I’ll bring my lobster dip. See you later!
She set the pencil and sharpener back in their place, piled everything else back into the cedar chest, then shut the lid. She placed the pillows on top of it neatly and stepped away, already planning what her first drawing would be.
Right then she had something more important. If she was going to make her famous lobster dip, she would need to head to the store for ingredients. Maybe while she was at it, she would get ingredients for her equally famous chocolate raspberry cheesecake.
The day was looking up.
Chapter Twelve
Claire loved entertaining on her back patio in the summer. The patio had been one of her renovation splurges when she’d bought the small cottage, and Maxi had helped her design it. It was done in antique brick, laid out in a herringbone pattern. It was private, enclosed by a pleasant wood fence painted the same grayish blue as the cottage. Twinkle lights were twined around the top of the fence, and flowerpots bursting with colorful petunias and impatiens hung from hooks spaced evenly all around it.
The area was large. On the far end, she had comfortable wicker furniture, a patio umbrella to shade from the sun, and a gas fire pit. A gas grill and glass table and chairs sat closer to the cottage near the sliding door that led to the dining room. She’d already arranged napkins, plates, silverware, glasses, and a bottle of wine in an ice bucket on the table.
Maxi arrived first, loaded with her signature lobster dip, a box of sea salt crackers, a cheesecake, and a special lobster treat for Urchin. Claire tried not to be jealous at the way the cat cozied up to Maxi. Even after her friend had given him the treat, the cat continued to purr and rub against her legs. The only time he ever wanted to cuddle with Claire was when it was freezing cold and he wanted the heat. But then, Maxi did seem to have a way with pets.
Jane arrived a few minutes later with her platter of vegetables and dip, and Hailey not long after that with a plate of homemade brownies.
“I brought a little gift for Jennifer.” Maxi held up a small bag. Jennifer didn’t have a grandmother, and the three of them tried to make up for that with occasional gifts.
“You don’t have to do that. She’ll get spoiled.” Hailey peered into the bag. “A sketchbook and pencils. She’ll love that.”
Maxi shrugged it off. “Just a little something.”
“Thank you. Speaking of Jennifer, I have to pick her up in a half hour. Mrs. Pease dropped her off at the soccer game, but I don’t want to miss too much of it.”
“Then I say we get started.” Claire gestured to the glass-topped table where she’d arranged the food, and they all sat.
Jane produced a tablet and scrolled to a display with columns. “I made you a spreadsheet for ingredients. You’ll need to change things for the right amounts per cupcake, of course, and make sure I have every ingredient listed, but the important part is that it’s a spreadsheet, so it will calculate what you need to order.”
“Really?” Claire watched as Jane changed some figures and the spreadsheet recalculated. “That’s much better than my handwritten jumble.” Claire pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket.
Jane rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Everything is electronic now, Claire.” She reached for the paper. “I’ll just plug what you have here into the formula, and you can double-check. Have you put in an order yet?”
“Just for the flour. I use a special brand, and it has to be ordered a day in advance, so I should get a delivery tomorrow, just in time for baking.”
“And the baking schedule?” Hailey dipped a miniature carrot into creamy ranch dip. “We don’t have much down time during the day, and there are only a few days until the sale, so I think it makes sense to settle on a set amount of cupcakes that need to get baked every night.”
“Good thinking. I’ve lined up Ashton and Sarah for the next two nights, and if we bake fifteen dozen each night, we should be good,” Claire said.
Jane glanced up from the tablet, looking over her readers at Claire. “You might want to add an extra dozen or so just in case.”
“I’m going to see if we can fit some extra baking in during the day.” Claire looked at Hailey. “Maybe in the afternoon, when it’s not so busy, we could get a dozen in each day. Just in case we fall short at night for some reason.”
Hailey munched on her carrot. “Sounds like a plan.”
“And don’t forget Maxi and I can help,” Jane said.
“And me,” Hailey added.
