Free Sweet Hearts by Connie Shelton Page A

a muddle. When Beau changed the subject she put the Tito
situation out of her head.
    The high protein dinner put Sam
into drowsy mode and even though it was barely seven-thirty, she coasted
through her bedtime routine and crawled between the covers. When her alarm went
off she was still in the same position as when her head hit the pillow.
    She rolled over and sat up,
feeling a twinge from her injured hip. And although she’d promised herself to
get away from using the wooden box’s magic powers to accomplish her work, she
knew there was no way she could be on her feet all day at the bakery without
some help. She reached for the box.
    Once the warm glow had permeated
her limbs and sent its energy throughout her system, she rushed through a
shower and grabbed her backpack. The hip felt absolutely fine—no pain
whatsoever—and it only bothered her for a split-second that she’d used magic to
accomplish the miraculous healing.
    She arrived at the bakery, went
through the normal routine to make things ready for the rest of the crew, then
eagerly turned to the real task—making more of the special chocolates. By the
time her three kitchen helpers arrived at six, she’d completed crèmes,
truffles, nougats, and molded enough hearts in rich dark chocolate to fill at
least a dozen of the new gift boxes which should arrive this morning.
    “Wow, Sam, these are gorgeous!”
Becky exclaimed. “I think you’re doing them as well as Bobul ever did.”
    “Have a sample,” Sam said to the
three women. “I’m curious what you think about this new flavor I added, the
caramel crunch.”
    Three pairs of eyes closed in
ecstasy. No one thought to ask how she’d managed to make so much chocolate so
early in the day.

Chapter
8
    Jen reported for work at a
quarter to seven and immediately marched into the kitchen with a stern look on
her face.
    “I told Beau to be sure you went
for an x-ray and then stayed home in bed today,” she said, facing Sam over the
worktable.
    Becky and the other ladies
stopped to stare.
    “She didn’t tell you guys? She
fell last night and really hurt her hip. She shouldn’t be standing on her feet
all day.”
    Sam looked around the room. “It
wasn’t all that bad. Surprised me when it happened, but no real damage. See?
I’m fine.” She stepped away from the table and walked across the room and back.
“It really doesn’t hurt.”
    The others turned back to their
work, but Jen gave Sam a long hard stare. “If you say so,” she finally said.
“But if it starts bothering you at all . . . Sam would you just please take
care of yourself.”
    Sam offered a hug. Jen had been
her first employee and they had a special affinity. It was natural for her to
worry the most, Sam decided.
    “Here, have one of the new chocolates.
The girls gave them a big thumbs-up.”
    She glanced toward the bake oven,
where Sandy and Cathy were giggling over something. Becky was working at making
risqué replicas of male body parts for a bachelorette party order, a drifty
smile on her face as she handled the modeling chocolate—perhaps a little too
enthusiastically.
    “Becky! Come back to earth.”
    Becky dropped the piece she was
working on. “Sorry, Sam. For some reason I was just—” She flushed crimson. “Oh,
never mind.”
    Sam pulled out an order form for
a child’s birthday party and reminded Becky that she needed to finish that one
before noon, diffusing her embarrassment.
    Jen, meanwhile, had carried the
boxed chocolates out front, along with a plate of sample pieces. Soon, Sam
heard the jingle of the bells at the front door and knew the morning customers
were beginning to arrive. She immersed herself in decorating two more of the
proposal cakes, thinking all the while that she wished she’d had time to read
through Marla’s private investigator’s notes last night.
    When she finally got the chance
to step out to the sales room to check on the display cases and coffee carafes,
she realized that the sky had