Cookies & Candlelight

by Maddrey, Elizabeth

  “Fun. Did they choose one?”

  Micah shook his head. “He’s still angling to get Jonah to do the cake. Jonah did Ruth’s in January and it was amazing, so it’s hard to blame him.”

  “So why isn’t Jonah doing it?” That seemed like an easy thing for one sibling to do for another. Serena got the sense that the Baxter family was a tight-knit unit.

  “Oh, I think he will. He just has to gripe about it for a little while first.”

  “It’s June. He waits much longer your brother’s fiancée is going to have panic attacks thinking about getting a cake reserved in time. Tell him he should get a move on and decide.” Men clearly didn’t understand how weddings happened. Even smaller ones took time and planning. For that matter, so did elopements. She steered her thoughts away from that line of thinking and looked around. Micah’s pizza was completely gone. She’d managed exactly a single slice of hers, which was really where she should stop if she didn’t want to balloon up two sizes. Yet another difference between men and women, unfair though it was.

  “I’ll mention that to him.” A chime sounded from across the table. Micah tugged his phone free and tapped it. “That’s my alarm. I should run. Thanks for letting me share your table.”

  “Anytime.”

  Micah stood and pulled out his wallet. He tossed some bills onto the check. “It was nice to see you again.”

  He was winding his way through the tables to the door before she could respond. It had been nice to see him again, too. More so than she’d anticipated. She glanced down at the money he’d left. Sneaky. He was sneaky.

  Serena stacked the checks together and put his cash on top of both before raising her hand to try and catch the server’s eye. She needed a box for the rest of her pizza. Since he’d ended up paying for her lunch and dinner, was she supposed to count it as two dates? Or just the one?

  3

  Micah turned as Jonah pushed through the door that separated the kitchen from the front of the bakery. “Hey.”

  Jonah crossed to the coffee station they’d set up for customers and reached for a mug. “Hey yourself. How’s your book?”

  “What book?”

  “How should I know? You always have one, though.”

  Micah chuckled. It was true enough. He’d finished the space opera in the morning and had moved on to a fantasy he’d grabbed for free from one of the various e-book deal emails he subscribed to. “So far the story isn’t living up to the cover. I’ll give it another hour before I give up.”

  “Bummer. I know you hate that. Want coffee?” Jonah poured steaming liquid into his mug and jiggled the carafe.

  “I’m good.” He checked his phone. It was about time for Gloria to pop into the bakery for her daily flirting session with Jonah. Gloria was friends with Serena. Maybe she’d...no. This wasn’t high school. He wasn’t going to dig for details about someone by subtly interrogating her friend. Plus, he’d never been particularly good at subtle. “Mal still back there?”

  “Last I checked. He was grumbling about payroll taxes earlier, so you’re on your own if you interrupt him.”

  Micah winced. His brother was a bear when it came to taxes—they made him grumpy. And yet, watching Jonah and Gloria skate around their attraction to one another was almost painful. “You ever going to ask her out?”

  Coffee sloshed over the edge of Jonah’s mug as he stiffened. “I’m not looking for a relationship. I’m not good at them. You know that.”

  Micah made a rude noise. “I can’t believe you’re still letting that woman in your head.”

  “Yeah? You try getting her out.” Jonah scowled.

  “Sorry, man. I still think—”

  “Just...don’t, okay?” Jonah sipped from his mug and turned to look out the window that spanned the front of the bakery.

  If he ever got his hands on Melissa...he didn’t consider himself a violent man, but the mind tricks she’d played on Jonah pushed Micah closer than he’d thought possible. He cleared his throat. “Since you’re already in a bad mood...I thought I’d give you a little nudge about Malachi’s wedding cake.”

  Jonah turned, fixing Micah with a glare that could melt steel. “Seriously?”

  Micah shrugged. “It’s like three months out. They need to know.”

  “Fine. Go tell Mal I’ll make their cake. Then ask him if he has any tips on how you can learn to mind your own business.”

