Baker’s Law (9 page)

“Why are you here so early, anyway? Didn’t you have something—”

Marissa gasped. “Marlie. Shit—I mean, shoot. Sorry. I’m gonna be late.” She hurried
for the door. “You didn’t have to, but you’ve done a great job. I’ll be back soon.
Can you lock this?” She waved as she ran out the door to her car.

“She’s gonna kill me.” Marissa was all but chanting the refrain when she pulled onto
the tree-lined lane that wound through thick oak trees up to the clubhouse. Even though
it had been nearly eighteen years since her last time up the drive, everything looked
just as lovely, despite the bitter memory of her dismissal. Tall, willowy bushes hid
the outer world from the club and its inhabitants. On the other side of the bushes
were green manicured lawns that rolled as far the as the eye could see.

She and Marlie learned to ride bicycles in the employee parking lot when they were
five. Their dad worked keeping the mowers and golf carts up and running, and it was
easier to bring the girls along. One Easter the club had invited all of Oak Hollows’
children for a massive egg hunt. Later she’d learned they were resodding the entire
golf course the next week anyway. They looked philanthropic; the town thought the
world of the Carlisles, and all the “common” people hadn’t done any damage.

She’d also had her first real kiss on the tennis courts. Tommy Seaver had been a senior
her sophomore year. He’d been a waiter in the clubhouse restaurant when she’d been
working in the laundry. They’d gone out on one or two dates, she’d kissed him, and
then he’d dumped her for a senior who was a little more experienced.

At the fork in the road, she almost turned toward the employee lot in the back. She
didn’t have to, today. No, she was an invited guest, of sorts, as Marlie’s wedding
planning assistant. She pulled into the lot next to the clubhouse. Her sister’s little
yellow VW Beetle sat one row over, almost mocking her lateness with its bright cheeriness.

With her purse in hand, Marissa ran for the door. Just as she went to reach for it,
it swung open. She pulled her hand back in time to save it from getting struck. “Watch
out.” She heaved out a breath.

“Sorry. You okay?”

The deep, raspy voice rolled over her. “Not now,” she said under her breath, giving
herself a moment to calm before she met Jax’s gaze. He wore his chief’s uniform with
a thick belt laden with cop equipment and his shiny badge pinned to his chest. Sexy.
She gave a little shudder. “I’m fine. You just startled me and I’m running late.”
She stepped toward the door.

“Here, let me get that.” He reached for the door at the same time she did. His large
hand covered hers.

Marissa jerked her hand free. “Um, thanks.” She lowered her hand beside her; she didn’t
want Jax to see the effect his touch had on her. “If you’ll excuse me…”

Jax blocked her entrance. “What are you doing here?”

Her shoulders stiffened as she straightened to glare at him. How many times had she
heard the same question from his mother when she’d ventured too far from the laundry
rooms? Though, she had to admit, his words held no censure. “I beg your pardon?”

“You’re working with your sister?”

“Yes and I’m late.”

He nodded. “Sorry.” He moved aside. “They’re in the Cactus Room. Do you know—”

“Up the hall and to the right. Yep, thanks.” She crossed the threshold, careful not
to brush up against his massive chest. “Aren’t you coming?”

Jax tapped the cell at his hip. “Work calls. Thankfully.” He murmured the last word
under his breath.

Marissa let the door close as he walked away. She hurried down the peach Berber carpet
to the Cactus Room. She and Jax were always crossing paths. Never long enough to spend
real time together, though. Her step stuttered. Did she want to go there with him?
It might make all her wild late-night fantasies worse if she had to be around him
too often.

Like it even mattered.

Jax was the chief of police of their town. He had a responsibility for the entire
population. It wasn’t much different from high school when he was the captain of the
football team. At that time, he had the responsibility for… pretty much the whole
town. Football was the be-all end-all in a small Texas town. And Oak Hollow had a
decent team. Jax’s junior year they went to state and lost by only one measly touchdown.

Jax was sullen for nearly two weeks after the game. And the school followed suit.
It was as if no one was allowed to be happy if the king of the school wasn’t. To be
fair, he’d snapped out of it and still managed to secure his date to the winter formal—the
homecoming queen, Darla Matthews. Marissa, of course, hadn’t gone. Marlie had had
a date and relayed all the crepe paper and confetti details. Typical high school.

