The Great Peach Experiment 1, Erin Downing [books to read romance .TXT] 📗

near-perfect score for service and flavor”—Freddy squeezed his eyes closed—“and a total three-day profit of two thousand two hundred ninety-two dollars: Taco Cat!”

“Our runners-up, with excellent marks for flavor, and a total profit of three thousand two hundred eighty-two: the Burger Boys! Congratulations!” A loud roar came from the Burger Boys at the other end of Delaware’s main street.

“And now, the winner of the Ohio Food Truck Festival and the ten-thousand-dollar grand prize. With perfect marks for taste and service and a total profit of three thousand three hundred and four dollars—bringing in just twenty-two dollars more than the Burger Boys—the Peach Pie Truck.”

“We did it!” Freddy screamed, overcome with emotion. “We won!”

The Peach family cheered and jumped up and down and even joined Dad in a few little Whoop whoops! All four of them squeezed into a giant hug and jumped up and down some more.

“We won,” Lucy echoed, as she lifted Herb into the air. Herb blew kisses at all the people cheering for them. “By just twenty-two bucks. Wow.”

“Yes!” Dad tossed his hat into the air and pumped his fist. “Good thing my smart kids bought that last turtle pie, or we would have come in second!”

Freddy set off to collect their prize check and certificate from the festival organizers, taking a few extra minutes to shake hands with all the judges on behalf of the family. “Thank you,” he told them. “It’s an honor.” Then he turned and bowed, accepting congratulations and pats on the back from random people in the crowd.

“So…was it worth it?” Dad asked the kids a few minutes later as they strolled together down the main street to offer congratulations to the Burger Boys, Taco Cat, and Corn Cabin. “Are you glad we did this?”

Freddy smiled at him. “Of course it was worth it.” Even though there had been plenty of challenges along the way, and even if sometimes it had been tempting to give up, and even though they had spent much of the past month stuffed inside an overly hot, cramped, and messy food truck, there was no doubt about it: this had been a crazy adventure to remember. Their summer experiment hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but it had definitely been worth it.

From now on, Freddy was committed to following Mom’s best advice: he would make sure his family tried to make the most out of life, even when the going got rough. When life gives you lemons, make peach pie. He smiled as he thought about his family’s new version of Mom’s favorite phrase.

Though they’d had a rough couple of years, and though it would certainly take time and a lot more false starts and do-overs, Freddy was certain that eventually the Peaches would be pretty incredible again.

From the Sketchbook of Freddy Peach:

OUR SUMMER ADVENTURE

27

  CHANGING LUCK

After nearly a month on the road, Lucy was ready to head home. As soon as the Food Truck Festival wrapped up, the Peaches bid Lois Sibberson and their food truck farewell, rented a car to get back to Minnesota, and headed to their last campground for one final night in their tents. After stopping to take a quick swim in Delaware’s community pool to cool off, they packed everything up so they could hit the road first thing the next morning.

It was a long drive back to Duluth—more than twelve hours. Even though it was a relief to finally have a vehicle with air-conditioning, neither of the boys was looking forward to spending a whole day in their rental car. Lucy was exhausted, but she was excited to finally get some more dedicated reading time. She hadn’t read at all during the Food Truck Festival, and she was more than ready to get back to the last dozen or so books on her summer reading list.

But after a couple quiet hours on the road, Lucy’s book slipped out of her hands and she fell fast asleep. She was startled awake a few hours later when Dad pulled off the highway to get gas. Her brothers had both been sound asleep, too—Freddy had a crusty line of drool that looked like a tree branch on his left cheek, and Herb was dozing so deeply that he had to be shaken awake.

Inside the gas station, they all hit the bathroom, and then Lucy hung out with Herb while he scanned the rows of colorful lottery tickets lining the counter near the cashier. When Dad came out of the restroom, Herb pointed at the tempting line of scratch-off tickets hidden behind clear glass. “Please?” he begged. “Just one? For all of us to share?”

Dad sighed and shook his head. “Lottery tickets aren’t for kids, Herb.”

Herb nodded sadly, then perked up the tiniest bit. “Even if I use my own money? I have two dollars of my souvenir money left—you said I could spend it on whatever I want. This is what I want.”

“We’ve discussed this.” Dad said. “Lottery tickets are a waste of money, not a game.”

Lucy and Herb were almost to the door when Dad called out, “But I guess one can’t hurt. This whole trip has been a big gamble, right? A gamble that ultimately paid off.” Lucy turned just in time to see Dad pull two crumpled one-dollar bills out of his pocket and hand them over to the cashier.

“Let’s save it for when we get home,” Lucy suggested to Herb. “It will give you something to look forward to.” Herb had been waiting all month long for their dad to splurge on a lottery ticket—she trusted that he could wait a little while longer to scratch it off. So she let him take the ticket, and Herb stuffed it into his pocket, nodding solemnly.

The Peaches piled back into their rental car and buckled up. But when they pulled out of the gas station lot, Dad didn’t turn left to follow signs toward the highway home. He turned right, following