  He fought the laugh that tried to escape. The Baxter siblings weren’t particularly adept at staying out of each other’s business. Jonah knew that. And that none of them would have it any other way. Still, with Jonah in a mood, vacating the premises was probably the better course of action.

  Micah crossed the kitchen, breathing in the lingering scent of the chocolate chip cookies that were this week’s special. Jonah had been playing with some chocolate-filled croissants as well, but hadn’t been satisfied with how they turned out. Yet. He’d get it eventually. He always did. For now...Micah snagged two cookies off a cooling rack and angled toward the closet of a room Malachi used as the office.

  He waved a hand where it would catch Malachi’s eye and held out the cookie when his brother looked up. “Time for a break?”

  “Oh yeah.” Malachi grabbed the treat and bit it in half.

  Micah dropped into the second chair that was shoehorned into the space. “I have some good news.”

  “Yeah? I could use some. What is it?” Malachi finished the cookie and brushed the crumbs off his desk, switching to sign language.

  Micah smiled and switched as well. Since his brother had lost his hearing at a young age, he read lips just fine, and could speak well enough, but signing let Micah chew without worrying about spraying cookie crumbs everywhere. “Jonah’s doing your wedding cake, if you still want him.”

  “Really? How’d you swing that?”

  That was less enthusiastic than he’d expected. Did Mal not want Jonah to do it? “I mentioned it was getting down to the wire and he needed to put you out of your misery. Should I not have said anything?”

  Malachi ran a hand through his hair before continuing to sign. “No. It’s good. Ursula will be excited. I’m just...it’s taxes. I’ll be happy tomorrow.”

  Micah grinned. “All right.”

  “How was lunch? Sorry I couldn’t go.”

  “It was good. I ended up sharing a table with the woman from Saturday’s delivery.”

  “Oh?” Malachi’s eyebrows shot up.

  “There’s no ‘oh’ with that expression. You know how busy it gets in there. She was alone and had space, so I asked if I could join her.”

  “And she said yes.”

  Micah shrugged. Would someone really say no? It seemed unlikely. “We had a nice conversation. I paid, and came back.”

  “Did you pay for her pizza, too?”

  He shifted in his seat. Malachi always saw too much—understood just a little more than was comfortable. “Yeah. So what?”

  “Sneaky way to get the first date out of the way.”

  “Only if she decides she’s open to a second. Which I haven’t even decided if I’m going to ask for.”

  Malachi shook his head and signed, “Keep telling yourself that.”

  “Sometimes being a twin is a pain in the butt.”

  Malachi laughed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  Micah thought of the electricity along his arm when he’d brushed against Serena in her kitchen. That was something his brother didn’t know. And he’d do what he could to keep it that way.

  * * *

  “Heard you went on a date today at lunch. I need details.” Ruth leaned across the counter at the bakery and snagged a cookie from the jar.

  “How—what? No. I ate pizza. I don’t even know how you’re hearing about this.” Micah crossed his arms over his chest. It had to be Malachi. The twerp.

  “I have my sources. And no, it’s not your brother.”

  Micah eyed his sister. “Ursula then?”

  Red spre
ad across Ruth’s cheeks. “I’m not saying.”

  “You don’t have to. You’ve always been terrible at keeping secrets.” It was one of the things he loved about his sister. At least when she was supposed to keep secrets from him. He wasn’t so sure about it working the other way. “It was just lunch, and an accidental meeting at that. I doubt very much Serena would classify it as a date.”

  “Pretty name. Who is she?”

  Micah sighed. “I delivered some baked goods to her on Saturday and ran into her again this afternoon. She’s a potter. Lives north of town—sort of near that farm that has all the things for kids. What’s its name? Big something.”

  “Bigby Farm?” Ruth shook her head. “You don’t pay any attention to things that don’t directly impact your day-to-day life, do you?”

  He shrugged. He wasn’t in the market for horseback riding lessons or a day camp for kids. So why would he?

  “They’re great. I send a lot of my clients their way—or I try to, at least. It’s pretty up there.”

