Miracle Pie

by Edie Ramer

  “Advertisers?” Rosa’s forehead furrowed. “On YouTube?”

  “You know what YouTube is, don’t you?”

  “It’s a place with videos of people doing silly things.”

  “Or singing songs,” he said. “Or cute cats doing cute things. Or clips from weddings. And sometimes...” he let his voice croon... “cooking. The money you get for each view is small, but the more viewers, the more the money adds up.”

  The lines on her forehead deepened. She shifted her gaze to Katie. “What do you think?”

  “It might be cheaper.”

  “It might be faster.” Rosa’s tone was considering, but she frowned even fiercer. Gabe could practically see her creating an Excel sheet in her head, pros on top, cons on the bottom.

  It was his job to make the pro list longer. He needed to convince her that his vision was the better choice for her.

  “You could build an audience with the shorter clips,” he said, getting Rosa’s attention and holding it. “All the money would go to you. Not to the TV station, which would give you a tiny percent. But to you.” And to him. They’d each get their fair share. “I know a way to help with the costs.”

  “What’s that?” Once again her eyes narrowed in suspicion. With eyes like that, she didn’t need to talk.

  His gaze traveled to Katie. Her lips were partly open. With her reddish brown hair, he’d expected brown or green eyes, but they were blue gray, reminding him of a rainy day sky. And something else. Something he couldn’t quite grab hold of...

  He frowned and looked back at Rosa. This was the wrong time to let his mind wander. He had an idea to sell. No, not an idea. A dream. Under his guidance, it could be a lucrative one for all three of them.

  “I’ll do it for one-third of the show. I’ll produce it. I’ll pay my own salary.” He grinned at them, his heart pumping. He was fighting for this, and it had been a long time since he fought for anything. “And I’m very expensive.”

  “So are we,” Rosa said, her tone militant.

  “I can tell that by looking at you.” He switched his gaze to Katie who was watching him as if he were an exotic snake. “And you.” He heard his voice lower, a note in it that didn’t belong in the kitchen. At least, not with Rosa watching.

  He quickly turned back to Rosa to see her hands on her hips. Her lips twisted, mocking him, as if she saw the lust in his mind.

  He grinned again. After all, he was a man. And he was lusty. And sometimes that led him into making mistakes. Mistakes like Cherise.

  Some things just couldn’t be turned off, even if they came up at the wrong place, wrong time and wrong woman.

  And this was the wrong place, wrong time and Katie sure the hell was the wrong woman. Too diffident. He always went for the outgoing, decisive women. Not a woman who baked pies in her dead grandmother’s cottage.

  Rosa’s derision changed to a scowl.

  Already his libido was causing problems.

  “We’ll do the pilot,” Rosa said. “I don’t want to compromise until I’ve at least tried to sell my show.”

  He shrugged, the buoyancy sputtering out of him. “It’s going to take a long time to shop it around. Do you even know who to send it to?”

  Her chin went up. “My sons can find out.”

  “They have connections at the cable stations?”

  “The local one.”

  “And what will the local cable station pay?”

  Rosa’s nostrils flared. “That will be between me and the station. Once I get on the station, we’ll have more shows to shop around.”

  He raised his eyebrows slightly, shook his head slightly and lifted his shoulders slightly. Sending small signs of doubt without being too actively negative. If she settled for the local cable station, no way would it pay her enough to afford him. Not in an area where the biggest employer was a cheese factory.

  But when a women talked to him in that tone, as if she was about to pour the nearest scalding cup of coffee on his head if he dared disagree, there was nothing else to do.

  At least he’d be paid for the pilot. As he told her, he was expensive. He doubted she’d be able to afford a second time.

  He’d been so sure this would be it—the project to pull him out of his slump, to bring back his mojo. He’d been wrong, but he didn’t allow himself to feel regret. Coming here was still a good thing. Since Africa, he’d been skating through an empty life with a smile. His eyes wide open but not really seeing.

  And then his uncle had sent him the picture and something about it had stunned him. Woken him. Made him want to jump back into life.

