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

by Elizabeth Maddrey

  “Um.” Micah’s heart raced off like someone had fired a starting pistol.

  “That came out wrong.” Serena stepped back, her cheeks pink. She cleared her throat. “So we should go ahead and go.”

  He nodded. His throat was dry. And the pictures that flashed through his mind—a combination of his vivid imagination and photos that had been included in online reports about her wild days—were definitely not where his thoughts should be. “That’s a good plan.”

  In the car, Micah glanced over. “Have fun with Gloria last night?”

  “I really did. It’s rare for her to get a Friday night off and not be too tired to hang out. Thanks for understanding.”

  “My brothers appreciated a chance to trounce me at their latest video game—so that was fun.”

  Serena laughed. “What game?”

  “No clue. There were zombies in a beach resort. I thought we were all fighting together to find a cure or something, but they managed to turn it into a competition to see who could slay the most of each type.” He shook his head. “Still fun, though.”

  “Sounds like it.”

  “Ha. I hear your skepticism. And that’s okay. It’s not for everyone. I bailed around nine anyway so I could read. Managed to finish the thriller I picked up for free the other day.”

  “Yeah? How was it?”

  “Eh. Not terrible, but not the best I’ve ever read.” Micah grinned. “But I can’t complain about the price, so I won’t say anything bad about it. Do you like to read?”

  “Sure. Maybe not as much as you, but I get through around twenty books a year. Maybe a few more. I’m more of a romance gal.”

  “Figures. Talk to Ruth sometime, she’ll hook you up. She has this major thing for Christian romance—lots of authors to choose from.” He turned into the parking lot at the church. “I thought we’d park here and walk over. I’m not sure what the parking’s like over there on a Saturday.”

  “That works. I’m glad we’re getting a chance to hang out this week. I missed you.”

  Warmth spread through him and he turned in his seat, trailing a finger down her cheek. “I missed you, too. I wasn’t going to say anything in case you thought it was weird.”

  She grinned. “Why would I think it’s weird?”

  He shrugged and pushed open his door. Didn’t girls—women—not want a guy who was clingy? And missing someone when you’d been dating for less than a month definitely qualified. But if she didn’t mind, he wasn’t going to explain why she should.

  “Which way?” Serena squeezed his hand.

  Would he ever get used to the effects of her touch? He hoped not. He gave a little tug and started down the block. “It’s just over here, about two blocks.”

  It was a quick walk to the community garden. There were already several groups of people working at a variety of tasks. Micah looked for his sister and Corban. They had to be here somewhere. They’d left before he’d headed up to get Serena. Malachi and Jonah were manning the bakery, so probably wouldn’t make it. They should talk about closing on Saturdays. They did well enough during the week they could handle a full weekend off. Or at least closing at noon. Something to keep them all from burning out before another year passed. Right now they had a system that mostly allowed people time off when they needed it, but once Malachi was married and with it looking like Jonah and Gloria would end up together in a heartbeat as soon as they got past whatever was holding them apart...well, wives and families took time away from a business, which is just what they should do.

  “Micah! There you are.” Ruth dropped a handful of something—weeds?—onto a pile and hurried over. “Serena, I’m so glad you came. This is going to be so much fun. We’re down here in this bed weeding. They’re going to compost everything, so we’re making a big heap and we’ll haul it over to where they’re set up for composting later.”

  “Sounds good.” Micah followed his sister, tugging on Serena’s hand to get her moving along. “They have a picture of what the weeds look like? Knowing me, I’m going to pull up a plant they wanted.”

  Serena chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  Ruth grinned. “You’re a riot, Micah. Here. Get weeding.”

  Micah knelt by the side of the garden bed and considered. The weeds were pretty obvious. That was good. He hadn’t been joking. It’d been a while since he’d had to pull weeds in his mother’s garden, and he’d never been particularly adept at growing things on his own. No matter how much he tried.

  Serena settled beside him and flicked the leaf of a plant. “So, what are we pulling?”

