Mann Cakes: A Beach Pointe Romance Read online

  Mann Cakes

  Mysti Parker

  Want access to new books from Mysti Parker before they're even released? How about exclusive prizes just for members? Click here to get a BONUS Mann Cakes recipe just for signing up! And just because I'm nice, you'll find another recipe at the end of this book!

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  PUBLISHED BY:

  Mysti Parker on Kindle Direct Publishing

  Mann Cakes

  a Beach Pointe Romance

  Copyright © 2017 Mysti Parker

  Kindle Edition, License Notes

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, shame on you. Every time a book is stolen, a kitten dies somewhere in the world. You don't want to kill a kitten, do you? Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and/or persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are the property of their respective owners and are used for reference only and not an implied endorsement. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For Bryan, the best husband and cook in the world.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Other Books by this Author

  Connect with the Author

  Bonus Mann Cakes Recipe

  Monday Muffintops

  Chapter One

  Tanner Mann stared at the debris behind the chain link fence and the No Trespassing sign. "Shit."

  He’d been hoping it wasn’t as bad as the insurance adjuster had described. He’d been hoping they could rebuild a couple of walls, get a new roof, a few windows, and be back in business before spring. Fat chance of that.

  “My thoughts exactly.” His twin brother, Garrett, crunched some numbers on his smart phone. “With the investigation ongoing, who knows how long it will be before we get the insurance settlement? That is, if we get one at all. But we're not going to be able to keep leasing the property if we don't have any money coming in.”

  Sirens blared a block away—a regular theme song in this part of Louisville. Either someone had been shot or another poor sucker had their business burned to the ground. The wind kicked up a pile of ashes and blew them in Tanner’s face. A mix of charred wood, burnt plastic, and something like soap with a hint of two-cycle engine oil got him coughing. The sickening thought that he might have breathed in tiny pieces of Will had him on the verge of gagging.

  He stepped back and coughed. Once he could speak without the threat of hurling, he continued his argument. “So just give up, pull up our tents, and then what? We sunk everything into this. Shit.”

  “You already said that.” Garrett clung to the fence, fingers curled around the wire. He surveyed the broken bricks and charred stubs with glassy eyes and a hard swallow. Mann Brothers Custom PCs had been his baby. He was the brains of the operation, while Tanner’s never-ending charisma had built their customer base. They were young, but they had made it work. They were going to succeed and retire at forty. Now all they had was a burned-out shell of a dream. But their dreams weren’t the only thing that went up in flames. So had their friend, Will. They'd left the place in his capable hands during their year-long tour of duty in Afghanistan.

  Tanner’s black tie constricted around his neck like a silk noose. He loosened it, but he couldn’t stop picturing the closed casket, and couldn’t get the agonizing cries of Will’s fiancée out of his head. “I swear to God, if it was arson, I’ll hunt the son of a bitch down and kill him myself.”

  “We don’t know that yet. And don’t do anything rash; you’re too pretty for prison.” Garrett let go of the fence. It rattled behind him as he walked to the Jeep.

  Tanner kicked the fence for good measure before following his brother. He slid into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. Tanner turned the key and spun the tires as he pulled away from the curb and onto the street, cutting off a pickup. The driver honked, so he floored it, beating the red light before speeding up the on-ramp to I-65.

  “We’ll have to find work,” Garrett said.

  Why did he always have to sound so matter-of-fact? Why couldn’t he curse and hit the dash and demand blood? He was as even-keeled as a brick. But maybe it was a good thing they weren’t identical. Tanner was the blond, blue-eyed, hot-tempered one like their mom, while Garrett had their dad's brown hair, green eyes, and stone-faced temperament. Thankfully they complemented each other’s personality well. Garrett needed a kick in the ass now and then to rile him up, and Tanner needed a dose of logic to tame his tantrums.

  “Yeah, and what work might that be? I’ve already scoured the classifieds. The jobs we’re qualified for don’t pay diddly-squat.”

  “Maybe it’s time to get out of the computer business. Try something new. There’s an opening for a cook at the Waffle House.”

  “Really? You want to flip pancakes and hash browns for a living? And do you want to work for someone else again? Be somebody’s grunt?” Tanner had risen in the ranks to senior airman. He’d tasted respect and authority, and having to start all over again at the bottom did not appeal to him in the least.

  “No, but what choice do we have?” Of course, Garrett didn’t care much about ranks, so long as he could pay the bills.

  Slogging away in a greasy kitchen wouldn’t be a bad gig for him. He’d rather cook than breathe, but where did that leave Tanner? During their four-year enlistment after high school, he’d earned a few credits toward college, but he hadn’t enrolled in any degree program when they returned, thinking their PC business would take off. Yeah, right. Now the only chance he had was charming his way into a decent job. And he’d probably get fired when they discovered he only talked a good game. It kind of sucked to be dependent on your brother to keep your nose clean. At least Garrett had earned a computer science degree.

