Chapter 1
Cami Bolin finger-combed her damp hair as she stepped into the kitchen. A glance at the clock over the stove told her that she had forty-five minutes to get the cake iced and delivered to Crafted with Love. Since she’d asked for a special gathering—on a Friday instead of their regular Monday—she needed to be on time.
She ignored the mess she’d made earlier as she approached the bar, where the three layers of key lime cake cooled on racks. Her talents didn’t normally extend to baking, but today was special, and the cake was special, so she’d made the messy effort.
Her bare feet encountered the crumbs on the floor and had her looking for the source. Her jaw dropped in disbelief when her gaze focused on the bar.
“No…”
In the time it took to breathe the word, disbelief bled into horror and horror morphed into an anger that rose up in her like lava in a volcano. “Gramps!” She closed her eyes. Those layers had come out of their pans perfectly. Somebody…something…was going to die.
“You squawked?”
When her grandfather joined her in the kitchen, all she could do was point an unsteady finger toward her once perfect cake layers.
“Oh my.”
“I got up at five o’clock to make this cake, and that’s all you have to say?”
Her tall, gray-haired grandfather pulled Cami into a hug. “What can I do to help?”
“I’m going to guess that hanging that fool dog up by his back toenails isn’t an option.”
He chuckled into Cami’s hair, tightening his arms when Cami tried to pull away.
“Now, sweetheart, he’s just a puppy. You were little once. I bet you got into your share of mischief.”
At the sound of claws clicking on the tile floor, Cami forced herself out of her grandfather’s embrace and glared at the rescue-shelter mongrel who still had flecks of green stuck to his nose.
She’d baked three perfect layers. Now only two remained. The one closest to the edge of the counter was a half-eaten pile of crumbs. She supposed she should be grateful that the other layers had been out of Milo’s reach.
She took a deep breath, determined to salvage her morning. What was left would make a great cake. Her attempt at three had been a newbie showing off.
Cami ignored Milo, turned her back on her cake, and faced her grandfather with her hands on her hips. “You wanna help?” She continued when he nodded. “Your dog, your mess.”
“I’ll get the broom.”
Cami grabbed the sleeve of his robe. “That’s a good place to start, but that’s not what I meant.” She gestured to the whole kitchen.
Gramps huffed. “That’s a stiff sentence for a crime I didn’t commit.” He bit off his objections as Milo slinked over to a pile of crumbs on the floor and licked them up. Gramps snapped his fingers and the dog looked up. “You’re not helping,” he hissed.
Cami could’ve sworn she saw a canine grin on the furry face. The dog was a menace, but he really was fun to have around…most of the time. She did her best to keep the smile out of her voice when she continued. “You two are attached at the hip. Since I can’t see him standing at the sink, you’ll just have to bear the load on your own. Now get him out of here. I’ve got thirty minutes to get out the door with a frosted cake.”
Cami opened cabinet doors and lined powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, cream cheese, and a large bowl up on the last clean spot of countertop. She picked up the recipe card and did some quick math as she figured out how to reduce the ingredients by a third.
“Milo, bed.”
She glanced up at her grandfather’s voice.
Milo sat at his feet with his ears perked and his head tilted.
“Oh, don’t give me that look. You understood perfectly well.” He pointed to the next room, where a large metal kennel dominated one corner. “Milo, bed.”
Cami watched as the dog slumped his shoulders, lowered his head, and skulked out of the room. Once in the kennel, he made a couple of quick circles, pulled a stuffed animal close, and laid down with his head on the purple monkey like a pillow. From there he watched the humans in the next room.
Cami shook her head. “Good riddance.”
“You know you love him.”
Cami emptied the cream cheese and butter into the bowl and measured the powdered sugar on top of it. “I don’t know anything of the sort right now.” She turned the mixer on and jerked back when the powdered sugar billowed up around her in a cloud. “Shoot.” At her grandfather’s snort of laughter, she shot him a withering look.
“Maybe you should moisten that first.”
“Yeah…yeah…” Cami lifted the beaters free and used a spoon to stir the ingredients into a stiff lump. Satisfied that there’d be no further poofing, she added the milk and vanilla and concentrated on beating the lumps out of the icing.
Grandpa meandered close. As soon as the mixer shut off, he held out a hand. Her grin was genuine as she handed him one of the beaters.
He tasted the sweet concoction and nodded. “You did good.”
“I’ll make sure to save you a piece.”
“This was one of Ruthie’s favorite recipes. She’d be proud of you right now.”
Cami focused on spreading the creamy white mixture over the bright green layers of cake while she tried to ignore the sting of tears in her eyes. When she finished, she said, “I always want to make her proud.”