  “And you laughed at me? Here this kind,” he pointed to one, “and these. If you focus on those, we should be fine.”

  “All right.” Working her hand to the bottom of the weed, without actually touching the dirt, she yanked.

  “You have to put some muscle behind it.” Micah leaned over and kissed her cheek before he covered her hand with his own and nudged her fingers down to where the weed came out of the ground. “Now pull.”

  She did. The weed came free, trailing long roots with it. Serena grinned. “I did it!”

  “So you did. Now do another.” He winked and reached for his own to pull. Had she never weeded a garden before? The glee on her face when each plant came free was hard to look away from. He’d had so many doubts about this as a date—maybe it was going to work out after all.

  Serena dropped another weed on her steadily growing pile, still grinning. “This is fun. Is that guy down there from the paper?”

  Micah looked up and squinted. There was a tall guy with a camera moving around taking photos of their planting bed. “Dunno. I can’t think why they’d be here. It’s not an official work day or anything. There’s just always some kind of labor needed, so the organizers have put the word out to the town that if people want to come and pitch in, they should do it. Who knows?”

  Serena frowned and returned to her weeding.

  Ruth came over with a basket. “Hey. I found these over in one of the greenhouses. You can put your weeds in it, makes it a little easier to haul them over to be composted.”

  “Where’s that?” Micah scooped the weeds they’d already pulled into the basket and shielded his eyes with his hand.

  Ruth pointed.

  “I’ll take these over and empty it and be back. ‘K?”

  “Sure.” Serena smiled and tossed one more into the basket.

  Micah walked past the man with the camera on his way to the compost pile. He didn’t look familiar. Which didn’t mean anything. Arcadia Valley wasn’t so small that you recognized every face you walked past. And yet...he didn’t fit. There was something about him that didn’t seem local.

  On his way back, he stopped and tapped the guy on the shoulder. “Hi there. You here to help?”

  The man blinked and lowered his camera. “Oh. No. Just taking some pictures.”

  “For the paper?”

  “If I can sell them. We’ll see.” He raised the camera again, twisted the lens, and clicked the shutter.

  Sell them? “You’re freelancing? Seems like that’d be hard in a little place like this. Do you do weddings and such as well to make ends meet?”

  “Not really.” He lowered the camera again. “Who are you?”

  Micah’s eyebrows shot up, but he brushed off his hand before extending it. “Micah Baxter. My brothers and I run A Slice of Heaven, the local community-supported bakery.”

  “Yeah? Local boy?” The man took his hand.

  “Not really. We moved here about a year ago. You local?”

  The man just smiled. “I’ll let you get back to your weeding.”

  Weird. The dude was definitely odd. Micah nodded and strode back toward Serena. He scanned the beds for Ruth and Corban. They’d moved to the next bed over. He detoured and tapped Corban on the shoulder.

  “Hey man, what’s up?” Corban sat back on his haunches and looked up.

  Micah squatted next to his brother-in-law. “You’re lo
cal. You know that guy down at the end of the bed? With the camera?”

  Corban leaned forward and looked, frowning. “Doesn’t look familiar. I think I’d probably recognize the face if he was from around here. Could be up from Twin Falls though. Their paper’s been running a series on gardening and farming in the area. Maybe they heard about this project?”

  Micah shook his head. “Not the vibe I got. He said he’d be trying to sell his photos. Sounds more like a freelancer?”

  “No clue. Why’s it matter?”

  Micah shrugged. “Probably doesn’t. Just feels off. Thanks.”

  “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”

  With a nod, Micah crossed back to Serena and knelt beside her. He kissed her cheek and loaded the small pile she’d created in his absence into the basket. “Did I miss anything?”

  “Nope. What’d the guy say?” She leaned across some plants to grab a weed.

  “Nothing useful. Some kind of freelancer, I guess.” He shrugged and went back to weeding. “I can’t imagine any circumstance where pictures of people weeding a community garden are going to be worth his time, but whatever. I’m not a photographer.”

