Love & Chocolate: Valentine's Day (Holidays In Hallbrook Book 4)

by Elsie Davis

  A sudden, shrill alarm sounded from down the hall. Amanda shot to her feet, her gaze immediately going toward the kitchen as she took off running, hoping for the best, fearing the worst.

  Chapter Four

  Kevin followed Amanda down the hall and raced into the kitchen. The shrill alarm struck fear in the heart of every parent, but at least he knew where the kids were in case there was a fire. The smoke was thick, causing him to cough, but luckily, there was no sign of fire.

  Amanda opened the kitchen window as Kevin opened the back door, locking the spring into the open position.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. This doesn’t make any sense.” She waved a towel in the air, trying to get the smoke outside. “It’s ruined, oh my gosh, it’s all ruined. She flung open the oven door, letting a fresh rush of smoke escape into the kitchen. “The beef Wellington is burnt to a crisp.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Kevin was more concerned about getting the smoke under control and the alarm off. It took close to ten minutes to clear the smoke, but the lingering odor was strong.

  “What do you think happened?” he asked, stopping to survey the charred meat in the roasting pan.

  “I have no idea. Beef Wellington cooks at 375°. This isn’t even remotely possible. Maybe your oven is defective?” Amanda looked up at him, frustration in her expression. He knew without a doubt she felt horrible, and he almost hoped it was his oven if it would make her feel any better.

  Kevin checked the dial. “You had it set at 550 degrees. That’s not a faulty oven. That’s a faulty operator.” He grinned, trying to make light of a bad situation. Anyone could make a mistake. And it’s not as if he’d never burned anything. Maybe not to this degree—but still.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve never done that before. I feel awful.”

  “So much for a relaxing night off from playing dad. The guys at the lodge will get a huge kick out of this.” Amanda didn’t seem to share his humor. It was a lot of money, but it could have been worse. He was just happy the house hadn’t caught fire.

  Kevin headed for the living room to let the girls know everything was under control.

  They followed him back to the kitchen. When they saw the meat, the girls pointed and bust a gut laughing. “That doesn’t look like anything we’d eat. Are you sure you’ve cooked before?” Macy asked, her question out of line.

  “I have, and trust me, this has never happened before. I’m so embarrassed. And I’m so sorry.” Amanda answered the rude question before Kevin had a chance to make Macy apologize. He needed to have another long talk with the girls about their manners.

  “Yeah, you should be. Our mom never burnt anything like this. She’s a great cook. Maybe when she comes home to visit us, she can cook for Daddy and us. May she could even give you lessons,” Lacy added.

  “That’s enough, girls,” he snapped. His patience had worn out. “It was a mistake. At least we have cake. We still have a salad for dinner, and Amanda can bake the cake. Right?” He looked up at Amanda, hoping he was right.

  “Yes, definitely. Let me get it in the oven now that the smoke has cleared. We can have the salad and even finish the appetizers. It won’t be long until the cake is done. Hopefully, it will make you forget all about burnt meat.” She smiled at the girls, trying to find a way to make things right.

  “I can’t imagine salad and chocolate cake making up for beef Wellington, but I’m willing to let you try,” Kevin teased. Anything else would make it worse.

  This was nothing short of a hundred-seventy-five dollar disaster, and the problem was, Kevin wasn’t so sure it was an accident. He’d hate to think the twins had anything to do with it, but based on their attitude toward Amanda, it was a concern. The fact they’d been in the kitchen earlier meant they’d also had the means to adjust the temperature. Just one more thing he’d be sure to discuss with them tonight—after Amanda left.

  “If you’re willing, I’d love the opportunity to redo this dinner. I know how much it meant to you.” It was just another example of her kindness.

  He was torn between the fact she deserved a chance to make things right for her own sake, and what he suspected to be the truth. But the swaying factor was the main course had held great promise as she’d slid it in the oven, and not even tonight’s disaster could stop him from wanting another chance to try it. It was a meal that was way out of his league.