“Thanks. I think Ashton and Sarah will be enough for the baking. That’s fairly easy, and I’ll be there to make sure the batter is mixed properly. Then it’s just watching the timer to make sure they don’t burn. We only have the one oven, so I couldn’t really utilize more than two other people, anyway,” Claire said. “What I could really use you guys for is frosting them.”
Hailey nodded. “Frosting takes patience and a bit of skill. Patience isn’t something that Ashton and Sarah are known for.”
Claire laughed. “Yeah. They’re good kids but tend to rush.”
“Weren’t we all that way in high school?” Maxi asked.
“You can say that again,” Claire sliced a small piece of cheesecake and bit in. It was the perfectly creamy blend of sweet raspberry and dark chocolate. Maybe she should consider hiring Maxi to supply some cheesecakes for Sandcastles. If James would approve. “I think I have the marketing covered. I have a sign now out front and flyers on order.”
“I heard about the sign,” Jane said. She didn’t quite meet Claire’s gaze, her brow furrowing as she scooped out some of the dip with her cracker. It was loaded with pink chunks of succulent lobster. Urchin, still in Maxi’s lap, lifted his head enough to eye the dip.
Claire smiled. “You did? That’s great! It’s already working.”
The cracker hovered midway to Jane’s mouth. Her eyes met Claire’s. “Actually, I heard about it from the owner of Bradford Breads.”
“Really? When did you talk to him?” Odd that Jane hadn’t even mentioned knowing the guy. Well, there was probably nothing to it.
“Today. He came to Tides to see if we wanted to put in a standing order for fresh bread.” Jane tucked her hair behind her ear and added, “He seems nice. He was very sweet to Mom.”
Claire just bet he was. Probably trying to find out how easy it would be to take all of Claire’s business through Jane somehow. But how would he even know they were friends? Claire thought about the man she’d seen going into Bradford Breads. “Was he tall? Fit? Graying around the temples?”
Jane brightened. “You’ve met already?”
“Not exactly. I saw him go into Bradford Breads earlier today, but he’s not the owner. Probably a go-between or manager.”
“No. The man I met is the owner. He said so. It’s in his name too. Rob Bradford.”
Could the man she had seen on the street be the owner of the rival bakery? No, the owner couldn’t be that good-looking, or that down-to-earth, if his clothes and car had been any indication. Jane must have met someone else.
And sweet?
“Well, just because he was nice to Adelaide doesn’t mean he’s a good person. Who wouldn’t be nice to an old lady?”
A shadow crossed in front of her friend’s eyes. “You’d be surprised.”
Uncomfortable, Claire shifted in her spot. She took a sip of wine. “Of course Bradford wants you to think he’s nice. They always seem that way right before they put you out of business.”
“He isn’t going to put you out of business.”
Claire snorted. Did Jane want to buy bread from the guy? She often got baked goods from Claire, and Claire knew that Jane was worried about Tides. Maybe she thought having fresh bread would help business. Claire didn’t want to stand in the way of that.
“Do you think fresh bread would be good for the inn? You should try it.” Claire tried not to sound stiff and frosty.
“I don’t think I will just yet,” Jane said immediately.
“But if
it makes sense for the inn…”
“The inn has survived without fresh bread this long.” Claire felt like Jane was passing on the proposition to be loyal to Claire because she saw Bradford Breads as a rival. The warmth of her friendship bloomed inside Claire’s chest, at least until Jane added, “But you should give him a chance.”
“Ummm, I don’t think so.”
Jane looked conflicted. “Honestly, he’s not out to ruin your business.”
“So he told you.”
“I believe him.” Jane rarely spoke with such conviction, even among friends. She was more apt to agree than butt heads. The mysterious Mr. Bradford must have made quite the impression. “He was actually worried when he saw the sign you were putting up outside.”
Claire scoffed. “I bet he was! My sale is going to blow away his grand opening, and he knows it.”
“You’re selling different products. It’s probably more reason for customers to visit you both. If you worked together to do more promotions like this, it could benefit you both. And he’s willing to work together. You should at least talk to him and give him a chance.”
