My Cupcake, My Love

by Carey, Carolynn

  Bri and Devin rushed to help the mothers box up each child’s decorated cupcakes, slip their valentines into plastic bags to keep them dry, and finally to make sure each girl was bundled up in her outdoor clothes. In less than ten minutes, everyone was gone except for Bri, Mrs. Sandler, Devin and Kaitlin.

  Bri blew her breath out in a long sigh. “Goodness, that was stressful. I hope everyone makes it home safely.”

  Devin walked over to the front window and looked out. “The snow isn’t sticking to the streets yet.”

  “It probably won’t for a while,” Bri said. “But if it keeps on snowing at this rate, the roads will likely get bad after the sun goes down.”

  He frowned. “Will you have trouble getting home this afternoon and getting back into town to open up in the morning?”

  “I usually don’t have to worry about that. If the roads are bad, Arthur insists on picking me up. That big truck he drives can make it about anywhere.”

  “You’re fortunate to have Mr. Wheeler as a friend.”

  “Daddy! Daddy!” Bri looked around and saw that Kaitlin had already pulled on her coat and mittens. “I want to go outside in the snow. Please!”

  Bri had been watching those beautiful flakes floating through the air and knew just how Kaitlin felt. “I want to go outside too.”

  Devin grinned. “Then let’s all go out.”

  Bri ran to the back to grab her coat and ask Mrs. Sandler to cover for her a few minutes. By the time she got back to the front, Devin was in his coat and had pulled Kaitlin’s hood up. “Ready?” he asked.

  A minute later they stood on the sidewalk in front of the store. Kaitlin started trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue while Bri and Devin laughed at the tourists scrambling about, raking snow off parked automobiles or window ledges so they could toss snowballs at each other. Almost everyone on the street was laughing and obviously enjoying the novelty of the unanticipated snow.

  A soft curse from Devin drew Bri’s attention and she instantly sobered when she saw he was glaring at something across the street. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  He continued to stare across the street for a couple of seconds, then shrugged. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I thought I saw someone taking our picture. I’m obviously paranoid after living in New York.”

  “Why? Did that happen a lot in New York?”

  Devin glanced at Kaitlin, then leaned closer to Bri and lowered his voice. “When I was married to Francine, both of us were popular targets for the paparazzi, and it got really bad during the divorce. But it slowed down after a while, and I haven’t had any problems since moving here. Like I said, I’m probably just paranoid.”

  “Perhaps,” Bri said. “After all, lots of people are taking pictures right now because of the snow.”

  “You’re right.” He looked into her eyes and smiled. “Thanks for supplying a healthy dose of common sense, not to mention everything else you’ve done for me and Kaitlin. She’s been happier during the last few days than I remember her being in quite a while.”

  Just then Arthur Wheeler walked out of his store and sauntered down the sidewalk to Bri’s side. He’d not bothered to put on a coat, but he appeared warm enough in a plaid wool shirt and a knitted hat with earflaps.

  “Hey, Miz Galen,” he said. “Nice snow we’re having, and it’s good for business. I’ve about sold out of warm hats and gloves.” He stooped to address Kaitlin. “Did you decorate some pretty cupcakes this afternoon, Miss Katy Kat?”

  Kaitlin started jumping up and down. “I did. Do you want one? I’ve got extras.”

  “Hey, that’s mighty generous of you. I’d love one of your cupcakes.”

  “Come on, then.” Kaitlin grabbed Arthur’s hand and started pulling him toward the door of the bakery while regaling him with the details of how she’d already picked her second kitten and when she was expecting to take them home with her.

  Devin grinned at Bri. “That girl is sure looking forward to the kittens. You think they’ll be able to leave their mother in another week?”

  “Probably less than that, but I’d rather not rush them,” Bri said. “And you need time to get the house ready. I’d suggest keeping them on just one floor for a few days.”

