by Terra Kelly
Mr. Apple Pie
Man Card Book Nine
Terra Kelly
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
A note from the author
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About the Author
Also by Terra Kelly
Books by T.M. Kelly
Acknowledgments
Synopsis
If Hannah thinks she can step into my kitchen and tell me how things should be run, she has another thing coming.
My family started this farm over a hundred years ago. She’s only been working here for six months. Who does she think she is trying to tell me how to prepare a recipe?
Then she whipped up the perfect fried apple pie filling…
The man card series is a collection of short stories that are full of steamy romance. You're guaranteed that perfect happy ending and a cupboard full of sweets from all the cravings.
One
Jesse
“Did you change the fried apple pie recipe?” I stepped up into the food truck. Hannah was at the prep table dicing apples. “Cream cheese? Did you seriously add cream cheese to the family recipe?”
“I made it a special last night to test out a new variation.” She stopped cutting the apples and rested the knife on the counter. I noticed her drop her head and roll her eyes. “Why? Did someone tell you they loved them?”
I stopped about a foot away from Hannah. It took me a moment to collect my thoughts. “No, someone did not rave about the recipe. What the fuck, Hannah?” Somehow she made it easy for me to get pissed off at her. “Did you forget I run the kitchen and the food truck? You have to consult with me first before making any decision.”
My family owned Appleton Farm. I was sixth generation in the family owned business. When I was about sixteen I told my mom I wanted to run the kitchen. I didn’t have a culinary background and the word chef was not in the front of my name, but where I lacked in schooling I made up for in skills. People from other counties drove hundreds of miles just to buy a few dozen Appleton Farm fried apple pies. It was a fan favorite and they have even won several awards over the years.
Hannah Porter was a chef. From the moment I met her it felt like she flashed the title everywhere, too. I hired her because my mom forced me to. On her first day she seriously insisted the word chef be added to her name tag.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal.” She rolled her eyes and started to dice the apples again. “I was just having a little extra fun.”
“Fun.” I walked over and grabbed my apron. “Oh, I see. I didn’t realize I was paying you to have fun.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Jesse.” She dropped the knife again and turned to face me. “That’s not what I meant and you know that.”
“What I know is, you went behind my back and made a new apple pie recipe.” I pulled the strings together a little too hard knocking them from my grasp. Before grabbing the strings again, I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Finally, I tied the two ends and walked over to the small reach in refrigerator. “I hired you because I thought you would be a great addition to the team.”
“And because I’m a chef, so your mom encouraged you to hire me,” she added and wiped her hands on her apron.
“Is that what you really think? That you’re here because of your culinary degree?”
“Um…yeah,” she stammered.
The woman was insane. Did she seriously think I cared about her credentials? “Hannah, I don’t give a fuck about the four-letter word in front of your damn name.” I took two steps forward to stand just a few inches away from her. “I’ve been working in the Appleton Farm kitchen for so long, I became a chef without all the textbooks.”
“Jesse,” she sighed.
“I’m not done.” I held up my index finger, stopping her from interrupting. “The fact that you keep throwing around your background and where you were taught is exhausting.” I dropped my hand. “Hannah…” I turned to walk out of the truck, but stopped at the door. “Nobody gives a fuck.”
Before she had a chance to say anything, I was out the door. I could hear Hannah mumble asshole but I didn’t care. She started at Appleton Farm almost six months ago. A part of me regretted hiring her but the other part knew she was a valuable addition to the team. If I wanted to improve all our recipes, I needed someone to help me make that happen.
There were five crates of apples in the bed of my pickup truck. I reached in to grab one. “Jesse,” I heard from behind me. “Jesse.” Hannah lightly touched my shoulder.
When I felt her hand on my shoulder I stilled. “Hannah, I need to focus on the dinner rush. I don’t have time to argue with you.”
“Listen, I’m sorry,” she said the words just as I turned to head toward the food truck. I seriously almost dropped every single one of the apples in my arms. “I stand by the recipe though, but I should’ve shared it with you first.”
I sat the crate on the bottom step and turned around. “That’s all I ask. My family has always treated this farm as a team effort. We believe working together gets more accomplished then trying to do everything on your own.”
She dropped her head. “I’m sorry.” Then she went over to grab a crate. “Did you at least get to try the new recipe?”
That was the other reason why I was pissed, I wanted to know what the damn thing tasted like. “No,” I said a little too loudly.
Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her eye sockets. “Seriously? Well, let me fix that immediately.” She stepped around me and carried the crate up into the truck. “I sold out in ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes?” That seemed crazy. Not impossible, but definitely crazy. “You said it was a slow night though?”
“You know how it is, people love apple pie.”
