Lemon's Sorbet Disaster: An Ice Cream Shop Series Novella

by E. H. Demeter

  In all my excitement, I hadn’t realized he’d dressed up a touch. Well, what I assumed was dressing up for him. A dark blue polo covered his torso, the buttons undone. His long legs were clad in dark wash denim, and he wore dark brown boots. I swallowed the sudden pool of saliva quickly and dropped my gaze. If I studied him any harder, I might actually drool.

  “Nah, thought I’d mix it up a little today. Is it Lemon approved?” His smile didn’t falter, but his tone dropped just enough to have shivers darting up and down my spine.

  Clearing my throat, I tucked my hair behind my ear, my cheeks flaming as I caught sight of his knowing grin. “You...You look nice.”

  “Thank you.” Wade chuckled, pushing away from the machine and getting impossibly close. “Now, I’m going to need you to pay attention.”

  I tried. Lord knows, I tried. But his scent filled my nose with each breath. Citrus and salt. Fresh, clean, and so darn alluring. Through the racing of my pulse, I could hear his muffled words as he spoke about the machine. But try as I might, I couldn’t make out a darn thing he said.

  “Is there a user manual?” I asked suddenly, my words made sharper from the overwhelming emotions I was battling.

  Wade blinked at me, straightening up with a frown. “Yeah, of course. The books are in the office, but I figured--”

  “I learn better if I can read how things are done,” I blurted, my eyes widening slightly at the blatant lie. Wade stared at me, his brows raising slightly. It was obvious he didn’t believe me. But he didn’t argue, simply shrugged.

  “Alright. I’ll go grab one of the books.” He studied me dubiously before turning and disappearing into the office.

  Covering my face with my hands, I pressed my back against the wall and wished I could scream. If I couldn’t get my hormones in check, this was never going to work. But I would have sworn, right hand on the Bible, that he’d been flirting with me.

  So, it wasn’t all me. Was it?

  I jerked and smoothed my shirt as Wade came out of the office, pasting a smile on my face as I turned to him and took the book. “Thanks. This’ll be great.”

  “Uh huh,” He murmured, tucking his thumbs into his belt loops. I could feel his gaze on me, trying to figure me out.

  “Oh! I almost forgot.” Turning on my heel, I moved swiftly into the front room of the shop. Much to my relief, Wade followed me. Opening my purse, I pulled out a small black notebook, bound together with ribbon and rubber bands. “Look what I found.”

  Brow furrowed, Wade reached out for the book, gently sliding off the rubber bands. “What is this?”

  “It’s Beau’s recipe book. I found it at the house.” Rising on my tiptoes, I leaned toward him as he opened the book. My heart clenched at the familiar script flowing across the pages.

  Wade jerked his gaze toward me, and I gasped, pulling back. I hadn’t meant to get so close. He held my gaze, his lips quirking upward. “I never knew he had a recipe book.”

  Licking my lips, I reached over and turned a few pages. “I thought this recipe could be good for the reopening. What do you think?”

  “Lemon sorbet?”

  “Yeah. I just figured, we have the lemons, and, well… My name…” Biting my lower lip, I glanced up at him. “Is it stupid?”

  He shook his head, tracing over the recipe with his finger tip. “No, it’s not stupid. Not at all.”

  Excitement leapt in my heart and I clapped my hands together before wincing. “I’m sorry. I was just so afraid you’d tell me it was a dumb idea.”

  “No reason to be sorry.” He smiled, closing the book and setting it on the counter. “Why would you assume I’d think it was dumb?”

  “Well, you’ve been pretty hot and cold with me.” I decided to be blunt.

  Wade winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “It wasn’t anything personal.” He chuckled at my raised brow as he lowered his arm. “Honest. I just don’t do well with people trying to take control.”

  Instantly I flashed back to the conversation we’d had at the grove. Of course. It all made more sense now that I understood his background. Beau had been the closest thing he’d had to a true father, and then I’d shown up, taking away everything he’d worked for his whole life.

  “Wade…”

  “So, about the reopening,” Wade cut me off, clearing his throat. “I had an idea about that.”

