by Linda West
“We’ll ask Monday,” Ethel said, a twinkle in her eye.
Chapter 13
“We’re going to the Super Duper to get some supplies,” Ethel said.
Dodie smoothed the back of her ponytail. “I’m really not sure I can do this.”
Aunt Carol tugged at Dodie’s apron and flashed her a winning smile. “Yes, you can. I taught you exactly what a new baker should know, and they say the best way to engrain what you know is to teach others. So you are the perfect person to teach other brand new bakers. Besides, we’ll be back before the Intermediates are here.”
“All right,” said Dodie, trying to psych herself up. “I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.” Who would have ever guessed that Dodie, who might as well have been called the burner as well as the baker, would be put in charge of the class of the whole bakery store, when it mattered most?
As she watched Carol and Ethel bustle out with their baskets, which they would return with full to the brim with Valentine Ball decorating and baking supplies, she imagined what she would wear to the Valentine Eve Sweetheart Bakeoff if she were asked.
The thought of starting a new romance both scared and excited her at this point in her life. She had lost all hope for love, or so she had thought. Then why did she have the butterflies in her stomach? Maybe she really could have a second chance at love in this sweet town. She stifled the thought and got back to work.
In the cold light of day she had begun to reconsider her cake idea, doubting she could pull it off or even if there’d be a suitable man there to buy it, but when Carol had caught her doubting expression that morning one side of her mouth had turned up in a mysterious smile and she’d winked.
“You just go out and buy yourself the prettiest dress you can find,” she’d said. “That’s all you have to worry about.”
Ethel had leant over when Dodie had reluctantly opened the baking book. Her eyes had widened but her voice was kind.
“That’s not the simplest of recipes, dear, in fact, it’s so complicated I doubt I’d…”
“No, no, it’s perfect,” Carol had interrupted. “I hear a certain someone loves chocolate.”
Dodie’s heart had fluttered.
“A certain someone?” Did they already have someone in mind?
Carol had grinned and adjusted her beehive. “Never you mind.”
So Dodie dreamed of dresses while she sat alone in the bakery, waiting for her final class with Tassy, Justine, Stephanie and Carina. The plan was that the Beginner group would come at 10am, the Intermediates at 1pm and the Advanced group at 4pm. Supposedly this would give them all enough time to finish their baked goods for the big day tomorrow, but Dodie wasn’t sure, especially when the Beginners were under her watch.
Besides that, they expected a swarm of customers, especially men buying valentine’s treats for their sweethearts. Carol and Ethel had been holed up in the bakery almost every hour of the day and night in the previous few days, baking up a storm of all kinds of pastries and cookies and cupcakes, cutting dough into hearts and adding strawberry jelly or red icing to just about everything.
Dodie saw herself dashing between the Beginners class in back and the storefront, juggling change and cookies and utensils until her arms dropped clean off. She was scheduled to work in the bakery the next day too.
Even if her cake was bought by some handsome young man that would become her date, she wasn’t exactly in the primping mode. She imagined herself staggering into the Valentine Eve Sweetheart Bakeoff, exhausted, hair sprinkled with flour. Well, she’d stand out.
She didn’t even know when she could squeeze enough time out of her schedule to actually bake the chocolate raspberry cake she’d picked anyway.
The only glimmer of hope was Carol’s hint. Had she really found someone for her? Someone who would appreciate her chocolate cake? Someone who would appreciate her…? She sure wasn’t ready for love, but a lovely date… why not?
Her chain of thought was disrupted by the sight of Justine waving madly outside the window, bouncing from foot to foot. She pushed open the door and swung in with a shoulder bag.
“Hey there Dodie!” she said, then squealed with excitement. “Got all my ingredients!”
Dodie just loved Justine’s enthusiasm. It made her feel like maybe there really was hope in the world.
“Hey there, Justine.”
“I got about a thousand apples in here,” Justine continued, lugging her bag with exaggerated strain. “Apparently some guy likes apples. I don’t even know who, but Carol’s told me to trust her.”
“Looks like we’re in the same boat.” Dodie smiled.
“I’ll be in back?”
“Sure.”
Carina and Stephanie and Tassy arrived soon after, clutching their bags of ingredients and grinning, the promise of new-found love sparkling in their eyes.
“Let’s get baking!” Tassy said.
It was a surprising moment for Dodie when she realized that she wasn’t needed.
All set to help them out, she’d rolled up her sleeves and got ready to dive in, but each of them read through their recipe and ploughed on. She smiled to herself.
Maybe she wasn’t the greatest baker, but perhaps she was a little better at teaching. The way things were going, it looked like her Beginners group would be out well before the Intermediates arrived. Dodie dared to hope she might steal a sliver of time to get started on the sponge layers for her cake in between.
Hanging back and trying to picture her wardrobe, she decided on the red dress for the auction she’d passed over on Christmas Day. Things had felt too bleak then, the color way too bold for how weak and powerless she had felt, but now it seemed perfect. It was red, bright red, scarlet, even.
Though she still buzzed with anxiety, an underlying confidence shone through and she was set on breaking out of her heartbreak and setting herself free. Break ups happened. It didn’t mean she was unlovable.