  Even the opportunity to relax and talk with another adult had been a welcome change from just watching Disney movies or some other kid’s channel with the girls. “You don’t have to do that, but I’m game if you are.”

  “Really, Daddy. Lacy and I could cook better than she can. We can cook dinner when you don’t want to,” Macy fumed, glaring at her dad. Her attitude served to reinforce his belief. If Amanda returned to cook another meal, he’d have to keep the twins in sight, and out of the kitchen, just to be on the safe side.

  “I think she deserves another chance to make up for this. And just think, with another meal, comes another dessert. It sounds as though we’re on the winning end of the bargain.” He grinned, hoping to get the girls on board and to ease up.

  The twins giggled. He shook his head, unsure of what to think but worried he was about to find out.

  “By the time you are finished your salads, I’ll be back with the cake. I just need to melt the caramel and finish putting on the toppings” Amanda got up and headed for the kitchen.

  “Did you two have anything to do with the oven dial being turned higher?” he asked as soon Amanda was out of earshot. Kevin watch them closely, looking for any sign of guilt.

  “What do you mean, Daddy?” Lacy asked.

  “We got water. We wouldn’t do something like that.” Macy shrugged, giving him the I-can’t-believe-you’d-ask-that look.

  “And you haven’t done anything to the cake?” There was nothing wrong with asking, and he wasn’t accusing. He wanted to believe his kids wouldn’t do something so mean, but lately, they’d been getting up to more and more mischief.

  “Of course not,” Macy insisted, glaring at her sister.

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it. I would be disappointed if you had anything to do with burning dinner.” He’d let them stew on that for a bit before broaching the subject later.

  It wasn’t long before Amanda returned carrying a plate with one of the most delicious-looking chocolate cakes he’d ever seen. Sure, he told her he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between good and bad, but his eyes told him the answer before he even tasted it. He hadn’t been lying when he mentioned chocolate, caramel, and nuts were his Achilles’ heel. “This looks amazing.”

  Amanda set the plate down and cut four servings, handing them each a piece. She watched as he took his first bite, waiting to see his reaction.

  “Oh, wow! This is incredible. I lied. I can tell the difference. This is by far the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had.” Kevin smiled and then proceeded to shove another bite in his mouth. He glanced at each of the twins to gauge their reactions, only to discover they were both watching him intently, their faces scrunched up as if they’d eaten something horrible. Except that judging by their untouched pieces of cake, it wasn’t possible. “Eat up, girls. It’s killer. I think this proves Amanda can cook.”

  “I haven’t tried this recipe before, but I have to agree with you and Mrs. O’Malley, this cake is amazing. And I don’t even like chocolate. It’s so moist and flavorful. I definitely think this is contest worthy,” Amanda exclaimed.

  The twins looked back and forth between them, a baffled expression on their faces. They glanced at each other and shrugged. Macy picked up her fork and was the first to take a bite. And then another. Lacy was quick to follow suit, neither girl saying a word but making quick work of finishing their slice of cake.

  “If we were doing the judging, I’d say you have a winner.” He smiled, reaching out to cut another slice.

  Chapter Five

  Amanda still couldn’t believe last night�
��s disaster. In all the years she’d been cooking, nothing even remotely close had happened that could compare. Unless you counted the cookies that she’d burnt when she was nine. And that was because Jennifer had come over and they’d watched the latest teenage singing sensation on TV. This wasn’t at all the same thing.

  At least Kevin had given her a chance for a redo and to save face. It meant spending more time in his company, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d be the laughingstock of Hallbrook if word got out. Kevin had been a good sport about it, the girls, not so much. Amanda was sure it wouldn’t take long for them to tell the other kids at school, and then they would tell their parents, and then they would tell other parents. That was the way things worked in small towns. Which is precisely why she wanted to fix the situation, and fast.

