Her grandfather on Ziggy’s side was long gone, left her grandmother early enough that Ziggy had no memory of the man. Zoe always thought that was part of her dad’s problem. He hadn’t had a male role model and didn’t know how to be a man without using his fists and the testosterone in his veins. Her grandmother moved around enough to have Christmas cards kick back every other year.
Her mom’s parents were still alive. Divorced . . . but that seemed to be the theme in Zoe’s life when it came to her family. Her grandfather had remarried, but his new wife wanted nothing to do with them, therefore the Brown children never had a relationship with the only grandfather they could ever know.
Grandma Workman went out of her way to keep in touch with them. She’d send the occasional birthday card and care package for Christmas. Only Grandma Workman lived in San Francisco in a tiny studio apartment. Zoe knew there were times Sheryl hit Grandma up for money, but there wasn’t much to give.
Once Warring Chef hit the air, Uncle Don, Sheryl’s brother, had sent a letter—the kind that required a stamp—saying he was happy for her. Still, the relationship never moved from there.
Zoe had a Christmas card uncle and grandmother . . . that was it. No one else to say they were family.
There weren’t many times in Zoe’s life that she thought about having children of her own. The thought of bringing them into her life with such screwed-up grandparents felt wrong. So Zoe worked on being an independent woman who didn’t need a family to support her for anything.
Only now, with drama once again nipping at the edges of every day, Zoe leaned on Luke, on Jo and Mel. Miss Gina sent her text messages several times a week, asking how she was holding up. Even Luke’s mom had shown up right before leaving River Bend the last time to give her a hug and tell her she was there to listen if she ever needed to talk.
She realized she’d been sitting in an idling car watching someone else’s kids while all these forgotten thoughts ran in her head.
Zoe dialed Anton’s number and waited for him to pick up.
It went to voice mail.
“Hi, Anton, it’s Zoe. I’m sorry, but I’m going to suspend my search for a home in Dallas for now. My life is a little complicated to add this to my plate. I’ll let you know if I pick up the search again.” Zoe drove away from the nameless kids playing and didn’t look back.
“I’m flying to New York in the morning.”
Luke leaned against the workbench in the garage with the shop phone to his ear. “Are these new plans? I don’t remember you saying you were going.”
“Spur-of-the-moment plans. I need to see my agent.”
He liked when she talked business. The confidence in her voice was a nice change from the defeated woman she was when talking about her family. “Sounds important.”
“It might be. I’m thinking of diversifying.”
“Which means?”
“Promise you won’t laugh.”
“Unless you tell me you’re joining the circus, I won’t laugh.”
There was enough silence on the line Luke thought she wasn’t going to tell him.
“I’m . . . ah . . . I’m thinking of writing a book. A cookbook.”
He grinned. “Why would I laugh at that? I think it’s a perfect idea.”
“It is, isn’t it? I also thought I would do a series of videos . . . maybe web based, or perhaps an actual made for TV spotlight featuring some of the recipes. I was talking to Felix, and we thought up several different angles to do this big.”
The excitement in her voice gave his heart a jolt. “So how does this involve your agent?”
“I talked with her over the phone, and she’s set up a couple of meetings with publishers. I’ve never published anything. Since this is new ground for me, I wanted to see these people face-to-face so I know who I’m dealing with.”
Luke listened while she told him about one of her contracts where she’d ended up hating the producer and fighting with him every time she was on set.
“It sounds like you’re taking a smart approach.”
“There’s no hurry, so why not make sure I can work with these people?”
“Good plan. I have a hard time wrapping my head around all the decisions you’ve had to make in the last ten years.” It made him even more proud of her when he heard the process she had to go through to “diversify,” as she called it.
“In the beginning it was easy . . . if it involved a paycheck, I was in. According to Suki and Felix, I can pick and choose now and ask for more.”
“I’m proud of you, baby.”
He heard her sigh. “That means a lot, coming from you.”
“Can I do anything?”
“Have you ever published a cookbook?”
He laughed. “I haven’t even used a cookbook.”
Zoe joined his mirth. “How is everything there?”
It had only been a week since she’d left. “Quiet.”
“I’m not sure if that’s good.”
“Me either. Jo’s watching . . . everyone is listening. Have you talked with your sister or Zane?”
“I left a message for Zane, he didn’t call back. Have you seen them?”
He considered keeping the conversation he’d had with Zane to himself. Instead, he gave Zoe the CliffsNotes version, even though he knew it would hurt her.
“Seems like everyone in that house forgot what a scumbag the man is.”