Donuts & Daydreams

by Maddrey, Elizabeth

  “Sorry.” Gloria signed and spoke at the same time, chuckling as Mal’s eyebrows lifted.

  He signed back. “Been practicing?”

  She nodded. “That’s about as far as I’ve gotten though.”

  He grinned. “It’s more than most people know. Come on in, everyone’s in the kitchen. Spock, you too. It’s too cold to be out.”

  The dog trotted up the steps and into the house, disappearing into the living room. Gloria imagined there was a fire in the fireplace and the dog, not being stupid, was going to snag the best spot curled up in front of it. She shed her coat and hung it on the hall tree beside Serena’s unmistakable emerald green wrap before following Malachi into the kitchen.

  It was a cacophony. There was no other possible word to use. Jonah was banging pots and pans on the stove, filling bowls, and getting lunch on the table. Serena and Micah were already seated, talking to Ursula as she set plates and silverware around the table. Malachi dodged through the action, sweeping his wife into an embrace just this side of steamy before releasing her and dropping into the seat next to Micah. Gloria tucked her hands into the pockets of her slacks and hovered in the doorway. How had she ever believed she could walk away from this family? The last two and a half months had been miserable, and she hadn’t fully realized it until she was back in the middle of the crazy, palpable love of the Baxters.

  Jonah glanced over and flashed a grin. For just a moment, the noise and motion faded away and it was just the two of them in the room. A spoon clattered to the floor and broke the mood. He jerked his head toward the table. “Grab a seat, we’re about ready.”

  “Hey, Gloria. You made it.” Serena pushed away from the table and crossed the room, dragging Gloria into a hug. She whispered in her ear, “About time you were back.”

  Gloria smiled and patted Serena’s back. “Where do I sit?”

  “Here.” Micah stood and switched to the short end of the table. Ursula and Malachi scooted around changing seats as well, leaving two empty chairs on the side of the table for Jonah and Gloria.

  Gloria laughed. Real subtle. Obviously Serena hadn’t been able to keep the news that Gloria was divorced to herself. She pulled out one of the chairs and sat.

  Jonah brought the last dish, a platter with a baked chicken cut into pieces surrounded by potatoes and carrots, and set it on the table before taking the seat next to Gloria and offering her his hand. “Who’s saying grace?”

  “I will.” Micah reached for Serena’s hand and offered his other hand to Malachi on his left before bowing his head and offering a short prayer. “Gloria, why don’t you grab the chicken and start us off?”

  Gloria smiled and stabbed a thigh with her fork, transferring it to her plate before scooping some potatoes. “This smells amazing. What’s your secret?”

  Jonah snickered and reached for the platter. “I don’t share that with just anyone, you know.”

  “He puts thyme and butter under the skin before he roasts it.” Serena grabbed the bowl of biscuits in front of her with a grin. “You get the secret when you marry into the family. Or just ask Ruth. She shares them all.”

  “She does. It’s true. And I don’t even really cook.” Ursula winked.

  Jonah groaned. “Wow. Now I know not to share any more secrets with my sister.”

  “How is she?” Gloria cut into the chicken. “I keep thinking I’m going to make it over to Boise to visit and it hasn’t worked out.”

  “She’s...hanging in. They talked about putting her in a medically induced coma for the first day after the delivery to help lower her blood pressure, but she was making enough progress that they didn’t.”

  “She’s okay now, though, right?” Gloria’s stomach had tightened to the point that she wasn’t sure trying to eat was a good idea.

  “Yeah. She and the baby both. He’s a real champ. Tiny, but fighting. Corban and Ruth take turns doing kangaroo care—basically holding him on their chest, skin to skin—it’s supposed to be good for both of them. But it’s still hard to see with all the tubes connected to such a little baby.” Micah blew out a breath. “He’s going to be okay. He has to.”

  Gloria nodded, hearing the fierce hope in his voice. No one was going to say otherwise. If a family could make a baby thrive through sheer force of will—and probably a whole lot of prayer, knowing them—it would be the Baxters.

