Drop Dead Chocolate (4 page)

I took a deep breath, and then said, “I need to tell you something, but I don’t want to ruin the nice mood we’re both in.”

“Are you and Jake getting married?” she asked expectantly.

I couldn’t have been more surprised by her question. “What? No. Of course not. What gave you that idea?”

“I’m sorry. Perhaps I’ve been waiting for an announcement for some time.”

“Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. Jake and I are both just fine with the way things are now.”

“You haven’t even discussed the possibility?” she asked softly.

“Not a whisper,” I said. “You know as well as I do that my marriage to Max was mostly a nightmare, and Jake lost his wife and child in a car crash. I know it happened a long time ago, but the wound is still fresh in his heart. Jake loves me, and he even tells me so now, but his wife was on a whole other level. I couldn’t begin to replace her in his eyes, and I know it.”

There was silence for some time before Momma finally broke it. “Of course you can never replace her, but you don’t have to. It doesn’t mean that Jake still can’t marry you.”

I couldn’t believe we were having this particular conversation. It was miles from where I wanted to be. “Momma, I can say with all certainty that if Jake were on our porch on bended knee with a ring in his hand when we got home tonight, I would run away into the woods screaming.”

“Was it honestly that bad being with Max?” she asked.

“There’s a reason I call him the Great Impersonator,” I said. “I never knew when to believe him. The funny thing is, though, I was still surprised when I caught him with Darlene. That’s something that’s not easily forgotten.”

“Jake is a better man than Max, though.”

“Of course he is,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean I want to exchange vows with him.”

We were silent for a few miles, and then Momma asked, “Ever?”

“I won’t rule it out forever,” I admitted. “But neither one of us is in any hurry to expedite things, and I hope you can say the same thing about you and our police chief.”

“He asked me, I turned him down, and things are finally getting back to normal,” she said with a smile. “I’m making him court me until further notice.”

“Good for you. In a roundabout way, the chief is what I want to talk to you about.”

I looked over and saw Momma’s lips press firmly against each other. “Suzanne, you’re still not happy about me seeing him, are you?”

I laughed softly. “You know what? It turns out that it’s not nearly as bad as I feared it would be.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s Evelyn,” I said simply.

I saw Momma stiffen. “So, you’ve heard the rumors, too.”

“You know what she’s been saying about you?” I asked.

“Of course I do. I have excellent connections in April Springs, and it would be impossible not to know that she’s been trashing me in public.”

“What are you going to do about it?” I asked as we entered April Springs.

“Nothing,” she said simply.

“Nothing? Seriously?”

“What can I do? I didn’t steal her husband, and everyone knows it. Evelyn assumed he’d come running back to her sooner or later, but she was wrong. I firmly believe that whether Phillip and I continue to see each other is irrelevant. That marriage is dead, a stake driven through its heart long ago.”

“So you’re not concerned about it?”

She shook her head as we pulled into our driveway. The cottage looked lovely bathed in moonlight, nestled beside the park. “I try not to worry about things I cannot change, and one thing is certain: Evelyn Martin is never going to stop believing that I broke up her marriage.”

BAKED CHOCOLATE SUGAR BOMBS

This donut is a true chocolate sensation! I created this one day when my family was craving something chocolate, and everyone loved the finished product. Using chocolate milk made a big difference in this recipe, and adds a special zing! For those less adventurous, ¼ cup whole milk and ¼ cup light cream may be substituted.

INGREDIENTS

Wet

• 1 egg, beaten

• ½ cup chocolate milk (2% or whole preferred)

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted (I use unsalted; salted can be used, but cut the added salt by half.)

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry

• 1 cup bread flour (Unbleached all-purpose flour can be used as well.)

• ¼ cup cocoa (unsweetened)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

•
⅛
teaspoon of salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt) in a bowl and sift together. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients (beaten egg, chocolate milk, butter, sugar, and vanilla extract). Slowly add the wet mix to the dry mix, stirring until it’s incorporated. Don’t overmix.

