The Icing on the Cake (24 page)

She sighed and began wringing her
hands.  “Kristine, I’ve been horrible to you and Joe.  I’ve known from the day
Joe stopped by the bakery when he arrived back in town that it was you he was
interested in.  It’s always been you.”

“I … don’t understand.”

Lori pressed her eyelids together. 
“Kristine, I’m selfish and self-centered—an awful person, really,” she said
with a self-deprecating laugh.  “I think about myself first and foremost and
always have.  I even put my own needs above that of my child.”

She paused and bit back tears.  “When I
received the call that Devon was missing, I had to wonder, was this my
punishment for my evil ways?  Was I about to lose the person most precious to
me, because I had no appreciation for him until I received that call?”

She shuddered at the prospect of harm
coming to her child.  “God knows, I’ve been so
stupid
!”  She covered her
mouth with a shaky hand, but said finally, “Kristine, I need you to know
something.”

Kristine nodded.

“I didn’t start the fire at the
bakery—at least not on purpose.  I’m reprehensible, but I wouldn’t have done
that.  Heck, that would have been messing with my own livelihood—a steady
income I receive and for which I do nothing.  Why would I do something to
jeopardize my paycheck?  But I wouldn’t have done it anyway.  The bakery is our
legacy.”

She crossed the room and sat down.  She
glanced up at her sister.  “I’m asking you to believe me.  I fear I’ve cried
wolf so often, you won’t be able to believe me.”

Kristine considered her words.  “Lori,
why did you tell me you hadn’t met with Joe this morning?”

“Because, I didn’t want to hurt you.  I
knew you’d think I was up to no good and that I was attempting to manipulate
him.  I knew he was going to talk to you about our conversation later today. 
For once, I tried to do the right thing.”

Kristine turned toward him.

“I needed to clear things up with Lori,”
he said simply. 

Lori laughed sadly.  “He took me to
task,” she said.  “He told me I wasn’t to mess with you ever again.  He pointed
out how wonderful and selfless you are, and that he wasn’t going to stand by
and let anyone hurt you ever again.”  She began to cry.  “It’s a shame he was
talking to your older sister, the person who should have assumed the role of
your protector years ago.”

“But, why did the two of you meet at the
café before?  I saw you walking together…” she prompted.

Joe was first to answer.  “Lori had
asked me my opinion as to how long it might take to rebuild the bakery.  She
said she was worried about you and hoped to gain a better understanding of the
building process, and figured I could help her, being as I do commercial
construction.”

Lori gave a brittle laugh.  “I wasn’t
being particularly forthright with Joe, since my real intentions were entirely
duplicitous, but what else is new?” she said.  “I figured if he spent time in
my presence, he was sure to fall for me.  I mean, why wouldn’t he? 
Why
wouldn’t he
?” she murmured sadly, and began to cry again.  “God, I have so
many people to make amends to…”

Kristine turned to Joe.  She breathed
deeply to still her pounding heart.  She felt awful for falsely accusing him,
but then, Lori had been playing her for a fool and she was adept at it.

Maeve stepped into the room.  “Joe,
Kristine, may I drive Lori and Devon home?  I think mother and son have some
talking to do too.”

“Do you mind?” Lori asked.

“Not at all,” Maeve said. 

She left with Lori and Devon, and
Kristine found herself standing in front of Joe.  She attempted a smile.  “I’m
sorry,” she said finally.  “I thought…”

“I know what you thought,” he said
sternly.

“Can you forgive me?”

To her utter relief, he rose slightly
from his seat on the couch and reached for her.  He pulled her toward him and
into his lap.  “Do you promise to always trust me?” he asked, rubbing his stubbled
cheek against her softer one.  “Do you promise never to jump to conclusions and
to come to me if you’re worried about something or have concerns about
anything?”

She nodded.  “I promise.”

“Do you promise you’ll never, ever worry
that I have feelings for Lori, because I don’t.  Will you be able to put aside
the fact that she and I dated, because we were kids at the time?”

“Okay.”

“You know, I’ve always loved you,
Krissy.  From the time we were kids, I’ve loved you.  That love changed over
the years, from juvenile affection to the deep, abiding love I feel for you
today, but it’s always been there.”

