Sweet Trouble

by Susan Mallery

  “You’re right about that.” Because of her, he didn’t know anything about being a parent. “What about Uncle Bill? Gabe likes him.”

  “He’s a friend. Nothing more.”

  “Right.”

  She glared at him. “Where do you get off judging me? I’ve told you the truth.”

  “It’s hard to believe. It’s been five years. That’s a long time to go without getting laid. And before you and I hooked up, you’d always had a guy around. No, wait. You had a guy around even when we were together.”

  “You know that’s not true.” Her mouth twisted. “But let’s not let a little thing like the truth get in the way of your righteous anger. Once a slut, always a slut. Isn’t that what you told me when you thought I’d slept with Drew? Except I hadn’t done anything wrong. One day you’re going to know that for certain, Matt. And when you do, you’re going to have to accept the fact that I loved you, I was faithful to you and when I came and told you I was pregnant with your child, you threw me out. You weren’t interested, and you couldn’t begin to bring yourself to believe that there was even a chance the baby was yours.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “It’s not like you tried to convince me,” he reminded her. “You knew what Nicole had told my mother and what she had told me. Why would I think your sister was lying? Why wouldn’t I believe her?”

  “Because you loved me,” Jesse yelled. “Because you knew I loved you. You should have at least tried to listen.”

  “You weren’t very convincing. You knew I was devastated and you left anyway.”

  “Oh, right. I went to Spokane, Matt. That’s three hundred miles away. It’s not like I was living off the grid. If you’d cared at all, you would have come looking for me. You would have found out for sure. But you couldn’t be bothered.” She opened her car and tossed her purse inside. “Here’s the thing. If you want any kind of a relationship with your son, you’re going to have to deal with me. Which means you’ll have to make peace with the past and accept the fact that, for all my faults, I didn’t lie to you. I just wish I knew if that was possible for you or if you like being pissed at me so much, you can never accept the truth.”

  She got in her car and slammed the door. He stepped back and watched her drive away.

  The sun was warm on his back, not that he needed the heat. His temper blazed bright enough to chase away any chill.

  She still thought he was that naive kid she’d fooled five years ago. But she was wrong. He was going to take her down, break her and leave her, just as she’d done to him. Then the past would be over and he would never look back.

  JESSE ARRIVED AT THE Keyes Bakery a little before six in the morning. It was her first day working and she didn’t want to be late. If things worked out and she actually filled in for Nicole, she would be getting there a whole lot earlier. Sid and Phil started at three and she would be expected in around four-thirty.

  Years ago, she always complained about the early hours, but now she knew she wouldn’t mind. She would be off by noon and able to spend the afternoon with Gabe.

  She walked to the rear door and stepped inside. The sounds and smells were familiar-the scent of rising dough, the sweetness of the frosting and cinnamon thickened the air. She heard mixers and the hum of ovens, a radio playing and conversation. She headed for the latter.

  She found Sid standing by a massive mixing bowl. He looked a little older, a little heavier. He wore all white and seeing his familiar scowl made her smile.

  “Morning,” she said loudly.

  He turned toward her. The scowl lifted and he actually grinned.

  “Jess! You’re back. Nicole said you’d be working here again, but I didn’t know you were starting today. Kid, how you doing?”

  She rushed toward him and he held out his arms. He hugged her tight, squeezing until her ribs hurt, but she didn’t complain. It felt good to be welcomed.

  “I’m great, Sid. How are you?”

  “Same old, same old. Keeping busy. So what’s this I hear about you making brownies?”

  “I’ve been working on a recipe for a while now,” she said as he released her. “They’re really good.”

  “Uh-huh. I’ll let you know what I think. It’s one thing to cook in your kitchen, it’s another to make big enough batches to sell. You think all that through, kid?”

  “We’ll find out.”

  She didn’t mind him wanting her to prove herself. Sid had always been fair with her. If he liked the brownies, he would tell her. There wouldn’t be any subtext or hidden agenda.

