Baked with Love

by Peggy Jaeger

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  Praise for Peggy Jaeger

  Baked with Love

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Maureen’s Insomnia Sugar Cookies

  A word about the author…

  Thank you for purchasing

  Also available from The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  “What business is it of yours who I go out with? I’m thirty-two years old, Lucas, not fifteen, and you’re not my father or my big brother or my boyfriend. I’m not some innocent little girl who’s been locked away in a tower. I’ve been out with men on dates before, and yes, even men I didn’t know well. Hell, I even lived with a man for two years who I’d hoped to marry until he showed me who he really was.”

  His face went white.

  “Now I get we’ve been friends forever and up in each other’s lives and business, but there’s a line with any friendship and you’re dangerously close to crossing it. I don’t ask you who you’re seeing or dating—”

  “No one.”

  “—because it’s none of my business. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you’ve been acting hinky lately, and until a minute ago, I was worried you were going through some kind of mental stress or close to a breakdown. Your father is living with you and making your life miserable; your son is caught in the crosshairs between the two of you; work stress. Whatever it is, you’re not acting like yourself, and I’ve been worried. But right now I’m more pissed than worried, so before I say something I’m gonna regret or you say anything else that makes me even madder, I’m leaving.”

  Praise for Peggy Jaeger

  “DEARLY BELOVED will take readers on a journey of a fairytale wedding, or rather a true wedding filled with family drama start to finish! Ms. Jaeger captures a beautiful sibling relationship that flourishes when the parents are not emotionally or physically available. Overall, the push and pull of the budding romance is delightfully written, and readers will enjoy this quick read that ties up with a red-bow ending!”

  ~InD’Tale Magazine

  ~*~

  “A delightful start to what promises to be a winning series…with a myriad of moving parts…characters and their individual stories…that the author has seamlessly woven together into a story with emotions that will surely resonate with readers.”

  ~Netgalley

  Baked with Love

  by

  Peggy Jaeger

  A Match Made in Heaven, Book 3

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Baked with Love

  COPYRIGHT © 2020 by Margaret-Mary Jaeger

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com

  Cover Art by The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Champagne Rose Edition, 2020

  Trade Paperback ISBN 978-1-5092-3419-6

  Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3420-2

  A Match Made in Heaven, Book 3

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  To Erin and Mahen ~

  An old Irish toast as you start your life together:

  May you have warm words on a cold evening,

  A full moon on a dark night,

  And the road downhill all the way to your door.

  Chapter 1

  “Oh, my God, Maureen.” My sister Colleen’s voice rose a good two octaves from its normal sultry timbre. “Are those…penis pops?”

  “Lower your voice,” I told her as I continued to pipe buttercream roses on the cupcakes I’d made for tomorrow’s wedding. “My entire inn doesn’t need to know I’ve got those”—I grinned—“hardening in my kitchen.”

  “Why, in the name of all that’s holy are there—” She counted out loud. “—seven chocolate candies in the shape of male genitalia on your counter?”

  “Because your bride’s maid of honor special ordered them for the attendants. I tried to talk her out of it, but she paid me triple to make them and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Be happy there are only seven. She wanted one for each of the thirty females on the guest list. I was able to talk her out of it by promising to make those”—I pointed my chin toward the candy—“for the bridesmaids. She’s going to present them tonight after the rehearsal. Thinks they’ll be, quote, a scream, unquote.”

  My wedding planner and getting-bigger-by-the-second pregnant sister plopped down onto one of my kitchen chairs and sighed. Heavily.

  “Oh, good Lord. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll make sure the moms are nowhere in sight when she gives them out. I don’t relish having to listen to one more complaint about this wedding. I’ve had enough for the past week to last me until Princess here”—she patted her round tummy—“is off to college.”

  I flicked her a glance and said, “Put your feet up, Coll. I can see how swollen they are from here.”

  With more effort than was probably warranted—she is after all, related to our grandmother, who corners the market on theatricality—she hefted her feet onto an opposing kitchen chair, then extended and flexed her toes a few times. This time her sigh was thick with fatigue and, if I wasn’t mistaken, pain.

  “I can’t believe you’re still wearing those ridiculous heels when you’re almost nine months along,” I chided. “Standing in them all day can’t be good for the baby. Or your back.”

  “Stop scolding me.” It was impossible not to miss the whine in her voice. “I refuse to take advice from someone who thinks flip-flops are the greatest invention known to the shoe-wearing population of the world. For the record, my back is fine and my feet don’t hurt.”

  “No, they just look like flesh-colored water balloons.”

  “When did you turn so mean? You’re usually the supportive, quiet sister.”

  In ordinary circumstances this was true. But with my ready-to-pop and three-inch-heel-wearing sister, I was more than willing to make an exception.

  I piped the last rose on the final cupcake, laid my pastry bag down on the counter, and took a good look at her. Camera-ready face with her professionally polished outfit perfect and not a tendril of red hair out of place, the middle of my three sisters looked something she rarely did: tired. With her hands folded over her protruding belly, she’d dropped her chin to her chest and closed her eyes.