  “Anyway. You should go see them. I know they’d appreciate it.” Micah shot a look across the table at Jonah. “Maybe you two can go together sometime.”

  Jonah gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m going to D.C. next week, remember?”

  “D.C.? Why?” Gloria’s heart sped up. He wouldn’t think of moving? Not with his nephew here? And all his family?

  “We need help at the bakery, since Micah’s going to be off hobnobbing with the rich and famous.” Jonah grinned at his brother.

  Serena laughed. “I keep trying to convince him it’s not that exciting and that I’ll come home as much as I can.”

  Micah snorted. “Right between telling me all the places we’ll visit when you have downtime.”

  Serena blushed. “Anyway, the movie might not be a go.”

  “Aren’t there people here in Arcadia Valley you could hire? Or even Twin Falls?” Gloria reached for her glass of water. “Why go to D.C. for someone? Have you even advertised the position?”

  Jonah sighed. “Not yet. I was hoping to find someone whose background I knew, so I reached out to a friend from culinary school to see if she had any ideas. She chatted with her mentor from school and before I knew what was happening, things had snowballed beyond what I anticipated and now they’ve got eight students who’ll be graduating in the spring lined up to interview with me. It’s good experience for them, even if I don’t end up hiring someone.”

  “You’d do that? Fly out there and interview but not hire? Isn’t that...I don’t know, it seems wrong somehow.” Gloria frowned and stabbed at her food. She drove the streets of Arcadia Valley nearly every day, there were people out there who needed jobs. Maybe they didn’t have culinary school under their belt, but they could be taught. Sometimes all it took was that first helping hand.

  “I can’t back out now.” Jonah glanced across the table at his siblings. “And if Micah’s going to California next month, I need someone who can start up quickly. Without a ton of training. It’s...between a rock and a hard place.”

  Maybe. Gloria might not be a native to Idaho, but this place was her home and she wanted people to have a chance to grow and thrive here. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of bringing people in from outside. Although, she herself was an import. So were the Baxters. So maybe she didn’t have any call to be upset. “Sorry.”

  “It’s a valid point. I haven’t advertised. Maybe I’ll give the paper a call tomorrow and see what that’d cost.”

  “I can send an email.” Malachi waved his hand to get their attention. “Kind of my job.”

  “Yeah?” Jonah brightened. “Cool.”

  “Get me a list of what you’re looking for so I can work on the wording if we go ahead and place an ad.”

  “All right. Thanks, Mal.” Jonah glanced down at his nearly empty plate. “Who’s ready for dessert?”

  11

  Jonah pulled the rental car into the parking garage and cut the engine before lowering his head to the steering wheel. He officially did not miss the D.C. area. Why had he thought he did? The drivers seemed to be intent on killing one another. Or at least making the other drivers feel like their lives were in danger. Was it some kind of contest? How had he never noticed it before?

  He snagged his messenger bag and pushed open the door. It was a short walk down to Season’s Bounty. The streets of Clarendon were bustling for a Tuesday night. People walked alone and in clumps on the sidewalks, dodging cars to dash across the street regardless of whether or not they were near a crosswalk.

  Jonah waited at the corner until the light changed and hurried across the street. He strod
e down to where the wooden sign for Season’s Bounty swung over the crowd, beckoning people to come eat. He pulled open the door and stepped in.

  “Good evening. Table for one?” The hostess smiled from behind a small wooden podium.

  “Actually, I’m Jonah Baxter. I think Paige is expecting me?”

  “Of course. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you through to the kitchen.”

  Jonah trailed behind the hostess, taking in the layout of the main dining area. It was a good space, well utilized. He’d probably tweak a few things, if it was his, but it was clear Paige knew what she was doing. Whatever had moved her from catering to this restaurant had ended up being a good decision.

  Stepping into the kitchen was like entering another world. The sounds of pots and pans clanged together. Cooks shouted to one another as they plated food and sent it down the line to be delivered to the customers out front.

