Baker's Bob (River's End Ranch #16)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Technically we didn’t shop together. You ditched me as soon as we got into the store…”

  He put his finger over her lips. “I like arguing with you too. You know what I like most, though?”

  “No idea. I’m not even sure I want an idea. You are one scary guy, Bob.” Miranda grinned at him. The more time she spent with him, the more confused he made her…but the more she really liked him. He could give as good as he got in an argument, and he was so…so Bob. There was really no other way to describe him.

  “I like kissing you best. And I haven’t kissed you since Tuesday. Do you know how many days that is? And what kind of remarkable self-control it took not to kiss you every morning when you brought cookies into the café?”

  She sighed. “Five days. You can’t keep your lips to yourself for five days? What were you kissing before I was around? Mirrors?”

  “I also like your sassy tongue. You’re my kind of girl, Miranda Sue.”

  “My middle name isn’t Sue.”

  Bob frowned. “Why do you fill my mind with technicalities?”

  She shrugged. “No idea. Do you want to know my middle name?”

  “Why? I’m just going to call you Miranda Sue anyway.”

  “This doesn’t surprise me at all, Bobby Joe.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “And there’s that sassy tongue again. No wonder I think you’re pretty darn terrific.” He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him. “I need a kiss before we head toward home.”

  “You do? Okay, hang on!” She reached into her purse and pulled out some Chapstick. He’d told her his favorite flavor was cherry, but she’d found one she thought he would like just as well. She quickly put it on, before turning her face up for his kiss.

  “Good girl! You’re carrying Chapstick, just like I suggested.”

  She shrugged. “Well, it felt like more of a demand, but we can call it a suggestion if you like.”

  He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, raising his head and licking his lips. “What flavor is that? It’s better than cherry.”

  “The only flavor that truly works for a baker. Cookie dough.”

  “I wonder if they have hamburger flavored Chapstick for cooks like me?”

  Miranda smiled. “If I find some, I promise I’ll get it for you.”

  “You are a good woman, Miranda Sue.”

  “Glad you think so, Bobby Joe.”

  *****

  When they got back to Riston, Bob drove Miranda home. “You should invite me in. I’ll cook for you.”

  She grinned. “I guess I could do that. What are you going to cook?”

  “No idea. What were you planning to eat for dinner.”

  She shrugged. “I hadn’t make any real decisions. When you’re cooking for one, it’s not exactly a big deal to plan out meals.”

  “Do you have any prep work you need to do for the bakery tonight?”

  She shook her head. “I do Monday’s prep on Saturday afternoon. When I get in tomorrow morning, it’s just a matter of throwing dough on cookie sheets and making things happen.” Well, there were plenty of other things she’d have to do, but she knew he only cared about cookie prep.

  “What kind of cookie are you bringing me tomorrow?” She’d surprised him with a different kind of cookie every day since Tuesday, each one better than the last.

  She shrugged. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see, won’t you?”

  “You’re difficult sometimes, Miranda Sue.”

  “Tell me what seasoning you use on eggs, and I’ll tell you what cookie I’m baking tomorrow morning.”

  Bob sighed. “You think you’ve got me at a stalemate, don’t you?”

  “I know I do. You can’t tell me what you use unless my last name is Blakely, and we both know I’m not ready for that yet.” Miranda shrugged, walking to the door and unlocking it. Cinnamon was right there waiting for her, excited to see her and Bob. “Do you need to go outside, baby girl?” She walked to the back door and opened it, letting the dog out into the yard. She knew she’d be out there for a while, because it was finally nice out. Cinnamon would find a dry spot and lay in the sun. She’d never seen such a sun-worshiping dog in all her life.

  Bob walked to the kitchen, digging through her fridge, freezer, and pantry. “You have chicken thawed. Can I make magic with it?”

  Miranda shrugged. She’d never actually had the opportunity to watch him cook, and she was going to make the most of it. She knew he thought he was the best chef in the entire state of Idaho, if not the whole world, so watching him would be interesting.

