by Amber Crewes
“It’s a surprise!” she told her. “Jack suggested it. He thought I would have such a great time helping you around the bakery, and I decided to swing by. What’s on our agenda for today? Pamela told me we need to make some batches of raisin cookies and fruit tarts, but I have some better ideas.”
“Better ideas?” Meghan asked.
“First, we should start with the dining room,” Sarah told them, raising her hands and spinning around in a dramatic circle. “It’s a bit filthy in here, don’t you think? There is dust everywhere. You can’t think it’s okay to let your guests eat in a place this messy, can you?”
Meghan bit her lip. “We wiped down everything this morning,” she explained, trying her best to be patient. “Things get messy throughout the day. We give it all a good scrubbing at the end of the night, Sarah. That’s our standard procedure, and it’s worked well for us for the last few years.”
Sarah sniffed. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate to let guests eat with dust bunnies in sight, but if that’s the way you like it, fine. I guess that explains the dust in the corners at your home, doesn’t it?”
Meghan could feel Trudy and Pamela’s eyes on her. “Trudy, why don’t you give Sarah some things to do?” she asked. “Pamela, you can help me unload these eggs.”
They walked outside in silence, and once they had exited the bakery, Pamela turned to Meghan and squealed. “She is terrible!”
“She’s a little much, isn’t she?” Meghan frowned.
“None of my boyfriends have ever had moms like her,” Pamela declared. “How did you end up with such a crazy one?”
Meghan closed her eyes. “It’s a bit different to be married to someone,” she explained to the teenager.
“How?” Pamela asked.
“I’m not sure how to explain it,” Meghan told her. “But it’s different. You’ll understand someday.”
Pamela turned up her nose. “I hope not,” she stated. “I hope I never have a mother-in-law like yours.”
After they brought the eggs inside, Meghan snuck into the bathroom with her cell phone.
Your mother is here. Why did you send her over here without telling me? She’s getting in the way, Jack.
She finished the text to her husband, her heart pounding. Had Jack really thought it was a good idea to send his mother to her for the entire day?
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down at the new text from her husband.
I am so sorry. I will take care of it. I love you. XO
“He had better take care of it,” she thought to herself as she returned to the dining room to find her mother-in-law ordering Pamela about.
An hour later, Jack walked through the front door of the bakery with a cautious smile on his face. He was dressed in his work uniform, with his collared navy blue shirt, matching blue trousers, and official pins.
“He knows he’s good looking,” Meghan grumbled to herself as her husband flashed her a bright smile. “But good looks aren’t gonna make up for this.”
“My baby!” Sarah shrieked as she dropped the broom she was holding and dashed over to her son. “What are you doing here, honey?”
“I’m here to take my favorite lady to lunch,” he told her as he stared at Meghan.
“Well, isn’t that sweet?” Sarah gushed. “I hope Meghan will let me take an hour or two to go to lunch with you. She runs a tight ship around here, Jack. I didn’t realize she was so demanding.”
Jack cleared his throat. “I actually came to take my wife out to lunch,” he told her. “Meghan? Can you spare an hour or two for your husband?”
Meghan nodded. “I think I can make it work.”
She turned to Trudy. “Can you hold down the fort while I am gone?”
Before Trudy could answer, Sarah jumped in. “I will keep things running for you, Meghan,” she assured her daughter-in-law. “Don’t you worry about a thing. In fact, when you return, I bet things around here will be even better than when you left.”
Meghan fetched her coat and gloves and left the bakery with her husband. “Where do you want to go?” Jack asked as they walked down the street.
“Anywhere,” Meghan muttered. “Anywhere but here.”
Jack turned to stare at her, his blue eyes filled with concern. “She’s really gotten to you, hasn’t she?”
Meghan stopped and faced her husband. “Jack, she criticizes everything I do,” she began, balling her hands in frustration. “She always has something bad to say about the way I keep our house, or the way I dress... it’s getting on my nerves.”