Claire took a sip of wine and thought about it. Some of what Jane said made sense, but those old fears of failure crept up. What if Bradford Breads was just trying to get on her good side so he could figure out her vulnerabilities before he went in for the kill? Thoughts of Sandee just waiting for her to fail blurred her vision. Nope, she wasn’t about to take a chance. Not right then, anyway.
She turned to Maxi. “What do you think, Maxi? I think Jane sees too much of the good in people sometimes.”
Maxi had been in a world of her own, daydreaming about painting and sketching, so she was surprised when she heard her name. “Huh?”
“Earth to Maxi. Jane was suggesting that I team up with Bradford Breads. She thinks the owner is nice. I say he’s up to something.”
Maxi frowned at Jane. “How do you know the owner of Bradford Breads?”
“Have you not been listening at all? He came by the inn trying to set up an ongoing delivery for fresh bread.”
“Oh, sorry. I guess I let my mind wander. That sounds like it could be advantageous to both of you.”
Claire’s tight-lipped smile indicated that she didn’t agree, but Maxi knew that since both she and Jane were encouraging it, Claire would give it careful consideration.
“We’ll see what happens after the grand opening and my cupcake sale.” Claire forked up a piece of cheesecake and gestured toward Maxi with it. “This is excellent by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“So the advertising is underway, and we have a baking plan,” Jane said. “Don’t forget to get me some flyers.”
Hailey looked over at the spreadsheet on Jane’s tablet. “If you fill out the spreadsheet and send it to me, I’ll get the rest of the ingredients tomorrow morning, if you want me to, Claire.”
Claire nodded.
Hailey stood. “Great. I’ll see if Mrs. Pease can watch Jennifer for an extra hour each day. That way I can get a batch of cupcakes in before I leave work.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. As it is, I think I’ll be living at Sandcastles. But at least no one else needs me at home.” Claire narrowed her eyes at Urchin, who was still in Maxi’s lap. “I’m not even sure Urchin will miss me.”
“That has its advantages.” Hailey bent to pick up her purse and the bag from Maxi. “No one to tell us what we can or can’t do or disapprove of our plans.”
“You can say that again. I remember Peter always had something negative to say about any of my dreams.” Claire savored another bite of pie. “I wanted to open a bakery years ago, but he was against it. Good thing I got rid of him.”
Hailey laughed. “Yeah, I got the same from Lance. The only time he relented was toward the end. Then he seemed to encourage anything I wanted. Of course, it turned out that was because he was cheating and wanted to distract me.”
Claire laughed. “Same with Peter! Turns out he was being nice and letting me do what I wanted to keep me busy so I wouldn’t notice he’d taken up with Sandee.”
Claire’s words hit Maxi like a brick. Keep me busy. Wasn’t that what James had said when he approved of her starting to draw again?
“Glad those days are past us.” Hailey fist-bumped Claire. “Thanks for the gift, Maxi.”
“Huh? Oh, you’re welcome.” Maxi’s mind whirled as she watched Hailey leave. Surely, she was overreacting. The comment about keeping her busy was something anyone would say. But then she remembered how James had covered the phone. Who had he been talking to? She’d assumed he was in a break room or hallway at the convention, but maybe someone had been in his hotel room.
Maxi’s thoughts were interrupted by a sputtering and coughing coming from the other side of the fence.
“What in the world?” Jane stood and peeked over. “Why is Hailey in a beat-up old Dodge? Thing looks like it’s on its last leg. I thought she had a Toyota.”
“She does.” Claire had joined Jane at the fence, and Maxi dumped Urchin on the ground so she could look too.
The car was pulling away. Its rusted trunk looked ready to pop open. What was left of the paint was a faded gray. As they watched, a puff of smoke came out the back, and the car bucked.
“Is that thing safe?” Jane asked. “I hate to think of her driving Jennifer around in that.”
“Me too. Maybe her car is in the shop,” Maxi said.