  “Oh?”

  He nodded, shifting to face me. “You’re so certain you have all you need to run this place. Because you read a few books.”

  I held up a hand, scoffing. “I read more than a ‘few’ books, thank you.”

  My argument only made his grin grow wider. “Right. So, you with all your book knowledge, and me with my having worked here since I was a kid…”

  “Go on,” I said warily, my stomach tightening.

  “What if we made it a wager?” He leaned toward me, until our noses were all but touching. “We each make a batch for the reopening. Serve samples to everyone who comes. Let the people vote on who’s best.”

  I blinked rapidly, brow furrowing. A bet? I had never expected something like that. “And what would the winner get?”

  “Aside from bragging rights?” He licked his lips, looking around before spreading his arms wide. “Winner gets the creamery.”

  I stared at him, my jaw dropping slightly. He wasn’t serious. Was he? No, he couldn’t be serious. And yet…

  “Are you kidding?” I blurted, an almost hysterical laugh bursting from me. I slapped a hand over my lips at the hurt that darted across his face. It wasn’t that the thought was funny. It wasn’t by any means. Though it did terrify me, if I were honest with myself.

  He gave a rough shrug and closed in on himself, dropping his gaze to the floor as he folded his arms across his chest. Effectively shutting me out. “Yeah. Is it such a crazy idea? I love this place, Lemon. It’s home to me. I don’t want to lose it.”

  “Why do you assume you would lose it? I never said anything about not keeping you on staff…” I frowned, brow furrowing. “You’re a hard worker, that much is obvious. And it’s very apparent Beau thought so too, since he made you the manager.”

  The sardonic laugh that burst from him had my lips pressing together in a firm line. “Is there something wrong with what I said?”

  Wade sighed, shifting to look at me, his eyes hard. “Do you think that’s what I really want with my life? To just be a staff member here the rest of my days? I want more than that, Lemon. I want to run this business. I’ve put in the time. This has been my dream.”

  I studied him, heart pounding in my chest. I should have known. Of course, he wanted the creamery. He’d already expressed his shock that Beau hadn’t left it to him in the first place. All the pushing and pulling over the last few months had been leading up to this. He’d been testing me. Testing my resolve.

  Well, Mr. Wade Tucker had no idea how competitive I could be.

  Squaring my shoulders, I thrust my right hand out, chin jutting upward. “Alright, you’ve got a bet. But I should warn you,” I leaned toward him, lowering my tone, “I only ever play to win.”

  His large hand closed over mine, grip firm and tight. His smile was dark and delicious as he closed the distance between us.

  “I like a woman with spirit. Don’t worry, maybe you’ll impress me enough to let you stay on staff… When I win.”

  His words made my spine stiffen, even as my stomach tightened and my knees threatened to dissolve into nothing. Confusion and excitement warred within me as he released my hand.

  With everything I was working toward on the line, I knew I had to win. But in winning, did I risk losing everything?

  *****

  When I returned to the house, I brewed a pot of coffee and curled up on the couch to study the user manual for the ice cream machines. I read the book cover to cover, then pulled out my laptop and spent the rest of the afternoon geeking out as I read over different recipes and watched videos on how to make ice cream. It was fascinating,
in a way, how it all came together to make a delicious treat. From my research, I’d discovered that most places started with a base mix, then added flavorings, syrups, and mix-ins from there. I made a mental note to ask Wade where our base came from. I loved the idea of sourcing from one of the local dairies.

  With a yawn, I finally closed my laptop as my stomach let out a loud rumble. Blinking, I winced at how stiff my muscles were. Rising from the couch, I groaned loudly as I stretched, glancing around and gasping as I caught sight of the clock. I had been researching for hours. I had to chuckle at my abject nerdiness. Put a book or something new to learn in front of me, and I was gone.

  Rubbing at my stomach, I padded into the kitchen, deciding to make a sandwich and head to bed. My head felt full of knowledge, and my confidence in my ability to craft the perfect ice cream was bubbling.