  “Yeah. Serena has a nice setup. Her house is...cool. Modern and full of light. Her studio, too. And her pots are unique. I’ve never seen anything like them before. I actually thought I might talk to Jonah about buying some coffee mugs for the bakery from her. Maybe some little plates for people who want to eat in.” They could probably arrange to set up a little sign saying who made them and how to get in touch with her, too. Free advertising was never a bad idea.

  “Hmm. What’s she look like?”

  A memory of her bright copper hair floating at her shoulders, highlighting her full lips when she smiled flashed through his mind. “Pretty. She looks a lot like that actress from the show we used to tease Malachi for watching.”

  “Which one? There were so many.” Ruth grinned. “The two of you had horrible taste in TV.”

  “That’s because he couldn’t hear how bad the acting was. Reading the subtitles doesn’t give the full cheesy effect. It was the one where the alien superhero kids hid on Earth and tried to be high school students while defending us from invasions by all the myriad evil races intent on our destruction.”

  Ruth laughed. “Okay. I remember that one. And...if I recall, you were the one with a crush on the main actress. Mal only watched ‘cause you had it on anyway.”

  Heat crept up Micah’s neck. His sister had always had a good memory. He hunched his shoulders. “Yeah, well. She was hot.”

  “So, you think Serena’s hot?” Ruth drummed her fingers on the counter. “When can I meet her? You should bring her to dinner on Sunday.”

  “Whoa. Back up. I’ve met her twice in the last three days. It’s a teeny bit early for a family dinner.” Micah fought the urge to run a finger around his collar. That said, he wasn’t going to deny he found the woman attractive. He just didn’t need his sister taking that information and running him to the altar before he took another breath. “What is it with newlyweds?”

  Ruth blushed. “Fine, fine. I’m just excited. I mean, come on. We lived in D.C. for years and there were only ever dating disasters. Now we’re here and I’m married, Mal’s engaged, Jonah might as well have a girlfriend, and now you. It’s just like everything’s falling into place.”

  “Pretty sure Jonah would disagree with that summary. He says they’re just friends. And I’ve now spoken to Serena twice. I don’t think I can even say that much.” Micah patted Ruth’s hand. She meant well. He’d remind himself of that as often as he needed to. “Please tell me you didn’t come over here just because Ursula told you I ate lunch with a woman.”

  She shrugged. “It’s the middle of the afternoon and my only guests checked out this morning. I’ve got people coming in tomorrow, but for tonight, there’s nothing. The rooms are clean, so I figured I might as well head to town and do some errands, one of which was checking up on you.”

  “And one was the conversation with Ursula about the new features for the B&B website, right? Did she also tell you Jonah is going to do their cake?”

  Ruth narrowed her eyes. “I never confirmed it was her. But yes.”

  Micah chuckled.

  “Okay, fine. And yes, but I never doubted Jonah would come around. Still, don’t give her a hard time, okay? I had to pry a little. Anyway, I should run.” Ruth grinned and turned to leave. She paused by the door and looked back. “Hey, after you talk to Serena about mugs and plates for the bakery, let me know her prices. Having something like that for the B&B would be nicer than the superstore melamine junk Naomi left in the cupboards.”

  When he talked to her? Micah sighed. He’d said he was thinking about it. He hadn’t even mentioned it to Jonah or Mal yet. And they might not want to go that route. Last time they’d talked it over, Jonah was all about making a customized mug with their logo. Malachi had seemed interested in that idea and was supposed to be pricing it out.

  Now Micah was going to have to mention this new idea before Ruth said something that got him in trouble. Or...maybe he should check with Serena first and see if it was even something she was interested in. Which wasn’t an excuse to get in touch with her. Wasn’t it better to have a full picture before bringing the idea to his brothers?

  4

  The alarm on her phone chimed and Serena turned off her potter’s wheel. Thursday mornings could be spent in her studio, but the afternoons were for paperwork. Whether she wanted to get it done or not. The first year she’d been in business, she’d left the paperwork alone until the whim struck. She’d quickly realized that whim was never one she was going to have. Thankfully, her accountant had taken her by the hand and walked her through what needed to be done and when. Now she stuck to that schedule religiously. A small part of her loved seeing the numbers fall into place.

