Cookies & Candlelight: An Arcadia Valley Romance (Baxter Family Bakery Book 3)

by Elizabeth Maddrey

  Micah turned and opened his arms. “I’m sorry.”

  Serena stepped into his embrace. She took a deep, shuddering breath as his arms wrapped around her. “I was in the hospital a long time. I was ejected through the window—I’d unhooked my seatbelt to try and help Derrick steady—my face...well, you’ve seen the scars. Derrick was gone on impact. But in the hospital, in the long hours of the night, I finally listened to God knocking on my heart’s door. And I knew when I got out that I couldn’t go back. My family keeps asking when I’m going to get over ‘this Jesus thing’—that’s what they call it, like it’s a new diet I’m trying out and will give up eventually—and come home to carry on their legacy. But I can’t.”

  His hands made gentle, soothing circles on her back.

  Serena eased back and looked up to meet his gaze. She hadn’t intended to dump all that on him. Eventually, sure. He deserved the full story. But even with Gloria she’d dribbled it out in bits and pieces, gauging her reactions. “Sorry. I—”

  “Shh.” Micah laid a finger over her lips. “I’m glad you told me.”

  His gaze flicked to her mouth then back to her eyes. Serena’s heart galloped in her chest as his hands clenched at her waist. She drew in a breath to speak.

  “Serena?”

  There were so many questions in that one whispered word and only one response to all of them. Unable to speak, she nodded.

  His grin flashed before he drew her close and lowered his lips to hers. Serena closed her eyes and leaned into him. Everywhere they touched was a tiny shower of sparks in her system. She slid her hands around his neck and wove her fingers through his hair. Maybe this wasn’t what she’d planned when she’d suggested they walk down by the river, but she certainly wouldn’t be complaining anytime soon.

  9

  Micah whistled as he set the cookies and muffins in the display cases. The croissants Jonah finally deemed good enough to try filled three shelves. Malachi said to include four in each subscription order as they were picked up, but it still seemed like a lot for a new offering. On the other hand, they were filled with chocolate, and that was always a pretty easy up-sell.

  “You’re cheerful today.” Jonah stacked another tray on the counter and crossed his arms. “I didn’t realize you were that excited about the croissants.”

  Micah laughed. “You have to admit, they’re really good. How’d you get the pastry so flaky?”

  “I’ll teach you. It’s a pain, but it’s worth it.” Jonah strode to the coffee machine and filled a cup. “You’re really not going to say?”

  “Say what?” Micah avoided his brother’s gaze and continued loading the display cases. He’d successfully avoided his family when he got home yesterday, but that wasn’t surprising, everyone had things to do on Sunday afternoons, even if was just taking a nap. Still, he wasn’t in a hurry to share the details of his time with Serena. That kiss...well, there’d been more after the first one. He grinned. When would he see her again?

  “That. You’re grinning for no reason.” Jonah sipped his coffee. “I take it lunch went well?”

  Micah nodded. “She’s a good cook.”

  “You ate at her place? I thought you were going out.”

  He shrugged. “We talked about it, but then she mentioned omelets, and that sounded like a good plan.”

  “Mmhmm. More private, too.”

  Heat crawled up his neck. “That too.”

  “Nice.” Jonah gave Micah’s shoulder a light punch. “I’m glad you got over yourself.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Micah brushed off his hands and slid the backs of the display cases closed.

  “Your little meltdown about her being famous? Do you not remember that?”

  He hadn’t had a meltdown. He’d grown up hearing about all the men she’d had in her life—and back then, she’d gone through them like tissues during allergy season. Then there’d been Derrick King. Whom she’d married. That had been a shock. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Look. I have concerns—even still—that I think are valid. But I’m not going to say we can’t explore a relationship until I have all my questions answered.”

  Jonah snorted. “If you want my advice...”

  “Not really.”

  Jonah chuckled. “Too bad. Don’t screw this up. She’s good for you.”

