Free Cookies for Courting by Amber Kell Page A

and I have to go to meeting. I hate to ask, but could you come keep Alice company? I could call a temp service, but I don’t like to leave her with strangers.”
    “No problem. I don’t have any plans today.” Given his art was rejecting him, maybe an afternoon with a little girl would rejuvenate his creativity. Besides, he might not be in the relationship of his dreams, but he could help a guy in trouble.
    “I could pay you for your time.”
    “Don’t even think about it. This is a favor between friends.” As much as he wished they could be more, Marshall had too much going on right now for a relationship.
    “I’ll owe you one.”
    “Sure. I’ll see you soon.”
     
     
    P ACE DIDN ’ T know why he’d agreed to watch Alice. He wasn’t experienced at watching kids. However, he couldn’t leave Marshall in a bind. Alice needed someone to watch her, and even if he and Marshall couldn’t be romantically involved, they were still friends.
    When he got to the condo, Alice was all smiles and happy to see him.
    “Pace!”
    “Hey, Alice, how are you doing?”
    “Good. I can’t wait until we get our new house.”
    Pace swallowed the lump in his throat. He pasted a smile on his lips. “What did you want to do while your uncle is at work?”
    “Make cookies.” There was no hesitation in her voice. She seemed quite determined.
    “I’m not much of a baker,” he warned.
    “That’s okay. Ilona has her recipe book here. I help her with it all the time.”
    “Well, as long as you’re patient with me, I don’t see any problem with cooking.”
    “Yay!” Alice hopped up and down with excitement.
    Pace followed her to the kitchen and picked up the book she pointed out. The pages were yellowed from age and the spine was worn, but Pace could just make out the title. Mystical Meals and Dangerous Desserts by Granny B .
    “Kind of a strange title,” Pace said, looking at Alice.
    Alice nodded. “But it has amazing recipes. The cookie recipe is in there.”
    Pace flipped through the pages. It had the look of a hand-bound volume. This was no mass marketplace publisher. There wasn’t even a copyright page. Strange.
    “Do you know where she got this?”
    “It belonged to her husband. That’s what she said.” Alice appeared to have no interest in the book’s origins. “Just look at the titles; so strange.”
    Pace did what Alice bid. Flipping through the pages, he had a laugh at some of the names of the recipes. Beet porridge for clarity? Meatloaf for finding what was lost along the way? A whole section on food for courting?
    “What’s that word?” Alice said, pointing. She’d been looking over his shoulder as he flipped through the pages.
    “Courting? It means sort of like dating, trying to win someone’s heart or get someone interested in you. It’s sort of an old-fashioned word. No one really uses it anymore.”
    “I think the cookies are under here.”
    There were a couple cookie recipes, an easy shortbread, a dark molasses cookie with a few obscure notes below, and an oatmeal cookie. Beneath the recipe for Oatmeal Cookies to Connect Hearts someone had scrawled in pencil, “Warning: may cause permanent relationships.”
    “Weird. What do you think they mean by that?” Pace asked Alice.
    She shrugged. “How would I know? I’m eight.”
    “Good point. Does this look like the recipe?”
    “That’s the one she used.”
    “Okay, then, let’s get started. My mother always gathered all the ingredients first. Is that how Ilona does it?”
    Alice shook her head. “She turns on the oven first.”
    “Right. Of course she does.” After checking the temperature needed, Pace turned on the oven. “Now what?”
    “She put butter on the cookie sheets. In there.”
    Pace opened the cabinet Alice had pointed to and pulled out two cookie sheets. “She doesn’t use spray?”
    “Nope.”
    “Okay, then.” Pace went to the fridge and pulled out the butter. Ilona’s cookies had been awesome; if this was how