  He cut the chicken into thin strips, and sautéed it with some onions and carrots. In minutes her entire house smelled like deliciousness. He brought a pot of water to boil and added some egg noodles she had. He didn’t talk while he cooked, seeming to enter into a state of intense concentration.

  When he was finished, the product was wonderful. “What do you call it?” she asked, looking at the creamy cheese sauce which covered the chicken, carrots, onion, and noodles.

  He shrugged. “I have no idea. I just started throwing stuff together and this is what happened.”

  She frowned. “You’ve never made this before?”

  “Nope. It’s good though. Trust me.”

  Miranda hadn’t noticed him tasting the food, so she had no idea how he was convinced it was so good. Hopefully he was right. She took a bite, the flavors dancing on her tongue. “This is good. How’d you do that?”

  “I’ve always just kind of done it. I walk into a kitchen, find a few things, and start throwing stuff together. I never make anything exactly the same way twice.”

  She smiled. “I do that sometimes when I bake. Not quite the same, of course, but close. I’ll have a basic recipe in mind…a cake or a cookie, and I’ll make the foundation, and then I start throwing in other ingredients. I made a lemon cheesecake last week that was to die for.”

  “And you didn’t bring me a piece?”

  “I couldn’t! I sold out of it in less than an hour. I’ll try to recreate it this week and I’ll set a piece aside for you.”

  Bob looked at her and nodded. “Why don’t we do that Tuesday? You make dessert, and I’ll make us supper. We can eat here or at my place.”

  She frowned. “Tuesday is Lazy Love night.”

  “I’ll come here then. And I’ll bring the stuff to make my special popcorn I told you about.”

  “And you’ll tell me what you put on your eggs?”

  “Not on your life!”

  She sighed. “You can be the sweetest man in the world, Bob Blakely, and then you transform into something else entirely. I don’t know what to do with you.”

  He shrugged. “All I ask of you is your undying love, devotion, and worship of my cooking prowess. Nothing else is necessary.”

  She smiled, standing and walking around the table. She stopped behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing his cheek. “Never going to happen.”

  He sighed. “It was worth a try.”

  “One day you’re going to realize that I’m not a simple-minded girl who’s going to fall for the first guy who walks into her life knowing how to use a spatula. I need a man who can make me feel good about me.”

  He stood, turning to hold her close. “I think I can work on that. Besides, don’t I tell you how wonderful I think you are?”

  “No! You still complain about my cookies!”

  He shrugged. “That’s just our thing. You would think I’d forgotten you if I didn’t complain about your cookies.”

  “I don’t want that to be our thing. Why can’t our thing be you making amazing food, and me making the dessert to match. Oh that reminds me. Are you going to be doing any holiday meals? I can make some bread for you to serve if you give me a day or two notice. Some nice dinner rolls maybe?”

  He nodded. “Make me some that I can pop in the oven.” He kissed her cheek. “Between your baking and my cooking, this ranch isn�
��t going to know what hit it.”

  “Then my baking is satisfactory? Even with only twelve chips per cookie?”

  “I wouldn’t go that far…”

  Chapter Four

  Mid-morning on Monday a new guest came to the bakery. He carefully selected his treat and purchased it from Miranda. As always, Miranda made small-talk with him. “How long will you be at the ranch?”

  “Through the end of the year. Taking some time off work and just reconnecting with my life. Why? You looking for a hot date for Friday night?” he asked, a grin on his face.

  Miranda’s eyes widened and she really looked at the man for the first time. He was late twenties with dark hair and eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard. “No…I’m kind of seeing someone.”

  “Only kind of? Sounds to me like the man needs to get on the ball to keep a pretty girl like you from slipping away from him.”

  Miranda stared after him as he left the bakery, wondering what had just happened. No one flirted with her. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and covered with a hat to keep it out of food. She definitely didn’t look her best in her baker’s uniform, and wasn’t exactly beautiful without. So why were men suddenly interested in her? First Bob and now this new guest.

  She shrugged, deciding to forget about him as she went about her day. There was a time for everything, and the Christmas season was all about work for her. She had lots of cookies to bake and freeze for the cookie decorating, plus her regular work. No, she needed to not worry about a flirty guest.