  “Makes sense to me.” Devin pulled the bakery door open and held it for Bri. He was still smiling, but she noticed he glanced back over his shoulder and across the street before he followed her into the store. She hoped he wasn’t still worried about their being photographed. She could think of no reason in the world for the paparazzi to suddenly show up in Cedar Hollow.

  * * * *

  Devin insisted on staying and helping Bri clean up after the cupcake decorating class. As he pointed out, the snowfall had slowed considerably, which was a disappointment to Kaitlin who’d hoped to build a snowman after they got home. In fact, she grumbled from the back seat most of the drive until he turned the radio on and she heard that the school superintendent had already called school off for the following day.

  “Yay,” she yelled. “Can we make snow cream tomorrow, Daddy?”

  “I don’t know,” he responded. “I’ve never made snow cream and would have no idea how to start.”

  “Maybe Mrs. Lang will know.”

  “Probably. Remind me to call her and offer to pick her up in the morning.”

  “Okay,” Kaitlin responded, a smile in her voice. “And I’ll give her one of my cupcakes I decorated. She’d like a strawberry one, I think. What do you think, Daddy?”

  What Devin really thought was that his little girl was finally adapting to their move to Tennessee, but what he said was, “Yes, Miss Muffin, I think the strawberry would be a perfect choice for Mrs. Lang.”

  Devin was relieved when he picked Mrs. Lang up the following morning to discover that she did, indeed, know how to make snow cream although she warned Devin that she and Kaitlin would have to search for pristine snow and even then Kaitlin might be disappointed in the outcome. “For it’s nothing like true ice cream,” she said.

  “Well, I hope Kaitlin doesn’t have her hopes up too high, but even if she’s disappointed, at least she can’t complain that she’s been deprived of the experience.”

  “Exactly,” Mrs. Lang said. “Now, I’m guessing you’ll want some time to write today since you were tied up most of the day yesterday with the cupcake decorating class.”

  “That’s true,” Devin said. “I’m not behind yet but I could sure use some extra hours today.”

  “That’s fine then. You just shut your office door. I’ll keep Kaitlin occupied.”

  Two hours later, Devin’s protagonist had just decided to spend a second night in the hollowed-out overhang he’d discovered deep in the woodland when Devin was jerked back to the current century by the blare of his business cell phone playing Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Only a handful of people had his business number, and this particular tune from World War Two identified the caller as his agent.

  Alex never called without a good reason, so Devin answered. “Morning, Alex. What’s up?”

  Alex paused a few seconds, which Devin realized was not a good sign. “Okay, spit it out. Is my last book not doing as well as we’d hoped?”

  “Your book’s doing great. Excellent numbers. Best seller lists, book clubs, et cetera. That’s not why I’m calling.” Another pause. “It’s about Francine.”

  Devin took a deep breath and automatically reached for the roll of antacids he kept in his top desk drawer. He hadn’t needed those in while, but he might now.

  “What about Francine?”

  “She’s back in New York. Seems the ‘love of her life’ was actually only the ‘love of her fifteen months’ so she dumped him in France and hightailed it back to the good ol’ U S of A.”

  “So?”

  “Seems she encountered less than a warm welcome here. Folks understand when a marriage breaks up. It happens to the best of us. But when a mother writes off her child as excess baggage so she can run off with her lover, people have a t
endency to frown. Francine has realized that she made a strategic error in giving you sole custody of Kaitlin, and she’s making noises about trying to get her back or at least get shared custody.”

  Devin thumbed an antacid out of the roll. “I’ll fight her tooth and toenail. She knows that.”

  “There’s more,” Alex said.

  Devin popped the antacid into his mouth. “Tell me.”

  “You know that gossip columnist that pestered you so much during the divorce?”

  “You mean the one I called Horace the Horse’s Rear End?”

  “That’s the one. Horace Horselle. Somehow he got a picture of you and Kaitlin and some lady standing in front of a bakery in that town where you live now. He ran the picture in this morning’s paper with an article about what you’re up to these days. And he found out who that lady is that was standing beside you. He mentioned in the article that she owns the bakery in the background and also told how her father died in a oil rig accident and that she inherited nearly a million dollars as a result.”