  The highlight of the night had been the cake. Her grandmother’s chocolate cake recipe was nothing short of delicious, and her mother’s addition of caramel and nuts stepped it up to amazing. Always one to find ways to change things up for extra flair, her mother had made cooking special.

  Up extra early, Amanda managed to freeze her way through Cupcake’s early morning walk and then brought her to the shop. The dog would have to remain locked in the office if Amanda didn’t want any trouble with the health department, but it was the best she could do. The cake had to be finished in time for today’s customers to taste test it and give some last-minute reviews before she submitted the recipe to the contest people.

  Amanda held out a doggy treat. Cupcake gently took it from her hand, the dog’s silky tongue lapping at her fingers. Satisfied, the dog ambled over to her Sherpa bed where she curled up to work on the treat. Amanda left the office, smiling at her furry friends’ antics.

  She might have named the dog Cupcake, but Cuppy ate anything with the word cake in it, which was another reason to keep her in the office. Otherwise, she’d be twenty pounds heavier, and the vet would be giving Amanda heck. Chocolate cake on the other hand, would make the dog sick, making the two of them perfectly suited for each other since she wasn’t a fan of chocolate anyway.

  Amanda mixed up a double batch of cake and poured them in the pans. While they baked, she put the finishing touches on some of her other daily treats and placed them in the glass case. She unlocked the door just as her first customer arrived looking for a dose of caffeine and sugar.

  “Good morning, Captain James. You’re early this morning.” Amanda smiled.

  “Late night call with the rescue squad. I’m hoping you’ve got the extra bold Jamaican stuff to help keep me awake.” He yawned.

  “I do. Made medium and bold. Monday mornings tend to be rough on lots of people. Do you want a scone with it?” Amanda ordered the coffee directly from Jamaica, and it was the same bold coffee beans she’d ground up and added to her grandmother’s recipe to boost the flavor of the chocolate cake. It was her way of making the recipe her own—something her mother had always told her to do. And it had made Kevin’s response all that more satisfying.

  “Naw, nothing fancy. How about a couple of those baked sugar donuts you always have? Bet they’re fresh out of the oven this time of the morning.”

  “They sure are.” Amanda handed him his coffee and donuts, rang up his order, and counted him back his change. “Have a great day.”

  “Thanks. A quiet day at the fire station would be nice.” He waved as he left the bakery.

  Amanda removed the cakes from the oven as the timer went off, placing them on the cooling rack. She heated the caramel over the stove on low heat, letting it melt until it was creamy. She drizzled the caramel on top of the cake and then scattered the nuts across the top. The nuts would stick better in the gooey mixture as it cooled.

  For a non-chocolate lover, Amanda was surprised at her own urge to sample a small slice. She cut off a piece and laid it on a plastic plate. Eyes closed, she breathed in the fragrant chocolate and opened her mouth to sample the cake, savoring the moment. Rich chocolate with a hint of coffee, creamy caramel, and robust nutty flavor all mingled together in her mouth. “Hmmm,” she sighed, but as she swallowed, the cake seemed to stick in her throat.

  Maybe her mouth was dry. She drank some water, then tried again, this time forcing herself to focus on the texture of the cake and not so much on the flavor. It still left something to be desired. It was dryer and cakier, making it thick as she tried to choke it down. She didn’t remember the texture from last night’s cake being like this at all.

  Something’s different. Too bad the leftover piece she’d kept for herself was at home in the refrigerator. She must’ve messed something up, but there was no way she was serving this to her customers. Not until she figured out what she’d done wrong. It was disappointing, and just one more thing that wasn’t going right.

  Amanda shook her head, frustrated with the change of events. She pulled out her phone and dialed Jennifer, needing her advice. “Good morning. I know it’s early, but I need to talk to you. Are you alone?”

  “Of course, you know me. Still an old-fashioned girl. Ask me that question after we’re married,” she joked. “Maybe then I’ll have a different answer.”

  “I’ll remember that. If only to embarrass you. I need to ask you something. Get your advice.” Growing up together for as many years as they had, the teasing between them never stopped. It’s part of what kept their friendship fun, never knowing what to expect from the other.

