Love Inspired June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Patricia Johns

  Kara had a very attractive mouth. Feeling a tad sucker punched, his smile fell. What was it with him today?

  Wait. Her food?

  He narrowed his eyes. Manager or chef? The Jar had always been a small-town operation. Perhaps she was both.

  Maddox perked. “I have de greatest idea ever.”

  It was good to see his son so happy. “What’s your great idea?”

  He could live to be a hundred and never forget the heartbreaking sight of his preemie son hooked up to tubes and beeping monitors. Nor would he forget how alone he’d felt as the sole parent forced to make life and death decisions on his behalf.

  “Miss Karwa could be our cooker.” Maddox grabbed Will’s sleeve. “She can be your wife. Then you won’t be sad anymore, and I won’t go hungwy.” His son turned to Kara. “Can I be your wittle boy?”

  “Maddox,” he sputtered.

  “Out of the mouths of babes,” ErmaJean tittered.

  “You do not go hungry, Maddox.” He felt the heat creeping up his neck underneath his collar. “And I’m not sad.”

  “Pops and Daddy are bad cookers.” Maddox touched Kara’s arm. “Can you live at my house, Miss Karwa?”

  Will took hold of Maddox’s shoulder. “I do not need a wife, son. And anyway, that’s not how it works.”

  Maddox’s eyebrows bunched together like a pair of twin caterpillars. “How does it work, den?”

  “Do explain it to us, Chief.” ErmaJean gave Will’s cheek a pat. “Nothing to be ashamed of. From time to time, we can all use help. That’s what friends are for.”

  Time to beat a hasty retreat. Before Miss ErmaJean had him and Kara Lockwood matrimonially hog-tied.

  He was surprised the old women hadn’t already tried to bushwhack him. Maybe Pops, who was related to half the town, had put the warning out about him. The old saying, a burned child dreads the fire, had never felt so accurate.

  ErmaJean withdrew a Mason jar from the voluminous quilted tote hanging on her shoulder. “Here’s the chow-chow I promised you for opening day.”

  Rising, Kara moved to take the jar from her. “Thank you, Miss ErmaJean.”

  The older woman smiled. “In the Blue Ridge, we add it to everything from pulled pork sandwiches to hot dogs to deviled eggs.”

  “Chou from the French for cabbage. Also perfect for omelets, sausages or as a relish for a charcuterie board.” Kara held the red-flecked green contents of the jar to the light. “I can’t wait to experiment.”

  In his experience, change rarely brought anything good.

  “Charcuterie?” He scowled. “Whatever happened to plain ole good food? Don’t tell me you’ve tampered with the menu, too.”

  She sniffed. “Good food doesn’t have to be plain ole anything. I’m going for a fresh, new approach.”

  He grimaced. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

  The pretty chef-manager drew herself up—all five foot two of her. “I sincerely hope your opinions regarding the cuisine didn’t influence the results of the inspection.”

  “Of course it didn’t.” He squared his jaw. “I’m a professional.”

  She jutted her chin. “So am I.”

  He removed the triplicate form from the clipboard, ripped off her copy and handed it to her. “The diner passed with flying colors.”

  “You mean the café.” Pursing her lips, she laid the paper on the stainless steel prep counter with a flourish. “Magnificent.”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re pleased.”

  They glared at each other.

  “Well, well, well.” ErmaJean gave a low, throaty chuckle. “Looks like my work here is done. You kids have fun.” Waggling her fingers, she sidled through the door, which swung shut behind her.

  For a few seconds a brittle tension crackled between them.

  Maddox inched closer. “I wike de green chow jam, Miss Karwa.”

  Her face softened.

  “A gentleman with exquisite taste.” She threw Will a teasing grin. “The Truelove Fire Department is recruiting awfully young these days, Chief.”

  He gave her a wry look. “I guess since my son has taken the liberty of asking you to marry me, you should probably call me Will.”