Which was true. Appleton Farm was successful because of all the apple treats. Before the fried apple pie became the focal point, we sold out of cider donuts almost every single day.
I sat the last crate on the floor and grabbed an apple. “Hannah,” I took a bite of the Golden Delicious. “Listen, it’s not that hard. Just share the recipe idea with me first.” She only nodded and continued to prep an apple pie for me. I took the few steps forward and was now standing beside her. “They really liked the cream cheese addition?”
She glanced up at me and smiled. “Raved about it.”
“Well hurry up. I need to know what all the fuss was about.” Something happened as I stood just inches away from Hannah. Her chocolate eyes were distracting me. The way she moved her fingers to wrap the dough around the apple mixture set my body on fire.
What was wrong with me? This was Hannah Porter. I couldn’t like her because it was easier to argue with her on a daily basis.
Two
Hannah
“Here.” I pulled the apple pie out of the deep fryer and sat it on the cutting board. “See.” I slid the knife through the center. “So beautiful.” The cream cheese center oozed out onto the counter.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Jesse grabbed one half of the steaming hot apple pie. My eyes were locked onto his mouth as he blew lightly to cool it off before taking a bite.
“Hurry up.” I waved my hands to encourage him to stuff it into his mouth. “I need to know if you love them just as much as everyone else did last night.” I may have been a little too excited to see his reaction. For a split second I wondered if he would hate it just to go against the grain.
“You
want to see me burn my mouth, don’t you?” He closed his eyes and bit down slowly. He covered his mouth and sat the remainder of the bite on the counter without saying a word.
“No,” I couldn’t look away from him. “I want you to fall in love with the new recipe.” Which was true. “The suspense is killing me.” I tapped my fingers on the edge of the cutting board.
Jesse Appleton ran the kitchens at the farm. He was very good at what he did, but I felt he lacked creativity. The fried apple pie recipe had not changed in years. That was crazy to me. When I tried the dessert for the first time, my mind immediately thought about other variations to the original recipe.
Jesse left early last night because it was slow at the county fair where we were set up for the week. I probably should’ve waited to serve the new version of the apple pie recipe, but I got a little too excited. There was something about creating recipes that always distracted me.
Jesse moaned. Then he picked up the remaining piece of the pie on the counter and popped it in his mouth. He moaned again.
I waited to say anything.
“Shit.” That was the first word out of his mouth.
His eyes were closed as he continued chewing.
“Should I start looking for another job?”
“You wouldn’t dare.” His eyes flew open.
I reached down and grabbed the second half of the apple pie with the cream cheese. “I don’t know.” Then I took a bite and had to moan. “Fuck.” My hand flew to my mouth. “I mean,” I mumbled. “That’s damn good.”
“It’s amazing.” He sighed and leaned his body against the counter. “What’s all in the cream cheese mixture?”
“Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Splash of lemon juice. Cream cheese and butter whipped together.”
“Butter?” He swiped his finger across the cream cheese on the counter that fell out of the pie. “That’s why it’s delicious.”
“Well, I figured if you can deep fry butter. Why not add it to the cream cheese for extra fun?” I leaned down and grabbed the sanitizer towel out of the bucket and wiped off the cutting board. “So you approve?”
He walked over to back door where the five crates of apples sat. “Hannah.” He sounded serious but there was a soft tone in his voice. Something I had never heard from him before. Especially when he would say my name.
“I know. I get it.” I could feel a lecture coming on. “Consult with you first.”
“That’s all I ask. It’s not that hard of a request.” He carried several apples over to the counter and grabbed a knife. “Want to make more?”
“Really?” I seriously did not expect this conversation to end on a good note. We fought so much on a daily basis. This was the first time we weren’t fighting and it felt nice. “Fuck yeah, I’d love to make more.”
“Want to write down the recipe so I can help?” He was peeling an apple. There was a smile on his face. Jesse, smiling. That was a first.
The impulse I had to make the new apple pie recipe was maybe the best decision I’d made in a very long time. I ran over to the small locker with my purse and grabbed my notebook. “Yeah, sure.”
“There are two choices for the apple pie?” Levi, Jesse’s oldest brother said as he stepped up to the pass-through window of the food truck. “When did we start carrying two varieties?
“Today,” Jesse yelled and threw some prepped apple pies into the deep fryer.
I was leaning on the counter in front of Levi. “We’re trying out a new recipe. Want to taste it?”
“Wow, yeah.” Levi was glancing at Jesse and then at me. “How did you convince him to add a new option?”
“First I had to go behind his back and sell some.”
Levi’s eyes went wide. “You’re daring. I guess they’re good since you still have a job.”
Jesse stepped up beside me. “Firing her did cross my mind.”
I reached back and pulled out the two pies in the fryer and placed them in the to-go container. “Then he fell in love with these.” I handed them over to Levi.