  “You’d say that about any woman with a pulse who showed interest in me.”

  “Maybe. Doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” Jonah pushed back through the door that took him to the kitchen.

  Micah frowned. Was he that desperately in need of whatever it was having a girlfriend provided? He didn’t wear stripes with plaid or navy blue and black at the same time. He had no trouble socializing with the customers who came to the bakery. Having an affinity for books—which Jonah shared—and quiet evenings at home didn’t make him a social misfit.

  Whatever.

  The bell above the door chimed as the first pickup of the morning came in. He pushed his brother’s concern away and smiled. Maybe Jonah was jealous. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

  Fire and Brimstone was doing a brisk lunch business as usual. Serena waved from a two-person table in the far corner of the restaurant. Micah smiled and squeezed through the crowd toward her.

  “Hi.”

  She stood and wrapped her arms around him before pressing her lips to his cheek. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy this week, but I’m really glad you suggested this.”

  Micah held her close for a minute before lightly brushing her lips with his. “I’ve been trying to figure out when I could see you again since I got home on Sunday.”

  Serena laughed and eased out of his embrace to resume her seat. “Me, too. How’re things at the bakery?”

  “We’re having one of our best weeks since we opened, according to Mal. Jonah finally got the puff pastry working the way he wanted, so he’s had croissants every morning—some chocolate filled, others plain. We can’t keep them past noon.” Micah scanned the menu before pushing it away. “I think he’s going to have to make them a staple. If they disappear, we’re liable to have riots in the parking lot.”

  “Ooh. I need one. Any way I can talk you into boxing a couple up for me tomorrow before you open?” She batted her eyelashes.

  “I can probably be persuaded.” Micah reached for her hand. “Are you free Friday night?”

  “I don’t know...it took you until Wednesday to ask me. I might be all booked up.”

  He frowned, his gaze latching on to hers. She was teasing, right? “Oh. Well, maybe another time.”

  “Hey. I was joking.”

  He grinned. “Gotcha.”

  “Ding-a-ling.” Serena shook her head and laughed.

  The server appeared at their table. Micah briefly debated trying something new, but gave in and got what he always did. Serena ordered the same thing. “I don’t know why I even look at the menu. I always think I’m going to branch out, and then I’m back to where I always am.”

  She nodded. “Same problem here. On the other hand, why mess with a good thing?”

  “How’s your work going?” He should know a better way to ask that, something that showed he paid attention when she talked. Which he did. But the terms she used floated around and never really took root in his brain, and he wasn’t going to ask if she’d enjoyed her week of playing with clay.

  “Really well. That big vase I made last week is shaping up nicely. I think it’s going to be stunning, and I’m usually not positive until I get something out of the kiln. I threw a few special orders this morning and hope to glaze some others this afternoon. The plates for the bakery are drying nicely. I think they’ll be ready to go into the kiln for the next fire, probably the middle of next week. The mug experiment didn’t work like I’d hoped.” Serena frowned. “Big bummer there. So I can either paint on the same basic design I did for the plates, or I can do something interesting with mocha diffusion. Have a preference?”

  She’d explained mocha diffusion to him before
. Briefly. His main takeaway was that it was responsible for the delicate ferny patterns that spread out like fractals on a lot of her work. “Either one will be fine. I can’t imagine not liking anything you make.”

  Serena laughed. “Maybe I should ask your brothers then. I don’t want them to think they got taken advantage of because we’re dating.”

  Dating. The words warmed his insides. Even if it was surreal.

  “What’s surreal?”

  Micah squeezed his eyes shut. “I said that out loud?”

  She nodded, her eyes glinting with humor.

  He cleared his throat. “Dating you. I...had a huge crush on you for basically all of my teenage years.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “Yeah? How am I holding up?”

  “Better than I imagined.”

  “Really?” Serena sipped her soda.

  “Before you were just beautiful and talented.”

  She snorted. “Alien Ninjas did not showcase my talent.”