  He’d thought this project was his fate, but apparently it was just his catalyst.

  “You still want to start tomorrow?” Rosa asked.

  “Tomorrow’s good.”

  A sound came from Katie’s throat, and he turned his attention to her.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Fine.” Her voice was too high and too thin. “What time are you coming? I have pies to make and deliver in the morning.”

  “What time do you want us to start?” He kept his gaze on her face. Watching her wasn’t hard to do. The hard part was holding back the charm. Because he wanted to charm her. Hell, he already wanted to do more. His mind knew she was wrong for him, but his body disagreed.

  He’d just come out of a situation where he’d mixed business and pleasure. A mistake he didn’t want to repeat. He was a man who loved life and women, and most of all he loved making them feel good. Feel very good. But this woman was hands off. At least until the pilot was completed.

  “I usually finish delivering by seven in the morning,” Katie said. “Later in the day, I prep for the next day.” She made a face and pushed her hair back from her forehead. “I’m probably the last person who should do the show.”

  “Don’t worry,” Gabe said. “The camera will love you. My first thought when I saw you was that you’re a natural.” He lied. That had been his second thought. His first thought had been that he was going to enjoy this gig.

  They talked about what they planned to do the next day. He wasn’t surprised by Rosa’s choice of meatball and home-made tomato sauce. “The basics of great Italian cooking,” she said, then turned to Katie who had the mouse-trapped-by-a-cat look.

  “Apple pie is a basic,” Katie said. “Or pumpkin. I could do either.”

  “Katie’s apple pies are the best I’ve eaten. So are her apple pies.” Rosa sat straight, looking inward, her lips curving up, her actions telling Gabe more than her words.

  “I use my gram’s recipes,” Katie said. “She got them from her grandmother.”

  “You’ll share that,” he said.

  She nodded, still looking cautious, as if there were a snake in the room and it was him.

  “It’s just going to be me tomorrow.” He softened his voice and smiled at her, playing the avuncular uncle instead of the Big Bad Wolf. “And Taz, my sound guy. No audience. Nothing to make you nervous.”

  “I’m not nervous.” Her voice pitched even higher.

  “You’ll be fine.” Rosa leaned toward Katie, her firm tone compelling Katie to be fine.

  “I’m sure I will be.” Katie gave a jerky nod, and Gabe silently moaned. Rosa wasn’t helping. A firm hand wasn’t needed here, just a light one.

  But he wasn’t telling Rosa that. This was a one-shot deal for him. He’d film the pilot for her, take the money, and then he was out of Miracle.

  He’d thought the magic might be here, but he was wrong. His uncle had told him about Rosa’s cheating husband, sounding a bit disgruntled that just as she was free of “the jerk” he was moving to Miami to join a his friend’s fish business just as she’d be free.

  Gabe would have to call him and tell him he’d made the right choice. Rosa’s distrust of his gender was too new and too powerful right now for either of them to get what they wanted from her. In another few months she might listen to Gabe but by that time he’d have moved on.

  If the
miracle struck him again, it wouldn’t be in the village of Miracle.

  Chapter Six

  Taz, Gabe’s sound guy, was like an exotic flower in Katie’s kitchen, thin and tall with soulful, chocolate pudding eyes and skin the color of caramel. She guessed he was a couple years younger than her, and he kept shooting her flirtatious glances that made her stifle giggles and Rosa roll her eyes and then laugh. Gabe gave him the kind of look that Katie’s dad had given Pastor Jerry ever since Katie’s cousin Becky had caught him getting a blow job by one of his parishioners.

  Katie imagined Wegner’s was busy today, Linda Wegner’s whispers hissing down the aisles of groceries and pharmacies and whatnots. She was probably in gossip heaven. Katie had only told her father about the filming, and he wasn’t the gabby type. But Rosa most likely told her three sons, so Katie was pretty sure the news was out.

