Cupcake Cutie (Plus Size Romance 1) (2 page)

Ella was reeling with emotion as she turned on her heel and walked away.  For a few seconds she held her breath thinking—no, hoping—he would stop her again.  Instead, she heard the scratchy, crackling sound emanating from his shoulder mic.  An emergency call was coming in for an out-of-control yard fire across town. 

Plopping down in front of her computer, Ella told herself it was for the best.  If she had learned anything during her twenty-seven years, it was that men would always cause her heartache.  The only question was how long it took them to do it.  Today, Decker Wyman set a new record. 

SLAMMING HIS HAND AGAINST the dashboard of the fire truck, Decker cursed.  Talk about your shitty timing.  He really wanted a chance to properly explain things to Ella.  After the number Sheridan had worked on him, he thought he’d never have the inclination to put himself out there again.  But seeing Ella up in that tree with her bountiful breasts pressed against the trunk had really gotten his blood pumping. Carrying her down that ladder with her luscious, plump butt stuck in the air gave him some major wood.  It was a good thing his fireman’s uniform trousers were roomy in the crotch.  Being well-endowed, he didn’t want to scare her off from the get go.  As it turned out, his cock wasn’t his biggest problem. His mouth was.  He was so desperate to find out if she was single, he didn’t stop to think about how precarious his own situation was.

He never would have let Ella walk away, but when some dumbass set their yard on fire during a burning ban, he had no choice but to answer the call.  Today, his satisfaction wouldn’t come from putting out the fire. It would come from slapping a steep fine on Hubert Caldwell.  Decker had repeatedly warned him about burning yard debris on breezy springtime days.  But he was one of those who had to burn or die.  He wasn’t sure if it was some sort of addiction for Hubert or a deep family tradition.  Whatever the case, Decker was fed up.  It was time to hit the fire starter where it hurts most—his wallet.

He had cut Hubert a lot of slack over the years.  Decker had always felt sorry for him since the tragic accident that killed his father, Hank.  In a way, Decker had felt somewhat responsible.  He was just eleven years old when Hank came out to the ranch looking to buy a stallion for Hubert.  Rowling had gone to a cattle sale and told his son to show Hank around.  Decker proudly pointed out the three stallions his father wanted to sell.  But Hank decided he liked the looks of a young gelding that hadn’t been broken. 

Decker’s best efforts to discourage Hank failed.  The stubborn man shook Decker off and climbed into a stall with the wild horse.  In a matter of seconds, the animal had reared up on its back legs, snorting and pawing the air.  Decker unlatched the gate in an effort to give Hank a means of escape, but it was too late.  The full force of hooves came down on Hank’s head and shoulders.  The fracture to his skull was fatal.

Decker shook off the horrible memory as he pulled into Hubert’s driveway.  A few feet away, Hubert was stomping some smaller flames and impotently spraying a cracked garden hose.

Whipping out the mother of all hoses, Decker gave the fire starter a shit-eating grin.  Once the perimeters were contained and the central fire had been doused, Decker pulled a citation pad from his shirt pocket. 

Hubert frowned and threw the garden hose on the ground.  “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m writin’ you a citation for burnin’ durin’ a ban.  I’ve given you all the chances I’m goin’ to.  Enough is enough, partner.  This is the only way you’ll learn,” he said, tearing the three hundred dollar fine from his pad. 

Hubert snatched the slip of paper from Decker’s hand and scoffed, “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to pay this.  I’ll use it to start my next fire.  That’s what I’ll do.”

“Three hundred bucks or thirty days in the pen.  It’s up to you, buddy.”

“We’re not buddies, and I don’t take orders from no highhanded Wyman.  Of course I don’t recall you being so high and mighty when your woman left you.  How did that go down? Oh, yes, I remember now.  She ran off with some fancy city slicker, didn’t she?”

“Just pay the damn fine, Hubert.”

It took everything Decker had not to knock that smartass’ block off.  But it wasn’t his style to spar with a man who was at a physical disadvantage.  Rowling had raised him better than that.  And, who knew? Maybe Hubert would have turned out to be a better man, too, if Hank had been around to finish raising him.