“Do you mean that?”
Cami added an artistic swirl on the top. “Why would you even ask?”
“Just thinking out loud.” He laid the beater in the crowded sink. “Did you use every dish in the kitchen?”
“That is no longer my concern.” She knew her smile was more than a little smug.
“I might need one small concession from you before I accept such a drastic punishment.”
Cami put the lid on the plastic cake container and snapped it down tight. “That would be…?”
“Come to church with me on Sunday. You haven’t been since the funeral. You know how much she wanted you to share her faith.”
“Gramps, I…”
He held up a finger. “Don’t answer until you have all the facts.”
Cami plopped her hands on her hips.
“Did I fail to mention that Easton will be back in service with us this Sunday?”
***
With the cake container in hand, Cami looked longingly at the Harley parked in the corner of the garage. It might be the first of November, but the weather was unseasonably mild. A perfect day for a ride. “Sorry, Edgar, but motorcycles and a cake carrier don’t make the best match.”
She made the drive to the store on four wheels instead of two, keeping one eye on the road and one on the cake riding in the passenger seat. Edgar was probably the most precious material thing she owned, but she loved her little red Nissan, too, especially on days when she needed a more secure means of transportation.
She pulled into the alley behind Crafted with Love, nosed into her parking space, and shut off the engine. Despite the stop-and-go traffic between Ashton and Garfield that threatened the cake with a fate worse than Milo, her attempt at baking had arrived in one piece. She’d spent half the drive terrified it would land on the floor.
And the other half thinking about Grandpa’s announcement.
Easton Cramer.
Cami had no idea why the thought of his return should put a smile on her face. He’d taken off for Australia almost a year ago, and she hadn’t heard a word from him since. That seemed like odd behavior for someone who’d tried so hard to become friends with her. She didn’t assign the term friend to people easily, certainly not to men. But Easton was different. She’d enjoyed his company. If she was honest, she probably more than enjoyed it. She’d come to crave it, even miss him when he wasn’t around.
Then, just like that, he was gone without a word, just like all the other men she’d known.
Which was unfair.
Okay, fine. Maybe Easton didn’t deserve to be lumped in with the rest. Her life had been anything but steady twelve months ago. Between finally revealing her identity to Grams, finding a grandfather she hadn’t been looking for, saying a final goodbye to her mother, followed by Grams’s diagnosis and wedding, she doubted she’d have heard him if he had said goodbye.
Now he was coming home, and for reasons she refused to examine too closely, that made her happier than she’d been in months.
The metal door squeaked open. “Better hurry,” Ember called into the alley. “The natives are getting restless.”
Cami snatched the cake and slammed the door. “I’m coming.”
“Oh, that looks delicious,” Ember said as she passed.
“Fingers crossed.” She moved into the warmth of the break room and lifted her offering to the women waiting inside. For someone who did not make friends easily, Cami’d had more than luck on her side when she’d stumbled into this group of crafters.
In the two years since her first shy hello, these women had become her family, and those bonds had only strengthened over the last three months. Piper Goodson, designer of crosses. Maggie Caswell and her lovely jewelry. Lacy Fields, quilter extraordinaire. Holly Soeurs, queen of all things Christmas, and her sister, Sage Tillis, whose wonderful soaps and candles could be smelled all the way into the break room. And of course the store owner, Ember Abbott. For Cami, Crafted with Love wasn’t just a business but a second home.
Cami slid the cake onto the table.
“You did it,” Piper said.
“I told her it looked delicious,” Ember added as she lifted the lid.
“Ruthie would be proud,” Maggie said.
Holly frowned. “Ruthie’s was always three layers.”
“Holly!” Sage hissed.
Cami put a hand over her mouth to hide a smirk. She was the youngest of the women and hadn’t been a part of the group from the beginning, but she was well acquainted with Holly’s speak-first-engage-your-brain-second behavior and Sage’s unrelenting attempts to put her little sister on the straight and narrow.
“Don’t get me started,” Cami said. “Let’s just say that I hope you enjoy your piece as much as Milo enjoyed his.”
Maggie’s eyes went round. “Oh no.”
“He didn’t.” Ember sounded horrified.
“Yuck.” Holly took a step back.
“Don’t worry. These two layers were in the yuck-free zone.” Cami looked at Sage. “Did you remember?”
“I did.” Sage produced a small package from her pocket, unwrapped the candles, and stuck them in the cake. She held a lighter in Cami’s direction. “You do the honors.”
Cami gave it a quick flick and held the flame to the candles. The break room was not the least bit dark, but Sage’s special sparkler candles filled it with a happy glow.