“You loved me, even when you and I used
to snipe at each other when we were kids?” she clarified, disbelieving.

“Even then,” he said, meeting her gaze.

She smiled when she saw his eyes were
twinkling with humor.  Lord, she loved those twinkling eyes.  Overcome with
that love, she gently grasped both sides of his face and kissed him on the
lips.  She pressed with a gentle insistence. 

With a groan, he gathered her against
him and wrapped his arms around her.  He drew her close and when he deepened
the kiss, Kristine promptly decided it was the icing on the cake.  The kiss,
and his arms around her, were more delicious than anything she could ever
create at the bakery. 

“I love you, Krissy,” he whispered. 
“Will you marry me?”

She pulled back and smiled into his
eyes.  “Now, that’s the icing on the cake.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’” he
murmured, and kissed her again.

“It’s beautiful,” Kristine declared, as
she stood back and stared at the newly rebuilt Branton’s Bakery.  Beside her
were her mother, sister, Minnie, Maeve, and of course, Joe.

Joe draped an arm over her shoulder and
pulled her close.  He kissed the top of her head.  “It looks great,” he
agreed.  “Remember, you promised you’d delegate and that you won’t spend every
waking moment here.”

She laughed.  “I have no desire to spend
every waking moment here,” she said, turning to snare his gaze.  “Need I remind
you, we’re newlyweds.”

“No reminding needed,” he said with a
lift of his brows.

“Oh, young love,” Lori said, smiling.

“Indeed,” Minnie said.

“Are you sure you don’t want to pick up
a shift here now and then?” Ruth asked Lori.

“No way,” she answered.  “We all know
what happens when I try my hand at frying fritters.  Thankfully, the insurance
company settled with us, but I doubt they’d cut a check a second time.”

“She’s makes a good point,” Joe
observed. 

“I love my job anyway,” Lori said. 

She had taken a job as a veterinary
assistant and enjoyed it so much, she was considering going back to school to
become a veterinarian.  Her choice of occupations had taken all by surprise,
but then, Lori was a changed woman. 

“Mom, can we get ice cream?” Devon asked
her.  “I’m really hungry for ice cream.”

“Sure, sweetie,” she said, reaching for
his hand.  “We’ll see you all later.”  She turned to Kristine.  “Call me when
you fill the case,” she said, eyes dancing.  “I’m craving a cupcake.”

“Kristine promised me her first baked
item will be her strawberry cream cake,” Maeve said.

“Hey, you make it as well as I do now,”
Kristine pointed out.

Maeve smiled.  “I do make a mean cake,
don’t I?”

“Which is why you’re going to work an
occasional shift at the bakery too,” Kristine said with a smile.  “You, my friend,
are a talented baker.”

“Well, thanks to your tutelage.”  She
smiled.  “I’m happy to help out, but I can’t be away from home too often. 
Gracie will miss me.”

“Doggone dog.  I take her in and she
falls in love with my neighbor,” Joe groused.

Maeve laughed.  “We’re two girls living
the life,” she said with a shrug.

“Oh, Maeve,” Ruth said suddenly, “I
loved your Christmas card.  I had to laugh when I saw you and Gracie wearing
Santa’s hats and both smiling so big at the camera.”  She shook her head.  “Gracie
really does smile almost like a human, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, she does,” Maeve agreed,
chuckling.  “You should have heard the phone calls I got from my friends back
home when they saw me in a picture with my pit mix.  They thought I’d lost my
mind.”

“So tell me the truth, Maeve,” Joe said,
eyeing his neighbor with mock suspicion, “did you lure Gracie over the fence
with treats?  Were you standing on the other side, calling her name and
dangling strips of bacon?  Is that why she routinely jumped the fence, but only
the shared fence between our two yards?  Hmmm?”

Maeve laughed and raised her right
hand.  “I did nothing of the sort.  Gracie loves me,” she said succinctly. 

“Yes, she really does,” Joe agreed. 
“And it’s all good.  With my work, and Kristine’s bakery opening, we’re going
to be awfully busy.”

“But not too busy,” Kristine said,
catching his gaze.  Her eyes were alight with the promise that she would never
put work before her family. 

He read that promise in her eyes and
pulled her close.  “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”