  Humming to myself, I built my sandwich, my excitement growing, my mind full of ice cream recipes and dreams of the reopening. Things finally felt like they were falling into place.

  Leaning against the counter, I looked around the kitchen, warmth filling me. I couldn’t believe that I’d already been here for four months. Everything had moved much faster than I had expected it to, and yet everything about being here felt right.

  I’d had my doubts when I first arrived. All I had wanted to do was sell everything and go back home to D.C. Staying somewhere alien to me certainly hadn’t been high on my list of things to do. But since I’d arrived, things had seemed to click easily into place. Everyone here was just so nice and welcoming, and even things with Wade were smoothing out.

  Stifling another yawn, I plated my sandwich and decided to go against my normal rules and eat in bed. It would be a long few days before the reopening, and I needed to make sure I was well rested.

  Chapter Eight

  As Summer relinquished her hold to Fall, thunderstorms rolled in. I’d lived through winter storms growing up in D.C., but the thunderstorms of Haven were something to be seen. Howling wind and almost endless rain seemed to plague our little town.

  Rain or shine, the day before the grand reopening grew close. Excitement and nerves filled my stomach at the thought of finally making my first batch of ice cream. Wade had offered to come in and help me with my batch, but I had turned him down, telling him that was cheating. I had no intention of helping him to make his, so it was only fair. He didn’t seem sold on the idea, even going so far as to express his concern over the new machines. I didn’t know why he was so worried, and I told him so. I had read over all the books and been studying how to make ice cream for weeks. It didn’t seem that hard.

  But now the time had come to put my plans into action, my confidence was waning, and the rain certainly wasn’t helping. Groaning loudly, I zipped up my rain coat, beelined out the door to the carport, and jumped into the yellow Volkswagen beetle. Slamming the door, I panted, listening to the rain beat down on the aluminum roof of the carport. A low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, a sure sign that the rain was going to turn into more.

  Starting the car, I carefully backed out into the rain. The wipers scraped against the windshield as I drove. Wincing, I made a mental note to have them changed.

  The parking lot of the creamery was little more than a puddle, and I had to fight back another groan at the thought of trudging through the depths. Mental note, buy rain boots. Gritting my teeth, I threw open the door and ran toward the creamery, yelping as my suede boots slid on the black and white floor. Getting my balance, I pushed my damp hair from my eyes and set my purse on the counter before calling out.

  “Wade?”

  I hadn’t seen his truck outside, but I had been more focused on getting out of the rain. Leaning around the counter, I looked toward the back of the shop, calling out again.

  “Wade?”

  Again, I was met with no response. Certain he wasn’t there, I reached into my purse for a hair tie and Beau’s recipe book. After putting my hair in a ponytail, I made my way toward the back, pausing briefly to turn on the radio we had installed. Country music filled the store, something I was growing more and more fond of the longer I stayed in Haven.

  Bopping my head to the music, I chuckled as I saw a line of canisters sitting on the stainless steel metal table we’d installed beside the machines. A piece of notebook paper was tucked beneath one of the canisters.

  Pulling the paper free, I smirked as I read the note. “May the best recipe win. -Wade.”

  Shaking my head, I set the paper down, opening the recipe book over top it. “Oh, don’t you worry. Mine will.”

  I read over the recipe once more, nodding to myself. We had a base mix made, but since I was making a sorbet, I would need to do one myself. And I wasn’t about to call Wade out for “assisting” me in laying out the ingredients I would need.

  Taking a deep breath, I rubbed my hands together and got to work. Looking over the machine, I flipped the appropriate switches and pressed the buttons to get them going. Humming along to the song, I reached out and grabbed ingredients, listing them off in my head as I went.

  Sugar, water, lemons, lemon zest.

  It certainly seemed easy enough.

  With care, I measured out each ingredient, pouring it into the bucket to mix together. Biting my lower lip, I lifted a perfectly yellow lemon, looking at Beau’s recipe once more. In his beautifully classic script, it read, “Add two tablespoons of rosewater before mixing. Allow to settle, then mix.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, Uncle,” I muttered, carefully slicing the lemon and removing the seeds. Holding it over the bucket, I squeezed the juice out, yelping and giggling as the pulp shot everywhere. Whoops. I was going to have to clean that up, but I didn’t mind.