Dodie was determined to claim the life she wanted, even if she had to do it hands shaking, heart racing the whole way.
“Yes!” Justine said, pumping her fist in the air and grinning. “Ready to go in the oven!”
The rest of the girls clapped and whooped.
“Well done!” said Dodie.
These were such proud moments for her, watching these teens blossom under her care and feeling that she belonged finally. The kind people of Kissing Bridge Mountain had hugged her to their hearts and treated her like one of them. They had embraced the broken person she was and helped make her whole. She felt happy for the first time in a very long while.
Once Justine had put her apple cake in to bake, she hoisted herself up on the counter next to Dodie. “So what are you baking for tomorrow?”
“I’m going to attempt a chocolate and raspberry cake,” Dodie said. “I’m a little scared that it won’t turn out so good.”
“But you’re great at baking,” said Justine. “I couldn’t bake a darn thing when I first came here and now look at me, baking a cake all by myself. You must be the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
Dodie’s heart swelled. It was so good, so so good, to hear that she’d helped someone, that her efforts had made a difference. After all those years of trying to reach out to Peter and being shut down cold, her heart was hungry for connection.
“Thanks,” she said, trying not to let tears rise.”
“I know you are new here Dodie, but we are all really happy to have you here in Kissing Bridge. I see you look sad sometimes and I don’t know the whole story of what happened before you came here, but miracles happen you have to believe!” said Justine.
Dodie looked doubtful. “Hmmp haven’t seen to many miracles in my life…”
With that the young girl jumped up and wrapped Dodie in a big bear hug. “Then I’ll believe for you Dodie!”
Dodie couldn’t help but laugh at her contagious faith.
Justine pulled away and looked at her with a big smile.
“I really h
ope some good guy buys what you make tomorrow Dodie, and I hope he knows just how lucky he is!”
Dodie thought of the odds of that happening, and guessed that might take a miracle after all. The tears welled up and she couldn’t hold them back.
Chapter 14
Oh my gosh. She’s beautiful.
Jason was caught totally off guard.
One moment he had been looking between the list he had offered to complete for his mother and the baked goods laid out under the glass, trying to work out what corresponded with what. The next moment he was standing face to face with possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
There was something magnetic about her, mesmerizing. She looked at him expectantly, her green-gray eyes glassed over with tears.
“Hello welcome to Landers Home Baking what would you like, sir?”
“Are you okay?” he asked before he had even thought.
“I…” she began, her turn to be caught off guard. She struggled for words. “I…”
“Oh, sorry, sorry,” he said, finally managing to break his gaze away from her, though it immediately begged him to raise his head again.
Her face was so gentle, peaceful, like she didn’t have a hint of malice in her. Luckily he’d learned enough self-discipline in the military that he could keep his eyes firmly on his boots.
“Pardon me Miss…It’s really none of my business.”
“You don’t have to be sorry,” she said, her voice soft.
He had no doubt that voice, the soul behind it, could weave their way past all the blockades he’d erected in his heart, right to the very core of him. He’d never felt anything so strong on first sight.
“Did you come to pick up some cookies? Bread? Pastries?”
“Sure,” he said, looking down at the list. “Hey, maybe you’d better take this. I don’t know what half of these things are.”
Her eyes widened as they scanned down the list he handed her.
“A lot of things, huh?”
“Yep. My mom likes to send Valentine gifts to all our family, all around the country, by special delivery. Cakes, flowers, plush toys, the whole lot. She’s a sucker for holidays.” He grinned.
Dolly couldn’t help but smile, which made her even more beautiful to behold. “Seems like your mom is not the only sucker for holidays in this town!”
Now it was his turn to beam. He stifled a laugh. Since being back home it had seemed as if he entered a snow globe world of beauty and joy and love. It was so different from where he had been. He didn’t recognize this alluring woman as a Kissing Bridge local, but she sure knew his town.
He went over and sat at the table, while the beautiful woman got to work picking things out and placing them in paper bags. “I like the sound of your mother already,” she said.
“Yes, she’s quite a lady” he said, laughing. His mind zoomed forward to marriage without his permission. He shook his head, wondering if he was going crazy.
She looked up at him and he felt a wave pulse through his body as they made eye contact. She looked right back down again and smiled at the paper bag she was folding over.
“You want something to eat while you wait?”
“You know, I’d just love that.”
“You can have it on us, since you’re buying so much,” she said, then gestured across the entire counter. “Take your pick.”
“Oooh,” he said, getting up and looking over their offerings. “Got anything with chocolate in it?”
Her smile spread wider. “That’s my favorite, too. We’ve got pain au chocolate, donut with pure chocolate filling and—”
“Whoa, you can stop right there!” he said. “Donut with pure chocolate filling. Wow.”
Her eyes widened. “Tell me about it. I’m going to get so fat working here.”
He opened his mouth to say that she had a gorgeous body but quickly caught ahold of himself and gave a little laugh. “You’re far from fat.”
She laughed along as she piled two donuts onto a plate for him and handed them across the counter. “Come back in a couple of months and see if that’s still true then.”