  The snarky remark I was going to make about the benefits of wearing flats died before I gave it breath.

  Since lunch service had finished a half hour ago and my serving staff was done with cleanup, Colleen and I were alone in my kitchen. I put the kettle on for tea and asked, “Did you have lunch?”

  When she lifted her head, her eyes took a moment to clear before they focused on me, lending credence to the fact she was tired.
And maybe more than simply tired.

  “There’s a salad waiting for me at the office. Charity got it for me while I was with the florist.”

  “Text her to put it in the fridge. I’ll make you something to eat.”

  While she contacted her assistant, I plated the luncheon salad I’d concocted for today’s menu, then put half a ham and cheese sandwich into my panini maker.

  “Eat this until the sandwich is done.” I handed her the salad and a bottled water.

  “What is it?”

  “Spinach, cranberries, walnuts, raisins, and carrots with a light pomegranate dressing and shaved Parmesan.”

  Colleen shoved a forkful in and groaned. “Oh. My. God. Honestly, Maureen, you should have your own cooking show. This is insane.”

  “Everything she makes is insane,” a male voice said from the doorway.

  It was a voice I knew well, since its owner was a frequent inhabitant of my dreams. Husky and deep, with a dash of just-woken gravel, it could cajole a lover into seduction or cut off a criminal at the knees.

  Fortunately, I’d never been the latter. But I’d fantasized about being the former for years.

  “Truth,” Colleen said around a mouthful of salad. “Why are you here?” she asked Heaven’s chief of police, Lucas Alexander, before I could. “Somebody call a cop?”

  Lucas flicked his moss-green, heavily hooded eyes from my sister to me, one corner of his mouth tilting up. I actually had to contract my pelvic floor muscles whenever he looked at me so I wouldn’t melt to the floor in a pool of want. My ninety-three-year-old grandmother, Nanny Fee, calls this girding your loins. As far as a descriptive phrase for the maneuver, it’s a good one.

  “You got a minute?” he asked me.

  “A few. Then I have to get the dining room ready for tonight’s rehearsal dinner.” I pulled Colleen’s sandwich from the press when the bell tinged. Lucas, always comfortable in my kitchen, moved to lean a hip against the counter and then halted midstride.

  I knew the cause of his sudden stop and bit down on the inside of my cheek while I handed Colleen her plate. She caught my eye, and my stifled grin, and realized the cause. Her lips lifted, too.

  Lucas cleared his throat. “Are those—? Wait. What, what are those? Are they…?”

  “Are they what?” Colleen said, innocence dripping from her voice, at the same time I asked, “Want one?”

  Lucas spun around to find the two of us staring at him, our expressions blanked and waiting for him to answer.

  He huffed out a breath and dragged a hand through his hair. “Never mind,” he said, with a nervous shake of his head and shoulders.

  Colleen glanced up at me, winked, and then took a huge bite of her panini. “Oh, good Lord, Mo.”

  I smiled and told her, “You’re welcome,” before I said to Lucas, “What’s up?”

  He cocked his head in a come-with-me move.

  In the breezeway separating my private kitchen from the commercial one I use for the inn I own and cook in, Lucas stopped, bit down on a corner of his mouth, and twirled his hat in his hands. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was nervous, but nerves weren’t an emotion common to this man. His army training had taught him how to remain calm in any crisis, cool under the most volatile of situations. I’d never even heard him raise his voice in all the years I’d known him.

  I repeated my question.

  “I need a favor.”

  I rolled my hand in a go on gesture.

  “Cathy might have mentioned Robert’s coming to spend a few weeks with me. Nora’s getting remarried this weekend and then leaving on a long honeymoon.”

  I nodded. “I’d heard that, but not from Cathy.” To the question in his eyes I said, “Nanny told me the other day when I dropped off her scone delivery at the nursing home. She heard it from Tillie Carlisle who got it from Maeve Capshaw, whose granddaughter, Olivia, told her. Nanny said Olivia was the one who introduced Nora to her intended at a divorced-and-looking event she’d hosted.”

  “Jesus.” Lucas shook his head again. “Small towns.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “A curse and a blessing, as Cathy is fond of saying.”

  “Yeah, well, your sister is one of the smartest people I know. Anyway. Nora doesn’t want to leave Robert home alone. He’s too old for a babysitter, but at fifteen, still too young to be left to his own defenses. He just started driver’s ed and doesn’t have a valid license yet, so it was easier to take him while she’s gone.”

  “So he’s gonna stay with you and your dad until they get back?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why don’t you sound happy? Whenever Robert’s visited for school breaks before, you’ve always been thrilled since you don’t get to see him as much since they moved.”

  He huffed out another breath and leaned a shoulder against the wall. My pregnant sister wasn’t the only one who was tired.