Climbing back into the fire truck, Decker blew out a deep breath.  His shift was over, and he was anxious to get back to the ranch.  He was tempted to swing by Ella’s.  Her house was on his way home. But, she had said she didn’t do complicated.  And Decker having a wife he couldn’t locate, who refused to sign divorce papers despite the fact that
she
left him for another married man, was just about as complicated as things could get.

IT WAS ONLY MID-MORNING, and The Little Cupcake Company was already booming with business.  Ella didn’t mind waiting at a booth in the corner.  It would give her a chance to taste-test the new double-Dutch chocolate cupcake with cream cheese icing while Adaira finished filling orders.  

Ella had dropped by here on her first day in town to ask for directions, and The Little Cupcake Company had been completely devoid of customers.   After tasting one of Adaira’s cupcakes, Ella couldn’t understand why the place wasn’t crawling with patrons.

Over a steaming cup of coffee and a vanilla cupcake with lemon chiffon icing, Ella had pinpointed the problem.  Adaira was clueless when it came to marketing and advertising.  Sure, she was lovely, warm and intelligent, and she could bake circles around Martha Stewart.  But all that culinary talent was no good if nobody knew about it. 

The two women bonded immediately, becoming fast friends.  The next day, Ella came up with a few slogan ideas.  Shortly after implementing them, Adaira’s business picked up.  Now, everyone was familiar with The Little Cupcake Company’s advertisement taglines
: If cupcakes are wrong, we don’t wanna be right; Every day is a cupcake day; A little cupcake goes a long way; Life’s short—eat a cupcake; Keep calm and eat a cupcake.

Initially, Adaira
paid
Ella in cupcakes, but now that business was booming, she was easily able to meet Ella’s fees.  Ones that covered new brochures, business cards and window flyer designs.  Ella had just finished arranging them on the table when Adaira came bounding over.

Leaning into the booth, she gave Ella a hearty hug.  “Hey, girl! Sorry to keep you waiting, but it’s your own fault for making my cupcakes so doggone popular.”

Ella’s smile was wide and full of pride.  A few months ago she wouldn’t have had the self-confidence to pitch her graphic designs to anyone.  Living too many years under the critical thumb of her self-centered mother had nearly cost Ella what tiny bit of self-esteem she possessed.  It took a close brush with death to turn things around for her. 

It was a sunny day in May.  She had been traveling down the interstate, running more tedious errands for her domineering mother.  Out of the blue, an eighteen-wheeler came barreling past Ella.  The big rig must have been doing well over a hundred miles an hour.  Recklessly, the driver of the truck swerved in front of her, clipping the front fender of her Toyota Camry.  The impact sent Ella’s car spinning into oncoming traffic.  After bouncing between several speeding cars, what was left of her Camry—the front seat and the steering wheel she had in a death grip—landed smack in the middle of the median.

It was in that moment, Ella realized, that everyone only gets one life, and it was high time she started living hers.  Her mother was not entitled to a life of her own
and
Ella’s as well.  The next morning Ella packed her things and left home.  She rented a car and purchased a map of South Carolina.  Closing her eyes, she took a push pin and blindly stuck it into the crisscrossed grid.  It landed right in the center of Pleasant View.  The fact that it was nearly two hundred miles away from her mother’s house was an added bonus.

Looking into her friend’s beaming face, Ella thanked God for that crazy truck driver, for her own courage and for the new life she was now living.

“No apologies necessary, Adaira.  I’m tickled that things are going so well.  I have a feeling that these new designs are going to triple your business in no time.  In fact, I threw in a help-wanted poster for free.  Woman, you are definitely going to need some extra hands around here.”

“Oh, I hope so.  I’ve been wanting to expand.  Maybe even add a delivery service.  What do you think?”

“I think you can do anything you set your mind to.”

Adaira’s expression changed from bubbly elation to soft appreciation.  “I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Ella.  Seriously, if you hadn’t shown up when you did, I would have had to close this place down.  But you came riding up in here like the cavalry, giving me invaluable marketing advice, taking me on as a client and allowing me to pay you with pastries.  Most importantly, you gave me your friendship.  If not for you, Ella Skye, me and The Little Cupcake Company would have folded.”

