Don't Call Me Sweetheart

by Codi Gary

  A large sign on the wall behind the pink and white counter read I Do…Love Cake, and the walls were pale pink with pictures of cakes, cupcakes, and cookies in spectacular shapes and designs with… puppies and kittens?

  That was a little weird. Were they advertising pet hair in their pastries?

  The tile floor was white with cake decals and several floor to ceiling display cases hosted an array of sheet and tiered cakes. Luke stepped closer, checking out one of the cakes that appeared to be leaning slightly to the right, covered in a dark blue icing with orange flowers.

  Why the hell would someone want a blue and orange wedding cake? Must be Denver Broncos fans.

  “Well, hi there.” A perky red head popped up from behind the counter, making him jump. “You must be Brent.”

  Recovering swiftly, Luke held his hand out. “Actually, I’m Luke, the best man. Brent sent me here while he heads over to the caterers.”

  “Oh, well, glad to have you. I’m Tanya. Is the bride going to make it? I have to admit, I am such a fan.”

  “Actually, I think her maid of honor is filling in.”

  The door behind him dinged and he turned around to find a very shocked Marley staring at him with wide eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Filling in. Sonora didn’t tell you?”

  Her expression darkened. “No. No she didn’t.”

  “Maybe she didn’t realize how uncomfortable you’d be.”

  She snorted rudely. “Oh, believe me, she did this on purpose. This was a test.”

  “What kind of—”

  He didn’t get to finish before Tanya squealed.

  “Hey there, Marley! Are you the maid of honor?”

  Marley glanced around him, even as Luke wondered what she meant by test.

  “Hey there, Tanya. Yes, I am. How are you?”

  Tanya was practically bouncing, her red braid flopping up and down with every movement. “I’m great. You know, busy.”

  “I hear ya. Is Betsey in?”

  “Nope, she had to go out of town for an emergency and left me in charge.”

  Marley’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh, well, that’s great. Is she okay?”

  “No, her sister is in a bad way, so I’m not sure when she’ll be back. But come on and have a seat you two, and I’ll bring out some samples. We have some really great summer flavors.”

  Luke moved ahead of Marley and held her chair out for her.

  “Thanks.” He went to the other side and sat, cringing as the back of the chair hit his bruise and he leaned forward. “How are you feeling? I heard you were shot?”

  Tanya gasped beside the table. “Did you say shot?”

  The girl looked as though she was about to keel over with her hand to her forehead. “I’m fine, just a little banged up. I’m a cop, and it just hit my vest. My buddy took one to the neck though.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Marley said.

  She’d reached across the table to take his hand and Luke relished the soft warmth of her touch.

  “He’s doing good now. Doctors said he’d make a full recovery.”

  She squeezed, her smile bright. “I am so glad.”

  The air in the bakery grew thick as he found himself stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. “Thanks.”

  “When Sonora told me, I…I wanted to call but…”

  He wanted to know what the but was, except she stopped speaking and glanced nervously at Tanya.

  Taking the hint, the woman cleared her throat. “I’ll…ahem…be right back.”

  Marley let him go far too soon and he smiled. “So, you were worried about me?”

  “Of course I was.”

  “That’s nice to hear.”

  Their eyes caught over the table and Marley was the first to look away.

  “Luke—”

  “Here we are.” Tanya came back balancing a large silver tray, and Luke was getting a little irritated by her timing. “So, these are the five samples that Sonora chose. Can I get you some water or milk?”

  Marley took one of the pink napkins on the tray and laid it across her lap. “Water is great, Tanya, thanks.”

  “I’d like milk,” Luke said.

  Tanya disappeared again and Luke picked up the yellow cake with some kind of berry filling. “This looks good.”

  “Yeah, Betsey is fabulous. She’s been baking the wedding cakes around here for fifty years or more.”

