by Carol Durand
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Maven Publishing - All rights reserved.
All rights Reserved. No part of this publication or the information in it may be quoted from or reproduced in any form by means such as printing, scanning, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Table of Contents
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
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Melissa Gladstone looked around the cozy confines of her small, but thriving, bakery and sighed with satisfaction. After a whirlwind trip to Vegas where a hometown rival was found dead, and local hunky detective, Chas Beckett swooped in to solve the murder, she was more than glad to return to the everyday activities of life in the quaint southern town of LaChance, Louisiana. Her loyal assistant, Ben, had managed the shop quite nicely while she was gone, and she was proud of the fact that he had handled everything perfectly, while still maintaining perfect grades in grad school. Missy was in early this morning, trying out a new recipe that she had developed before she left for Vegas. The cupcake was called the Purple People Pleaser, so named because of its lovely color and flavor. The secret was in the mixed berry puree that she added into the batter. She planned to top the light, fluffy cakes with a Berry Butter crème frosting, also in purple, placing a plump blackberry as a final touch on the very top. She had just pulled the first batch out of the oven when Ben came in, accidentally slamming the back door behind him.
“Welcome back, Miss G.! What smells so good?” The exuberant young man came to stand over her shoulder, peering at the pan that she was taking to the cooling racks.
“Hey Ben! Thanks, it’s sooooo good to be home. These are the latest creation,” she announced with pride.
“The Purple People Pleasers? Sweet, I’ve been waiting to try those,” he nodded appreciatively.
“Well, you’re going to have to wait about half an hour, until they cool enough to be frosted, so let’s get everything ready for opening, then we can come back and frost these,” Missy replied, anxious to get back into the swing of things.
“You got it, boss.” Ben grabbed an apron and a set of plastic gloves and got to work stocking the cases with treats to tempt every palate. Morning was their busiest time, when the townsfolk came in to grab coffee and a muffin or cupcake on their way to work. Some businesses had standing orders that needed to be ready for pick-up when they opened, so Missy attended to those.
The two of them were done with morning prep in no time, and after putting the finishing touches on the Purple People Pleasers, they sat down with mugs of steaming coffee and freshly frosted cupcakes.
“Wow, you’ve outdone yourself this time, Miss G.,” Ben marveled, chewing with great relish and consuming his entire cupcake in three large bites.
Missy had to agree, the Purple People Pleasers were even better than she had expected, they would most likely sell out quickly as the featured cupcake of the day. While Ben cleared up the remnants of their quick breakfast, Missy went to the front door and unlocked it, turning over the little wooden sign that indicated they were open. Her first customer of the day was a sweet elderly woman that she lived down the street from when she was growing up, Mrs. Cora Nesbitt.
“Well, good morning, Mrs. Nesbitt,” Missy greeted her with genuine warmth. “How are you on this beautiful summer day?”
“Oh, Missy darlin’, life is so good. The sun is shinin’, the birds are singin’, and my peaches are just startin’ to ripen on the tree,” she replied. “How you doin’ sugar?”
“Right as rain, and I’m going to be wanting some of those peaches to make my Perfectly Peachy muffins with, so you let me know when I can come by and get a bushel.”
“I certainly will, child, I certainly will.” Mrs. Nesbitt was headed for a ladies quilting club this morning, so Missy put an assortment of cupcakes, cookies and muffins in a large pink box for her, and wrapped it with a pretty ribbon and bow. Thanking her profusely for the extra attention and including a generous tip on her bill, the kindly woman took the box and went on her way, promising to let Missy know when her peaches were ripe. As soon as Mrs. Nesbitt left, an avalanche of customers came in that did not let up until just before noon.
“Whew!” Ben exclaimed, flopping into a chair after the rush. “I didn’t know if we were going to make it through that one,” he joked.
“I know it!” Missy agreed, setting down a glass of iced tea for each of them. “It’s like the floodgates opened up. I swear we saw everyone in town and then some, today.”
“Well…you are kind of…famous now, you know,” her weary assistant said, as though it were common knowledge.
“Famous? Me? Hardly.” she scoffed, sipping her tea.
“No, I’m serious. When you and that detective were in Las Vegas and helped solve the crime against that celebrity cooking lady, it was all over the news here. You’re like some sort of superhero in these parts now,” he teased.
Missy laughed and shrugged modestly. “And here I thought all the fuss was about my Purple People Pleasers.”
“Well, apparently they were a huge hit too, we only have two left,” Ben said, looking toward the display. She followed his gaze and noticed that the featured cupcake wasn’t the only thing that they were running low on. The morning surge had wiped out a good portion of her supply for the day.
“Wow,” she commented, “we’re going to have to bake double batches of some things for tomorrow.”
“Looks that way,” he agreed, polishing off his tea. “Want me to go pull the ingredients for tomorrow?”
“That would be perfect, Ben, thank you.”