Not that anything in the past had any bearing on the here and now. Marissa was grown.
Had a shop to run. Marlie had her own business and both were just as happy as could
be. And she would keep telling herself that every day.

Marissa rounded the corner and heard a familiar, shrill voice. “…and we want to make
sure this gets all the press it deserves.” Bunny Carlisle had her finger pointed at
Marlie when Marissa walked into the Cactus Room. Bunny looked just as Marissa remembered,
except she had a few—very few—more lines around her eyes and mouth. Her forehead was
suspiciously smooth and didn’t move one iota as she made her demands. Marissa stifled
a laugh. The woman’s dirty blond hair had gone to silver. And wouldn’t you know it,
it was a lovely shade and complemented her complexion beautifully, especially in contrast
with her vibrant red suit. She always swore she could give any Dallasite a run for
her money—and she probably could.

“Yes, ma’am, I understand.” Marlie had her fuchsia clipboard tucked on her right hip.
She was dressed in a navy pencil skirt and a white button-down shirt with poufy sleeves.
She had her blond locks twirled up in a chignon. “I’ve already been in contact with
all the major papers in the area. We’re good to go.” Marlie glanced over her shoulder.
“There’s my assistant. I had her running a few errands this morning. If you could
just give us a moment…” she didn’t even wait for Bunny to comment, but slowly crossed
over to her sister. It was only when she had her back to the other woman that she
let her smile fall away. “I swear,” she whispered, “I can see why I’m the fourth wedding
planner.”

“Is it as bad as all that?” Marissa leaned to her right to look at Bunny as the woman
cornered a club staffer.

“Worse and then some.” Marlie jotted something down on the clipboard. “You’re late.
I warned you that—”

“I’m sorry. I had to stop by my shop and check on…” She started to say Hill, but she
shouldn’t mention him until she and her sister could sit down in private and talk.
“The shop. What do you need me to do?” She glanced around the room and finally saw
the bride-to-be. Callie Carlisle was dressed much like any other member of the country
club in her tennis whites. She was the spitting image of her mother, with the exception
of her curly red hair.

Marissa remembered her as a spoiled-rotten daddy’s little girl. She’d gotten every
toy she’d ever desired. She and her mother would go on legendary shopping trips in
Dallas and sometimes down in Houston. She was the epitome of all things expensive
and elite. She’d never once spared Marissa a glance when they happened upon each other
at the club.

Callie turned into Marissa’s gaze and a huge smile split her face. “Marissa Llewellyn.
So good to see you.” She hurried over. The sudden outburst drew every eye in the room.

Bunny paused in her verbal tirade to her staffer and frowned. She was two steps behind
her daughter. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

Marlie smoothed out her brow and squared her shoulders. “She’s my assistant.”

Bunny’s lip curled. “An assistant, huh?”

“She makes the most decadent cupcakes. Owns her own adorable shop in town.” Callie
was shaking Marissa’s hand.

How in the world did Callie know who she was, much less that she had an “adorable”
shop in town? She’d never once seen Callie at the bakery. Marissa leaned toward her
sister and asked under her breath, “Did I fall through some wormhole?”

Marlie shrugged. “Don’t look at me.”

Callie’s eyes widened. “You must cater the bridal shower. Your butter-cream icing
is to die for. And the lemon-tart cupcake…” She gave a deep groan.

“Bridal shower?” Marissa said as Bunny was shaking her head wildly and saying, “Not
possible. Too short notice. And we have a lovely cake coming from Heavenly Delights.”
Heavenly Delights was a boutique caterer from west Fort Worth.

“Mother, there are a hundred women coming. One little cake won’t be near enough.”
Callie, still holding onto Marissa’s hand asked, “Will you? Please?”

Marissa gulped. “How short of a notice are we talking about?”

“Next Saturday.”

One week to plan and prepare for… “How many cupcakes would you be needing?”

Callie smiled. “I don’t know. At least sixty, maybe seventy-five?”

Seventy-five. If she didn’t take her day off on Wednesday, she could come in and get
them started and finish up late Friday night after the store closed. “Call my shop
Monday morning and give me your order and we can have it ready.”

