CHAPTER THIRTY
The realization hits Charley as she is packing — the time to leave is so close. She needs to finish organizing and making sure she has just what she needs. She has ordered a new University of Michigan jacket so she has something to wear to the game. She also bought herself some brand new Lucky jeans. They seem to emphasize every curve on her back side and make her feel about 200 shades of sexy, especially knowing she’ll have a pair of pink lace boy shorts underneath them. She’s still deciding what to wear on the plane. It’s chilly in Louisville, but she knows she’ll be traveling into warmer temperatures. She can’t get Peter’s request to “wear a skirt so if it blows up I can see your sexy panties” off of her mind. The contents of Charley’s suitcase grow bigger and bigger as she throws more and more things in, making sure she has just what she needs to survive the weekend.
With her suitcase packed, Charley has finally decided on her outfit for the plane. She has a knee length denim skirt that buttons up the front. She’ll wear that with her cowboy boots and a light pink cashmere sweater with a lace cami underneath. Charley zips up her suitcase, puts her make up kit in its case and heads downstairs to make sure every t is crossed and every i is dotted in her schedule. The last thing she needs is a snafu in her organizing.
Her schedule looks buttoned up and ready for inspection. Charley heads to the freezer to make sure the dinners she has pre- prepared are in order in the freezer.
Oh sweet Jesus, Garrett, Charley thinks to herself. He’s been around so infrequently this past week she has pushed thoughts of him, and any feelings of guilt, to the far recesses of her mind. Charley stops in mid-stride as she realizes her excitement about this weekend is all because of Peter. She can’t wait to see him, spend time with him, hear his sweet words for her and maybe….
“NO,” Charley says out loud and to herself as she stomps her foot, “I won’t think about that. I’m just going to New Orleans to have fun, watch some basketball and just…oh, who the hell am I kidding? I’m going because I get to see Peter,” she finishes, quietly and lamely.
Feeling a bit ashamed of herself, Charley redoubles her efforts to make sure the house is just like Garrett likes it — neat and tidy, smelling heavenly and completely organized.
From The Point of No Return.
Charley’s Chocolate Chip Cookies will make it smell more than heavenly.
Ingredients
1/2 cup of butter (softened)
1/2 cup of crisco
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar or coconut sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbls bourbon
2 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 cup of chopped, roasted pecans (cooled)
16 oz dark chocolate chunks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
One of the most important steps of this recipe comes before any ingredients are headed into the bowl. MAKE SURE the butter is softened and the eggs are at room temperature. They combine much better, make for a better batter and the end result is a deliciously wonderful cookie. The second step is to roast the pecans in a 350 degree oven for 7 minutes. The roasting of the pecans brings out a sweet, nuttiness that can’t be beat. Make sure they are cooled before adding them to the batter or it will be melty and hard to work with. NOW, on to combining the ingredients…Put the softened butter and crisco in a mixing bowl and beat together with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer until well incorporated. Add the sugars and continue beating until fluffy. Add room temperature eggs, vanilla and bourbon, beating until all ingredients are combined. Next add the flour. Turn on the mixer gently or flour will fly out of the mixer and end up all over the kitchen, it won’t be pretty. Once the flour is gently combined add chocolate chunks and cooled, roasted pecans.
Drop spoonfuls of batter on cookie sheets spacing them about an inch apart, maybe a little more, and bake in 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven when cookies are golden brown and almost set. Place cookies on cookie sheet to cool for a few minutes and ENJOY!!!
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Oh, for the love of my children... 