“I’m sorry, babe,” he said earnestly, putting his hands on her shoulders.
“You don’t seem too sorry,” she shot back. “You never step in. I expect my husband to stand up for me, and you just let her walk all over me. It isn’t okay, Jack.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled. “What can I do?”
She looked left and then right. “Let’s go grab a bite to eat,” she said quietly. “I don’t want the entire town to hear about this.”
They walked to Keagan’s Vegan, the trendy vegan restaurant in town. They were seated at a high-top table set for two. Meghan admired the shelf of succulents and amaryllis above the table. She loved the aesthetic of Keagan’s; with the exposed brick walls, whitewashed wooden floors, and abundance of plants and greenery, it was a nice escape from the dreary winter landscape.
“Get anything you’d like,” Jack urged her. “It’s my treat.”
“I think I need a drink,” she scoffed as she perused the menu. “See? Your mother has driven me to drinking, Jack.”
“That isn’t funny,” he told her.
She sat up straight and folded her hands primly on the table. “I need to know you are on my side, Jack.”
He nodded. “I am on your side,” he promised her. “I should have been speaking up more with my mom. I’m sorry I let you down.”
A waitress appeared with two menus and a tray of waters. She placed everything on the table in front of them. “Here you go,” she smiled. “What can I get started for you today?”
“I want the mushroom burger with cashew cheese,” Meghan told her. “And a side of sweet potato fries.”
“I’ll have the same,” Jack followed. “Please.”
She grinned. “The sweet potato fries are the best,” she praised. “I’ll have that right in for you two.”
Meghan watched as the waitress walked away and then turned back to her husband. “So what are we going to do?” she asked. “Your mother is here, and I want to make sure I survive the next few weeks.”
Jack reached for her hands. “That’s all I want.”
“I need to know you are on my side,” she explained to him.
“I’m always on your side,” he insisted. “Look, Meghan, I know my mother can be a lot to take; she has a huge personality, and she likes things done a certain way. That said, YOU are my wife, my partner, and the lady of the house. YOU are in charge, Meghan, not her. I am going to do a better job of speaking up when she is out of line.”
“Okay,” she sighed.
He shook his head. “I should have set better boundaries with her early on,” he told his wife. “I should have stepped in. I’m sorry I didn’t stand up for you, and that you are so frustrated. I can only imagine how hard this has been for you.”
Meghan’s heart began to warm. Jack was on her side; she had been worried that he wouldn’t believe her, or that he would put her down for her feelings toward his mother, but he was telling her everything she needed to hear. She was pleased, and she reached across the table to give him a kiss on the lips.
Jack was surprised. “I didn’t expect that,” he laughed.
“I didn’t expect you to be on my side,” she admitted.
“Meghan! I’m your husband. That’s what I’m here for,” he swore to her. “Always. For better or for worse.”
She blinked. “I know guys and their moms have some sort of special bond…”
Jack looked into he
r dark eyes. “Our bond is the most important of my life,” he told her. “I love my mother, but she has been out of line. I feel like a bad husband for not stepping up and setting boundaries with her. I will do better. I love you, Meghan. You are my world, and I hate seeing you so upset.”
Meghan grinned. “I love you too, Jack.”
Their waitress returned with their lunches, and they dove in, oohing and aahing over the rich burgers and creamy cashew cheese. “Your mother wouldn’t believe her little Jacky boy is eating vegan cheese,” Meghan laughed.
“Let’s leave her out of the rest of this afternoon,” he begged. “This is just about us.”
They enjoyed their meal, and as they ate, Meghan spotted Bonnie Diggs out the window. She was chatting with a man she didn’t recognize, looking very friendly as they went back and forth.
“Hey, do you see that?” she asked Jack.
“Mrs. Diggs? What about her?” Jack replied.
Meghan bit her lip. “How’s the investigation going?” she changed the subject. “Anything new?”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I can’t say much, as you know,” he told her. “But if I could... I would tell you it’s a dicey case; Mayor Rose and the police department have a really close relationship. There’s talk that they are going to bring in an outside police agency to prevent any accusations of fraud.”