  Luke shoved a large bite of the cake into his mouth and his taste buds immediately protested. The cake itself was flavorless, almost powdery, but the frosting made up for it with the sour, almost fermented tang. His eyes watered and through the blur, he saw Marley pause with her fork a few inches from her mouth.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Luke held up a finger and swallowed, breathing through his nose. When he could finally talk again, he said, “Don’t eat that one. It’s gone bad.”

  “It’s supposed to be tart.” She held up the paper label that read, Raspberry Torte Cake.

  “That’s not tart. It’s toxic.”

  “Oh, come on, I have never had a bad cake from here.” Marley popped a small bite in her mouth, and he knew, the second her eyes went wide, she was going to spew it everywhere.

  “Get your napkin,” he said.

  Marley grappled for it, and spat the cake out into it. She continued wiping her mouth and tongue after the bite was gone, making Luke laugh.

  “Oh, my God, that is not how it is supposed to taste. How the heck did you swallow that?”

  “Years of tequila shots, and hangover mouth. I told you it was bad.”

  Tanya came back through the door, and set down their drinks. Marley reached for hers a bit desperately and guzzled half of it. Tanya smiled widely at them.

  “Oh, the raspberry torte cake is my favorite. What did you think?”

  “It’s not my favorite.” Tanya looked as though Marley had just kicked her dog, and Luke raised his eyebrow at Marley, who added, “But I’m more of a chocolate person.”

  Tanya brightened a bit. “Oh, well, Sonora chose two. The tuxedo and the mousse.”

  Tanya continued to stand next to the table, and Luke had a feeling she was waiting for their reaction to the next bite. Luke grabbed a plate with the tuxedo on it, and held up his fork. “Bottoms up.”

  He took a bite at the same time Marley tried the mousse and could tell by the green tinge to her skin that hers wasn’t any better than his. His was so sweet it made his teeth ache, and there was a funny aftertaste that coated his tongue with a film.

  He swallowed, and drained his milk, grateful that at least that tasted normal.

  Marley grabbed another napkin and wiped at her lips, making a noise in her throat. Luke was afraid she might throw the cake back up.

  She kept it down, and took another drink of water before speaking. “Tanya, did Betsey make these before she left?”

  “No, I did. I’ve been her apprentice for six months, and I know all of her recipes like the back of my hand.” She frowned at them, concern in her eyes. “Why? Is there something wrong with them?”

  “Pretty sure mine just gave me diabetes,” Luke muttered, earning a kick from Marley under the table.

  “Why don’t you try my mousse, and see what you think,” Marley said.

  Tanya grabbed a clean fork and took a bite. After a moment of chewing, she frowned. “It tastes fine to me.”

  Marley looked at Luke, and he mouthed “wow” at her.

  “Well, it doesn’t taste fine to me, I’m sorry.” Marley stood up and Luke took her lead. “Please give Betsey my love, but I think we’re going to go with a different baker.”

  Tanya’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, her face flushing. “But…but we’re the only bakery in town!”

&n
bsp; Luke got to the door first and held it open while Marley turned back. “Then we’ll go to Placerville or Jackson, but I am not ordering a cake from here after the way they tasted today.” Luke thought Tanya’s head was going to explode as Marley added, “This isn’t personal, Tanya. It’s business.”

  “What am I supposed to tell Betsey?”

  Marley’s tone was kind, but firm. “That’s up to you, but if she asks, I’m going to be honest.”

  Tanya’s thick brows snapped down over her blue eyes, and Luke could tell this wasn’t going to end well. “You’re going to get me fired.”

  “No, Tanya. Like I said, I’m just being honest.”

  “Well, I honestly think you’re a stuck-up bitch, Marley Stevenson.” Luke figured it was time to step in before the situation escalated.

  “And on that note, we’re going to take off. Have a nice day,” Luke said.

  Luke ushered Marley out onto the sidewalk, noting the pallor of her face. “Are you okay?”

  Marley cleared her throat. “Sure. It’s not the first time I’ve been called that.”

