“Yes, that would be good. Thank you.” He didn’t even have enough sense to pick up the damned bill for her. He’d just thought about it when she bent and picked it up herself. She shoved it into her coat pocket. “I’m sure this can be put to good use,” she murmured. “Good night.” She turned and hurried across the porch and started down the steps.
He held up the bakery box. “Thanks for these.”
She continued walking but raised one hand in the air to acknowledge his words.
He watched until he saw the interior lights of her car come on, then her headlights, and finally, after another minute or so, her taillights as she drove away.
“Damned idiot,” he muttered as he turned to go back inside. “You, Devin Morris, are maybe the biggest idiot in the entire world. And maybe Francine had every right to leave you for another man.”
But he would never understand how she could have deserted Kaitlin.
Dear, sweet Kaitlin. Who would at least have her desire for a cupcake fulfilled tonight.
No thanks to him.
Chapter Two
Devin was sitting at the breakfast table sipping on his second cup of coffee when Mrs. Lang arrived the next morning. He’d been fortunate enough to hire one of his neighbors as his housekeeper. Mrs. Lang, who lived just down the road, came every morning, Monday through Friday, for eight hours each day. In addition to light cleaning, she also cooked a nutritious meal for him and Kaitlin to share in the evenings, and when Kaitlin wasn’t in school, Mrs. Lang watched after her during Devin’s writing hours.
Having let herself in the kitchen door, Mrs. Lang started shedding the various pieces of outerwear she’d donned for the half-mile walk from her house. “Brrrrr,” she said when she pulled off her knitted toboggan. “It’s a cold one out this morning.” She disentangled a rather long scarf that she’d wrapped around her neck a few times. “I’m glad today’s an in-service day and Kaitlin didn’t have to get out. It looks like snow to me. Where is the little tyke, anyway?”
“She’s sleeping in this morning.” Devin got up to pour Mrs. Lang a cup of coffee. She usually joined him at the table for a few minutes each day before she tackled any chores that might await her. Devin liked chatting with her. He’d learned a lot from her about the changes that had taken place in Cedar Hollow during the years he’d been away.
She took her gloves off and stuffed them in her coat pockets before removing the coat and hanging it on the hall tree in the edge of the mudroom. When she turned back around, Devin was setting her coffee and creamer on the table. “Why, thank you kindly,” she said, just as she did every morning. She seated herself, stirred some creamer into her coffee, and looked across the table with a solemn expression on her face. “I hear you had a little misunderstanding in Briana Galen’s bakery yesterday afternoon.”
Devin stifled a strong urge to curse, especially when he felt his face growing warm. “Yeah, I thought Mr. Wheeler was indigent.”
Mrs. Lang chuckled a few seconds, then rushed to console him. “Anybody could draw that conclusion, the way Mr. Wheeler dresses to go into his store. He seems to think the tourists will buy more of his goods if he looks the part of a hillbilly.”
“Well, he’s got the hillbilly look down pat.” Devin wished he’d been able to keep that hint of bitterness out of his tone. “He sure had me fooled.”
Mrs. Lang chuckled again. “Well, don’t fret about it. He doesn’t hold a grudge, nor does Briana. They’re both good as gold.”
Devin couldn’t argue with that. He nodded toward the covered bakery box. “Miss Galen came by here last night and brought Kaitlin some cupcakes.”
“That sounds like Bri. She’s good with kids. Are you going to sign Kaitlin up for Bri’s cookie decorating class?”
“What cookie decorating class?”
“She has one every major holiday. She invites kids and a parent to come in for a couple of hours one afternoon. She has the sugar cookie dough already rolled out in sheets. She supplies lots of cookie cutters, and after the kids cut out their cookies, she bakes them and the kids get to decorate them with icing and sprinkles and all sorts of things. My daughter Jennie took her four-year-old Daniel for the Christmas cookie decorating class, and he had the greatest time in the world. He talked about decorating cookies for days.”