Her dark eyes widened. “Really? So they have an eye on the Mayor?”
Jack put a finger to his lips. “I can’t say.”
Meghan turned to look at Bonnie, who was now walking away, arm-in-arm with the man. “What about Bonnie, babe?” she asked her husband. “Has anyone checked out Bonnie?”
She saw a shadow pass across Jack’s face. He said nothing, but his expression told her what she needed to know. The police thought Bonnie Diggs had something to do with Anthony’s murder. Meghan wondered if there was more to Mrs. Anthony Diggs than she had even begun to imagine.
11
T he next morning, Meghan walked to work with an extra spring in her step. Snow was quietly falling as she made her way to the bakery, and delighted by its beauty, she spun herself in a silly circle, sticking out her tongue to catch a flake.
She walked into the bakery with a smile on her face, closing her eyes as she inhaled the smell of freshly baked sweet rolls.
“You look like you’re off to a good start today,” Trudy commented as she registered Meghan’s joyful expression. “That lunch with your husband yesterday must have helped things!”
“I think it definitely helped,” Pamela giggled. “Meghan didn’t even come back yesterday for the end of the shift.”
Meghan gave Pamela a look, but she turned to hang up her coat, the happiness returning to her face as she started humming her favorite song.
“What’s gotten into you today?” Trudy inquired. “It’s like you’ve had a few drinks or something. Oh, no... please tell me your mother-in-law hasn’t driven you to drinking at nine in the morning. Meghan, do I need to be worried?”
Meghan waved her off. “It’s fine,” she promised Trudy, walking back to the kitchen to retrieve her yellow apron. “Sarah is home sleeping.”
Trudy cocked her head to the side. “So?”
“So,” Meghan continued. “She usually gets up at five in the morning to cook or do chores. This morning, for whatever reason, she slept in. I got to lay in bed with the dogs and relax for two whole hours without her stomping in or dropping a passive-aggressive comment... I feel like a new woman!”
Trudy nodded. “When you’re young and in love, no one ever tells you that the hardest part of your marriage will be your mother-in-law…”
Meghan shrugged. “I’m not going to think about her today,” she declared grandly, sweeping her arms open. “I am rested, I am in a good mood, and I am ready to bake!”
An hour later, Meghan found herself carefully stirring a bowl of blood red cake batter. She had added more coconut flour to make it thicker, and the sight of it was rather gruesome. She had a fleeting thought about Anthony Diggs, imagining his blood spilling out as he was murdered, and she choked up.
Trudy bustled into the kitchen with five dirty plates in her hands. “What is that?” she shrieked as she surveyed the cake batter. “It looks like you’re mixing a bucket of blood!”
Meghan shook her head. “That’s kind of what I was thinking,” she commented. “But it isn’t blood, Trudy. It’s red velvet cake batter. I have a cake in the oven already, and one cooling in the refrigerator, and I added more flour to this one to make it thicker.”
Trudy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It smells incredible,” she complimented her. “I think the smell alone could take my breath away. I can’t wait to see it when it’s all finished.”
Meghan abandoned the mixing bowl and washed her hands. “Let me get you a piece from the one that’s cooling,” she smiled. “Try it out for yourself.”
She went into the refrigerator and retrieved the red velvet cake. She had iced it with a thick golden frosting with little flower details along the base, and she was proud of how beautiful it looked. She returned to the kitchen and cut a small piece for Trudy. “Try it.”
Trudy took a small bite, and her face broke into a grin. “This is one of the best things I’ve ever had,” she told her, licking the golden frosting from her lips. “I think if Erin and her fiance start their marriage off with something like this, they’ll certainly be in for a sweet life.”