  She tilted her head. “And since it appears I’ll be saving your son from starvation, perhaps you should call me Kara.”

  Two dimples appeared in her cheeks. A sensation, not unlike freefalling, hit him square between the eyes.

  A loud clatter sounded in the alley behind the restaurant.

  Startled, Maddox threw his arms around Kara.

  * * *

  As Maddox snuggled against her, something inside Kara warmed.

  Bending down, she hugged him back. His hair smelled of baby shampoo and... She searched her culinary memory for the right ingredient.

  Snickerdoodles. She bit back a smile. Maddox MacKenzie smelled like snickerdoodles.

  “What’s dat noise?” he whispered in her ear.

  She sighed. “It’s that cat again.”

  He removed his arms from around her neck. “I want to see your cat, Miss Karwa.”

  “It’s not my cat. It’s just a stray that keeps showing up.”

  Will placed his hand on Maddox’s head. “We should go.”

  “Not till we see de cat, Daddy.” He tugged at his father’s hand. “Pwease?”

  She shook her head at Will. “Who could resist such melted chocolate eyes?”

  He made a face. “When it’s late and he doesn’t want to go to bed, it becomes easier than you’d think.”

  Maddox bobbed on the toes of his shoes. “Just one minute?”

  “All right, but only a minute. I’m sure Kara has a million things to do before her big day tomorrow.” He smiled. Small lines crinkled from the corners of his eyes.

  Maddox wasn’t the only one with irresistible melted chocolate eyes.

  Her throat inexplicably tightening, she pushed the metal bar to open the exit door. Will held it for her and Maddox to step into the alley.

  Another thud sounded. A stray feline poked its head around the green plastic trash bin. The cat made a move as if to dash inside the building, but she quickly pulled the door shut behind her. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

  Maddox clasped his hands under his chin. “Wook at de kitty cat.”

  “Use your inside voice, son. We don’t want to scare...him.”

  Kara folded her arms. “It’s a him?”

  Will squinted at the cat. “It’s a him.”

  “He’s bee-you-ti-ful,” Maddox whispered.

  “I guess what they say is true.” Will grunted. “Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.”

  She had to agree.

  Dirty and not much to look at, the cream-colored tabby sat on its haunches. The feline appeared for the first time a week ago. And though she shooed it away when she closed up each night, the stray kept coming back.

  “The tabby looks young.” At her questioning glance, Will shrugged. “My late mother had a succession of cats.”

  Maddox squatted in front of the tabby.

  “Whoa.” Will shifted. “The cat may not like you getting so close.”

  Yet, the cat didn’t appear unduly alarmed by their proximity.

  “Behind the New Orleans restaurant where I interned, the stray cats fled at the first sign of humans.” Tucking her skirt around her, Kara knelt beside Maddox. “I’d guess this cat hasn’t been feral very long. Although I never had a pet of my own, so I don’t know much about felines.”

  “I’ve never had a pet of my own, either.” Maddox flicked his melted chocolate eyes at his father. “I wish I had a pet.”

  “When you’re older.” Will leaned against the rough brick wall. “So far, taking care of you has been all
I can manage.”

  “I lived in de hospital dis many months.” Maddox held up six fingers. “I have a big scar on my chest.”

  She locked eyes with Will.

  “Maddox was in a hurry to meet the world. He was born early. It was touch and go for a while.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “How frightening that must’ve been.”

  “Yeah,” he rasped. “It was.”

  Dragging his gaze away, he focused on some far distant point. “All’s well that ends well.”

  There’d been no mention of Maddox’s mother. Had she died giving birth to him? How awful, leaving Will to cope with Maddox’s preemie issues as a single, grief-stricken parent.

  Her heart went out to him. “And now your father is sick with cancer, too?”

  “The hits just keep coming.” He gave her a grim smile. “Life hasn’t been easy.”

  “Not for me, either.”

  She could see the questions forming in his eyes. But her childhood was a subject best avoided.