  The drive back to their apartment was morbidly quiet, except for the barely audible classic rock station on the radio. They exited onto Third Street, where old Louisville had been resurrected with renovated Victorian era homes inhabited with families and frat houses. Several had been sectioned into apartments, where single folks like he and Garrett slept when they weren't running the modern-day rat race. Tanner usually felt the tug somewhere along the oak-shaded sidewalks where joggers and moms with strollers went about their comfy lives. The one that said he should settle down and father a kid or two, get a real nine-to-five job and accept becoming flabby and bald in twenty years. He shook the notion off with a full-body shudde
r and turned up the volume. Nothing like some Aerosmith to remind him he still had a few years to grow up.

  “We could move back home,” Garrett suggested when they found an empty space to park on the street in front of their building.

  “Oh, hell no. Two hours away is a good buffer zone, close enough to help Mom and Dad out if they need us, but far enough away to keep from having to look at Dad’s latest wart or have Mom spring a girl on me that’s ‘pretty enough to marry.’ Her version of pretty enough and mine are way off.”

  Garrett sighed and got out of the Jeep. “Then maybe it’s time for us to pursue different things.”

  He headed into the apartment building, first typing in the code to unlock the front door, which had iron bars thanks to the increasing crime rates. Tanner stood by the Jeep, feeling guilty. It had been Tanner's idea to go into business together after their first stint in the Air Force. He should have let Garrett go his own way back then. Then they wouldn't have been in this mess, and Will would still be alive.

  Owning their own business had sounded like a great plan, and it was for a while, but now here they were, jobless and back to square one. Tanner trudged onto the sidewalk, passing Lola, the single mom who lived in a barely habitable apartment across the street. She negotiated her pregnant belly from her rusted Honda Civic before getting her toddler out of the car seat in the back. She had another older kid if he remembered correctly.

  “Hey, Tanner.” She sounded more breathless the further along she got. Dark circles had taken up permanent residence under her eyes, and her cheeks were sunken in. A little too skinny for a normal pregnancy.

  Tanner spied the red streaks on her arms. “Hey.”

  “Garrett told me about your friend. Sorry for your loss.”

  “Thanks.” He started past her, but turned back. He didn’t want to give her ideas, but couldn’t stand the thought of a pregnant woman going hungry no matter how messed up her life was. “Garrett’s making a big batch of beef stew tonight. How about I bring you over some.”

  Her eyes widened along with her smile. She looked more relieved than happy. “I’d love that, thanks.”

  “Okay, see ya.”

  He entered the apartment, wishing he knew the douchebag—or bags—who had left her like that so he could kick their asses along with the arsonist who killed Will. His list of ass-kickings due was growing by the minute.

  After dinner, Tanner shut himself in his bedroom, flipped on the TV, and stretched out on the bed. He’d just dozed off when his cell rang.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Tanner, honey, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I’m so sorry about Will and the shop. It must be hard on both of you.”

  “Yeah, it’s…” For lack of a better word, he added, “not good.”

  “I wish you and Garrett would come back home for a while, at least for a long visit. You know Clara’s first birthday party is on Saturday, right? Your sister will be upset if you miss it.”

  “We’ll be there. How’s Dad?”

  “He’s getting a growth removed from his groin tomorrow. The doctor says—"

  “Um, Mom, you're divorced. Why are you still taking care of him?” Dear God, he couldn’t stomach another growth or wart or mole, and especially if it had to do with his dad’s groin.

  "Honey, you know he won't see a doctor on his own."

  "And this is okay with George?" George was his stepdad, and either tolerant or blind, considering Mom's unsevered ties with her ex.

  “Of course. Why wouldn't he be? It's not like I'm still sleeping with Pete."

  "TMI, Mom."

  "Well, you asked. Hey, real quick before you go. Remember Maggie’s Diner?”

  “Yeah, I remember. Best pumpkin pie in the world.”

  “Right. She died last week.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.” Could have been that three-packs-a-day habit that did her in, but he kept that to himself.

  “It is. But you may be interested to know that her diner is for sale.”

  “What would interest me about that?”

  “You could buy it, start up your business again there.”

  “With all that kitchen equipment and booths attached to the floor? You know how long it would take to scrape the gum off the bottom of the tables and degrease the walls?”

  “Never mind that. Garrett could cook, maybe, and you could do the computer thing.”

  Tanner sat up and switched off the TV. His optimism wanted to latch onto that idea, but it was grasping at straws and too big a gamble. “I don’t know, Mom. Who needs custom-made gaming PCs in Beach Pointe? The few who are tech-savvy are only into the mobile devices, while the rest of you are stuck in the Ice Age.”

