"Crushin' Over Pumpkin Pie": Sweets Bakery, #1

By Pamela Cornes

Reese Thorne, a twenty-five-year-old single baker, is sick and tired of not having the courage to follow her "true" passions and pursue her lifelong dreams. As a result, she impulsively picks up everything and moves from Memphis to Healing and purchases "Sweets," a bakery which has proven to be quite popular and profitable, especially during the Thanksgiving season. Thanks to a certain male reporter for the Healing Gazette, Reese's famous pumpkin pie, which is only available during the Thanksgiving season, has been literally selling off the shelves, or rather, literally right out of the oven.

Brock Montgomery, a twenty-eight-year-old single reporter, is bored with his hum-drum life. After all, nothing painstakingly newsworthy ever happens in Healing. That is, nothing until Reese Thorne whisks into town in all her "Sweets" glory and starts attracting the biggest tourist wave to hit the town in the last twenty years.

Between Reese's popularity and Brock's new "excitement," you'd think their lives would finally be fulfilled. But, no. Being both workaholics, they have a hard time separating their work life from their social life, hence nothing "social" ever takes place. However, once they realize that it's okay to take a break every once in a while and step out to enjoy life, they both might find what they've been looking for all along.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pamela Cornes
• Release date: Dec 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393097655

Book preview

Chapter One

Reese

W elcome to Sweets, Reese seemed to recite louder than usual as the bell above the door chimed indicating another customer had entered her bakery. Bringing herself from behind the display case, she continued, Here at Sweets, we’re sure to have a dessert that will satisfy your sweet tooth and leave you longing for more. What can we serve you with today?

Reese never tired of reciting her welcome slogan. When she decided to move from Memphis to Healing and purchase Sweets, she had no idea what she had signed up for. She didn’t realize it beforehand, but Sweets was situated on the main route through downtown. And, being that as it may, when the trolley service stopped and let tourists off at the most popular destinations, Sweets was right smack dab on their menu.

Being widely known for its healing and rejuvenation powers, tourists from all over have always been attracted to Healing, especially during the holiday season. And, this Thanksgiving season has proven to be no different. Its profits alone are predicted to bring in the bulk of their business for the year, especially if the rush they are experiencing right now was any indication.

The rush had Reese and her staff working from the time they entered through the rickety wooden front door that Reese should have inspected more when she bought the place until the time the last customer left, and they sent them home with Thank you for your business. Have a nice evening.

Though this was the first year Reese was experiencing the Thanksgiving rush, she quickly realized that it was a very popular holiday for Sweets. It had plenty to do with the crowd of tourists the season usually brought, and, since the small town of Healing was also known for its atmosphere of rest and relaxation on holidays and, more often than not, on other days as well, they were inundated with visitors from all over.

Fortunately, being busy wasn’t anything to which Reese wasn’t accustomed. Reese Thorne’s hometown of Memphis, TN., also known as Home of the Blues or the Birthplace of Rock ‘n Roll, attracted tourists from all over that just wanted to get drunk and lounge around on Beale Street, go to B.B. King’s club, or take a trip to the former home of Elvis Presley so she was used to entertaining overly excited, overbearing tourists. However, it was somewhat different here in that she had her own business. Being the owner was definitely different from being the employee, and she was finding that out firsthand.

Every year, Gossip, Healing’s daily newspaper, published recommendations of the best places to visit during the tourist season. The list was entitled Healing’s Best Offer. This year, Reese’s bakery, Sweets, had made the list. Unbeknownst to her, the reporter in charge of the list this year had come by and eaten a slice of her pumpkin pie. Thanks to him, everyone in the area knew about Reese’s pumpkin pie. After all, it was her Thanksgiving specialty. She made it fresh daily, and she only made it during the Thanksgiving season.

Mya, the server at the time, remembered the reporter and just thought he was the average customer coming in on an afternoon break. People about town were always doing that. However, the next thing they knew, they were in the paper on the list, and the demand for Reeses’s pumpkin pie had multiplied tenfold. It was so bad that they actually ran out of pies and had to start a pre-order list.

Luckily, Reese was always prepared with a back-up plan. Well, most of the time. Ever since she started selling her much-in-demand pumpkin pie, she learned to have a back-up supply of the tasty pastries on hand. In addition to the refrigerator she kept up-front in her bakery, she also stayed after hours daily and baked extra pies to keep in the back freezer. She always made sure to notate on their individual box the date and time that it was made so she knew how long to store them.

When the pies ran out and they had to form the pre-order list, Reese never indicated to the customers that there were additional pies available. That way, they could have some breathing room from the long lines while still being able to fulfill their customers’ orders. Sometimes, they still ran out and had to send the overflow to the next day but not nearly as much as if she didn’t have her back-up system in place.

All in all, Reese was happy with the decision she made to move and start her own business. It was a decision that was a long time coming, and she’s glad that she finally had the courage to make it. Albeit, she did have a little encouragement in that department, but she didn’t want to think about that right now.

It was the end of the day, and every inch of her body cried out with a sore or aching muscle of some sort, and all they wanted to do was get home so she could gently soak them in