  Propping her hands on her thighs, she rose. “If I’d had a pet, though, it wouldn’t have been a cat.”

  The tabby meowed.

  “De kitty cat’s hungwy.” Maddox rubbed his face against her skirt. “Me, too.”

  Will pushed off the wall. “Maddox.”

  Kara smiled. “I think I could find something around the café for a starving young man like yourself.”

  She understood more than most about food insecurity. It was not in her DNA to let any creature go hungry.

  Kara jabbed her finger at the cat. “If I give you food, you’ll stay out of my trash cans, right?”

  The tabby stared up at her with its unnerving green eyes.

  “As long as we have a deal...” She punched in the security code. “But you can’t come inside, kitty cat. There are rules about that sort of thing, right, Chief MacKenzie?”

  Lips twitching, he planted his hands on his hips. “There are indeed.”

  “Stay here, kitty cat,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll fix you a dish.” Maddox and Will followed her into the kitchen.

  The fire chief probably thought she was an idiot for talking to a cat.

  She retrieved a white chef’s apron from the peg inside her office. “I was testing the oven this morning and baked a batch of chocolate éclairs that will go to waste if someone doesn’t eat them.”

  Kara tied the apron around her waist. “Do you know anyone who might volunteer to taste test them for me?”

  Maddox raised his hand. “Me! Pick me! I’ll taste dem for you.”

  She and Will exchanged amused glances. “That is so kind of you, sweetie. As long as your father says it’s okay. I’d hate for it to spoil your father’s plans for dinner.”

  The child blinked. “What plan?”

  Will shrugged his broad shoulders. She did her best to drag her eyes from the muscles rippling underneath his shirt.

  Be still her heart... Who could resist a firefighter?

  Will gave her a sheepish grin. “At this moment the boy is not wrong about there being no plan for dinner.”

  She dragged over a footstool so Maddox could wash his hands under the faucet at the giant prep sink. “Can I fix you something to eat, Will?”

  “I’ll wait for when you’re up and running. Get the full effect.”

  Maddox quickly consumed the éclair. “Dat was yummy.” He licked his lips. “Dis is why we need her, Daddy.”

  She laughed. Will rolled his eyes. She pulled out a few eggs from the refrigerator.

  Chocolate encircling his mouth, Maddox dogged her steps. “Can I cook wid you?”

  “Of course you can, young chef.” Under her watchful eye, he helped her break the eggs and beat the yolks.

  Will leaned against the counter. “Why eggs?”

  “Good source of protein.” It didn’t take long to scramble the eggs in the skillet. “Tell me you’ll give this sweetie pie some protein for dinner.”

  He raised his palm. “On my firefighter’s honor, I solemnly pledge to give Sweetie Pie, also known as Maddox William MacKenzie, protein for dinner.”

  The little boy doubled over with laughter. “Y’all awe so siwee.”

  She and Will smiled at each other.

  Kara transferred the steaming eggs to a white porcelain plate. “I think somebody has the gilly-siggles.”

  “Probably because somebody gave him too much sugar.” Will smirked.

  “Can we feed de kitty cat now?”

  “Sure.” She filled a saucer with water. “But the cat is probably long gone.” Handing the eggs to Maddox, she took charge of the saucer.

  Will pushed open the exit door.

  To her surprise, she found the cat exactly where they’d left him. Waiting for them. No, that was crazy. The cat was waiting for food.

  Maddox set the plate on the pavement. She placed the saucer beside the eggs. The stray tensed. But when she stepped back, the cat sprang forward.

  Standing shoulder to shoulder, she and Will watched Maddox watch the cat. The little boy was so, so sweet.

  “I think he’s holding his breath,” Will whispered.

  His breath fluttered a wisp of hair dangling at her ear. And set off brisk palpitations in her heart.

  The tabby devoured the eggs. Its little pink tongue lapped up the water. The cat meowed.

  “You’re welcome.” She reached for the plate. “My first satisfied customer.”

  But with a flick of its tail, the stray raced away.