“She goes to Frank’s, and he has better loaners than that. I’ll find out what the story is.” Jane sat back down. Frank was her cousin and owned the best auto body shop in town.
“I hope she isn’t having money troubles.” Claire’s expression showed genuine concern. “Maybe I should think about a raise, but Sandcastles needs a lot of repairs, and there’s the competition across the street to be wary of.”
Jane and Maxi exchanged a look. It was clear that Claire was still thinking of Bradford Breads as the competition, even though they’d both tried to dissuade her, but they both knew that pressing the matter would only make things worse.
Maxi held up her glass of wine. “All the more reason to make sure Sandcastles’s cupcake sale is a rousing success.”
Chapter Thirteen
Claire needed as many cupcakes as possible, so despite the fact that she had two helpers coming that evening, she started baking as soon as she could the day after their strategy meeting.
She began with the cupcakes she knew would sell the best, the flavors that flew off the shelves. Despite Sandee’s disdain for them, chocolate and vanilla were crowd pleasers. Everyone loved them, and she consistently sold the most of them. She started with one batch of each. While they were baking in her industrial oven, she set a timer on her phone and went out front to help Hailey.
Mentally cataloguing all the things she had to do and in what order, Claire whisked away several errant dishes from customers who hadn’t returned them to the front, wiping down the tables as she went. As she bent over one of the tables in front of the window, she smiled at Harry and Bert, sitting with their coffees in hand. They were drinking leisurely despite the clouds rolling in from the west.
“Good morning, gentlemen. Are you enjoying your coffees?”
“Always do,” Bert said, tipping his up to take a sip from it.
“We can’t wait for that cupcake sale,” Harry added. “We saw the advertisement in the paper. Very classy.”
“Thank you.” She couldn’t really take credit for that. Due to the last-minute rush for the ad, she hadn’t been able to design anything and had left that to Mona. But Bert and Harry didn’t need to know that.
“And the sign you have outside is quite something. I don’t suppose you have samples of some of the flavors you’ll be selling on Saturday?” Bert added.
Claire laughed. “Not today, I’m afraid. I’ve got plain old chocolate and vanilla in the oven right now. But if you come back tomorrow, I’ll try to keep a small sample aside for two of my best customers.”
The old men beamed. “We’ll hold you to that,” Harry said. Bert nodded in agreement.
As Claire straightened, her gaze was drawn to the stream of tourists walking past the banner that Stacy had made for the sale. She was pleased to see potential customers craning their necks to look. A few even stopped and headed inside despite the sign advertising a sale coming on Saturday. Claire’s chest swelled at the sight of her bustling business. Getting Stacy to fast-track the sign had been the right decision.
The warm bubble in her chest burst as her gaze lifted from her cheery pink-and-yellow sign to the blatant red Grand Opening sign on the shop across the street. Claire chewed on the inside of her cheek and turned away. She had too much to do to start worrying about that.
As she headed into the kitchen area, balancing the dishes on her arms, Sally appeared from the hall that led to the bathrooms, where she had been fixing the leak. Claire slipped the dishes onto the counter next to the coffee and faced her.
“Finished?”
Sally nodded. “I think it should hold for a while.”
Claire’s shoulders relaxed with relief, but then she became wary of the smirk on Sally’s face as the handywoman’s gaze travelled past her to the front of the store.
“Looks like you have company. I’m going to grab a coffee.”
“Huh?” Claire turned as the bell above the door chimed. Her gaze landed squarely on the man filling her doorway.
The guy from Bradford Breads. In her store. He paused in the threshold, letting the door fall back into its frame as he scanned the interior of the bakery. Was he examining her products? Trying to figure out how to best compete?
Wiping her hands on her apron, she left the safety of the kitchen area and headed out front. When he saw her, he smiled, the expression deepening the attractive crow’s-feet at the corners of his sapphire eyes. She didn’t return the smile.
Undaunted, he stepped forward to meet her halfway with a hand extended. “You must be the owner of Sandcastles.”
Saving Sandcastles Page 7