Kate's Kisses (Sweet Treats Bakery) by Manners Mary

Author:Manners, Mary [Manners, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: White Rose Publishing
Published: 2011-06-17T04:00:00+00:00

5

Kate hustled into the shop and flipped on the lights. She loved the familiar scent of cinnamon mingled with vanilla and chocolate, like a warm hug that greeted her when she entered Sweet Treats each morning.

She and her sisters had come to an easy agreement when they opened the bakery. Since Kate liked the early-morning hours, she opened the doors and got the ovens fired up with fresh muffins and bread selections. As the sun came up, Mattie would join her and pitch in to get the pastry cases filled and the coffee brewing. Then Grace arrived as soon as she dropped off Adam at preschool, and the three worked side by side serving customers and filling orders until Tessa arrived after school whenever she wasn’t involved in another activity. The system worked well, and the four managed to get through each day without too many squabbles.

Kate tossed the laundry bag of clean aprons onto the counter, then wiggled out of her jacket. She reached behind her to re-lock the entrance door, and then walked behind the counter to press the power button on the coffeemaker. A moment later, it belched and sputtered and the rich scent of hazelnut filled the room. She took a clean apron from the sack and slipped it on, then tucked an order pad and pen into the pocket.

Kate paused and sucked in a breath. She heard a loud clunk—not at all familiar—coming from the storage room above, followed by a swoosh that indicated water had been turned on up there. Someone was in the bathroom.

“Hello?” she called. Maybe Tessa was up there. She’d done that once. Not long after their parents died, she’d failed to come home and Mattie had found her bundled in a pile of kitchen towels on the floor of the storage room, where she’d cried herself to sleep. “Is anyone here? Tessa? Grace?”

When there was no reply, nerves made Kate’s heart skip and stutter. She grabbed the closest object, a metal umbrella urn near the front door, and approached the stairs. Fluorescent light cascaded from the room above as she tiptoed up the flight. She rounded the corner and lifted the urn above her head as she approached the doorway, prepared to throw it.

“Who’s there?”

A clatter ensued as a toolbox toppled and a collection of screwdrivers and wrenches tumbled to the floor.

“Katie?” Logan emerged from the alcove near the bathroom, an oversized wrench in one hand. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Me?” She heaved a sigh of relief and commanded her heart to stop galloping. She considered tossing the urn at him anyway for scaring the wits from her. “What am I doing here? I work here.”

“But it’s only four o’clock. You’re early, even by your standards.” He loped over to take the urn from her. He set it on the floor.

“I have extra orders to fill, so I thought I’d get a jump on it.” She lifted her chin in a defiant pout and gaped at him. “Logan, what are you doing here?”

“Putting in a little surprise for Mattie…and for you.

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