  Maddox waved. “Bye-bye, kitty cat.”

  The tabby disappeared around the corner of the building.

  Air leached from her lungs in a slow trickle between her lips. “Now, if only the fine citizens of Truelove will love my cooking tomorrow.” There was a lot riding on the success of this venture.

  Will riffled his son’s hair. “Tell Miss Kara thank you for the éclair.”

  “Dank you, Miss Karwa.” Maddox threw himself at her.

  “Easy, son.” Will winced at the chocolate stain on her apron. “The not-so-pristine life of a preschooler. Sorry about that. But better the apron than the skirt.”

  She kissed the top of his son’s head. “Doesn’t matter. Occupational hazard. For a Maddox hug, I’d call it a fair exchange.”

  An emotion flitted across his face, but was gone too quickly for her to decipher.

  “We better go check on Pops, Maddox.” His tone brusque, he studied his shoes. And she decided she must have imagined the expression in his eyes.

  She punched in the code and jerked open the back door. “Would it be okay if I sent the remaining éclairs to your father?”

  “Pops would love that.” He took Maddox’s hand. “Thank you.”

  Kara boxed the pastries and handed them to Maddox to give to his grandfather. Will retrieved his clipboard.

  She escorted them into the front dining room. “Have a good evening.”

  “You, too.” He’d seemed in a hurry to leave, but now he lingered at the entrance. “And Kara?”

  She took a quick breath. “Yes?”

  He stared at her for a second, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Despite the sleepy, small-town charm, bolt the door after us.”

  She had the impression he’d been about to say something else, but changed his mind.

  The bell jangled as he yanked open the front door. “In a town the size of Truelove, I guess we’re bound to run into each other again sooner or later.” He steered his son outside, and the door closed behind them.

  She sagged against the register. Hallelujah and thank you, Chief MacKenzie. The Mason Jar would reopen on schedule.

  Above the ridge of encircling mountains, bold streaks of apricot, plum and raspberry burnished the dusky twilight of the sky.

  Yet, as sh
e watched father and son pick their way across the town square toward the fire station, it wasn’t tomorrow’s opening that worried her.

  It was the way her heart leaped at the idea of seeing the fire chief sooner rather than later that troubled her the most.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The next morning it was still dark when Kara arrived at the café.

  She shivered, but not only from the cold. Feeling more than a little scared and alone, she inserted the key in the lock and unbolted the door. Stepping inside, she flicked on the overhead light.

  The bell jangled again. Her heart jerking, she swung around.

  Sixty-five years old and African American, Glorieta Ferguson wagged her finger. “I don’t care if you think Truelove, North Carolina, is the next best thing to Mayberry, missy. If you’re going to be here alone, that door needs to be locked.”

  “What’re you doing here? And at four a.m.?” Kara rushed forward to embrace her foster mother. “Did you drive from Durham this morning?”

  “I drove in last night. And since you’ve only one bedroom in the house you rented, I got a motel room on the highway.” Glorieta pursed her lips. “You didn’t think I’d let my business partner and best girl suffer through opening-day jitters alone, did you?”

  Kara gave her a cockeyed look. “I don’t believe you’ve ever suffered a single opening-day jitter in your life.”

  Glorieta raised her brow. “Not true.”

  “At the opening of restaurant number five?” Kara rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Or was it restaurant number six?”

  Miss Glorieta’s Down Home Barbecue and Fixins—or Miss G’s, as the restaurant chain was affectionately called by everyone from the governor to sanitation truck employees—was a North Carolina institution. One president had called her a national treasure. And her secret recipe barbecue sauce, sold at fine grocery establishments, was legendary.

  Her mentor unbuttoned her coat. “Each and every one was like birthing another child.”

  Over the past two years, the barbecue queen had stepped back from the business, and had attempted to learn golf, grow orchids and paint landscapes. All to no avail. In their last phone conversation, Glorieta had indicated she was taking up bridge. Must not be going well.