Saini sampled her sweetened cream one last time before judging it close enough to perfect that no one but her was likely to notice the minor flaws.
At times like this, she truly envied Amahle's ability to know where the other members of her coven were. Finally, however, her ears swiveled as she heard the faint sound of a flat-bottomed boat making its way over the water toward their quiet, cozy home.
Her tail twitched in anticipation, and she had to take several deep breaths to stop herself from rushing out onto the porch to stand at the railing. Just a few minutes more, and she would make use of every one of them as she slowly spooned the whipped, sweetened cream into the pie plate lined with candied pecans. Once the layer of cream was in place, her fingers moved quickly and precisely to move the slices of pawpaw fruit on top of the cream in an artful pattern of concentric rings.