  Serena looked up, her face pale. “He said that? A freelancer?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  She shook her head, but she turned and stared at the end of the garden bed for several seconds. “Probably nothing.”

  “Sure? I can go talk to him again if you want?” Micah covered her hand with his. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

  “It’s nothing.” She smiled at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Let’s get these weeds. It’s more fun than I thought it’d be. I might come down here when I have some free time and do more. I don’t need a reservation or anything, right?”

  Micah laughed. “Nope. No reservations required.”

  Serena nodded and turned her focus to the weeds.

  Micah frowned, watching her. There was something going on, but it was clear that she wasn’t going to tell him right now. Which meant he should do what his girlfriend was doing and get to the gardening.

  “Where’s Serena?” Malachi signed the question as the worship band started the first song.

  Micah shrugged. It was the same question he’d had since he’d called her that morning to see if he could pick her up for church and she hadn’t answered. He signed back to his brother, “Maybe she changed her mind and went back to Arcadia Valley Community? I’ll call her again after the service.”

  Malachi nodded, but his lips turned down in a frown.

  Micah cast a glance over his shoulder, scanning the congregation. When he’d left her house after dinner last night, she’d said she’d see him here in the morning. So where was she? His gaze landed on the man from the garden yesterday. Why was he here?

  He nudged Malachi’s ribs and signed. “Remember the photographer I told you about?”

  Malachi nodded.

  “He’s here.”

  Malachi’s eyebrows lifted. “So he’s going to church while he’s on assignment. So what?”

  His brother had a point. It was possible. Plausible, even. He’d been known to find a church to visit when he went on vacation. It didn’t sit right. Serena’s face when she’d looked at the guy. She’d tried to play it off, and he’d prodded a little, but she’d insisted it was nothing. So he’d let it drop.

  Maybe that had been a mistake.

  He cast one more glance over his shoulder as they sat for the sermon. It was hard to focus, but he wasn’t going to look again. His phone vibrated. He switched out of the Bible app to check the text from Serena. It wasn’t very informative—she’d overslept and wasn’t feeling hot. She said she’d call him the next day.

  He wanted to push, to tell her the guy was at church. Maybe ask about bringing her some soup or crackers if she was sick. But maybe they weren’t there yet in their relationship. Even if he wanted to be. Micah tapped out a quick text letting her know he’d be praying for her and asked if there was anything he could do before switching back to the Bible passage.

  After the benediction, Ruth scooted down the row to Micah. “Where’s Serena? I thought she was coming today.”

  He shrugged. “She texted and said she wasn’t feeling well.”

  Ruth frowned. “Does she need anything?”

  “She said no. You wanna read her text for yourself?” He held out his phone.

  “No. It’s fine. I’m just surprised. And maybe a little disappointed.” Ruth blew out a breath. “I was hoping she’d come for lunch.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Micah lifted a shoulder. “But I guess I’m free, if there’s still a spot at your table.”

  Ruth punched his arm. “Always. I think everyone’s going to be there.”

  Micah forced a smile. Goody. There was nothing better than hanging out with newlyweds, soon-to-be-marrieds, and Jonah. That was unfair. He loved them—but right now he’d rather spend time with Serena. Still, it beat cooking. “I’ll see you at the B&B.”

  “Can I catch a ride?” Malachi glanced over at Jonah. “He’s heading back to the farmhouse first. I don’t want to miss out on the food.”

  “Oh, please. I’m not going to take that long.” Jonah shook his head. “See you in a bit.”

  Micah jerked his head toward the exit. “Let’s go. Did you see which way that guy went?”

  Malachi shook his head.

  Bummer. Maybe he’d slipped out during the service. Micah needed to let it go.

  Before long, they were seated around the table in the dining room at the bed and breakfast his sister, Ruth, and her new husband ran. Her guest rooms were full, but the people were all out for the day doing whatever it was people did when they vacationed in Arcadia Valley. It wasn’t that there wasn’t a lot to do and see—Idaho was an outdoorsman’s paradise—but it wasn’t the place Micah would choose for a getaway. Then again, camping had never been high on his list of things he wanted to do, and outdoorsy stuff was a close second on that same sheet of paper.

