Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Gretchen
I’m sitting with Issy and Livy in the common room talking when the men come back from doing whatever they were doing. Doc walks over to me, leans over and kisses me and says, “We’ve got church, sweetheart, but once we’re done, I wanna take you for a ride on my bike.”
“Sounds good to me,” I reply.
Part of me wishes we could just go back to bed, but I understand from Issy and Livy that these guys, at least, never put anyone on the back of their bike unless they’re an old lady.
A thrill courses through me, knowing that he was definitely serious when he said he was mine and I was his and with us going on a ride, he’s solidifying my place as his ol’ lady within the club.
After he leaves, Issy looks at me with a huge grin on her face. “You’re going to love it, I promise,” she tells me. “But until he gets you one, I’ve got a spare leather jacket you can wear to protect your arms, as well as a helmet.”
“He might already have one for her,” Livy states.
“Eh, if he does, no big deal, but this way, she’ll be prepared. Now, about your treat room, I have a few ideas,” Issy says.
“Tell me, tell me!” I exclaim. “Because I need all the ideas.”
Both women giggle at my enthusiasm. “Okay, so what if we get an upright freezer to put in there so you can do your cake pops and freeze them ahead of time? I think I remember you saying that you can freeze them, then thaw and decorate them closer to an event. That way, when it gets close to the rodeo, you’ll have stock built up but you won’t have to bust your ass to make them, you just have to dip and decorate! ”
I think about what she said and slowly nod. “I could do that all the time, to be honest. It takes a lot of time to bake everything, and it would be awesome to have a bunch of dough balls ready to put into the molds. Kind of like an assembly line of sorts.”
“Exactly. You can mark the containers, so you use the older ones first.”
“What about the chocolate-covered fruit?” Livy asks.
“I’d have to do them the day before or even the morning of,” I admit. “But they don’t take a long time since I typically dip them, then once they’re dry, I put a drizzle on them.”
“Still could work if you did them the day before so they’re nice and fresh.
And, when they’re gone, they’re gone,” Issy says.
“Plus, I bet if you talk to Herb down at the farmer’s market, he’ll get you the freshest he’s got, since he’s got a farm and grows some of the best strawberries I’ve ever eaten.
He brings in bushel baskets, as well as various items his wife makes using them, like jams and jellies, that kind of thing. ”
“This is getting exciting,” I reply. “I mean, I was going to tell Doc I wanted to come back to work at the clinic, but what if this really takes off?”
“Then you work it part time until he can get someone hired,” Issy replies. “Do whatever you have to in order to keep your license, of course, but with you enjoying this as much as you do, why not follow your dreams?”
“You know what? You’re right. Plus, if kids come down the road, I’ll have the flexibility I need to be hands-on versus always being gone for work,” I muse.
Issy laughs and once she’s gotten herself back under control, she teases, “You could always teach Livy and then you’d have a helper!”
I quickly look at Livy and ask, “Would that be something you’d want to do?”
“Definitely! I love my little guy, but I need some adult time, too.” Then she looks at Issy who’s busy waggling her eyebrows at her and sasses, “I mean adult conversation not the other and you know it!”
All three of us burst out laughing because Livy’s face is now beet red from thinking about what Issy said. Issy is practically in tears as she slaps her thigh every time she looks at Livy. She finally manages to calm down and says, “I bet Marge would love to babysit Theo.”
“Don’t I know it! When BamBam goes by to collect the money from the vending machines and the coin maker, he has to take him with him or she gives him hell,” Livy retorts. “Then, she always manages to talk him into leaving Theo for a few hours.”
“She misses her little ones,” Issy softly says. “Her life before coming to work with the Kings was absolute shit, but she’s slowly coming into her own. It’s gonna take a special man to overcome the walls she’s erected, that’s for dang sure.”
I don’t know Marge all that well; I’d consider her more of an acquaintance than anything, but I can always use more women in my posse, so I make a mental note to go into town so I can start building a relationship.
“They do exist,” I murmur, looking at the two women who are quickly becoming friends.
Issy is always busy with the horses, but since I’ve been here, we’ve spent a lot of time together.
I was never around horses all that much, but there’s something that soothes my soul when I’m helping her groom the horses.
She’s going to teach me to ride soon, and I can’t wait!
Livy, of course, has her hands full with Theo now that he’s walking, but from the sound of it, she’s got a willing babysitter in Marge.
“Yeah, they do,” Livy agrees. “Because I was never getting involved with another man as long as I lived and you see how that worked out for me.”