Devin took a sip of coffee to hide his grimace. He could just envision himself, one man among a bunch of young mothers and their offspring, trying to help Kaitlin decide which color of sprinkles to use on her heart-shaped cookies. “I didn’t see anything in the bakery about an upcoming cookie decorating event. Miss Galen probably isn’t going to do one for Valentine’s Day.” Please God.
“I suspect you’re right.” Mrs. Lang paused to stir her coffee and Devin breathed a quick sigh of relief, which he soon realized had been premature because Mrs. Lang continued. “My Jennie talked to Bri about that last week, and Bri is thinking that instead of cookie decorating, she might have a cupcake decorating class for this year’s Valentine’s Day event. Cupcakes are really popular with little ones these days.”
Devin swallowed hard, then shook his head. “I don’t think Kaitlin would be interested in—” he began. Kaitlin’s yelp from the doorway interrupted him.
“Oh yes, Daddy,” she squealed, running into the room and climbing into his lap. “I’d love to decorate cupcakes. Can we go? Please, please, please. Pretty please.”
Devin gazed into his daughter’s upturned face and his heart clenched with the overload of love he felt for this tiny and beautiful creature. Her eyes, brown as shelled pecans, never failed to remind him of her mother, but Kaitlin’s eyes were innocent and sweet, not cold and self-absorbed.
“Good morning to you, Miss Muffin,” he greeted her. “I didn’t hear you come downstairs.”
“That’s ’cause I don’t have any shoes on.” She stuck a bare foot out to prove her point. “And that’s ’cause I’m still in my jammies. But I heard you talking about the cupcake decorating. Can I go?”
“I’m not sure Miss Galen is having a cupcake decorating class. I suppose that if she—”
“Can you call her and find out?”
Devin paused to think a minute. He needed to mend fences with Miss Galen, and he had a feeling he needed to do that sooner rather than later. After all, people were already talking about the episode in her store yesterday, and he didn’t want folks to think badly of him. Not that he really cared about his own feelings, but if people didn’t like him, Kaitlin might hear of it and be upset.
Besides, something like a cupcake decorating class might help her meet children other than the small number in her first grade class at school. And the more children she knew, the quicker she might feel at home here in the mountains.
“Okay, I’ll call and see what I can find out. And if Miss Galen has something planned, I’ll get you signed up for it.”
Kaitlin’s squeal of delight would probably contribute to the loss of hearing he figured he would experience in a few years, but the joy on her face was worth every shrill decibel. In fact, he didn’t think his little girl had looked this happy since the day he’d had to tell her that her mother wouldn’t be living with them anymore.
He glanced at the clock on the stove. “The bakery doesn’t open for another forty-five minutes. Let’s have our breakfast, and I’ll call Miss Galen just as soon as she’s had time to open up.”
“Yay.” Kaitlin’s smile was contagious, and Devin found himself smiling in return. He sure hoped Miss Galen planned to have that cupcake decorating class this year. He’d be first in line to sign up for Kaitlin and himself.
* * * *
Briana was still fuming when she unlocked the back door to the bakery. She couldn’t believe Devin Morris had been so rude to her yesterday afternoon after she’d gone out of her way to return his money and take little Kaitlin some cupcakes. Obviously he was one of those men who let their looks and money go to their head, so she’d made up her mind to give Mr. Morris a wide berth. She’d h
ad her heart trampled by one man who thought he was something extraordinary, and she had no desire to become acquainted with another.
She pushed the door open and her mood immediately lightened. The soothing fragrance of yeast informed her that her baker already had bread in the oven. “Is that you, Bri?” Mrs. Sandler called from the direction of the pantry.
Bri closed the door behind her. “Yes, it’s me. Something sure smells good. You’re on the ball this morning.”
Mrs. Sandler stepped out of the pantry carrying a box of baking powder. She had been Bri’s favorite teacher at the Atlanta culinary school that Bri attended after graduating from high school. Recently retired and with no family in the Atlanta area, Mrs. Sandler had been at loose ends, so when she learned Bri was moving back to the country to open a bakery, she’d asked to come along. Bri had been thrilled. She’d known she couldn’t handle all the work by herself and she’d dreaded having to try to train someone. Mrs. Sandler had proved to be a treasure.