  “Jonah!” Paige adjusted a plate before handing it to a waiting server. “Come on back to the office. There’s a bundle of nerves waiting for you.”

  He could imagine. “Part of the job, right?”

  “Yeah. Still, go easy on ’em if you can. They seem like good kids. Do you mind if I sit in? I was thinking we could always use a little part time help, and I like to give back when I can.”

  That made it a little better. Gloria’s words from Sunday still lingered in his brain. Was he doing the wrong thing by looking to hire from out of town? He’d almost canceled his flight, but he couldn’t justify losing that kind of money. So here he was. If nothing else, he’d get a chance to practice his interviewing skills.

  A little distance from Gloria wasn’t bad, either.

  Jonah pushed that thought away. Just because she was married didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends. Especially now that Kenia was out of the picture. He sighed. That ought to sting more than it did. Another thing to worry about later.

  Paige wasn’t kidding about the bundle of nerves. Four kids—he couldn’t call them anything else—sat on chairs in the short hall off the office. All of them were palpably nervous. He lifted a hand and smiled. “Evening. Thanks so much for taking time out to come and chat with me.”

  “Why don’t we just go in the order you’re sitting.” Paige pointed to the girl twisting her fingers together in her lap. “Lindsay, right? Come on in.”

  Jonah slid along the wall of the tiny office. How had Paige wedged three chairs in here? He sat and glanced at Paige.

  Paige shook her head. “You go ahead. I’m just hanging out.”

  Great. He smiled at the young woman and cleared his throat. “Okay. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

  * * *

  “I still don’t understand why you’re in D.C. to interview people. There have to be potential employees in Idaho.” Exhaustion and strain were evident in Ruth’s voice even over the phone line.

  Jonah licked his lips. “I—I was also thinking of looking for another chef position.”

  “We don’t need a chef.”

  “No. For myself. Out here.” Jonah frowned at the window of the hotel room. Even with two sets of thick curtains and whatever else hotels did to try and guarantee a good night’s sleep, traffic noise wormed its way into the room.

  “But—no. You can’t do that. Why would you do that? Now more than ever we need you, Jonah.” Ruth’s voice hitched.

  Great. He’d made his sister cry. It wasn’t hard to do right now, but still. How was he supposed to explain? “I miss cooking stuff that isn’t bread. I never wanted to become a pastry chef, either. And yet now I spend all my time doing exactly that. When I get home, I’m too tired to bother with something more interesting than a PB&J, so I can’t even cook on my own time.”

  “So? There are restaurants in Arcadia Valley. And Twin Falls. I’m sure there’s someone who’d hire you part time. Or, I know, add a café on to the bakery. The kitchen would handle it. You’re finished with the baking by mid-morning, you could at least open for dinner. Maybe even lunch.”

  Soups and sandwiches. Café didn’t exactly scream real cooking. Would it be enough? Even if it fixed the yearning to do more than knead dough and scoop out muffins, it didn’t address the real problem. “And then there’s Gloria.”

  Ruth’s sigh crackled over the phone. “I was hoping the two of you were back to friends. Micah said she was over after church.”

  “She was. We are. I guess. It’s hard.” He couldn’t quite bring himself to get into the details. Jonah was fairly certain he was in love with Gloria. Still. What did it say about him that he could be in love with someone who was married to another? That he wanted to plead with her to leave the guy? How could he live with himself if he convinced her to do that? How could he stay in Arcadia Valley if he didn’t? That one was easy to answer. And it was one reason he was back in D.C. He could enjoy it here again, couldn’t he?

  “All of life is hard. You think a micro preemie isn’t hard? God doesn’t promise us easy. He only promises to walk beside us. Sometimes, He does that in the form of our family. I need you here. We all do.”

  “I’ll be home on Thursday.”

  “For how long?”

  He didn’t have an answer. “I love you. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah I do. I love you, too. Come home, Jonah. Don’t run away.”

  “I should get to bed. Take care. Kiss my nephew for me.” Jonah ended the call and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t running away.