  Devin cursed for a few seconds, then asked, “Anything else?”

  “Just that the picture and story are all over the Internet this morning. You might want to start screening your calls.”

  Devin groaned. “What I have to do is call Bri and warn her. I know how to handle these jackasses. She doesn’t.”

  “Bri would be the bakery lady?”

  “Right.”

  “You lucky dog. I never had a baker that looked that good.”

  “Thanks for the heads up, Alex.”

  “Anything I can do on this end, you let me know.”

  “Just keep me posted if anything comes up I should be aware of.”

  “Will do. Bye now.”

  The second Devin ended the call, he grabbed the receiver on his landline and called the bakery. Bri answered. “Good morning, Bri’s Bakery.”

  “Hey Bri, it’s Devin.”

  “Hi. How are you?”

  “Mad as hell. Listen, are you somewhere where you can talk?”

  “I’m out front and I have customers. Can I call you back in a few minutes?”

  “I guess so. Isn’t Mrs. Sandler there?”

  “No, she had to go to the doctor this morning. Sounds as though she has bronchitis. Oops, the natives are getting restless. I’ll call you just as soon as I can.” She hung up.

  Devin saved his file and closed his computer. No way was he going to be able to concentrate on writing today. Should he drive into town so he could warn Bri in person? If she didn’t call soon, he’d do just that, but first he had to warn Mrs. Lang not to open the door unless the visitor was someone she knew and not to answer the phone unless she recognized the name on the caller ID. He might be overreacting, but he didn’t think so.

  He hurried downstairs and found Mrs. Lang and Kaitlin in the kitchen putting away the dishes they’d used for making snow cream. Kaitlin started chattering, telling him how they’d hunted for clean snow, but Devin caught Mrs. Lang’s eye and then suggested that Kaitlin go watch television for a while.

  Mrs. Lang, who’d been smiling at Kaitlin’s explanations for finding clean snow, instantly sobered. She obviously knew something was up because Devin as a rule preferred that Kaitlin not watch TV.

  If Kaitlin was suspicious, she didn’t show it. She squealed with delight and darted from the room. Still, Devin lowered his voice to be sure Kaitlin wouldn’t overhear him. “I’ve had some disturbing news, Mrs. Lang. Kaitlin’s mother, my ex-wife, is back in this country and supposedly is saying she might try to get custody of Kaitlin. Frankly, I’m afraid Francine might try to see Kaitlin, possibly to try to talk her into saying that she wants to live with her mother in New York. I don’t want that to happen, so here’s what I want you to do.”

  About the time he finished warning Mrs. Lang about not opening the door to strangers or answering the phone if she didn’t recognize the name on the caller ID, the house phone rang. “I’ll get it,” he said, grabbing the portable handset and checking to see who was calling. He was relieved to see Bri’s Bakery on the caller ID window.

  “Hi Bri, thanks for calling. I wanted to let you know that I had some disturbing news from my agent this morning.”

  He proceeded to tell her about their photograph being published in the New York newspaper and distributed over the Internet. “I’m really sorry this happened to you as a result of your befriending me and Kaitlin.”

  He wasn’t surprised when Bri assured him that she didn’t blame him for anything that had happened and that she wasn’t at all worried. “No one is going to be interested in me,” she said, “unless it’s someone discovering that I’ve got money and wanting a handout, but I can truthfully say that my money is tied up in my house and my business.”

  “Still, you need to be careful. Has anyone been in the store this morning that looked out of the ordinary?”

  He smiled at her response: “Devin, this is a tourist town. Nine out of every ten people who come in here look out of the ordinary.”

  He chuckled so she’d know he appreciated her effort to make light of the situation but that didn’t diminish his concern. “Just watch out for yourself,” he said.