“I’d have started on some cakes, but I didn’t know what you wanted made today. Do you have any special orders?”
“Not today. Let’s just make an Italian cream cake and a red velvet plus some cupcakes. Those are selling really well these days.”
“That they are.” Mrs. Sandler set the baking powder down on the counter. “Have you given any more thought to having that cupcake decorating class for children before Valentine’s Day rolls around?”
“I’d love to, but if last year is any indication, we’ll have a lot of special order Valentine’s Day cakes to make as the date gets closer, not to mention some wedding cakes. I’m not sure I’ll have the time.”
“You do have a point,” Mrs. Sandler said. “No sense in pushing yourself. You’ve not advertised it yet, so I’d just drop the idea if I were you.”
Bri nodded. She’d been hesitant about taking on any more work in the next couple of weeks, so she wasn’t sorry to hear Mrs. Sandler agree. “That’s settled then,” she said, reaching for an apron. “There’ll be no cupcake decorating class. I’ll get started on the—”
When the phone rang, Bri glanced at the clock. “Someone’s in a hurry to reach us this morning. It’s still one minute before opening time.” But she hurried over to the old-fashioned phone on the kitchen wall. “Good morning. Bri’s Bakery. How can I help you?”
“Miss Galen?”
That voice sounded familiar but she couldn’t place the man it belonged to. “Yes, this is Bri Galen.”
“This is Devin Morris. I wanted to sign Kaitlin up for your cupcake decorating class.”
“Oh!” Hearing from Devin Morris was not how she would have preferred starting her day. “Good morning, Mr. Morris. I’m sorry, but I’ve decided not to hold the class this year.”
There was a moment’s silence on the other end of the line before he practically snarled his next words. “And when did you decide this?”
“Actually, just a minute ago. You see—”
“Miss Galen,” he interrupted. “I can understand why you’re upset with me, but I object to your taking your anger out on an innocent child. Kaitlin’s done nothing to you, and she doesn’t deserve your suddenly deciding to cancel this class just so you can have your revenge on me.”
“What?” Bri clamped her mouth shut to keep from screaming into the receiver. The blasted man was doing it again, judging her on absolutely no evidence and then convicting her of unbelievably selfish behavior. “What is wrong with you?” she demanded. “I decided before you called to cancel the class because I simply don’t have time for it this year.”
“Then you shouldn’t have advertised that you were doing it. Kaitlin is going to be terribly disappointed. She was really looking forward to decorating cupcakes.”
Bri struggled for patience. “Mr. Morris, I never advertised a class. I merely mentioned the possibility to a couple of people, but that doesn’t—”
He started talking over her. “If you mentioned it to anyone in a town this size, you should have expected that everyone would assume you would follow through. What’s come up that is going to prevent you from devoting a little time to the children who were counting on this class?”
Bri blew her breath out in a long-suffering sigh. “Valentine’s Day is a very busy time in Cedar Hollow. In addition to the usual parties, there are always weddings and receptions. People want cakes for all of those occasions. Now, does that answer your question?”
“What if I helped you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You claim that you’re going to be so busy, but from what I’ve been told, the decorating class is only for a couple of hours one afternoon. I could come in that day and help you. I could wait on customers for you or carry supplies out from the kitchen. Surely you could hold the class if I’m willing to devote two or three hours of my writing time to help out.”
“Mr. Morris.” Bri took a deep breath. “The problem is not that I can’t spare an afternoon. It’s all the preparations leading up to that afternoon. While it’s true that I could bake the cupcakes and supply the icing, I’ve never had a cupcake decorating class before. I’d need lots of edible decorative items for the children to use on their cupcakes. I have a few things on hand but nowhere near the variety I’d need for the class, and I simply don’t have time to research and buy what I’d need.”
“I could do that.”
“Wh-what?”
“I’ll supply the different decorative items if you’ll have the class.”
