Stealing Taffy (Bigler, North Carolina #3) - Susan Donovan Page 0,42

to put the past in the past, but I’ll tell you…” He shook his head and sighed dramatically. “I’ll be happy if nothing that exciting ever happens to me again, that’s for damn sure.”

Halliday patted him on the back. “I hear you,” he said, leading Miller down a hallway to the kitchen. “Mr. Miller’s here, baby!” he called out.

They got to the doorway of the kitchen just as Candy finished stacking baking sheets into a lower cabinet, rising from her knees. He had to admit that Jacinta Carmichael’s daughter was pretty enough, but she was a dishonest sneak—slipping in the back of Cherokee Pines to live with her mother when she knew it was against the rules. He hated sneaks.

“Hi!” Candy wiped the back of her wrist against her cheek, then did a double take. “Oh, my goodness! You look fabulous, Mr. Miller.”

“Thank you.” He’d lost thirty pounds in the last six weeks, and was damn glad to see that somebody had noticed. “I’ve got a ways to go yet, but my blood pressure is down and I’m feeling like I’ve got more energy.”

“Well, it certainly shows. But…” Candy frowned. “I hope all these desserts aren’t going to tempt you off your course. I’d hate to do that.”

Miller saw her smile at him and thought it almost looked sincere, so he smiled back. But this bitch had caused him a lot of grief, showing up at Cherokee Pines, sneaking in her desserts, and making Gerrall fall in love with her. Candy Carmichael coming back to town had led to the downfall of a very profitable little meth operation, and he’d never forgive her for that.

“Oh, no worries, Miss Carmichael,” he said pleasantly. “That’s my battle to fight, not yours, and the residents are looking forward to another of your German chocolate cakes.”

She seemed embarrassed by the flattery, and her cheeks flushed. Miller took a sidelong glance at Halliday and was nauseated by the puppy love in the sheriff’s eyes. These two deserved each other. She was a conniving bitch and he was a dim-witted dolt. They were going to make each other deliriously happy.

Candy grabbed a notebook from the stainless steel counter. “I’d ask you to sit down and join me for a cup of coffee, but we’re not set up for coffee yet and our tables won’t get here until next week.”

Miller waved his hand through the air to dismiss her concerns. He wouldn’t tell her, of course, but if the place were decked out like a five-star French restaurant and served the best cup of joe this side of Paris, he still wouldn’t want to sit across from Candy Carmichael. The business they needed to discuss would take just minutes and could be done standing.

“I’ve got the list,” he said, pulling a sheet of paper from his pants pocket. “These are the results of our questionnaire, after some compromise. If it were up to the residents, they’d want an entire dessert buffet every lunch and dinner, and fancy baked goods at every breakfast, but there is a limit to what our operating budget can afford, I’m afraid.”

Candy nodded and gave him a sweet smile. “I know. My mother told me the process was like negotiating a peace treaty.”

Miller laughed, hoping to God he could get out of there before losing his mind. He began reading from the list. “Okay, so on Saturdays and Sundays we’ll need two kinds of breakfast pastries or baked goods. The residents have asked for sticky buns and popovers, but feel free to substitute other items, or the next thing they’ll complain about is a lack of variety.”

“Of course,” she said, writing quickly. “So a total of about a hundred pieces each weekend morning?”

Miller swallowed hard—this was going to cost him a fucking fortune. “Yes, please. And for weekly desserts, the residents have decided they’d like something of your choosing on Monday and Friday, but they insist on Cupcake Wednesdays.”

“How fun!” Candy started scribbling notes on her pad of paper, and all he could think was how much he hated cupcakes. They were just too damn delicious, and they went down so easy. They were like potato chips—he could never stop at one.

Or five.

Candy gave him a big smile. “You know, Mr. Miller, in all honesty I was quite surprised that you called me. I’m thrilled, but … well, I know we had a rocky start.”

Jesus. Get me out of here. He tried to smile back. “As I just mentioned to the sheriff, all