  “But I bet it doesn’t hurt any less,” he said kindly.

  She wouldn’t agree with him, but he knew that was the case. Marley might be outspoken and honest, but he could tell that the people of Sweetheart genuinely liked her. The fact that someone she knew didn’t probably bothered her.

  Not caring if she shrugged him off, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “What do you say we drown the memory of the worst cake in history with some tarts from your mom’s café? My treat?”

  “My food is always free there.”

  “Then I’ll pay double for mine. How’s that?”

  “Yeah, okay. Thanks,” she mumbled.

  Luke thought it was a good sign that she didn’t try to escape his embrace.

  Chapter 12

  Marley didn’t want to go into the café and be seen with Luke, mostly because she didn’t want it to get back to Kelly that they were spending time together. How could she explain that Sonora had thrown them together to be a jerk, and then because Marley hadn’t wanted to be alone, she continued to hang with him?

  “Why don’t you go grab some food, and I’ll take you to one of my favorite spots?” she said.

  He glanced from her to the front of the café and shrugged. “Sure, I’d love to know more about this town through your eyes.”

  Marley blushed as he climbed out and shut the door. Leaning back in the front seat, she took a deep breath. She’d known Tanya Jenkins since they were kids, and they’d been friendly. She understood being defensive, but Tanya’s reaction to her had been downright hostile. Did she really come off as someone stuck-up? She didn’t mean to, especially to people she cared about.

  But how could Tanya not taste what was wrong with that cake, unless she had no taste buds whatsoever? As it was, Marley’s stomach had roiled in protest after that last bite, and she was already afraid she’d be sick later. There was no way she was going to risk Betsey not getting back and Tanya giving food poisoning to four hundred guests.

  Sometimes this part of her job really sucked and she wished like hell that Sonora had just rescheduled the cake tasting. If Tanya thought Marley was a bitch, she wondered what badge Sonora’s reaction to the cakes would have earned her?

  Finally, Luke came out of the café with a large paper sack, and two drinks. She wondered what he’d ordered for them, until he opened up the door and the familiar aroma of her mom’s Heartache Healing Spinach and Artichoke Dip made her mouth water.

  “So, I asked them for a bunch of your favorites because you were a friend of mine and they gave me—”

  “Did you tell them I was in the car?”

  Luke’s expression shuttered, and she wished she hadn’t sounded so panicked. “No, don’t worry. No one will know you’re slumming it.”

  She scowled at him. “That is not why I don’t want people to know I am with you.”

  “Yeah, I know, you don’t want to upset Sonora.”

  Not when she’s my ticket out of here.

  But she couldn’t tell him that without breaking her confidentiality agreement.

  “I just don’t think that the whole town needs to know my business. Okay?”

  Luke set the food on the floor in the back and then the drinks in the holders. “You’re the boss. Where are we headed?”

  “I’ll show you.” Marley drove out of town and along the windy road. When she pulled off onto a dirt road and kept going about five miles out, Luke asked, “I would ask if this is where you kill me, but I’m hoping that I’m wrong.”

  Marley laughed as she pulled up to the top of the hill. Two rows of run down wooden buildings bordered the road, and she gestured like a tour guide. “Welcome to Buzzards Gulch, Sweetheart’s very own ghost town.”

  Marley picked up her drink and watched him as he stared through the windshield, trying not to admire his profile. “No kidding. No one has even mentioned this place.”

  “Because we don’t want a bunch of tourists up here traipsing around and destroying it. Pass the artichoke dip, please.”

  Luke distributed the food with a chuckle, and once she’d taken her first blissful bite, she continued, “Now, as you probably know, this area all the way to Coloma and Auburn was known as Gold Country. ‘There’s gold in them there hills’ should have been our slogan. Behind that hill is the Consumes River and the gold panners used to hike down there, hoping for a big payload.” She popped another artichoke dip-covered pita chip in her mouth, and chewed before continuing, “We used to sneak up here in high school at night and scare the piss out of each other. And make out, of course.”