  Amber, pregnant with Mike’s baby, was probably using this as an excuse for her affair with Mike—even though that didn’t make sense. But Katie had gone to school with Amber since they were six, and she could testify that sense and Amber didn’t belong in the same sentence any more than non-fat whipped topping belonged in Katie’s refrigerator.

  Katie wished Trish were here to share the filming with her. The last time she’d talked to Trish was two weeks ago. Not hearing from her best friend was like a pinch in her heart.

  She turned her attention back to the scene in front of her. The smell of tomatoes, basil and olive oil was making Katie’s mouth water. If she let herself, she’d be drooling. That along with her drooping eyelids would look as attractive on TV as a dead rat. The viewers would think she was the village pie idiot. They could call her “the pie savant.”

  She leaned back on the kitchen chair and wished she were in her bed, softly snoring along with Happy the Beagle.

  “That’s it,” Gabe said in his velvety voice, and Katie’s breaths slowed as her spine curved into the chair, her head as light as her body was heavy. As if her brain floated inside a fluffy cloud.

  “You mean you’re done?” Rosa said.

  “That’s what I said.” His voice had a laugh in it, and Katie smiled. That’s why she liked him. Because he laughed silently at life.

  She laughed at life a lot, but she did most of it when she was alone.

  “Next time I’ll say ‘it’s a wrap,’” Gabe said. “Will that make you feel better?”

  “Very funny,” Rosa said.

  Katie’s eyes closed, and she smiled again as she let the clouds in her mind take her away. Flying, she was flying. No worries about Rosa. No worries about Trish. What a wonderful feeling.

  “Hey, wake up.” A hand touched her shoulder, and she jerked her chin and her eyelids up. “Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

  Staring into Gabe’s eyes, so close to hers, she felt herself drowning in his bright blue gaze. She started to raise her hand to his face, but it was too much effort. In her head, words formed. Are you an angel?

  “How did you know?” she asked instead, the words slow and kind of slurred as she talked around her tongue that felt too big for her mouth.

  The soft pad of his thumb brushed her cheek. He laughed softly. “Because you were sleeping. We’re taking a break. Why don’t you take a nap?”

  Another thought drifted into her mind. I’ll take a nap with you.

  “Katie?” Rosa’s voice colored with concern.

  Katie blinked, the cloud disappeared and she thumped down to earth. Rosa stepped next to Gabe, a frown worrying her forehead.

  “I’m awake.” Katie straightened her spine. “I’m fine. I don’t need a nap.”

  Gabe smiled, as if he’d read her thoughts. “Take all the time you need. I won’t rush you.”

  Delicious. He was pure deliciousness.

  “You’re very comforting,” she said. “I suppose you have a girlfriend or wife.”

  His smile deepened, the blue in his eyes shining brighter. “Not anymore.”

  A choked laugh came from Taz, and Katie stood, her face heating. She told them she’d be back in a moment then stepped over her snoring Beagle to hurry to the bathroom. Luckily her hair didn’t need much more than a fluffing and her makeup was still intact. When her cheeks cooled, she took a deep breath and headed back to the kitchen.

  She’d made up her mind.

  He didn’t have a girlfriend. He was planning to stick around for at least another day to make a rough edit for Rosa before leaving.

  Why not take advantage of it? Why not have a fling? A one-night stand? He hadn’t said anything to show he was attracted to her, but she’d noticed the way his gaze lingered on her, the heat in his eyes and the caress in his voice.

  She didn’t normally do flings, but why not now? He seemed...safe. And he for sure was seductive. The next day he would leave, and her life with her pies and her kitchen, with her dad and her friends nearby wouldn’t change.

  And she would have something wonderful to remember. The way people told her they remembered her pies. As if her pies made their lives happier.

  That’s how she imagined a night with him would make her feel, though she was probably delusional. He might turn out to be selfish in bed. More concerned with his own pleasure instead of hers.

  In the kitchen again, Katie took out her pre-measured little bowls of ingredients and set them on the counter as Gabe checked the lighting, peering through a camera on a tripod. Taz angled a boom microphone over her head and asked her to speak for a sound check.