  Sid led her around and introduced her to a mostly new crew. They all seemed nice enough.

  “Where’s Phil?” she asked.

  “Florida, if you can believe it. He and his wife won a two-million-dollar lotto and took off for the sunshine. Lucky SOB.”

  He continued talking about Phil and his good fortune. Jesse took the opportunity to look around.

  The equipment was exactly as she remembered. The same old machines in the same place. They all needed to be upgraded. She’d been doing a lot of research and she knew they could buy smaller, more energy-efficient ovens that worked better and faster than what they had now. The same with all the mixers. Not that she would mention any of that to Nicole. Her sister wouldn’t be interested in her ideas-not for a while.

  “I’m going to have to prove myself,” Jesse murmured. “And I will.”

  Sid looked at her. “Talking to yourself? That’s new.”

  She laughed. “Sometimes I was the only adult in the room. I’ll try to remember not to mutter in public.”

  “That’s right. You had a kid.”

  “A boy. Gabriel. Gabe. He’s great.”

  “So you gonna bring him around to meet his uncle Sid?”

  Jesse nodded then threw herself at the older man. “I missed you.”

  He smoothed her hair. “I missed you, too, Jess. I was real sorry that you and your sister fell out with each other. It was a shame.”

  Jesse didn’t want to talk about that. “Can you show me my corner of the kitchen so I can get started with the brownies?”

  “Sure. I’ve pulled off a couple of guys to help you. Nicole said you get the college help.”

  Jesse wrinkled her nose. Great. Her sister had assigned her the summer employees who had no real experience. Yet more evidence that Nicole wasn’t exactly on board with the brownie idea. Not that it mattered. She was going to make this a success despite any obstacles thrown in her way.

  “Any help is appreciated,” Jesse said.

  “Good attitude. Jasper’s okay. Jasper. Can you believe it? That’s his real name. And D.C. He’s got some attitude on him, but he does the work, so I ignore it and him.” Sid pointed to a back corner of the kitchen where an ancient mixer stood by itself.

  “You’re kidding,” Jesse muttered. It hadn’t worked most of the time five years ago.

  “Sorry. That’s what the boss said. Oh, and she wanted me to tell you not to make too many brownies until we know if they’re gonna sell.” He shrugged. “You know Nicole.”

  “Oh, yeah. I know her.”

  Jesse found her help and introduced herself. They were both young and obviously just putting in their time to earn money for school. She collected the ingredients she would need, then set out the few special items she’d brought with her in her backpack.

  “We’re going to be making small batches at first,” she told the guys. “I rented a kitchen to work out the problems of expanding the recipe and I don’t want to go bigger than I’ve already done.” She couldn’t afford to make a mistake. She had a feeling that Nicole was more than ready to toss her out on her ass.

  She sent D.C. to find the right size pans and had Jasper make sure the mixer was having a good and functioning day, then she smoothed out her recipe and went to work.

  An hour later, she pulled the second batch of brownies from the oven and nearly moaned as she breathed in the rich, chocolate smell. She’d been telling herself that with brownies l
ike this in her life, she didn’t miss having a man. Of course, that had been before the hot, sexy, bone-melting kisses Matt had taunted her with. Now she had a bad feeling the brownies would come in second.

  Matt. She didn’t want to think about him, their evening together or the way it had ended. It made her sad and full of regret. Because on her dark nights she had always imagined what it would have been like if he’d believed her. If he’d at least waited to find out if the baby was his. They could have been married and had another child together. They could have been happy. They could have-

  “Stop!” she whispered fiercely, hoping Jasper couldn’t hear her. She didn’t want to frighten the help on the first day. But she couldn’t allow herself to get lost in what hadn’t happened with Matt. She had plenty of reality to deal with.

  She set the brownies on racks to cool. The first batch was at the right temperature to cut. She did it by hand, working slowly, carefully. D.C. helped put each cut brownie into an individual paper wrapper, then slid them onto a tray for the front case.