  A very small part.

  With a sigh, she lifted the pottery bat with her work-in-progress off the wheel and carried it to a table. The slab that attached to her wheel made changing projects so much easier. And it helped with removing pieces when they were ready for glazing, too. She sprayed the pot with water and covered it in plastic. That ought to keep it wet enough that she could continue where she left off later. Maybe tonight. She’d known better than to start something new—usually she stuck to glazing some greenware, coloring clay, or building nerikomi blocks on Thursday mornings—but today she’d needed the feel of wet clay spinning into a shape that she directed. Hopefully she wouldn’t regret it when she got back to the piece.

  When her workspace was clean, she grabbed her phone and headed across the gravel driveway to the house, stopping on the deck as Gloria’s police cruiser pulled in.

  “I brought food.” Gloria called as she stepped out of the car and held up a brown paper bag. “I know it’s your paperwork afternoon, but I figured you had to eat. Right?”

  Serena smiled. “Yeah. Come on in. What’d you bring?”

  “Well, since I bailed on you Monday, I figured Jukebox takeout was in order.” Gloria climbed the stairs to the deck. “I got you a Reuben.”

  “Mmm.” That ought to hit the spot. Serena pulled open the door and waved her friend in. “Did you know people think I’m dead?”

  Gloria crossed the living room to the kitchen island and started unpacking the large brown paper sack of takeout. “Sure. That’s an old theory, though. The latest I’ve seen is alien abduction.”

  “I’m serious.” Serena crossed to the island and perched on a stool.

  “So am I. Most of the folks who embrace the alien theory are convinced you’re giving acting lessons to a friendly race who want to be sure they can wow us when they finally make widespread contact. Of course they chose you because of your time on Alien Ninjas.” Gloria looked at Serena and frowned. “You didn’t know?”

  Serena shook her head. This is what she got for giving up the gossip circuit when she turned her life over to Jesus. But those blogs and magazines sent her into dangerous waters. It was better—much better—not to have them in her life. “Why do you?”

  “Seriously? I’m friends with Serena V
anderMay, but I can’t tell anyone. So I do the next best thing and read all the conspiracy theories so I can laugh at them from the comfort of my home.” Gloria shrugged and popped open the container of French onion soup in front of her. “I’m a little surprised your parents haven’t said anything.”

  “Maybe they have.” Serena inhaled the scent of corned beef, sauerkraut, and grilled rye bread. “I don’t always listen closely when they start in on their whole ‘why don’t you come back to Hollywood’ spiel.”

  “So why don’t you?” Gloria scooped up a big spoonful of soup. “Not that I want you to go, mind you. But you were poised to transition into bigger films, more grown-up roles, and then bam you were gone.”

  Serena swallowed and ran a finger along the scar on her jaw. “After the accident...it didn’t seem likely that I was going to get any of those roles anyway. My scars are too visible. Throw in how hard it is to be a Christian there—particularly on the heels of the life I had been living? No. I’m happier here anyway.”

  Gloria frowned. “Okay. But for the record, your scars aren’t really visible to anyone but you. In fact, I have it on good authority that there’s a certain baker in town who happens to think you’re hot.”

  Heat washed over her cheeks. Gloria had to mean Micah. Except wouldn’t he have gotten in touch if he was interested? They’d had lunch on Monday. “Yeah? Who’s your source? I think they might be mistaken.”

  “Doubtful. He hasn’t called?”

  Serena took a bite of her sandwich and shook her head.

  “Hmm. Maybe you should stop by. Get a cookie or something.” Gloria waggled her eyebrows.

  “You’re ridiculous. And I’ve got work here that needs to get done. I’m not disrupting my schedule just because someone may or may not think I’m attractive.” Being hot was a far cry from being interesting. Or smart. Or someone he wanted to get to know. All things she’d thought about him the past few days. “How are things with his brother?”