Meghan thanked Trudy and put the rest of the cake back in the refrigerator. Needing to stretch her legs after sitting over the mixing bowl for so long, she went into the dining room to check on things. As she picked up a rag to wipe off some dirty tables, a rugged but good-looking man walked into the dining room. He had spiky brown hair and a lanky frame, and while he looked a bit older than Meghan, he was brimming with energy.
“That smell,” he sighed as he approached the counter. “That smell is heavenly.”
Meghan put the rag down and went around to the back of the counter. “How may I help you today?”
“I want whatever that smell is,” he told her.
She smiled. “It isn’t for sale yet,” she apologized. “If you come back later, you can get some, though; it’s a red velvet cake. We modified the recipes, and I think it will be incredible.”
Trudy bustled through the kitchen doors holding a plated slice of the cake. “Meghan, I cut this up for him,” she told her. “Here, sir. Try some.”
She handed him the plate, and he took a bite. “This is heaven,” he moaned, his dark blue eyes closing. “You should be careful, Ma’am. Someone could be forced to commit murder for something this delicious.”
Meghan laughed. “My husband is a detective in town, so I think we would be okay,” she joked. “What can I do for you today?”
“I need to place a pretty big order,” he explained as he bent down to study the contents of the glass counter containing the freshly baked treats. “I need fifty scones, eighteen fruit tarts, a chocolate chip muffin, ten cinnamon rolls, fifty-six danishes, and a few bagels.”
She stared at him. “That’s a pretty big order,” she said as she rang it all up. “It will take a few minutes to prepare…”
He shook his head. “I don’t need it right now,” he explained. “Can you deliver it to Big Catch? The fishing tour company? The team is supposed to have an afternoon snack, and this seemed like an easy way to do it.”
“I’ve delivered there before,” she assured him. “No problem. Anthony Diggs owns—owned Big Catch. He used to have me send over desserts on Friday mornings in the winter as a special treat.”
The man nodded. “I know,” he told her. “I’m James Kittle, Anthony’s business partner. We co-owned Big Catch, along with several of the other outdoor touring companies in the area.”
“Nice to meet you,” she smiled. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Kittle.”
“Call me James,” he insisted. “And don’t be sorry. Anthony was only a business partner.
We weren’t friends. Losing him doesn’t mean a lot to me.”
She blinked at him in confusion. It seemed like a strange way to accept her condolences, but as she was weighing his words, he gave her a wave. “Thanks for your help. Have a nice day.”
As he exited the bakery, Trudy dashed over to her. “Did you hear that?” she whispered. “That’s James Kittle.”
“Anthony’s business partner,” Meghan chimed in, furrowing her brows. “How do you know him?”
Trudy smiled. “Everyone knows everyone around here, Meghan. You should know that by now.”
Meghan watched out the window as James crossed the street and got into a shiny black Tesla. “Hmmm,” she muttered.
An hour later, Erin Rogers arrived at Truly Sweet. Her ringlets were pulled up into a high bun, with two curls hanging loose, framing her face. She was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, black knee-high boots, and a red turtleneck.
“I’m so excited for today,” she announced as Trudy led her to a table set for one. “I can’t wait to see what you have lined up for me.”
“Prepare to be amazed,” Trudy promised her. “Meghan created a lovely menu of items for you to sample.”
“And if it isn’t to your liking, we will make adjustments,” Meghan assured her.
“Where should I begin?”
Pamela pushed a cart over to them. It was filled with small plates of desserts, and Erin’s eyes widened. “This is all for me?”
“All for you,” Meghan confirmed as she removed a plate of vanilla bean cake from the cart and set it in front of Erin. “Let’s start with this one. It’s a smooth taste, a nice way to begin.”
Erin placed her napkin in her lap, smoothing it over her pants. She blinked, gently picked up the fork from the table, and guided it into the vanilla bean cake.
“Yum,” she moaned as she took the first bite. “This is amazing, ladies. This vanilla flavor is so strong.”
Pamela grinned. “I played around with the levels of vanilla, so I’m glad you like it.”
“I really do,” Erin told them as she delicately wiped her mouth with the napkin.