  Setting a pumpkin on the counter, Katie said, “My father grows apples and pumpkins on his farm, so apple and pumpkin pies have been a staple on our farm every fall. This year, we’ve had a good—” Her mouth still open, she stepped back, her skin prickling, staring at the thing crawling up the cupboard.

  “What is it?” Gabe asked. “You forget something?”

  “A bug.” She pointed. It wasn’t just any bug. It was a big, juicy, hairy thing that looked as if it had crawled out of an evil scientist’s lab.

  Both men stayed with their equipment as Rosa hurried over to her.

  “Whack it,” Taz said.

  Gabe watched her with a close-mouthed smile, waiting to see what she would do.

  “It’s a monster bug,” Rosa said. “I’ve never seen one like that.”

  Still hanging back, Katie nodded. If she had to, she would take care of it. But she didn’t want to get closer to it. It gave her the creeps.

  “Which one of you is going to kill it?” Rosa gave them the same stare she gave her sons. The one that made them jump before she opened her mouth and said, “Jump.”

  “That’s not in my job description,” Taz said. “Just ’cause I’m a guy doesn’t mean I have to kill bugs.”

  Rosa sniffed as if she smelled something bad. “Women need men for only two things. The second thing is killing bugs.”

  “If I don’t kill the bug,” Gabe said, “I forfeit my manliness?”

  Rosa raised her eyebrows. “Your manliness is leaking out of you by the second, pretty boy.”

  Gabe laughed. “What’s the first thing men are good for?”

  Katie laughed and his gaze shifted to her. “If you have to ask...”

  His gaze grew more intense. Katie wanted to look away but couldn’t. As if she couldn’t move until he released her.

  “Are either of you going to kill this abomination?” Rosa snapped.

  “Gabe, you do it,” Taz said. “I’m better at the first thing.”

  A corner of his mouth kicking up, Gabe blinked. So did Katie, backing up a step, her legs wobbly. He left his camera on the tripod and headed around the counter where Katie handed him a paper towel. Bending forward, he nudged the bug onto the paper towel. Holding it as if it were a precious egg, he strode to the back hall. They heard the door clang and a second later, he returned with an empty paper towel.

  Rosa and Katie clapped. Katie felt a grin stretch across her face. “My hero,” Rosa said. Katie blew him a kiss. He laughed and turned to Taz who was w
atching with an I’m too cool to kill a bug sneer.

  “Just for future reference,” Gabe said, “a guy who won’t do the second thing isn’t going to be good at the first.” Then he shifted his gaze to Katie, as if giving her the message that he was very good at the first thing.

  Her legs felt weak again and she sucked in a gulp of air, unable to look away from him. Her breath stopped until he turned back to his camera. She exhaled shakily. Stepping up to the counter, she frantically tried to gather her brains and remember what she was supposed to do first.

  Introduce herself. She’d forgotten to do that the last time. She needed to say her name without sounding like the village idiot.

  Gabe and Taz weren’t ready yet, so she mentally went over the steps to make the pumpkin pie, though she normally made the pie without even thinking about what she needed to do. It had been a long time since she looked at the recipe in her grandmother’s faded handwriting with the round loops. But she looked now, and the memories grounded her, made her feel loved and cared for.

  Her dad was great, but it was her grandmother who’d healed her when her mother dropped her off and said she couldn’t do this anymore. Katie had a hard time remembering the first five years with her mother. Just scraps of memories of being scared and alone and often hungry. Her mother passed out. Sometimes there was a man snoring in her mother’s bed. The next time there would be a different man.

  And sometimes Katie dreamed she was a child and other children were making fun of her. Except for a boy with blond curls...

  Like Gabe’s hair, though his was wavy instead of curly.

  “Ready?” Gabe asked Taz.

  Taz leered at Katie. “I’m always ready.”

  “Be careful of this one,” Rosa said, sitting at the table. “He’s a player.” She switched her attention to Gabe. “And be more careful of this one.”