  Instead of heading straight to her car when she locked up the bakery for the day, she walked toward the lake. She’d talked to Jaclyn a couple of times when she’d seen her in her yard, and the woman had always said the same thing, “It’s not time for you to talk to me yet.” So every time she’d left, wondering what the older woman meant.

  As she got close to Jaclyn’s yard, one of the gnomes seemed to be watching her intently. She laughed. They were just clay garden gnomes. They had no feelings. How on earth could they be watching her?

  “There you are!” Jaclyn called from her backyard, right beside the gnome that had seemed to be watching her. “Gorgeous George was watching for you. He promised to tell me when you got here! Come in! It’s time.”

  “Time for what?” Miranda asked, feeling stupid as she did. She’d seen people come and go from Jaclyn’s house many times in the year she’d been on the ranch, and she’d talked to her several times while she was out walking, but she’d never been invited inside.

  “For us to have our little chat of course. The fairies have decreed it, and even the gnomes don’t dare argue with the fairies.” Jaclyn patted the gnome she’d called Gorgeous George on the head before turning to go inside. “Well come on!” she called over her shoulder. “Our tea will be cold if you dawdle!”

  Miranda hurried after the older woman, unsure of what else she was supposed to do. When she stepped into the house, a cute little brown bunny wearing a diaper hopped up to her. She picked him up, looking at him curiously. “Why is this bunny wearing a diaper?”

  Jaclyn smiled sweetly. “I stumbled on a rabbit burrow out in the woods a few days ago. The mama was missing. I watched for several hours, and when it was obvious she wasn’t coming back, I brought all the bunnies home. I forgot how much work they are before they’re litter box trained.”

  Three other rabbits were peeking at her from various places around the small house. “I didn’t even know rabbits could be litter box trained.”

  “Oh my yes, of course they can. How else would I be able to live with thirty-two bunnies?”

  “Thirty-two? That’s a lot of bunnies.”

  “Well, I only had twenty-six last week, but I found six more with no mama. How could I possibly leave them there?” Jaclyn poured tea from a pretty porcelain teapot into cups. “The fairies said you prefer tea with your cookies?”

  “Umm…sure. That sounds good.” Miranda had heard stories of Jaclyn and her fairies, but until today, she’d never gotten a first-hand look at the inside of her house. The fairies hadn’t been mentioned to her before either. She wanted to bounce up and down with excitement, because she felt as if she was finally a member of the family who lived and worked on River’s End Ranch. This was her initiation.

  “The fairies are never wrong.” Jaclyn looked over the top of her cup at Miranda. “Have some snickerdoodles. I assure you, they’re just as good as yours. I’m more of a one-trick pony where cookies are concerned. I don’t dabble in a lot of different kinds, and instead stick to making my snickerdoodles as perfect as a cookie can possibly be.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Well, out with it girl! Enough small talk. Ask me about them.”

  “About the fairies?” Miranda asked, confused. She didn’t have a lot of questions about the fairies. They seemed to simply be a part of the ranch, and that’s what mattered.

  “Of course not. About Bob and Matt.”

  “Bob from Kelsey’s Kafé? Who’s Matt?”

  “Matt! The man who came to the bakery this morning and offered you a hot date for Friday night? Don’t play daft, girl. It doesn’t suit you.” Jaclyn crunched into a cookie as she watched Miranda.

  “He never told me his name. I wasn’t playing daft. How do you know about Bob?”

  Jaclyn laughed. “Oh please. You sat together at church on Sunday. That’s tantamount to declaring undying love in these parts. You in love with him?”

  Miranda shrugged. “I don’t know what I feel. Bob and I have been arguing for months, and suddenly he’s acting like I should have known he had a crush on me all along. I can’t figure him out at all.”

  “How do you feel when he kisses you? And don’t tell me he hasn’t kissed you, because I know what the fairies said, and I see that blush on your face.” Jaclyn shook her head. “Albino brain chiggers, my big toe!”