  “Well, just think about it, okay?”

  “Sure. Night, Mom.”

  “Night, honey. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  He lay down in his darkened room, listening to the distant sirens and the growling jake brakes from the truck traffic on the bypass. Sleep wouldn’t come. Instead, his mind kept turning over the idea of buying Maggie’s Diner. It was crazy, he finally decided, but just like any other time he thought about or visited Beach Pointe, their tiny hometown in central Kentucky that wasn’t anywhere near a beach, he thought about Paige.

  He doubted she ever thought about him. She’d gotten a scholarship to UK before they broke up, so she was probably a lawyer or something by now. His mom never mentioned her, and he was too proud to ask. Keeping up with her life from afar would have been a distraction he didn’t need. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Who was he kidding? He’d never get Paige Baxter out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

  ****

  Icing flew in pink and white splatters as Clara demolished her cupcake, smashing it all over the tray on her high chair. Tanner kissed her little blonde head and smiled when she giggled. She'd been born while he and Garrett were in Afghanistan and looked just like his little sis, Linda, all curly blonde hair and cute dimples. She had her dad's big ears, but they were cute sticking out from under her hair. He'd only seen her over Skype until their family met them at the airport after they landed. Nieces sure had a way of winding uncles around their little fingers. Luckily, they'd made it back home in one piece so they could be here for her first birthday.

  Garrett was busy taking pictures with his big Canon and had to stop and wipe some icing off the lens. But he just grinned and made silly faces at her. She could probably toss the camera into a pond and get away with it where Uncle Garrett was concerned. Clara’s dad, Gary, talked sports with the other dads who sat in folding chairs set up against the dining room wall while their wives gossiped at the table. It was nice to be back in good old Beach Pointe, where families remained close knit even if they were up in each other's business too much.

  Mom sat right next to Clara and scraped most of the mile-high mound of icing off a cupcake. “Always too much icing.”

  Dad stared longingly at the pink sugar pile on her plate. “Quit complaining, Nell. At least you can eat them.”

  “Sorry, Pete. We have the sugar-free ones right there.”

  “Bleh, I’d rather eat the plate,” Pete said with a chuckle.

  George laughed along with him. They made an odd trio, his mom, dad, and stepdad gathered together in his sister's small house. All in their mid-fifties, they were growing appropriately plump and gray as the years passed. Apart from Dad’s diabetes and the occasional weird growth on various parts of him, they were still in good health. The old three's a crowd adage didn't apply to them. Mom and Dad now got along better than they ever had while their boys were growing up. Mom had been married to George for nearly ten years, and as far as Tanner knew, none of them had ever spoken a cross word to each other.

  “How about some ice cream? Open wide.” Mom fed Clara a tiny bite from her plate.

  Garrett’s camera clicked several times in succession, capturing the moment. Clara responded to her first taste of Neapolitan wi
th an ear-piercing squeal. Tanner winced. He’d heard more than his fair share of artillery and deafening fighter jet engines, but those high-pitched toddler notes were a special kind of loud.

  He suspected his little sis had already lost some of her hearing when he had to yell over the crowd just to get her attention. “Linda! Linnn-daaaa! Where’s the beer?”

  She turned around, hand on her hip, interrupted from her task of organizing the gifts, as if Clara would care which one she got first. She’d probably have more fun chewing on the boxes instead.

  “Drink some punch like everyone else.” At his grimace, Linda relented. “Oh, it’s in the kitchen. Let me come with you.”

  “I can find it. It hasn’t been that long.”

  Linda hooked her arm in his and led him through the swinging door. She grabbed a beer from the fridge, popped the top, and handed it to him. “You and Garrett need to move back to Beach Pointe and find some jobs. I know you two have been inseparable since birth, but you’re not conjoined and never have been. It’s time to stop playing Bert and Ernie and live your own lives.”

  “Not you, too. Mom’s already started her campaign.”

  “Look, I’m worried for you guys. What if whoever killed Will comes back for you?”

  “We don’t know if was intentional yet.”

  “I don’t care. I just have a bad feeling. Do you know anyone who had a grudge against either of you?”

  “Besides all my exes?”

  She gave him a ‘get serious’ look. “Were any of them that crazy?”

  “One was kind of bat shit, but what woman isn't?"

  "Very funny. What about Garrett?"

  "Garrett’s two hairs shy of a saint. I’m not sure if he’s even spanked the monkey.”

  “Ew, TMI." She glanced over her shoulder then lowered her voice. "There are rumors going around.”

  “What else is new in this hick town?”

  “I’m serious, Tanner. They’re saying you and Garrett owed too many taxes and had the place burned to get the insurance.”