“Well, I can’t take all the credit.  What with your dynamic personality and delicious cupcakes, you made it easy.”

“Okay, we’re both fabulous and sweeter than sugar.  Oh, that reminds me.  I wanted to ask you to be my date for the annual Spring Fling Barn Dance tomorrow night.  I was hoping Craig could take me, but he won’t be back in town for a week.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t.  I mean I’m super busy and it’s kind of short notice, and I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Uh-huh.  Now that sounds like a whole lot of hemming and hawing to me.  We’ll only be gone for a few hours.  You can set your work aside for that long.  Connie’s country-and-western shop is right across the street.  She’s open for three more hours and has any and everything you might need for a barn dance.  Did I diffuse all your excuses?”

Ella dabbed at the cupcake crumbs left on her plate.  “Not quite.”

“What other reason could you have for not wanting to go to the best shindig this town throws?”

“I only know of one barn big enough to accommodate all the residents of Pleasant View.  And there’s one particular Wyman I don’t fancy seeing again.”

Grinning wickedly, Adaira tapped her finger on her chin.  “Now which Wyman could you be talking about? I know it’s not sweet old Rowling.  And it couldn’t be Rylan, seeing as how he’s practically halfway to the altar.  So, it must be the ruggedly handsome, sexy as hell hunk of a man, Decker.”

Ella blushed profusely.  “What if it is?”

“Look, I get it. He has a devastatingly swooning effect on the female population.  You don’t have to be embarrassed for lusting after him.  Hell, every woman in this town has fantasized about Decker.  I’ve even entertained a torrid thought or two,” she said, winking.  “Anyway, I doubt that he’ll be in attendance.  To my knowledge he hasn’t been to a barn dance since his wife—”

“I knew it!” Ella screamed, slamming her fists down on the table.  “He said it was complicated. Complicated my ass!  Either a man’s married or not.  Sounds pretty damn simple to me.”

Adaira soothingly patted Ella’s arm.  “Calm down, honey.  You’re going to give yourself an aneurysm.  Tell me what happened.”

Ella leaned back against the booth and crossed her arms over her chest.  “It’s a long story.  Let’s just say he led me to believe one thing, but now I know another.”

Adaira offered her friend a reassuring smile.  “That doesn’t sound like Decker.  He’s well known for his honesty and integrity.  I don’t know the circumstances of your interaction, but I can’t believe he would intentionally mislead you.”

“Well, he did, during a private conversation we had.”

Raising an eyebrow, Adaira said, “I’d like to have been a fly on the wall for that one.”

Ella huffed.  “Wouldn’t have done you any good; we were outside at the time.”

“Now I’m really intrigued.  I didn’t think graphic designing, techie, computer types spent much time outdoors.”

“Forget I said anything.  It was nothing.”

“Okay, I won’t press you.  But I still want you to come with me to the dance.  It will be so much fun.  I swear you’ll love it.  Plus, I know for a fact that I am your only friend here in Pleasant View.  You need to get out and meet some more of the townspeople.  Nearly everyone attends this annual event.  Where else could you mingle with the whole town in one place?”

Ella rolled her eyes in exasperation.  “Fine.  I’ll go if you can promise me
he
won’t be there.”

“Like I said, Decker hasn’t been to one of these dances in years.  Cross my heart and hope to die, he won’t be there.”

LEANING BACK IN A kitchen chair, Rowling Wyman took a long sip of his coffee and crossed his legs.  “Decker, I’m damn glad that cattle sale was called off.  It’s ‘bout time you made it to another one of my barn dances.  It’ll be good havin’ both my sons in attendance this year.”

“I never said I was goin.’  I got some work to take care of down at the fire station.”

Rowling scowled.  “I’m sure it’s nothin’ that can’t wait a few hours.”

Rylan sopped the last of the sawmill gravy off his plate with a buttermilk biscuit.  “Don’t waste your breath, Dad.  Decker’s been meaner than a bronc with a bur under its saddle since he came back from Caldwell’s place yesterday.”