  Using a large wooden spoon, I gently stirred the mixture ten time clockwise, then ten times counter clockwise. After studying his recipe for so long, I pretty much knew it by heart.

  Licking my lips, I lifted the bucket and gently poured the mixture into the machine. It flowed like silken water, and soon the bucket was empty.

  Setting the timer, I glanced back at the recipe, wrinkling my nose as I had done every time I read it. To make the candied rose petals… It just seemed like such an odd ingredient to me. Not feeling confident in my ability to do that, I’d opted to forgo the rose petal garnish. I stood in silence, my mind lost to memories as the hum of the machine mixed with the music on the radio, lulling me into an almost trance-like state.

  A loud boom of thunder made me yelp and jump back. The storm, it seemed, had finally caught up with me. Stepping away from the machine, I moved toward the front of the shop, shocked to see how dark the sky had gotten. Leaning forward until my nose was all but pressed to the glass, I let out another little shriek as a brilliant bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, followed rapidly by a deafening roar of thunder.

  Then everything went dark.

  An undignified scream tore through me as I spun around in the darkness. It was as if the day had been plunged into darkest night. I couldn't see a thing.

  Another bolt of lightning illuminated the room for a second, and I stumbled toward the counter, grabbing for my purse and fishing out my phone. The light of my phone blinded me as I pulled up my contacts, and with a shaking hand I pressed the phone to my ear.

  “Need my help now, do you? Sorry, it’s not gonna be that easy. You wanted to figure it out on your own, remember?” Wade’s warm voice flowed down the line, drawing a slight smile to my lips even as my heart pounded in my chest.

  “Wade, I’m at the creamery. I think the storm knocked out the power.” I looked back over my shoulder, into the darkness, finally realizing the sudden and terrifying quiet. “The machines have stopped.”

  “That usually happens when the power goes out.” Wade’s lack of concern was less than comforting.

  “My sorbet isn’t done yet!” I cried, pacing the dark front room. “All we’re going to have for the reopening is sorbet soup!” His light chuckle at the other end of the line ha
d my frustration growing. “This is a disaster, Wade! How are we going to fix this?”

  “One, maybe you’ll have sorbet soup. But my ice cream is already finished. Consider that your first lesson - always think ahead.” My hope of receiving any help from Wade was quickly plummeting. “And, two, I’m surprised you didn’t find anything in your books that would help you out. Power outages suck, but I don’t see a problem from where I’m standing. People have made ice cream since before there was electricity.”

  “But--” I tried but was quickly cut off.

  “Goodnight, Lemon.” He sounded much too smug as the line went dead.

  Turning my back to the window, I growled and tightened my grip on my phone, resisting the urge to throw it. Wade knew he’d beaten me. All because of some stupid storm! It wasn’t even within my control - I knew I’d done it right! But unless I could MacGyver a rather large hamster wheel and spend the whole night running to keep the power on, all hope seemed lost.

  Letting loose a heavy sigh, I pressed my back to the cool glass and slid down to the floor. It was a stupid bet, I knew, but why had I ever taken it? I should have known I’d be too far in over my head. But I had been confident I could learn it all from books. Positive I could make this business thrive on theory alone. It seemed mother nature had felt the need to put me in my place.

  This was all a huge mess.

  It was obvious to me now that I didn't belong here. Why had I even come in the first place? To appease my mother? She should’ve known I’d never be able to handle anything like this. For all I knew, she’d just wanted to get me out of the city for a few months. And yet, she’d been so enthusiastic about it all, so determined I should try.

  I found myself absentmindedly flipping through the contacts on my phone once more, my thumb pressing the one labeled ‘MOM’ before I had a chance to reconsider.

  “Lemon? Are you alright, sweetie?” The gentle concern in her voice had my throat tightening and tears welling.

  “Mom, do you know how to make ice cream without a machine?” I croaked, barely able to get the words out.