  Luke chuckled. “You’re telling me that a freaky ghost town was your lover’s lane?”

  “Uh huh. Something about the danger of a spirit coming after us made it hotter.”

  “I can see that,” he said.

  They ate silently for a few moments and Marley worried that Luke would get the wrong impression of why she’d brought him up there. “Not that I’m planning on jumping you. It’s broad daylight for one reason.”

  “The thought never crossed my mind,” he said, crunching on an onion ring.

  Once the food was finished, Marley stepped out. “Come on.”

  They walked along the right side of the town and Marley told him what each building was. “This was the whore house. Of course, Buzzard Gulch was mostly men, and the few wives that did live here wouldn’t have dared complain about a house of ill repute. And back that way is the cemetery.”

  Marley turned and started walking backwards. “Is this boring for you?”

  “Not at all. I am fascinated. Besides, the fact that you’re showing an outsider like me this place makes it more special.”

  A warmth spread through Marley’s chest as they walked through the long-broken gate, and headed along the trail through the headstones. “My sister and I used to come here and make up stories about the people’s lives.”

  “I didn’t know you have a sister.”

  “I had a sister. Beth. She was four years younger than me.” Marley stopped in front of Virginia Rawlins’s grave. “Miss Rawlins was brought out here as a mail order bride, but her betrothed was swept down river and drowned before she arrived. Instead of marrying another man, she became the school teacher and lived her life secretly writing fantastic dark poetry.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I told you, we used to make up their stories. You try it.”

  Luke walked ahead of her and stopped in front of another grave. “Alan Wick. He died when he was thirty-two.” Luke stroked his chin as though he was thinking hard. “He was the brothel owner with a heart of gold who died from an allergic reaction to the barley in his beer.”

  She laughed as she skipped ahead of him. “Okay, not bad.” Marley went to another, and ca
lled out, “Fergus McGovern was from Scotland, and was the local sheriff until he was killed in a duel. Before he died, he said, ‘I’ll haunt ye till ye cock up yer toes, ye filthy bugger.’”

  Luke guffawed, shaking his head. “You realize this is incredibly morbid, right?”

  “We found it entertaining.”

  “You don’t talk about her much, do you?” he asked.

  She stopped in front of the grave of a sixteen-year-old boy and cleared her throat, trying to get past the lump in her throat to speak. “No I don’t.” Why had she even brought up Beth to him? She hated talking about her with anyone, didn’t like the sad, sympathetic looks people gave her.

  Silence stretched between them as they continued weaving through the gravestones and then, Luke asked, “Hey, is that bench new?”

  Marley nodded. “Yeah, people have been trying to fix this place up for years. For a long time, the town council had talked about restoring it and actually organizing guided tours through it, but the town voted no. Still, people bring offerings up when they can.”

  “Offerings huh?”

  “Yeah, like this bench. And someone keeps the trail to the river clear, and when the roofs and floors collapse, we come up and fix them. If you actually look into a few of the buildings, you’ll notice the newer boards.”

  Luke put his hands up on a low hanging oak tree branch and the smile he sent her way made her stomach flop over. “This is really cool. Thanks for sharing it with me.”

  Marley’s heart skipped as she realized she was actually happy to have shared it with him. She loved the fact that they had this between them, something no one else knew about.

  “Consider it an apology for the way I left things in the hotel parking lot. That guy, Dustin and I have never gotten along, and I worried he’d tell my boss I was being unprofessional.”

  Luke dropped the branch and she noticed he seemed stiff, tense. “Why does he have it out for you? The two of you date or something?”

  “Ugh, no! Gross. Are you trying to make me vomit up the rancid cake?”

  Luke burst out laughing. “What? Isn’t that something guys do when they like you? Torture you?”

  “That is a horrible thought, and I curse you for even suggesting it.”