  He shrugged. “Depends on the audience, I’d say. Anyway. I just mostly liked to look. I’d read about your personal life, though, and all I could do was pray for you. Now you have Jesus, which kind of makes you perfect.”

  “I’m far from perfect.” Serena studied their joined hands and her fingers tightened on his. “You really prayed for me?”

  “Since I was fifteen.”

  Serena blinked rapidly, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

  “Hey.” Micah’s throat went dry and his heart hammered in his chest. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. It was supposed to be a good thing. Or at least maybe not a bad one. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.”

  “No. Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry for something like that. I needed someone to pray for me back then. I...should do better about praying for my friends in L.A. I’m not sure why it never occurred to me to do that.” Serena dabbed at her eyes with her napkin.

  He watched her before nodding slowly. “You okay?”

  “I really am.” She leaned back as the server appeared with their pizzas. “Thank you.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Can I pray with you, now?”

  “I’d like that a lot.”

  Micah bowed his head and waited for his thoughts to settle before offering a short prayer of gratitude for the food and for Serena. There might be questions and doubts still lurking at the back of his mind, but for now, in this moment, he was going to focus on her and see where things went. Surely if God wanted them together, He’d make it clear.

  Micah smoothed the front of his button-down shirt. Should he wear a sport coat, too, or was that too fancy? He’d hoped to go to L’Aubergine, but when he called on Wednesday after their lunch, the restaurant had said they were booked. Apparently they did more business than he realized. So he’d fallen back on El Corazon. It was a nicer atmosphere than some of the places in town. Plus, he didn’t get out there for lunch very often, so it was a treat. The only other option would be to drive into Twin Falls. Maybe he should’ve done that, but the food here in town was arguably better than anywhere else. People in Arcadia Valley cared about their food, and it showed.

  He grabbed the coat and headed downstairs. Mal would know if he should wear the thing or not. Was this what Jonah had meant when he’d said Micah needed a woman in his life?

  “Whoa. Fancy.” Mal waggled his eyebrows and set the controller for the game console aside. “And a bowtie. I thought you gave those up?”

  Micah shrugged. “I don’t really wear ties at all. But I thought this was kind of fun. Less stuffy than a regular tie. Is it too much?”

  “No. It’s cool. Did you get a reservation after all?”

  Micah shook his head. “I figured we’d head to El Corazon instead. Seemed to work for you and Ursula.”

  Malachi grinned. “So it did. Even with the new menu, it’s good food.”

  “The new menu’s better than the old one. You might be the only person in town who doesn’t agree with that statement. It’s still good, solid Mexican food, but it’s fresh. And local.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You should write their ad copy. Or ours.” Malachi reached for the controller. “Even still, ditch the jacket. That’s over the top.”

  Micah draped the coat over the back of the couch. “Noted. Hey, why aren’t you on a date tonight?”

  “Ursula, Ruth, and Pam are all in Twin Falls listening to some Christian women’s speaker. I forget who. Anyway, it’s tonight and all day tomorrow. Jonah and I dusted off the Vault Hunter CD. We haven’t really spent much time doing that in a while. Emerson and Corban may stop by, but Emerson has the kids and Corban has to watch the B&B.”

  Huh. He would’ve enjoyed that. Not as much as going on a date with Serena, but still, they couldn’t have asked him to join them? “The women’s thing came up suddenly?”

  “I think Pam got tickets a few months back. Why?”

  “Just wondering why I didn’t get an invite to the gaming fest.”

  “Our plans didn’t get made until yesterday. We didn’t figure you’d bail on Serena to play video games. Were we wrong?” Malachi cocked his head to one side.

  “Nope.”

  “Didn’t think so. Go. Have fun. You can play tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Later.” Micah took a deep breath and headed for his car. Serena lived north of town. El Corazon was on the south end, closer to where he and his brothers lived in Corban’s farmhouse. The smarter thing probably would’ve been to have her pick him up—she’d offered. But he just couldn’t. So instead he’d be driving back and forth. At least the scenery was nice. He hadn’t gotten over that in the year they’d been in town—so much different than the D.C. area on just about every level. It was better. Way better.