Missy leaned back in her chair feeling the best kind of tired. Today had been a productive and profitable day, she’d had the chance to interact with friends and neighbors who had come in for sweet treats, and more importantly, in a couple of hours, she’d get to go home and take her beloved Golden Retriever, Toffee, to the park.
The bell over the door jangled, and Missy looked over to see Detective Chas Beckett of the LaChance Police Department walking in.
“Sitting down on the job young lady?” he teased, taking a chair across from her.
“Thankfully, yes,” she smiled shyly at the handsome detective. “You should have seen the craziness in here this morning! There were a few times that the line stretched out the door.”
“Wow, sounds like business is booming! Good for you,” he grinned, unable to take his eyes away from the charming blonde in front of him.
“Apparently, we’re sort of famous around town now, from what I’ve been told,” she leaned in conspiratorially.
“Yeah, I’ve experiences some double-takes today, now I guess I know why.”
“Oh Chas, please, that’s not why!” Missy said without thinking, then blushed furiously.
Beckett blushed as well, laughing to cover his discomfort. “So, what’s a man have to do to get a
cup of coffee around here,” he asked, changing the subject.
“Solve a murder, usually,” Ben replied, coming out of the kitchen with a mug in his hand. “Here you go, Detective, I thought you might like some.”
“I appreciate it Ben,” Chas accepted the mug and sipped the steaming liquid gingerly.
“Ben, did you remember to pull doubles of chocolate chips and bananas? I think we’re going to need them,” Missy remarked.
“Yep. I also cut up a double amount of strawberries too – thought it might be fun to try a strawberry/banana cupcake,” he suggested.
“Great idea!” his boss concurred, impressed with his creativity. “Well, if everything in the kitchen is wrapped up, you can head out. I’ll be fine here alone for the next couple of hours.”
“Sounds good – I have some serious studying to do tonight, and now I’ll be able to get a jump start on it. See you tomorrow, Miss G. Nice seeing you again, Detective Beckett.”
“You too, Ben,” Chas raised his hand in farewell. Once Missy’s assistant had left, he leaned forward slightly. “Are you…busy tomorrow night?” he asked quietly.
“What is tomorrow? Thursday? Let me take a look…” she pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans to check her calendar. “Okay, there’s Thursday…nope, I’m free, why?”
The detective cleared his throat, seeming uncomfortable, and an unusual characteristic for someone so typically self-assured. “I was hoping…that is, I was wondering if maybe…you would…would you like to go out to dinner tomorrow? With me?” he tacked on, as if she might think that he was suggesting she go out alone.
Her blonde curls bounced gaily as she nodded. “Sure, that sounds great. What did you have in mind?”
“Well, actually, I didn’t know. I was waiting to see if you said yes before I made any plans,” he admitted.
“Okay, well, just let me know then,” Missy said, rising as a customer came in the door.
Chas cleared his throat again. “Will do. I’ll…uh…get back with you soon on that,” he said, suddenly even more awkward, now that there was a third party present. “Gotta run,” he declared, ducking out.
The man who had come in before the blushing detective left was completely oblivious that he had just interrupted anything, and stood perusing the somewhat sparse selection left in the case.
“Is that grape?” he asked, pointing at the Purple People Pleasers. Trying not to giggle, Missy explained how they were made and he asked to take them both. “I don’t know if you remember me or not, Miss Gladstone, but we met a couple of years ago, when you were thinking about expanding your business. I’m Stuart Cline, with Cline Real Estate. I showed you some commercial properties, but you decided that you weren’t ready for expansion back then.”
“I thought you looked familiar,” Missy nodded, smiling. “Of course, how are you, Mr. Cline? I definitely remember you. You were kind enough to talk with me about properties even though I hadn’t made up my mind.”
“Well, that’s what I do,” he chuckled modestly. “And that’s actually why I’m here. Are you still thinking about expanding?”
Missy nodded, crossing her arms while she considered her answer. “I have been thinking about expansion, yes. Particularly if things stay as busy here as they were today. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I have a property that I think might be a perfect fit for you, in a nearby community. It already has a commercial kitchen, plenty of ovens for baking, a large walk-in freezer, and a seating area that’s larger than this one, and it’s very reasonably priced.”
“Define reasonably priced,” Missy challenged, bracing herself for the answer, and pleasantly surprised at the figure that he quoted. “Well, that’s certainly food for thought,” she said, blissfully unaware of her perfect pun. “Let me get settled in here a bit for a few days and I’ll get back with you on this.”
“Of course,” Stuart agreed easily. “Take all the time you need.” He paid for his cupcakes, handed her a business card and left.