  “Shoot.”

  “I’m sure eventually the news will get around town, but last night was bad. I burnt the beef Wellington, almost setting Kevin’s kitchen on fire. All under the watchful eyes of his twin ten-year-old girls—who hate me, by the way.” That summed up the evening in a nutshell. All except for the small moment of awareness that had passed between her and Kevin. Something neither one of them wanted but hadn’t been able to prevent.

  “Sounds as though it was a miserable evening. What happened? That’s nothing I’ve ever known you to do before.” Jennifer was genuinely sympathetic, something Amanda needed at the moment.

  “I’ve asked myself that a million times, but I can’t come up with an answer. I did everything just right. The oven was set to 550 degrees. I swear I turned it to 375.”

  “Well, maybe you’re just stressed over the business and made a mistake. You need to let it go. It’s not a big deal, and after the next big thing to happen in town, your cooking disaster will be forgotten.” Under normal circumstances, this would be true.

  “I’ve offered to redo the meal because I felt so bad. That means more time away from the shop, but knowing what he paid for the dinner, I couldn’t not offer. I was just surprised he accepted. I think he felt sorry for me. That and I made an incredible chocolate cake for dessert.” Even the girls had given in and eaten the cake and had seconds. Apparently, their animosity toward her didn’t include her cake.

  “Well, there you have it. The evening wasn’t a total loss.” Jennifer chuckled.

  “Maybe not from that perspective, but I wanted to make the recipe again and test the cake out on the customers. I want to enter it in the Anything Chocolate contest.”

  “What’s the problem?”

  “Last night, it was a winner. This morning, I can’t recreate it. It’s not the same and I didn’t change a thing.” Amanda paced the walkway behind the display case, her phone trapped between her ear and shoulder, freeing up her hands to refill the pastry plates.

  “Maybe you need to take a break and step back. You’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

  “That’s not it.” The recipe wasn’t rocket science. It was a basic cake recipe even a ten-year-old could make.

  “Then tell me what you think it is. I sense you have more to say on the subject.”

  Amanda did, but it wasn’t good. “Just remember I’m using you as a sounding board, not making an official declaration. But I told you those girls didn’t like me, and at ten, they’re old enough to be mischievous. What if they turned up the oven dial? They did go in the kitchen for water and
came out acting all weird.” The more Amanda recalled the incident, the more she was convinced she was right. But the last thing she could do was accuse them of anything. They had enough trouble in their lives without her adding to it.

  “Sounds like twin trouble to me. But even so, it doesn’t explain your cake.”

  “I know, and I’m going to try to make it again. But the girls were hesitant to eat cake last night. Maybe they did something to it, too.”

  “But they ruined your beef Wellington. To hear you tell it, the cake was perfection. It’s not likely they could perfect anything you were making, and their motive would be to ruin it, not make it better. Recheck your ingredients, your oven temperature, and everything else. You must be missing something.”

  “You’re right, I’m overthinking it. But I do know one thing, when I go back to Kevin’s house and cook this next meal, you can be sure I’m not going to be sitting in the living room having a glass of wine and socializing. No one’s going to touch the oven without me knowing it.”

  “Wine? You didn’t say anything about wine. Tell me more.”

  “There’s nothing to tell on that end. Kevin and I are just two friends who shared a glass of wine with what was supposed to be dinner.” Technically, not even that. They were auction winner and chef. That’s all.

  “Let me know how it goes. I’ll be rooting for you. Sounds as though you have your hands full.”

  Jennifer made sense. It was unlikely the kids were the culprits. Why would they ruin one thing and make the other one better? She needed more time to figure this out, but time was something she didn’t have. The recipe had to be submitted in a little over a week.

  Maybe the answer was to just ask the kids straight out, but then Kevin might not appreciate her questioning them or her being suspicious. The man had enough problems with the twins without her adding to them.