  She assured him she would, and he knew he’d said all he could say, but he was convinced she didn’t understand the full extent of the danger to her peaceful way of life.

  Chapter Six

  By eleven o’clock the following morning, Bri had almost forgotten Devin’s warning. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and besides, she had so many orders coming in that she didn’t have time to think about anything else anyway.

  She’d come in early again this morning, as had Mrs. Sandler, who fortunately was feeling much better. Mrs. Sandler had started the bread baking and Bri was working on the cakes. She had orders for three for that afternoon—two heart-shaped strawberry and one red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

  County schools had been canceled again because of icy roads, so Bri had arranged to hire the high school student who helped her out on Saturdays. Eric arrived promptly at nine o’clock and was ready to start waiting on customers while Bri continued working in the kitchen.

  She’d just carried a tray of cupcakes to the front to restock one of the display cases when the front door opened with a flourish and a female stepped inside. Bri glanced at her, then stopped to stare.

  The woman was gorgeous in that special way that transcended “pretty” or even “beautiful.” She’d dressed for the weather in a Cossack-style fur hat, a mid-length leather coat, and high-heeled boots that encased her legs up to her knees. Interestingly, she wore sunglasses although the day had turned overcast.

  Eric gaped at the woman for several seconds. “Eh, can I help you?” he finally asked.

  The woman ignored him, her gaze zeroing in on Bri. Bri set her tray on the counter and stepped forward. “Did you want something?” she asked, purposely keeping her tone cool. She wasn’t intimidated by the woman, although she figured she was supposed to be.

  “Yes, I do want something,” the woman said. “I want you to stay away from my husband and child.”

  Bri felt a bubble of laughter building in her chest. She had no doubt that this walking stereotype was Francine, Devin’s ex-wife. But then she remembered that this woman might try to reclaim custody of Kaitlin, and any urge she’d felt to laugh immediately dissipated. “And you would be?” she asked, imbuing her voice with as much hauteur as possible.

  Francine curled her lip. “How many husbands are you involved with? It must be more than one if you can’t identify the husband I’m talking about.”

  Eric’s grunt of anger barely registered on Bri. She motioned toward one of the tables where the cupcake decorating class had been held. “Would you like to sit down so we can talk in private?” She hoped to find out more about Francine’s plans so she could warn Devin.

  Francine shook her head. “I have nothing more to say to you. Just remember that I’ve come to reclaim what’s mine.” She t
urned but paused when her gaze settled on the tray of cupcakes. These were some of Bri’s finest, especially decorated for the season, some topped by marshmallow snowmen and some with white icing and chocolate hearts. “How much for a cupcake?” Francine asked.

  “Oh, sorry,” Bri said. “These aren’t for sale.”

  Francine’s lovely face twisted with fury. “What are they here for if they aren’t for sale?”

  “Just for display,” Bri said. “In fact, that’s true of everything in the store, so you might as well leave. You said what you came to say.”

  Francine murmured a few uncomplimentary comments about Bri as she stomped out of the store, but she turned back to have the last word. “Just remember what I said.” She slammed the door behind her.

  “I’ll be,” Eric muttered. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Put these cupcakes in the display case for me, please, Eric. I need to make a phone call.”

  Five minutes later she was listening to Devin curse quite fluently. “Blast the woman. I can’t believe she attacked you in your own store.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Devin. I can take care of myself. Your ex-wife is quite attractive, but other than that, she’s rather pathetic. Did she really think she could tell me what to do and I’d listen to her?”

  “More than likely, yes. She’s used to getting her way.”

  “I’m glad school was called off again today so we don’t have to worry about Francine trying to talk her way into Kaitlin’s classroom. Is Mrs. Lang at your house?”

  “She is, and she knows not to open the door to anyone, but I’d better go tell her that I know for sure Francine is in town and will probably be trying to see Kaitlin.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else about Francine.”

  “Thanks, Bri. And again, I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

  “What mess? I’m fine. Bye, Devin.”