The donuts can be baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 10–15 minutes in cupcake trays or small donut molds, but I bought a dedicated donut baker that sits on my countertop. It’s easy to use, reliable, not expensive at all, and makes perfect donuts every time. These donuts usually take 6–7 minutes.

Once the donuts are finished, remove them to a cooling rack. These can be covered with chocolate icing or a chocolate glaze with chocolate sprinkles for an extra jolt, but actually, they are good enough to eat as they come out of the oven.

Makes 5–9 donuts, depending on baking method

½ teaspoon peppermint extract may be added for a change of pace, and has a nice bounce off the chocolate when added to the wet ingredients.

CHAPTER 3

“Your mom is an absolute rock star,” Emma said the next morning when she came into the donut shop. It was three thirty, and I’d already been there half an hour prepping the dough for our cake donuts. We’d been on our new schedule for a while now, and we hadn’t had any problems adjusting to a little more sleep. These days we worked until six a.m. making donuts, sold them until eleven, and then closed for the day. It was amazing how getting to Donut Hearts a little late and leaving a little early every day managed to still feel like a vacation.

As I rolled out the apple spice donuts on the stainless steel counter, I asked, “I doubt she’s ever been called that before. Why do you say that?”

Emma looked at me and laughed. “You’re kidding, right? Everybody’s buzzing about her running for office. To be honest with you, my dad’s even taking some of the credit.”

“He should,” I said. “The article he wrote about Cam’s shady deal was the last straw for Momma. It’s what made her decide that we need a change around here.”

Emma looked proud enough to burst. “May I tell him that?”

What harm could it do? Then again, I’d been bitten before by overstepping my bounds with my mother, so it might be wise to be careful. “I don’t see why not, but maybe we should clear it with Momma first. Now that she’s a politician, I’m probably going to have to start watching what I say about her, at least in public.”

Emma grinned. “I can’t see her losing the race for mayor, can you? Everyone loves her, and the best Cam Hamilton can muster is ambivalence.”

“I hope Momma wins, there’s no doubt about it. After all, it would look bad on me too, if she didn’t, since I’m her campaign manager.”

“Can I volunteer?” she asked eagerly, her voice bursting with enthusiasm. “I just love politics.”

“I’m sure we can find a place for you.” I started cutting out the donut and hole shapes with my rolling donut cutter. I’d found this particular cutter locally, and at a price I liked, though every time I used it I was reminded of a time when I’d been a murder suspect, which was not exactly the best memory I had. “We’re cleaning up Hannah’s, so we can use it as our headquarters after work this morning, and you’re more than welcome to join us.” I took a deep breath, knowing that I was on shaky ground, and then asked, “But don’t you have a new boyfriend taking up all of your time these days?”

“Do you mean Chad? He’s history,” she said.

That was news to me. “Since when?”

Emma shrugged as she replied, “We broke up yesterday.”

I frowned at the news. I hated when Emma’s heart was broken. “I’m so sorry.”

She started cleaning up my mess as she answered, “Don’t be. He didn’t turn out to be the guy I thought he was.”

“You’ll find someone,” I said. “You’re too special not to.”

“I just hope I find someone as perfect as Grace did,” Emma said with a sigh. “I saw them out last night, and they looked like they were really in love.”

That was pushing it; at least I hope that it was. To my mind, Grace had gone from being extremely picky to being overly accepting lately, though I’d never say that to her. “It might be too soon to say that, but I know that she’s awfully fond of him.”

Emma laughed as I finished rolling the cutter over the last bit of dough, producing perfectly shaped donuts and holes and leaving only scraps behind. She said, “You sound like my grandmother. Is anyone really still fond of the person they’re dating in this day and age?”

I swatted her with my towel. “Don’t make fun of me, young lady. After all, I’m still your boss.”

With a big grin, Emma saluted and said, “Yes, ma’am. I mean, no, ma’am. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I handed her the cutter. “Would you mind washing this while you’re cleaning up?”

“I’m on it,” she said.