  “This looks amazing, Ruth. Thanks.” Jonah grabbed the bowl of mashed potatoes when Corban finished blessing their food. He turned to Ursula. “You need to swing by sometime and tell me your thoughts on the cakes. That way I know when I need to start and so forth.”

  Ursula grinned. “I can do that. Or you can look at my corkboard online.”

  Jonah shook his head. “If you want to print something off, you can do that. But I’m not hanging out on some female social media site.”

  “Guys use it too, you know. In fact, there are some great bread recipe boards. You might get ideas.” Ruth reached for the salad. “I grab a lot of recipes from there.”

  “I think we’ll manage. But thanks. Can you come this week? Usually I’m mostly done with the baking by noon.” Jonah slid the potatoes to his left and took the platter of roast from Micah.

  “Sure. I’ll check my schedule and let you know. Or Mal can let you know. Either way.”

  Jonah nodded.

  Ruth took a drink from her glass of water. “So. Speaking of wedding cakes.”

  Micah grimaced and stared at his plate. His sister had weddings on the brain.

  “Jonah, I was wondering when you were going to ask Gloria out. Then everyone would be paired up.” Ruth beamed at her brother before taking a bite.

  Jonah shook his head.

  “It’s a fair question, man.” Micah grinned. At least the conversation wasn’t focused on him and Serena. Yet.

  Malachi signed his agreement.

  “For what it’s worth—and I realize my vote might not matter yet—I like Gloria a lot.” Ursula smiled.

  “Look. I already asked her out. She said no. In very clear terms. She’s not interested in anything more than being friends. Ever.” Jonah stood, his chair clattering to the floor. “So could you just leave it alone?”

  Ruth paled and half stood. “Please sit down. I’m sorry. I just thought...”

  “It’s fine.” Jonah picked up his chair and sat. “But it would
n’t be wrong for people in this family to learn to mind their own business.”

  “They love you.” Ursula cleared her throat. “That’s something I noticed right away—you’re a family who loves loudly, and you’re all-in. So sure, maybe you get in each other’s business, but no one can possibly say it’s done for any reason other than love.”

  Jonah sighed.

  “She’s not wrong.” Ruth smiled at Ursula. “So if not Gloria, what about Kenia at the bookstore? Or there’s that nice—”

  “Stop.” Jonah shook his head. “Kenia’s nice. And she’s certainly pretty, but I’m beginning to think maybe God’s calling me to be single. And, I can learn to be okay with that.”

  Micah blinked. Of the four of them, Jonah was the least likely to stay single—or at least that’s what he would’ve said until two seconds ago. Honestly, he’d half-expected to be the solo uncle for the massive numbers of kids that Malachi, Ruth, and Jonah produced. It was one of the reasons he’d planned to always work with children in some capacity. But Jonah? He hadn’t been single for more than a month at a time since he started dating in high school. At least not until they’d moved Arcadia Valley. And even with that, Jonah had been flirting with Gloria almost from day one.

  “Don’t make any hasty decisions.” Malachi frowned across the table at Jonah. “Just be open to what God has for you, okay?”

  Jonah shrugged. “Can we move on? I was hoping we’d get some more chances to give Micah a hard time about his movie star girlfriend.”

  Heat flooded Micah’s face. “Former movie star.”

  Corban snorted. “Like that makes a difference. Aren’t you worried one day she’s going to wake up and realize she’s way out of your league?”

  Micah closed his eyes. “Constantly.”

  12

  Serena checked the time as she paced the living room. Just after one. That made it noon in L.A. Close enough. Zennia should be up by now. She grabbed her phone and dialed.

  “Mrph. Whozit?”

  She couldn’t stop the smile. “It’s me. Sorry I woke you, although it is noon.”