Pancakes & Pandemonium - Culinary Competition Mystery #6

Chapter 28

(Amy)

Amy was checking on the state of the pastry cases in the coffee shop at Riverbend when she spotted Aubergine. The calligraphy artist and shopkeeper was wearing a red sweaterdress over black leggings. The clingy knitwear molded around her petite baby bump. "Look at you!" Amy said as she gave her friend a hug. "How's it going, Momma?"

Aubergine rubbed her belly. "These pregnancy cravings are brutal. I just left Chuck with a shop full of people because I absolutely need a brownie. I would gladly take on a comic book supervillain if there was only one brownie left in the café and the bad guy wanted it too."

"In that case, I'm glad we made plenty of brownies this morning."

Since Amy had been concentrating on writing her cookbook, it had been almost six months since she'd last worked morning shifts at Riverbend Café. Waking up at 4:30 AM hadn't been fun, but the fact that her help was needed counteracted the pain of the alarm squawking in the middle of the night. Kellerton was giving back to the business that had provided so many free meals during the power outage by coming out in droves to patronize the small restaurant. It was all hands on deck to keep making pastries and bread to supply their eager customers like Aubergine.

"That's great." Aubergine crossed her hands over the top of her belly as she laughed. "As Chuck will tell you, it's not a good idea to upset a pregnant woman, especially when it comes to food. I arm-wrestled him for the last slice of pizza last night. He lost."

Either the pregnancy had made Aubergine insanely strong or her muscled, former-MMA fighter hubby had decided his best course of action would be to purposely lose. Most likely the latter, but Amy would never know herself if pregnancy hormones could increase muscle strength. She was fine with that. Her mother's grumbles and protests about not being a grandmother hadn't swayed Amy's decision not to have children in the least. That didn't mean she couldn't be happy for her friends' pregnancies though.

Amy stepped behind the counter. She placed two brownies in a waxed paper bag and handed them to Aubergine. "Here you go, my treat. I don't want your precious babe going without its chocolate fix."

"Thank you, sweetheart!" Aubergine broke off a corner of one of the fudgy squares and popped it into her mouth. "I had better get going back to the shop before Chuck sends out an SOS. It's great to be so busy, but it's crazy too."

Amy looked around at the tables filled with people. Both the coffee shop and café dining area were full. "I know what you mean. We can barely keep up here."

A couple of hours later, at home, Amy dropped her purse onto the table and sprawled onto the padded bench seat that ringed the breakfast nook. She patted her thighs, signaling for Pogo to jump up. There was nothing like some unabashed puppy love to relieve aches and pains. He did a wiggly happy dance on her lap while simultaneously giving her slobbery kisses.

The canine love fest was a simple pleasure after the intense challenges of the previous week. Everything had worked out, even when the outlook had been dire. Star—aka Kim—was being evaluated for mental competency to stand trial in Catherine's murder. Amy's mother was out of the hospital and happily living with her new paramour, Joe. All of the damage to the house from the explosion had been repaired. They would wait for warmer weather to rebuild the demolished deck.

"What kind of cake should we make this afternoon?" Amy asked Pogo. He answered with an enthusiastic yip. "You're right. I need to make a pot of coffee first."

Amy gently set him down on the floor. Even though she was tired and aching from working at Riverbend, the desire to bake overrode discomfort. There was a stack of printed recipes sitting on the desk in the corner of the kitchen. They made up the last chapter of the cookbook—her cookbook. Once they were tested, the book would be complete and ready to send to the agent who was patiently waiting to read the manuscript. She was a few days away from reaching the first checkpoint in becoming a published cookbook author.