  “I’m not not happy he’s coming to stay. It’s more, things with Dad now aren’t good, and I’m afraid he’s gonna make the kid’s life miserable with all his complaining and griping. Last time Robert came for a weekend, all Dad did was harp on him. Get a haircut, stand up straight, stop mumbling. Poor kid couldn’t wait to get back to his mother, and that’s saying something, because she’s almost as bad. I don’t want him to spend all his time with his grandfather while he’s here, getting criticized for merely breathing.”

  “I’m assuming this is where the favor you need from me comes in?”

  He nodded. “The kid needs something to occupy him while he’s here. I’ve gotta work, and I can’t take any time off. I don’t want him sitting home all day fighting with Dad or locked in his room playing video games. I want him to get out of the house. Get a job. You hire high school kids to bus tables and help serve. I’m hoping you’ll take Robert on as summer crew. Then, I’ll know where he is during the day, he’ll earn a little money of his own, and I won’t be concerned about coming home to World War III every night. Plus…”

  “Plus?”

  “Well, if he’s with you I won’t…worry about him. I know he’ll be in good hands. You’ll feed him and watch out for him like he was one of your own. Like you do everyone else.”

  To say I was thrilled by the offhand compliment was an understatement. Even if I wasn’t on the lookout for extra help, I would have hired Lucas’s son.

  “Sure. I can always use another body, especially in the summer when I’ve got a full house every weekend from Colleen’s wedding parties.”

  Lucas’s shoulders dropped a couple of degrees from where they’d stationed themselves at his ears, and he let out a breath filled with relief. “Thanks, Maureen. Really.”

  I waved my hand at him. “Don’t worry about it. When does he get here?”

  “Sunday morning. Nora’s dropping him off before she leaves for the airport.”

  I nodded. “Get him all unpacked and settled, and then you can bring him by Monday. I’ll go over everything with him then, okay?”

  “More than okay. Again, I can’t thank you enough. You’re truly a lifesaver.” He took my hand and squeezed it. Lucas had done this hundreds of times over the years, and like every other time he had, the wiring in my heart went a little haywire.

  And like every other time, I swallowed the temptation to tug on his hand and pull him close enough so I could kiss him.

  “Any time okay?” He let my hand go.

  I had to physically refrain myself from pulling it back. “After breakfast service would be good, so around ten-ish?”

  He nodded. Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the beeper at his waistband blaring. “Sorry.” A quick glance at it and he shoved his hat back on his head. “Duty calls.” He grinned. “See you Monday.”

  I waited until he walked out the inn’s front doors before going back to the kitchen. In all honesty, I needed a moment alone to center myself. Seeing Lucas, no matter when or where, always made my insides flutter, my toes tingle, and my heart beat faster.

&nb
sp; From the time I was a kid, Lucas Alexander had been the only man I’d ever loved. Nine years older than me, he’d been my brother-in-law’s best friend from the cradle and a part of our family since I was a baby. But the first time I’d ever spied him in his army uniform, I’d lost my heart forever. Cliché though it is, Lucas in a uniform had slayed me, even as a little girl. Twenty-plus years later, I still felt the same way whenever I saw him in his police attire.

  And in his regular clothes, too.

  Colleen was still in her chair, feet up, the plates in front of her now empty, and her chin kissing her chest again. I had to smile. This was the sister who defined the term perpetual motion. To see her actually napping during daylight hours was akin to seeing a leprechaun’s pot o’ gold. This pregnancy, her first at the age of thirty-seven, was weighing heavily on her and zapping the energy she was blessed with. I didn’t have the heart to rouse her.

  With as little noise as possible, I went about tidying the kitchen. The sharp ping of her cell phone signaling an incoming text ten minutes later called her slumber to an end.

  She startled, blinked a few times, then tugged her phone from her pocket. No one I knew could type faster than my sister. A series of rapid-fire finger taps and then the whoosh of her text being sent filled the room.

  “Did I fall asleep?” she asked, while she stretched her arms high above her head.

  “Just for a few minutes. I’m betting this was the first time you’ve sat all day.”

  With another of those soul-weary sighs, she hefted her feet from the chair and stood. After a full body stretch, she said, “No rest for the wicked. Or wedding planners the day before a big wedding.”

  “Where are you off to now?”

  “The church, the spa to check tomorrow’s appointments, the printers to pick up the programs for the ceremony. Then back to the office for a conference call.” She ticked each stop off on her fingers. “I can check off the rehearsal and reception right now. Everything set?”

  “All taken care of. When you all get back from the rehearsal, I’ll start service. Some of the non-bridal-party guests have already begun arriving. I had Janie put all the goodie-bags in their rooms this morning. The bridal suite is all set for tomorrow. I have the champagne in the cooler, and I’ll put it in the room during the reception.” I swiped a hand toward the cupcakes I’d been decorating when she arrived. “In lieu of the cake your bride didn’t want, I’ve got the cupcakes she did all ready to go.”