Return of the Last McKenna. Shirley Jump
to elbow her grandmother but Nora had already stepped out of reach. Under the counter, she waved her hand, but Grandma ignored the hint.
“Yes, ma’am,” Brody said. “I own a family practice right down the street from here. I took over for Doc Watkins.”
“Oh, I remember him,” Nora said. “Nice guy. Except for when he was losing at golf. Then he was grumpy. Every Wednesday, he played, so I learned never to make an appointment for first thing Thursday morning.”
Brody chuckled. “Yep, you have him down to a tee.”
Kate and her grandmother laughed at the pun. Then Nora tapped her chin, and studied Brody. “Wait…McKenna. Aren’t you that doctor that volunteers all the time? Or something like that? I read about a charity your family heads up. Doctors and Borders or something like that.”
“Medicine Across Borders.” He shifted from foot to foot. “Yes, I’m involved in that. We travel the country and the world, providing volunteer medical help to people in need.”
The name of the organization sounded familiar to Kate, but she figured maybe because she’d seen something in the news about it. Brody McKenna, however, seemed unnerved by talking about the group. His gaze darted to the right, and his posture tensed. Maybe he was one of those men who didn’t like his charity work to be a big deal. A behind the scenes kind of guy.
Nora leaned in closer to him. “So tell me, Doctor McKenna, is there a Mrs. Doctor?”
“Grandma,” Kate hissed. “Stop that.” Still, Kate checked his left hand. No ring. The doctor was a single man. And she didn’t care. At all.
Uh-huh.
“No, ma’am, there isn’t a Mrs. Doctor,” Brody said. “But I am here about a wedding that’s in the near future.”
Disappointment filled Kate. She told herself to quit those thoughts. She’d seen the man once for a few minutes and she didn’t care if he married her next door neighbor or the Queen of England. For goodness sake, she’d turned into an emotional wreck today. And it was only Tuesday.
“I’d be glad to help you with that,” she said, pulling out an order pad and a pen. “What do you need?”
“It’s not for me. It’s for my brother.”
“Wonderful,” Nora said. “In that case, we’re even more glad to help you.”
“Grandma, stop,” Kate hissed again.
“It is nice to find such helpful and beautiful service in this city,” Brody said with a smile.
Nora elbowed Kate. A little thrill ran through her at his words. Why did she care?
Darn those eyes of his.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Brody said. “I’m as far from getting married as a man can be. This is for my little brother, Riley. He’s getting married next Saturday and it’s a small, private affair, but I thought it would be nice to provide the dessert so his new bride doesn’t have to cook it. She owns a diner in the city. Maybe you’ve heard of it. The Morning Glory.”
“I’ve seen it before when I’ve been in the city,” Kate said, stepping in with a change of subject before her grandmother found a way to turn a diner, a brother’s wedding and a cupcake order into an opportunity for matchmaking. After all, hadn’t Brody just said he had no interest in marriage? That screamed stay away, commitment-phobic bachelor. “Didn’t the diner host an animal shelter thing a month ago?”
“It did. Went well. The diner’s main chef is on a trip to Europe and they’ve got a new one filling in, but I think doing the dessert and the food might be a bit overwhelming for him. Plus it’s a nice way for me to show my support for my brother and his new wife. As well as give some business to a local shop.”
It all sounded plausible, but still, something about the story Brody told gave Kate pause. She couldn’t put her finger on it. Why come here? To this shop? There were a hundred bakeries in the area, several dedicated to weddings. Why her shop?
She decided to stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. She needed the income, and she’d be crazy to turn down the opportunity to get Nora’s Sweet Shop name out there. Especially if she sthe tuck to the plan about expanding, every public event was an opportunity to spread the word, ease into new markets.
“You’ve come to the right place,” Nora said, as if reading Kate’s mind. “We’ve done lots of weddings.”
“Yeah, I saw that cupcake thing you had in the window. My brother and his fiancé thought it’d be a great idea because they’re having their wedding and reception at the diner. It’s going to be more low-key than your traditional big cake and band kind of thing. They aren’t your typical couple, either, and loved the idea of an atypical cake.”
Kate thought a second while she tapped her pen on the order pad. “We could do a whole morning glory theme. Put faux flowers on top of the cupcakes and arrange them like a bouquet.”
Brody nodded. “I like that. Great idea. And I know Stace—that’s the bride—will love it, too. The diner is important to her.”
The praise washed over Kate. She’d had dozens of customers rave about the shop’s unique sweets. Why did this one man’s—a stranger’s—words affect her so? “How many people are we serving?”
“Uh, about fifty. I think that’s what my brother said.”
“Sounds great.” She jotted some notes on the order pad, adding the details about the cupcakes, his name and the date of the event. Considering the number of orders already stacked up in her kitchen, adding his one into the mix would take some doing. Thank God she had her assistant Joanne to help. Joanne had the experience of ten bakers and had been with the shop for so many years, neither Kate or Nora could remember when she’d started.
“And what about a phone number?” Nora piped in. Kate shot her grandmother a glare, but Nora just smiled. “In case we need to get a hold of you.”
Brody rattled off a number. “That’s my office, which is where I usually am most days. Do you want my cell, too?”
“No,” Kate said.
“Yes,” Nora said. Louder.
Brody gave them the second number, then paused a second, like he wanted to say something else. He glanced across the room, at what, Kate wasn’t sure. The cupcake display? The awards and accolades posted on the wall? “So, uh, thanks,” he said, his attention swiveling back to her.
“You’re welcome. And thank you for the order.”
“You said spread the word.” He shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin. “I did. I’m sorry it wasn’t more.”
She chuckled. “I appreciate all business that comes my way.”
Again, he seemed to hesitate, but in the end, he just nodded toward her, said he’d call her if he thought of anything else, then headed out the door. Kate watched him go, even more intrigued than before. Why did this doctor keep her mind whirring?
“Why did you keep trying to fix us up?” Kate asked Nora when the door had shut behind Brody.
“Because he is a very handsome man and you are a very interested woman.”
“I’m not at all.”
“Coulda fooled me with those googly eyes.”
Kate grabbed the order pad off the counter and tucked the pen in her pocket. “My eyes are on one thing and one thing only. Keeping this shop running and sticking to the plan for expansion.” Her gaze went to the article on the wall, the only one that truly mattered. To the plans she’d had, plans that seemed stalled on the ground, no matter how hard she tried to move them forward. “Because I promised I would.”
* * *
Brody tried. He really did. He put