  Jesse took one of the corner pieces and broke it in two, then handed part of the still-warm brownie to each of the guys.

  “Damn,” Jasper said, then grimaced. “Ah, sorry. Darn, that’s good, Jessie.”

  She laughed. “Sid still has his no-swearing rule?”

  “Yeah, and he gets real mad if he hears any.” D.C. licked his fingers. “Those are really good. They’re the best thing in this place.”

  “Good to know,” Nicole said as she walked around a rack and into their corner of the kitchen. “That’s two votes in favor of what you’re doing. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks.”

  But Nicole didn’t look pleased. She studied the tray that would be taken up front. “Just one flavor?”

  “Two. With and without walnuts. I thought I’d wait on the peanut butter ones for a week or so.”

  “All right. We didn’t discuss a price.”

  “I have cost breakdowns,” Jesse said. She took off her plastic gloves and dug a folder out of her backpack. “One of my business classes required us to do a business plan, including coming up with the prototype of the product. That’s what gave me the idea for the brownies. I had to guess on fixed costs and just assigned a value based on my Internet research.”

  She handed Nicole the sheet with the information. “A dollar-fifty gives us a decent margin. If we add more flavors, we can charge more as the ingredients get more specialized and expensive.”

  Nicole studied the paper. “You were thorough.”

  Jesse started to say she got an A on the project but didn’t. Nicole wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about any of this. Better to give her time and let her see that the brownies were going to sell. It was the mature thing to do, even if she sometimes got tired of having to make the adult decision.

  Jasper and D.C. motioned that they were leaving. Jesse nodded, a little surprised that even they picked up on Nicole’s tension. Apparently it was obvious to people other than her.

  “Do you want me to sign something?” Nicole asked. “A statement that if this doesn’t work out I won’t sell the brownies without your knowledge.”

  Jesse forced herself not to react. Steal. Nicole meant steal. It was a not-so-subtle dig at Jesse for the chocolate cake incident from five years ago.

  “I’m willing to trust you,” she said with a lightness she didn’t feel. Obviously she’d been an idiot to think her sister would welcome her with open arms. Nicole was determined not to make this easy.

  “We’ve already cleared a space in the main case,” Nicole said. “You can take the brownie trays up whenever you’re ready. Maggie is putting up a sign about them and we’ll be handing out samples.”

  “Thanks.”

  Nicole started to leave. Jesse called her back.

  “I missed you,” she said. “It was hard being gone. Having Gabe on my own terrified me, but it also made me understand what you’d gone through, having your little sister to take care of. You were a kid yourself. You shouldn’t have had the responsibility. I want you to know I appreciate all you did for me and all you had to put up with.”

  Nicole’s mouth twisted. For a second Jesse thought-hoped-they were going to have an honest moment of communication. Then Nicole shrugged.

  “We all do what we have to do. I’ll let you get back to your brownies.”

  Then she was gone.

  “YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?” Jesse asked.

  Wyatt, Claire’s husband, dumped more containers of fat snap-together building blocks on the family room floor. “We’re making a castle,” he said with a grin. “The castle is our favorite.”

  Robby, Claire and Wyatt’s four-year-old, and Mirabella, their two-year-old daughter, sank down next to Gabe, who was staring intently at the blocks and the possibilities they represented.

  “He’s great with the kids,” Claire said, as she led the way to the living room and the relative quiet and privacy there.

  “I remember how he was with Amy,” Jesse said, wishing Wyatt’s daughter had been around. But Amy, now a pretty, accomplished teenager, was off at camp for the summer. “I can’t wait to see her.”

  “You won’t believe how much she’s grown,” Claire said with a laugh. “She’s beautiful and that’s making Wyatt crazy. Boys are sniffing around all the time. So far she’s not interested in dating, but it’s just a matter of time until that changes. We’re holding out for a couple more years of relative peace.”

  “Good luck with that.” Jesse settled on the sofa and faced her sister. “You’re doing well. I read about you in the paper.”