  Was he?

  * * *

  He paused for a moment and stretched his back, his spine emitting a couple of satisfying cracks as the vertebrae settled back into place. “Time on the filet?”

  “Need two minutes.” The chef on the meat station pressed his finger into the beef in question and nodded.

  Jonah gave a practiced flick with his wrist and sent the vegetables in his sauté pan into the air, catching them before giving another firm shake to the pan. With a light touch, he sprinkled seasoning and checked the other sides that would accompany the filet. With another minute left, he began plating, leaving room for the most important element of the dish.

  “Filet.” The chef slid a plate holding the meat down to Jonah.

  Jonah checked the doneness and carefully arranged it on the plate before walking it to the window. The other orders for the table were on their way to the window as well. The head chef eyed the plates, tweaked a few items, and rang the bell for pickup.

  “Nice job, Baxter. You’re really thinking about relocating?”

  Jonah nodded with more confidence than he felt. He was thinking about it. After his conversation with Ruth last night, he wasn’t as sure it was the right move as he had been, but the thought was still there.

  “You’ve got a job here if you want it. I need a reliable second-in-command. It’s clear to me you haven’t lost any of your skill even after three years slapping bread dough around.”

  Jonah grinned, but his heart sank. This was what he’d been hoping for. Why wasn’t he reaching for a handshake and arranging a start date? “Can I get back to you?”

  “Sure. We’re getting along okay, but when I heard you were interested in coming back to town, I knew I wanted to scoop you up.”

  Jonah managed a weak smile. This was exactly what he wanted, and yet all he could hear in his head was Ruth asking why he’d leave right when they needed him most. And Gloria...thoughts of her pushed him away almost as much as they rooted him in Idaho.

  “We’re winding down. If you want to go get cleaned up, I’ll join you out at the bar in about twenty. We can talk details.”

  “Great. Thanks.” Jonah slid behind the guys prepping the last dishes of the night and turned into the small staff room. It was essentially a closet with a few lockers jammed into it so people had a place to store their personal items. He shrugged out of the borrowed chef’s jacket and tossed it at the hamper in the corner of the room.

  Out on the restaurant floor, he skirted the edge of the room, avoiding the diners who
were lingering over a late meal or dessert, and found an empty stool at the bar. After catching the bartender’s eye, he ordered a ginger ale and pulled a bowl of peanuts closer. He wasn’t hungry, but it was something to pass the time.

  His phone buzzed with a text and he slipped it from his pocket. Gloria. His heart sped up.

  Ruth said you’d be home tomorrow?

  Jonah tapped back an affirmative.

  Any luck with hiring?

  He frowned and hit call. Why text when he could get a chance to hear her voice? Even as he tried to push those thoughts away, she picked up.

  “Hey. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  “It’s all good. I’m just waiting for a friend. To answer your question, no. The candidates were all solid, but no one felt like a great fit. I guess I should text Mal and let him know he should go ahead and run that ad.”

  Gloria chuckled. “He might have already started it.”

  Of course he had. Jonah shook his head. “Any takers?”

  “That I’m not privy to. I just happened to be checking in with Serena when Micah mentioned something.”

  “I guess I should call my brother and check in.” Jonah smiled. Knowing Mal and Micah, they probably had interviews lined up for next week. “Other than that, how’s Arcadia Valley?”

  “Pretty much the same. We set up a speed trap over by the high school. Taught quite a few seniors a lesson about school zone safety.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Wasn’t my idea. I kind of agree with you. On the other hand, those limits are there for a reason. The bakery looked like it was doing okay without you, although Micah shouldn’t try to make donuts.”

  “Why not?”

  “They were soggy. And yet somehow still kind of burnt tasting.”

  Jonah smothered a laugh. How had he managed that? It wasn’t like they were frying the things. Baked donuts were next to foolproof. “I’ll try and give him some pointers when I get back. Everything else taste okay?”

  “You think I sample everything in the case? After that donut yesterday, I didn’t even stop in today. It’s...not the same without you there.”