  Miranda’s eyes widened. She’d heard that Jaclyn had a creepy way of getting into a person’s head, but she hadn’t seen it before now. “You know about the albino brain chiggers?”

  “Those albino brain chiggers aren’t like Bigfoot and the fairies. Albino brain chiggers are imaginary! Get them out of your head.”

  Miranda’s eyes narrowed. “But if they’re not real, and therefore not in my head, how can I get them out?”

  Jaclyn grinned. “You’re a feisty one, Miranda Sue.”

  “My middle name is Marie, not Sue. Why is everyone suddenly calling me Miranda Sue?”

  “Bob likes it.” Jaclyn sighed. “I think the fairies were wrong. You’re not ready to talk yet. Come back when you are.” She stood up and took the bunny from Miranda and then took away her teacup. “Go on now!”

  Miranda stood, unsure why she was being kicked out. “I thought we were going to talk.”

  “You’re not ready.” Jaclyn put the cup down and opened the door. “Come back another time when you are.”

  Miranda stepped outside and turned to ask a question but found the door closed in her face. She frowned. What was she supposed to do now?

  *****

  When Miranda got to work Tuesday morning, there was a small wrapped box on the ground in front of the door. She looked around to see if anyone was there, but there was no one. She unlocked the door and stepped into the bakery, flicking the lights on. Once she was inside, she carefully opened the box, saving the bow. It was a charm bracelet with one small charm…a cupcake. The card in the box was signed, “Your Secret Santa.”

  She smiled, holding it up to the light. It must be from Matt. He’d bought a cupcake yesterday. Besides, Bob wouldn’t know how to wrap a gift to save his life. The man was all thumbs everywhere but the kitchen. And kissing. He was not all thumbs when it came to kissing.

  She put the bracelet and the ribbon into her purse. It was beautiful, and she’d treasure it always. She had to find some other charms to put on it. What a fun idea for a gift.

  When she delivered the cookies to the café that morning, Bob confirmed he would cook and bring
dinner to her house. “Would you mind making some dinner rolls? And you promised me lemon cheesecake for dessert.”

  Kelsi’s eyes lit up. “Lemon cheesecake? Oh, that sounds yummy. Duchess Hiccups needs to try some lemon cheesecake.”

  “Duchess Hiccups? I thought she was Princess Wiggles. And what happened to Zsa Zsa?”

  Kelsi shrugged. “She’s had the hiccups since Sunday morning. She’s making me crazy.”

  “Duchess Hiccups it is.” Miranda looked at Bob. “I’ll make the dinner rolls, and I’m going to make several of the lemon cheesecakes today, now that I know they’ll sell. I’ll bring half of one to Kelsi to take home to Shane, and I’ll take the other half home for dinner tonight. Does that work for you, Bob?”

  He shrugged. “I’d rather have the whole cheesecake of course, but since Kelsi is pregnant and all…” He wandered back into the kitchen without another word.

  Miranda looked at Kelsi. “Will that man always be a mystery to me?”

  Kelsi laughed. “It’s the way of the Bob.”

  “Was Shane like that?”

  Kelsi shook her head adamantly. “As soon as we started dating, he made it very clear he had very strong feelings. I’m glad he did. I wouldn’t like to feel as if I’m living in limbo.”

  Miranda sighed. “I do kind of feel that way.”

  “Are you having breakfast here this morning?”

  “I don’t think so. I made some kolaches, and I’d rather have one of those today.”

  “Are they ham and cheese kolaches?” Bob called from the kitchen.

  “Yup!”

  “We don’t open for twenty minutes. Kelsi, I’m running to the bakery for kolaches. You want any?”

  “Sure!” Kelsi responded. She grabbed her purse. “I want three…no, make it six. I can heat up three for lunch!”

  Miranda laughed. “I should have just had you guys come get the cookies this morning. I had no idea you were all kolache fiends.”

  Bob grabbed his coat. “You make kolaches, you let us know. We’ll happily come get our own cookies and swipe as many kolaches as you’ll give us.” He took the cash Kelsi offered and left with Miranda. “We have to hurry. The first of the customers get there right at open.”