, then cut into squares for serving.
Great snippet.
That sounds delicious! Great little read too – a nice change from hearts throbbing over cowboys.
Mmmm, lemon bars!
Congratulations on the new release! And the recipe sounds yum 🙂