  Claire dismissed the compliment with a flick of her wrist. “I’m performing less and less each year. I take tours when it interests me and when the scheduling works out, but with three kids, it’s hard. I just don’t have the drive anymore.” She glanced at the gleaming baby grand piano in the corner. “I’ll always have music in my life, but not in the same way. Oh, I’m teaching Eric and Robby together once a week. If you’d like Gabe to join them, I’d be happy to have him.”

  “Sure,” Jesse said. “What mother doesn’t want her child taught by the famous Claire Keyes?”

  Claire laughed. “Don’t expect much. We play more than we learn, but I want them to appreciate music and find it thrilling, not be a grind. If they’re interested, they can work on scales and technique later.”

  “You’re the expert. Just tell me when and I’ll have him here.” She paused. “Assuming it’s all right with Nicole.”

  “Jesse, don’t.”

  “Don’t what? Be realistic? Admit it.” Jesse kicked off her sandals and tucked her feet under her. “She doesn’t want me to be successful, Claire. She’s sorry I’m back.”

  “She’s not sorry. She’s dealing with a lot. Remember-we didn’t give her any warning.”

  Which had been Jesse’s request-that Claire not tell Nicole she was coming back. “Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe I should have let you tell her. Not that I think it would have made any difference. She’s still angry with me about something that didn’t happen.” Exactly like Matt. He was furious about the past he remembered, not the one that had happened.

  “She’ll get over it,” Claire said soothingly. “Give it time.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Not really. She’ll come around.”

  Jesse wasn’t so sure. “It’s unfair. I kept telling her before and she didn’t believe me. Now it’s five years later and she’s still pissed.”

  “You didn’t try very hard,” Claire pointed out.

  Jesse stared at her. “Excuse me?”

  “You weren’t very convincing back then. You kept saying nothing happened.”

  “Nothing did.” Jesse couldn’t believe it. She was being judged on the way she’d tried to defend herself?

  “We thought you meant Nicole shouldn’t be angry because you and Drew hadn’t actually gotten far enough along to have sex.”

  “What?” Jesse couldn’t believe it.
“I meant nothing happened as in nothing happened. Not, gee, we were interrupted and I’m really bummed about it.”

  Why would they have thought otherwise? Why would-

  She rubbed her temple. Nicole would have assumed the worst because she was used to her baby sister being a disaster. Because the worst was easier to believe.

  “All this over words,” she murmured. Lives changed forever, chances lost because of semantics?

  “Words matter,” Claire said. “Nicole was devastated. I’m not sure she would have listened to anything you had to say.”

  Claire was right, Jesse thought. But at least if she’d made her sister understand what she’d meant, they might be getting along better now.

  “Nothing happened,” Jesse repeated. “Drew and I were never involved, never had sex, never wanted to have sex.” She paused. “Okay, he did, that last night, but I have no idea where that came from. I was in love with Matt and I was completely faithful to him. Drew was a friend, nothing more. Is that clear enough?”

  Claire touched her hand. “I totally and completely believe you.”

  “Great. When you get a chance, pass it on to Nicole.”

  “Give her time. She’ll come around.”

  Jesse nodded. It wasn’t like she had much choice.

  Claire smiled. “You’ve changed. You’re a grown-up.”

  “A hard-won victory.”

  “An impressive victory.”

  “I have so much I want to do,” Jesse told her. “So many things I want to achieve. Coming back here is just the beginning. Reconciling with Nicole is a part of that, but ultimately the decision is hers.”

  “I agree. So do what you can and then try to let it go.”

  “That doesn’t seem possible.” Let it go as in not care? “I appreciate that you stayed in touch with me.”

  “I didn’t have the same emotional energy about you that Nicole did,” Claire said.

  Because they hadn’t grown up together. They were still practically strangers who just happened to be sisters.

  “I’ll get through it,” Jesse said, knowing one way or the other she would. “I’m strong. I think I was always strong, I just didn’t know it then.”