Bri rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “You would need to handle the announcements for me too, including making up signs to post around town and running an ad in the newspaper.”
“All right.” His tone changed from irritated to sarcastic. “Anything else? You want me to sweep the floors or clean the bathrooms for you?”
Bri clenched her teeth. He was such a jerk. She tried for a saccharine sweet tone. “No need for you to sweep or clean, but if it snows that day, you can shovel off the front steps and sidewalk for me.”
“You’ve got a deal, lady. Just tell me what day we’re doing this and I’ll start working on my end of the project.”
Bri glanced at the wall calendar. “February the seventh.”
“Got it,” he snapped. “I’ll be in touch.” He hung up.
“Wonderful,” Bri informed the dial tone whining in her ear. “That’s just wonderful!”
She hung up and turned to face a clearly curious Mrs. Sandler. “Looks as though I’m having that cupcake decorating class after all,” she muttered. “And I’ve just accepted help from the last man in the world I want to be working with. I should have my head examined.”
* * * *
Devin hung up the phone, unclenched his teeth and smiled at Kaitlin. “Guess what, sweetheart? Miss Galen has signed you up for the class, and she’s going to let us help pick out the decorations to use on the cupcakes.”
Kaitlin cocked her head to one side and frowned. “What kind of decorations will we pick out, Daddy?”
Devin glanced toward Mrs. Lang, hoping she could read his plea for help in his gaze. She smiled and nodded. “My Jennie buys lots of stuff like that in the bakery aisle at the grocery store. You know, colored sugar, sprinkles, that kind of thing. And you could probably get some of those plastic toothpicks that you stick down into the cupcakes. I’ll bet with Valentine’s Day coming up, you could find some heart-shaped ones.”
Devin watched Kaitlin from the corner of his eye. Although she didn’t say anything, he could tell by her slight frown that she wasn’t thrilled with the items Mrs. Lang had mentioned. Obviously she was expecting something more original. “I’m sure we’ll find some great decorations,” he said, imbuing his tone with as much enthusiasm as he could manage. “I’ll get on the Internet and see what I can find.”
Kaitlin’s expression lightened.
“In fact, I think I’ll go work on that right now. Then I need to write for a few hours.” He looked at Mrs. Lang. “Can you help ente
rtain Kaitlin?”
“I’ll be glad to.” Mrs. Lang smiled. She really was quite good with Kaitlin, for which he was immensely grateful. That meant he could work without feeling guilty.
Thirty minutes later, he was holed up in his office talking to his agent in New York. “Hi Alex. I was wondering if you know any bakers or if you represent any authors who write cookbooks.”
He listened a minute, then frowned. “I don’t think the author of a diet cookbook would be any good at helping me locate cupcake decorations. Do you have any ideas?”
He listened a minute more. “A chocolatier? Really? And you say he has lots of molds he can use? Can he do both white and dark? Great! Do you have that number?”
He scribbled a phone number on the pad on his desk. “Thanks, Alex. What? Oh yeah, the book’s going fine. I’m right on schedule. Bye.”
He hung up quickly, smiled to himself, and dialed the number Alex had given him.
A few minutes later, he ended his second call, well satisfied with the start he’d made toward finding decorations for the cupcakes. He’d just ordered some samples that were to be prepared this morning and overnighted to him. Tomorrow he’d drop by the bakery to visit Miss I’m-All-About-Me Galen, and see what she thought about his finds. He could hardly wait to see her face. It was time she learned she was dealing with a man who knew his way around well enough to obtain whatever was necessary to make his daughter happy.
And if that required paying for a chocolate specialty store in New York to produce dark and white chocolate Cupids, so be it.
* * * *
By one o’clock the following afternoon, Bri was beginning to regret having agreed to host that cupcake decorating class. Special orders for cakes were pouring in so quickly, she barely had time to answer the phone. In addition to red velvet and strawberry cakes, which were favorites for Valentine’s Day parties, she’d taken orders for five white wedding cakes and four chocolate groom’s cakes plus one red velvet wedding cake.
My Cupcake, My Love Page 2