Chapter 2
Thursday was even busier than Wednesday had been, and by the time Missy closed the door and flipped the sign over, closing for the day, she and Ben were both exhausted. The rush of people who had come in first thing started a steady stream of traffic that didn’t cease until just before closing time. She had pizza delivered for lunch, and she and Ben took turns running to the back to munch on a slice whenever they could. She could count the number of items left in the cases on one hand, and the cash register receipts were phenomenal. If this trend continued, she’d have no choice but to expand. With that in mind, she called Stuart Cline and made an appointment with him on Saturday to see the property that he had mentioned, as well as any others that he thought might be suitable. He promised to pick her up after she closed for the day.
Missy rushed home to get ready for her date with Chas Beckett, and was greeted with a wagging tail and sloppy kiss from Toffee. Snapping on the leash, she headed for the park, enjoying the sunshine and the adoring company. After indulging in a vigorous and extended game of off-leash fetch, the pair jogged home, content to be together in the fresh air on a sunny afternoon. The butterflies were just starting to flutter in Missy’s midsection as she trotted upstairs to get ready, after filling Toffee’s food and water bowls and rewarding her with a treat.
She knew that Detective Chas Beckett was certainly not looking for a relationship, having been burned in the past, and she had never had much faith in the possibility of a successful relationship either, but for some reason, this man had her all aflutter. She dropped the soap in the shower twice; she almost got shampoo in her eyes, and totally forgot to set out her towel before stepping in, so she had to leave a trail of wet footprints across the entire bathroom floor to get one out of the linen closet.
Missy had decided the previous day what she was going to wear to dinner, so at least she wasn’t tormented by that decision, and slipped easily into her lavender sundress and white sandals. Her hair was another matter entirely. The heat and humidity of a Louisiana summer had her blonde curls springing out in all directions and she decided to go with that rather than trying to fight it, so she let her hair air-dry after rubbing in a luxurious leave-in conditioner, resulting in soft waves that fell about her shoulders in a gleaming golden cloud.
“Reminds me of Toffee’s coat,” she thought, looking in the mirror and giggling. She accented her large grey eyes with just a touch of eyeliner and mascara, and dabbed a bit of rosy gloss on her lips. Finishing her look with dangly silver earrings and a matching bangle, she was ready. She was also ready ridiculously early, as usual, so she had to find something to do while she waited for Chas to pick her up.
Sinking into her comfy couch and opening her laptop, Missy pulled up an extensive database of cupcake recipes so that she could plan the featured cupcakes for every day next week. Toffee settled under the coffee table, his nose resting on her feet, and snored softly. Wrapped up in the delicious world of gourmet treats, she totally forgot about the time, and jumped in surprise when Chas rang the doorbell. He was so incredibly handsome when she opened the door, dressed in light linen trousers and a white button-down shirt that was open at the neck. His sleeves were rolled up casually, showing his tan, and his smile lit up the room. She was going to have to be very careful, or she’d end up falling for this striking detective.
Dinner couldn’t have gone more perfectly. The conversation was light and not the least bit awkward, the food, ‘down-home BBQ’, was spectacular, (with the added bonus that Missy didn’t splash any of the tangy red sauce on either her dress or Chas’s white shirt), and the weather was so pleasant that they were able to sit outside on the patio. Missy made a split-second decision as Chas walked her up to her door, and on impulse she invited him in. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then accepted her invitation and followed her into the house, to be promptly mauled with affection by an ecstatic Toffee.
“Would you like some wine? We can sit out on the back porch and e
njoy the lightning bugs,” Missy suggested once the exuberant animal reigned in her excitement a bit.
“Sounds perfect,” Chas nodded, following her to the kitchen.
They settled in on the porch swing with a lovely Merlot to sip and the sound of crickets and cicadas for background music.
“Beautiful evening,” the relaxed detective observed.
“Yes it is,” Missy agreed. “The most relaxing I’ve had in quite a while.”
“Me too.”
“I don’t date much, you know,” she offered, out of the blue.
Beckett smiled at her unusual change of subject. “Neither do I.”
“It’s just that…you’re so easy to be around. I feel like I can enjoy your company and you’re not going to expect anything of me. Does that make sense?” she asked, the wine and romantic setting apparently combining to function as truth serum.
“It makes perfect sense. I feel the same way, actually,” he admitted. “I think we’re alike in that so much of our lives are devoted to our work, that it’s sometimes hard to stop being a professional. We have to remind ourselves that we’re human and need to interact with other humans,” he grinned.
“Exactly!” Missy was relieved that, rather than thinking her strange, Chas Beckett totally understood how she felt. Her resolve to not become emotionally involved with men in general and Chas in particular, was eroding at an alarming, yet exciting rate.
“I don’t trust easily,” he said, making it sound like a warning.
“Occupational hazard?” she teased, eyes sparkling.
“Something like that,” he smiled, unable to help himself.
“I don’t either by the way,” Missy shrugged.
He looked at her for a long moment. “Well, aren’t we just a pair,” he mused wryly.
“Aren’t we just,” she echoed, catching her lower lip between her teeth.
Finishing his wine, Chas stood and held his hand out to Missy to help her up. “I should be going. Long day tomorrow.”