As Emma filled the sink with warm water, she said, “I don’t care what you say, Suzanne, you’ve got to admit it, Peter Morgan is kind of dreamy.”

“He’s handsome, I’ll give you that.” I’d spent some time with Peter twice, and the three of us had even had dinner together as Grace kept staring at us both, willing us to get along. It made for a long meal, and I’d begged off the next time she asked. It was almost painful watching Grace hope for my approval, and while I didn’t have anything against the man, he didn’t bowl me over as he had Emma. Maybe his charm reminded me a little too much of my ex, Max.

“Come on, he’s awesome,” Emma said.

“Fine, he’s awesome.” I didn’t want to argue with her, so it was time to change the subject. “How is your father going to manage to wait a week before he can put out his next newspaper?”

Emma laughed. “You’re kidding, right? He’s in his office now getting ready to put out a special edition. The headline’s going to be trumpeting your mother’s candidacy.”

That was news to me, and I had to wonder if Momma had heard yet. “Funny, he didn’t even interview her about it, at least not that I heard.”

Emma grinned. “When I went to bed last night, he was talking to your mother on the phone. I’m sure he got enough quotes to run the story.”

“Good. Maybe he’ll even endorse her,” I said, half in jest.

Emma looked pleased to be able to tell me, “He already did. My dad and Cam Hamilton have had a blood feud going on for years. They legitimately hate each other, and it’s got nothing to do with the fact that they are natural enemies because of their jobs.”

“That’s interesting,” I said as I started on the dough for my new strawberry and cream cake donut. It was a classic combination that used real cream in the batter, and I had high hopes for it. I felt that I needed to keep adding new offerings to my menu to keep my customers coming back, and besides, it was fun for me. Adding real cream made the donut a little more expensive to create, but the taste was phenomenal. “What started it all?”

“My mother,” Emma said with a grin. “Can you imagine two men fighting over her?”

I knew Emma’s mother to be a pretty and intelligent woman with a gentle heart. “The only problem I have is imagining it just being limited to two of them.”

“Well, evidently they fought pretty hard for her attention in high school,” Emma said.

“And your dad won,” I said as I worked on the dough.

“Nope,” Emma said. “You’d think so, but that’s not the way it happened at all.”

“Hang on a second,” I said as I stopped what I was doing. “She ended up marrying your father, right?”

“Not for a while. Mom dated Cam for two years, but something happened between them, and they broke up. I have to give my father credit: he didn’t waste any time moving in on her. He finally managed to win her heart, and Cam never forgave either one of them, truth be told.”

“It’s amazing how the things that happen when we’re young affect our lives for so many years,” I said.

Emma nodded. “I don’t care what happens in the future. I’m living my life right now, with no regrets.”

“It’s probably a little easier doing that when you’re younger,” I said.

She looked at me earnestly, and then asked, “Do you have many regrets, Suzanne?”

I thought about it for nearly a minute. “Marrying Max wasn’t the smartest thing I ever did in my life,” I admitted. “You might easily say that it was my biggest mistake, but I’m not sure I regret it, because look what happened after our divorce: I moved back in with Momma, and we’ve reconnected in a way we never had before. And don’t forget, I bought this place with my settlement, so in the end, it all came out nicely. I could probably come up with some real regrets, if you’re all that interested,” I added with a smile.

“No,” she said, laughing, as she handed me the clean cutter back. “I don’t think we need to travel down that particular road, do you?”

“I’d rather not, if it’s all the same to you,” I answered. “Tell you what: Why don’t we focus on the donuts instead?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Emma and I were going outside for our normal break between making the cake donuts and the raised ones, and as I opened the door, I saw something on one of the outdoor tables we offered our customers. I wrapped my coat around me, since the end of February was still in winter’s grip in our part of North Carolina.

“What’s this?” I asked. “Since when did we start getting the newspaper delivered here at the donut shop this time of morning?”

Emma grinned. “Dad said he was going to leave us a couple of extras to read. Should we go back inside to check them out?”

“It can wait,” I said. “I want to enjoy the cold, fresh air out here.”