“Happy birthday, Grams.” Cami had to swallow to keep the tears that stung her eyes from rolling down her cheeks. This was supposed to be a celebration.
Lacy put an arm around Cami’s waist and drew her close. “It’s OK. We all miss her.”
“Yeah,” Holly said, her tone subdued. “How can she be gone three months already?”
“I have a better question.” Cami swiped at her eyes as the candles guttered out. “Why nine months instead of the three years the doctors had predicted? How is that fair?”
“I think Ruthie would have an answer to that question,” Ember said.
Cami looked at her, offering a silent invitation to continue.
“God had a plan.” Ember plucked the candles out of the cake and sliced it, laying thick pieces onto plates before Sage passed them around.
What was Cami supposed to say to that? Sometimes it was hard being the only one in the room who didn’t believe what everyone else accepted as gospel. She chuckled at her choice of words. If her friends drew comfort from the idea of a loving Heavenly Father, more power to them.
She had no need of a father, earthly or heavenly.
“God’s plan?” Cami finally said. “That doesn’t help at all. She’d have never married Elliott if she’d known she’d be gone so soon. They had nine months as man and wife. She spent the first three sicker than a dog while they adjusted her medication and treatment plan. And the last three she got sicker and sicker every day. All they really had was three in the middle.”
“You think he regrets it?” Lacy asked.
“Absolutely not,” Cami answered. “He’d have married her for nine weeks or nine days. He’s grateful for the time they had. It’s my feelings that are messed up.”
“And you feel…?” Maggie asked.
“Cheated.” She bent her head over her slice of cake. “It took me months after Mom died to make my way to Garfield. I didn’t know what I’d find when I got here, I just knew I needed to meet my grandmother and get to know her. I was half-prepared not to like her. I mean, she gave my mom up for adoption. I didn’t understand that at all. But it took me about sixty seconds to fall smack dab in love with that woman. I never met anybody who was so genuinely kind. Getting to know her…” Cami’s voice broke. “She was amazing.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Lacy said. “I’m so sorry you didn’t have more time with her.”
Cami dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Ignore me. I wanted to have a celebration for my grandma’s birthday, and I’m throwing darts at my own balloons.” She forked up a bite of her cake, popped it in her mouth, and chewed. The tang of the lime and the sweet of the frosting had her taste buds doing a happy dance. “Hey, this isn’t half bad, if I do say so myself.” Her gaze went to the ceiling and the heaven that hung above it. “Happy birthday, Grams.”
The other crafters echoed the sentiment.
Ember tasted her own piece. “Just like Ruthie used to make.”
Sounds of agreement circled the table. “I’m glad you guys like it. I’m hoping Gramps does too.”
“How’s that working out?” Sage asked.
“OK.” For now. Cami kept those last two words to herself. She enjoyed living with Gramps in the big house he’d bought in Ashton, but it was just a matter of time before he tired of this place—and her—and moved on. That was what the men in her life did.
The thought of his leaving turned her mouth to sand and she had to force herself to swallow.
“Do you see Ruthie’s kids?” Piper asked.
Cami gulped a quick drink of her coffee before she answered. “Jaxon stops by when he can. I see Addison more often. She’s gone out of her way to include me in family things. Her husband, Ben, is sweet, and I’m enjoying the chance to get acquainted with my cousins. Amilia and Sicily are a package deal most days. It’s kind of like having a couple of little sisters when we’re together.”
“So, Addison and Ben are settling in?” Sage asked.
“They seem to be. I mean, moving into Grams’s house had to be like coming home for Addison. And I think she loves that old workshop almost as much as Ruthie did.”
“And Sadie?” Ember asked.
“Sadie is Sadie. At the risk of being horrible, I’ll admit that I was relieved when her husband took that new position in Tulsa. Some people are just predisposed to rub each other the wrong way. That’s me and Sadie.”
“That’s Sadie and eighty-five percent of the population,” Holly said.
Cami held up her fork, and Holly clicked hers against it in a small toast of agreement.
Lacy ate her last bite of cake and went to refill her cup. She turned with the carafe. “Anyone else?” After topping off everyone’s coffee, she reclaimed her seat. “I think it’s wonderful that you and Elliott have each other. It must be a great source of comfort.”
“It is, but we’re both restless. His answer was to adopt Milo. They’re completely smitten with each other.”
“And you?” Sage asked.
“That dog is a nuisance.”
Sage laughed. “I wasn’t talking about you and the dog, silly. I was wondering what you’re doing to conquer your restlessness.”
Cami propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand, visualizing the empty rooms on the next block. “I’ve got a few ideas about that.”