Working at Appleton Farm was not planned. My culinary skills helped me to work as a sous chef with James Beard award winners. I was not prepared to work in a food truck. I still didn’t know what made me apply for the job. The farm was a big part of my life growing up. Using my skill set to make pies and donuts seemed like such a waste.
I blame Jesse Appleton for my decision to take the job. Well, I should thank his mom and then blame him second. If the man didn’t have such sexy hands, I would’ve ignored the job listing. The way he worked a knife woke up all my girl parts. He didn’t know I had a crush on him though. No one did.
“Oh fuck, you need to make this recipe and the regular one all the time,” Levi gushed and walked over to his girlfriend, Olivia. “You have to take a bite now or I will eat every last drop.”
“I guess the family approves,” I turned toward Jesse and rested my hand on the counter.
“I guess so.” He pointed his index finger at me. One of these days I would find the courage to grab his finger and wrap my lips around the tip. “Hannah.”
My mind was locked onto the vision of sucking Jesse’s index finger when I heard him say my name. “What?”
“I was just about to say, but you have to consult with me in the future.”
“Right?” I shook my head trying to let go of the vision. “I promise.”
The words, I also promise to make you scream my name while having the best orgasm of your life, ran around in my mind. “Fuck,” I mumbled. “Listen, I need to take a break.” I didn’t wait for him to respond. Instead, I just walked out the back door of the truck.
Taking on a job that didn’t really showcase my skills was not the brightest idea but spending the day next to Mr. Apple Pie made me a damn genius.
Three
Jesse
One week later…
“Well, I’d call that county fair a success,” Hannah said and stopped in the doorway of my office.
“Yeah, why’s that?” My face was locked onto the computer screen finalizing the schedule. When I lifted my head to glance at her I found myself struggling to form words. Her hair was down and flowing around her shoulders. She always wore her hair up in a bun.
“Did you see the local paper? They mentioned Appleton Farm’s new apple pie recipe.” She stepped into the space and handed me the paper. “Page ten.”
I grabbed it from her outstretched hand. “Really?” I flipped to the page and quickly started to read. “Well, shit.”
The week was a success. We ended up selling more of the new apple pie recipe. It was funny, I was scared to mess with the award-winning recipe. Then Hannah came along and changed it for me. Autumn and Olivia let me know that the social media pages were overflowing with messages about the new apple pie.
“I have a few other ideas if you’re interested?” Hannah said as she left the office.
“Let me get used to this new variety first.” I dropped the paper on my desk.
She leaned around the door frame. “So that’s not a no?”
“Or a yes.” I proceeded to dive back into the schedule.
When I knew she was out of earshot, I quickly grabbed my phone to call Autumn. “Hey, got a second?”
“For you, always,” Autumn said and made a kissing sound into the phone.
“Whatever.” We always found a way to bother each other. “Is there a way to have the public choose their favorite flavor of apple pie?”
“Oh yeah, that’s easy.” She paused and I could hear clicking. “Are you talking about the original versus the new cream cheese variety?”
“Well, we may test out a few other flavors, too.” There was silence on the other end for several seconds. “You still there?”
“Um, yeah.” She paused again. “You sure you’re okay?”
“What are you talking about?” I leaned back in my chair.
“Jess, my awesome bro, you’ve been dead set against messing with the original apple pie recipe for yea
rs.”
“Well, I’m allowed to change my mind.” I noticed Hannah walk by the office. Her hair was up now. The vision of wrapping my fingers around her ponytail and pulling her head back popped into my mind.
“Jess, you there?”
“What?” I pushed the keyboard to the side and rested my elbows on the table. “Yeah, I’m here.”
She burst out laughing. “Did a hot chef just walk by?”
“No.” I tried to avoid the conversation developing. Autumn could read me like a book even through the damn phone.
“Yes.” She giggled.
“Goodbye.” I hit end and dropped my phone on the desk. Right as my phone made a sound hitting the wood surface, there was a loud crash in the other room. “Shit.” I jumped up and ran into the kitchen. Hannah was standing next to a bowl of what looked like cream cheese now splatted all over the floor. “What the fuck happened?” I had a problem with getting pissed first and then trying to work through things later. My mom used to tell me I did things ass-backwards.
“I’m sorry. It slipped out of my hands.” Hannah ran over and grabbed a towel.
“That’s a lot of product you just wasted.”
“I didn’t mean to drop it.” She bent down and started to wipe it up.
“I know that, but…”
She stood up and walked closer to me. “Jesse, I understand the importance of waste. I also understand this looks bad.” She walked around me and headed over to the sink to rinse out the towel. “Take it out of my fucking paycheck if you’re that pissed.”