“Oh, yay.” Callie bounced on the balls of her feet. “Thank you so very much.”

When she finally released Marissa’s hand, Marissa pulled a card from her purse and
handed it to the bride-to-be. Then a tall, lanky young man walked in.

“Boopie!” Callie ran over and flung herself into the man’s arms.

“The groom, I hope?” Marissa scooted closer to her sister.

“Yes. Wes Johnson.” Marlie bent her head next to Marissa’s. “You sure you can get
such a large order done on such short notice?”

Marissa ran through a mental checklist. “I may not get any sleep, but I can get it
done.”

“Can we get started now?” Bunny stood in the center of the room like a queen holding
court. Her red pointed shoe tapped on the carpet.

The rest of the meeting went by in a blur. Marlie talked the Carlisles through the
finer points of the next few weeks as Wes Johnson stood in the corner on his cell
phone for most of it. Her sister handled Bunny Carlisle like a pro—and the woman tried
everything in her power to derail the plans already set in motion. By contrast, Callie
could not have been more amiable.

By the time Marissa begged off to get to her shop, her head was swimming with organza,
lilacs and tiered cakes, not to mention the mental preparations for getting a seventy-five
piece order ready in a week. First thing she needed to do was check inventory.

She parked her SUV behind the building and all but yelped when the door opened to
greet her. “Hill, sorry. Was lost in my own little world.”

“No worries.” He had a black garbage bag in his hand and stepped aside to let her
through the door. He tossed the trash into the Dumpster and followed her into the
kitchen. “What can I help you do to get ready?”

“You don’t have to. You’ve done more than enough cleaning this morning.”

He shrugged. “I don’t have any place to be just now. Might as well make myself useful.”

Her heart broke a little more. It was Saturday. He should be hanging out with his
friends.

“You can help me get some of the morning stock ready.”

“Making cupcakes?” Hill backed away from her. “Guys don’t make cupcakes.”

“Sure they do.” She grabbed his arm and turned him back toward the kitchen. “It’s
not difficult and guys can do anything. Grab those, the flour and sugar.” She motioned
to two large containers. “Wash your hands and then we can get started on the first
few batches of replacement cupcakes.” Her freezer was getting low on a few of the
most popular flavors. “Let me go change.” She rifled through the bag for her jeans
and T-shirt.

They baked side by side for an hour with little talk other than her telling him about
her recipes and some of the special ingredients for the flavors she’d come up with.
When the third batch was in the oven she grabbed two bottles of water and told Hill
to come sit with her.

“Tell me about your mom.” She’d avoided too many personal questions until now. Hill
was like a skittish puppy—move too fast and he was bound to scamper away—but she wanted
to know about the woman who’d raised such a strong and resilient young man.

Hill shifted on the stool, looking like he might be ready to bolt.

Marissa held up her hand. “I’m just curious about what she was like. I know she used
to work at Calista’s Bistro. My friend’s family owns the place and she mentioned it.”

Hill stared at her as if she’d grown an extra head.

“My mom.” She took a sip from the water bottle. “She ran off when I was two. I didn’t
grow up knowing a mom.” If she expected him to open up to her, she’d have to be willing
to share, as well.

“That sucks.”

She nodded. “It does. A lot. But you get through.”

Hill sighed. “She was great. My mom. She was always there when I got home from school.
Always helped me do my homework.” He chuckled. “Until I got into the seventh grade.
She sucked at math.”

Hill scraped his thumbnail along the edge of the table. “She was kind and thoughtful.
A lot like you.”

The words were so softly spoken that Marissa almost didn’t hear them. She fought back
tears.

Time to lighten things up a bit. “Lexi, is she your girlfriend?”

He shook his head. “We’re just friends. Have been since we were little.” He stared
up at her through a hooded gaze.

“What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“No, what? What is it?” She nudged him with her foot.

He took a long draw on the bottle of water, swallowed, then waited a beat before he
asked, “I was just wondering why you’re helping me.”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” Marissa shrugged as the timer on the oven went off. “It
seemed like the right thing to do.”
And I couldn’t help my mother, so you’re the next best thing.
Complete honesty wasn’t always the best policy.