Introduction

Life just got a whole lot more complicated--thanks to a "secret" ingredient The women of the Potluck Club have made a bold move. They've launched a catering business that's a lot like them: saucy, spicy, and well-seasoned. But will a pantry full of personal secrets cause the business to crumble before it gets off the ground? As the women focus on their new venture they are forced to deal with a steamy past that threatens a marriage, the scalding truth about those they thought they knew, and the outrageous situations that come out of an unexpected--and revealing--trip back home. The ladies of Summit View, Colorado, haven't left the kitchen--they've merely turned up the heat on their most delectable adventure to date.

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Excerpt

Chapter 2

Wedding Punch

Now, I’m not one to get all misty eyed, but let’s just say when I saw my daddy standing at the end of the aisle, dressed in his tux, I had to blink to clear my vision. He was so handsome, so regal, as he waited for his bride. It would have been a perfect moment if it hadn’t been for the woman he was marrying.

It was no secret Evie and I had been at war for years. It started when I was in fifth grade and had inadvertently kept her from getting too friendly with Dad, the local sheriff and one of the most eligible bachelors in Summit View.

After that, I was always a target for her cutting remarks. But at least I’d had my Sunday school teacher, Vonnie Westbrook, to stand up for me.

Evie would bark, “Donna, you’re slouching, can’t you stand up straight?

Vonnie would say, “Evangeline, why are you speaking to this child in that tone?”

Evie’d put her hands on her hips. “It’s just this child needs a mother.”

With all innocence, I’d reply, “No, ma’am, not if that mother was to be you.”

And now, all these years later, Evangeline was finally marrying my dad. Oh happy day.

So not only did the two of us have a history, though I was willing to forgive if she was willing to play nice, I had other concerns. For instance, I was concerned about Evie’s emotional stability. I tried to believe she’d merely had a case of wedding jitters, but in the past few weeks, she flittered from dating my dad then getting engaged to that hideous Bob Barnett before finally walking down the aisle with Daddy.

Talk about an emotional roller coaster.

That, and a couple of public temper tantrums, made me a bit nervous to embrace her as a close relative. But what could I say? Dad obviously loved her, and I was going to have to live with that fact.

Still, I was already missing Tuesday nights, when I’d cook Dad dinner and have him all to myself. Now, he dragged Evie along. It just wasn’t the same.

I clutched my bouquet of daisies and roses and stepped into my rehearsed glide, feeling a bit uncomfortable draped in pink satin. This froufrou look was a far cry from the tough girl image I’d so carefully crafted in my role of sheriff’s deputy.

Before I could break into a scowl, my eyes locked with the eyes of the man who raised me. His smile shifted from me to the back of the room, where Evie would soon appear.

He looked so happy. I vowed to look happy too. Besides, in recent weeks, Evangeline had seemed to soften toward me. So, I was going to try, really try, to soften toward her.

Just as I turned to join the other bridesmaids, two faces seemed to pop out of the crowded pews.

Both David Harris, fresh from Los Angeles, and Wade Gage, my old high school sweetheart, were staring at me as if I were an angel. The thought struck me so funny that I had to stifle a giggle.

Though I tried to keep my mirth under control, I caught Wade with one of his lopsided grins spreading across his face. He looked both amused and smitten, and I had to hold my breath so I wouldn’t laugh out loud. I was saved by the abrupt organ prelude to the “Bridal Chorus.”

When the music sounded, it was as if God himself had flipped a switch inside of me. My giggles stopped, and a heavy soberness engulfed me.

The crowd stood and turned as Miss Evangeline Benson, in her Grace Kelly wedding gown, floated toward the altar.

Everyone turned, except David. He was still staring moon-eyed at me. He jumped as his date shot him in the ribs with an elbow jab.

This might have struck me as funny if the jabber hadn’t been my long-lost baby sister, Velvet James. She was clad in white as if she were a bride herself. I’m no fashion expert, but I know tacky. Velvet flamed me with her eyes as she twined David’s arm into hers. Her little performance seemed right out of grade school.

The music crescendoed, and I shifted my eyes to Evangeline. She looked lovely as she blushed under the intense gaze of my father. Sweet. And she’d better stay that way. Otherwise, my niceness might crumble and she’d have to deal with the real me, the me I saved for passing out tickets to speeding tourists.

But what was I thinking? This was her wedding day, and I’d pledged to be on my best behavior. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. The Potluck Club has decided to take on a catering business, and there was plenty of adventure to begin with. Why do you think the club decided to begin their own business? Have you ever started your own business? What was it, and how did it turn out?
 
2. Evangeline has just returned from her honeymoon and is beginning to build a relationship with her new husband—along with finding out about the new catering business. Her reaction is anything but excitement. Why do you think she feels this way?
 
3. Lizzie is a full-time wife, mom, caretaker of her mother, and now part of the Potluck Catering business. Attempting to balance everything has become Lizzie’s life, and she soon begins to look for a way to cope with it all. Lizzie turns to a more harmful way to ease her problems. How could Lizzie have dealt with her problems other than with alcohol? How do you cope with the stresses of life?
 
1. Vonnie is also taking care of her mother and her family in addition to doing the Potluck Catering business. She, however, does not have a very good relationship with her mother and they argue often. How does Vonnie deal with her negative relationship with her mother? Have you ever had a bad relationship with a relative? Have you ever worked to repair it? If so, how?
 
4. Goldie was very close to her father, and she is devastated over his death. After her father’s death, what secrets does she uncover about her father and her mother? What about the secrets shared by her siblings? How do you think those uncovered secrets will help Goldie as she grieves? 
 
5. Donna has two great men pursuing her, but she is very hesitant to date either one of them. Why do you think she is cautious with both relationships? Have you ever been cautious to enter into any kind of relationship? Why?
 
1. Lisa Leann came to Colorado to escape her secrets, but it seemed that her secret followed her there. How did keeping her secret affect Lisa Leann’s relationships with others and with her husband? 
 
6. Donna’s relationship with her birth mother has a rocky start, but after they talk things seem to look up. Do you think Donna and Dee Dee will continue to get along? Have you ever had a rocky start to what is now a strong friendship? What happened to change it?
 
7. Vonnie, Donna, Evangeline, Lisa Leann, and Lizzie all had to learn to trust God to help them overcome the stresses of life. Have you ever had to trust God with what seemed like chaotic circumstances? How have you learned to trust him?
 
8.  The Potluck Catering Club shared their secrets with one another and found that their first step should be to pray. Have you ever had a time when your first instinct was to pray? How did prayer help the situation? One the other hand, was there ever a time when your first action should have been to pray—but it wasn’t? How could the situation have turned out differently if prayer had come first?
 

Weblinks

»	Linda's Website
»	Eva Marie's Website

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