He sat back at the table and sank his teeth into the decadent doughiness. The chocolate in the center was nothing short of heavenly, but it didn’t make him forget the angel across the room.
He didn’t want to stare, but he couldn’t help but cast glances at her from time to time, the way her strawberry blonde ponytail flipped back and forth as she worked, the way she pressed her lips together just slightly as she concentrated.
It was like he was falling in love.
Jason tried to pull himself together. He was getting it all, the butterflies in his stomach, the moisture on his palms, and the frantic rhythm of his heart. He couldn’t believe it! He had been in the army too long.
He put his hand in his pocket to reach for the money to pay, but his fingertips rested on the folded letter he kept there.
He knew it was a little strange, carrying around a letter from someone he knew nothing much about, but it felt like his lucky charm. Her encouraging words had bolstered him in his lowest moments and they felt almost like a talisman, protecting him from plunging back into that kind of depression again.
The wonderful woman named Dodie, that had poured her own heart and soul into the letters to a man she didn’t even know and those letters had kept his hope alive. He owed her a debt of gratitude for helping him through some of the lowest moments in his life.
When his best friend had been blown up by a car bomb Jason had not wanted to live. The horrid sight of his dear friend’s dead body had nearly driven him insane. It had been Dodie that broke through to him and the ice around his heart. It had been her he wrote to about his pain, and her that had given him a reason to keep going and make it back to safety after the ambush.
When he was on tour he’d vowed to go to the Kissing Bridge society that sent letters to the military, to find out who this mysterious Dodie was and thank her for all she had done, but once he’d got back the idea felt more and more daunting. What if she was nothing like the letter? What if she didn’t want to talk to him? He had showed his true self to her and in a way that made it too vulnerable for him to present himself in person to thank her.
But he had made the vow to himself, and that meant he had to do it.
Jason was a man of his word.
The pretty girl put the last item into the last bag. There were a total of four bags full of baked goods now.
“So that’s everything on the list?” he asked, nodding at the paper bags she’d piled up on the counter.
“Right.” She smiled at him, and laid the paper bags carefully into a larger plastic one.
He paid and left ignoring the magnetic pull of her eyes and focusing his mind on the letter in his pocket. Love was dangerous but the letters were safe.
He had to find Dodie.
Chapter 15
The Valentine’s Eve Sweetheart Bakeoff
Carina and Stephanie clutched each other and squealed.
“Wow, wow, wow!” Tassy said, gazing around the hall.
The Valentine Eve Sweetheart Bakeoff was always held in Kissing Bridge’s function hall, but it had never looked so spectacular as it did now. The walls were covered with satin drapes in cream and crimson and antique gold, golden garlands strung horizontally across, dangling bells and hearts. The stalls set up on one side were dressed in carnelian cotton, white lace bows and edging setting off the look. Love songs crooned through a stereo. Dodie caught sight of supermodel Summer Landers stringing a garland of hanging hearts across one of the windows and apparently laughing at a joke her handsome fiancé had made.
And there he was, the handsome stranger from the bakery the day before! Dodie felt her heart leap.
He hung back a little from Summer and her man, drumming his fingers on his pocket. Even nervous, he still made her go weak at the knees. She had to avert her eyes right to the other side of the room to keep her cake steady. She had to concentrate.
It had come out so much better than she had expected. She’d always been bluntly honest with herself about her baking ability, so she didn’t try to suppress the pleasant, self-satisfied glow that emanated from her smile as she carried it proudly across to the auction stall in its white box. Finally, she had done well. All she had to do was pipe on the raspberry and add the gold detailing.
She’d left that out on Carol and Ethel’s advice, as apparently a cake should always be finished off as late as is humanly possible. Dodie had done so well with the sponge layers that she had no worries about the finishing touches. She approached the auction table with her cake.
Ethel had just arrived as well and laid a perfect specimen of Earl’s favorite, Boston cream pie, on the auction table, beaming. She looked at Dodie’s cake proudly. “I think we might just do all right tonight, dear!”
Dodie grinned. “Let’s hope so. I adore your dress.”
Ethel wore a lovely coral dress that set off the rosiness of her cheeks. Her grey hair was adorned with a lovely white rose bud and she looked radiant.
Carol fussed around the rest of the girls who bunched at the door, then bustled over to them and grinned. “It’s looking great in here, huh? Summer’s done a great job helping.”
“She always had an eye for interior design,” Ethel said proudly. “And a heart for celebrations.”
It had been somewhat of a shock when Dodie had found out that Summer Landers, supermodel extraordinaire, was humble Ethel’s daughter. She knew from the start they had the same name but assumed it was a small town with large, sprawling families who shared last names.
They all looked over at Summer and Dodie’s eyes lingered on the handsome, gray-eyed stranger who still hung back. She tried to keep her voice casual. “Who’s that?”
“Oh, that’s Jason,” Carol said with a wink.
“That’s Brad’s younger brother. He just got back from the war.”
Carol planted her hands on her hips when an idea hit her. “Wasn’t he on your list Dodie?”
Dodie looked blank.
Carol nudged her, “Jason Anderson do you remember writing him?”