  Before long, Micah pulled into Serena’s driveway. Her house still made him pause. All the glass and wood inside and out...now, knowing who she was and the kind of money she had to have at her disposal, it made a little more sense. Had it been a custom build?

  “Are you coming in?” Serena leaned over the railing of the deck and grinned. “Or should I just come out?”

  “Sorry.” Micah pushed away from the car and walked toward her. “I was admiring your house. Did you have it built when you moved here?”

  She shook her head. “Would you believe the answer’s no? The house is what sold me on Arcadia Valley. I had some work done before I moved in, and the studio’s something I added. But the bones of the house were already here.”

  He gathered her in his arms and brushed his lips over hers. “You did a good job.”

  Serena blushed and stepped back, taking his hand in hers. “Come on in. I’m almost ready.”

  Micah followed and scanned the living room. “You’ve got some new pieces out.”

  “Yeah. I sold some of what had been in here, so I swapped in some new stuff. You like it?”

  “I do.” He picked up a shallow bowl that had curlicues of different colored clay spiraling across the surface. It made him think of the circus. He carefully set it back down and crossed to a tall vase he didn’t recognize.

  Serena smiled at him and disappeared down the hall that led, he assumed, to her bedroom.

  One of these days, he’d like to see the rest of the house. From the public rooms he’d been in, he suspected he’d love it, but he wanted to know what all was included. And yet, asking for a tour might not be the best idea. He didn’t need to put either of them in a situation where they’d be tempted to take things too far. Especially when she was no stranger to those sorts of activities. His stomach twisted. Best not to think about that.

  “All set.” She came back into the living room with a shawl draped over her arm and a tiny purse in her hand. The thing probably held her nothing more than her phone and a pen. Why even bother? The fitted navy blue dress hugged her curves in all the right places. His mouth went dry.

  “You look great.”

  “Thanks. You’re looking rather dapper yourself.” Serena beamed and flicked his bowtie. “I’m not sure
I realized these could be anything other than grandfatherly. But it’s working for me.”

  Micah laughed and took her hand. “Come on. Let’s go eat.”

  “I’m so excited. I haven’t been to L’Aubergine as much as I’d like. Their food is amazing.”

  He winced as he pulled open the passenger door. “About that. They were booked. Is El Corazon okay?”

  Serena blinked. “Sure. I love their food, too. But we’re overdressed.”

  “I thought it might be fun, but if you want to change, you can. I can ditch the tie—”

  “You know what? It’s fine. You’re right, it’ll be fun. And I hear an enchilada with queso fresco calling my name.”

  Micah grinned and shut the door. He scooted around the car and slid into the driver’s seat. “That’s one of my favorites, too. Malachi was giving me a hard time about liking their new menu better, but really? How is garden-fresh not better?”

  “That’s one of the things I love about Arcadia Valley in general. Everyone seems to understand and appreciate good, fresh food.” Serena shifted in her seat.

  “How’d you end up here? It’s a long way from California.”

  She let out a breath that was close to a sigh. “It took me a long time to heal after the accident. Once I was out of ICU and in a place where I was able to take a hard look at my life, I realized I didn’t want everything to go back to the way it had been. For one thing, Derrick was gone...”

  “We don’t have to talk about it. I don’t want to make you sad.” Micah reached over and clasped her hand, giving himself a firm mental kick for having not thought through the whole topic of conversation in the first place.

  “Long story short, we’d visited Twin Falls one weekend when Derrick was filming in Idaho and both of us loved it. I couldn’t find exactly the right property there, though, when I started my house hunt. Finally, the woman I was working with sent me a link to the property I bought with about a hundred apologies for it not being exactly what I wanted. But I fell in love. It might not have been what I said I was looking for, but it was perfect.”