Issy scoffs. “As if BamBam wasn’t a goner from the first time he saw you.”
Now it’s Livy’s turn to make an unladylike snort. “Really? I was beat all to hell if you remember, filthy from running through the woods, and totally traumatized from what had happened. I certainly wasn’t picture perfect.”
“That’s when you know it’s you they’re interested in,” Issy advises. “He’s seen you at your absolute worst and was still willing to put in the work to make you his.”
“I just tell Doc that he steamrolled into my life,” I reply, shrugging. “Because after the guys rescued me and the others, he basically told me I was his.”
We’re all laughing because as Issy just shared through giggles, all of these men are the same. When they find their ‘one’, they don’t waste any time claiming her. Constance walks up to where we’re sitting and I smile at her.
“Maria and I had an idea,” Constance says. “We don’t know all the flavors you make for your cake pops, but we have some recipes and wondered if you thought they could be worked with to make them?”
“That would be pretty neat,” Issy says. “I love Maria’s rumchatta chocolate cake.” At my wide eyes, she adds, “The alcohol burns off, leaving the flavor. Can we see if it would work now? God knows how long they’ll be, after all.”
Looking at Constance, I say, “Lead the way!”
“Do you think they have a cream cheese additive you could put into the bark to mimic the icing?” Maria asks while we wait for the cake to finish baking.
“Maybe?” I reply. “Let me check online and see what we can find. Because from the taste test of the batter, these would be a hit for sure.”
Issy snaps her fingers and says, “I’ll be right back,” before she hauls ass out of the kitchen.
Right now, we have the rumchatta cake baking, as well as what Constance said is a cherry cake that uses 7-Up for the liquid.
Both women add sour cream to their batters, claiming it makes the finished product very moist. My mind is whirling with all the possibilities, and the fact that these two women want to help is priceless to me.
When Issy returns, she has an iPad which she starts up, then she asks, “What site do you use for your colors and additives?”
“I have several since you have to use an oil-based food coloring for the bark, but for the extracts, I prefer this one,” I reply, rattling off the website by memory.
The five of us are soon scrolling through the various flavors, and each time either Constance or Maria says they have a cake that uses that base, Issy adds a bottle to the cart, before she hits the ‘buy’ button.
Then, she goes over to the site I use for my molds, and we find a few of those that will make cute pops, as well as smaller ones I’ll use to create decorative pieces.
When the timer goes off, Maria bustles over to the oven and after testing that it’s done, she pulls the cake out of the oven and brings it over to the island where one of my mixers is waiting.
“Okay, it needs to cool just a few minutes, then I’ll cut it in chunks and put it into the mixer on low until we get a dough consistency,” I say.
“Then I form a ball and wrap them in plastic wrap until I’m ready to form the pops. ”
We’re deep into creating the second ball of dough when Doc walks through the door, followed by Rio and BamBam. “What are you ladies getting into?” he asks as he makes it to my side and drops a kiss on my temple.
“Constance and Maria have some recipes that they said are popular at the cake booth during the rodeos, so we’re trying them out to see if they’ll work for cake pops,” I reply.
“So, we’re taste testing?” he asks, grinning at me.
“You don’t mind, do you?” I query, suddenly worried that the plans he made have changed.
He scoffs before replying, “Absolutely not. Do you need me to get anything from your room?”
“I’ll do it since I know exactly where everything is,” I reply.
“Then I’ll help.” The smile he gives me is wicked and I feel my insides start heating at the promise I see in his eyes. Looks like we’ll be having our own fun later.
“Okay, first of all, watching you make them is fascinating,” Issy says as she slowly chews a bite she just took of the rumchatta cake pop. “Secondly, I think this one would definitely be a hit.”
“We could test it at the farmer’s market if you want, Constance,” I suggest, looking at the older woman.
I found out that they have a booth that sells a variety of fresh vegetables, homemade cakes, jams, and jellies, and they use the profits to get the stray cats that are dumped at the ranch vetted.
In fact, one of the barns is strictly dedicated for the cats since it has climate control, as well as a dedicated space for beds and their food.
“That wouldn’t be competing with you, would it?” Constance questions.
“Not at all, in fact, I can add a whiteboard sign that mentions they can get the ones y’all are gonna sell at your booth, since the flavors will be different.”
“Wonder if you could make one that tasted like a root beer float,” Doc says.
“No clue, but I bet we could figure something out. Right, ladies?” I ask the women who have given me so many ideas for new flavors, I’m considering asking all of them to help. Right now, only having two hands is going to be a detriment to all I want to accomplish.
“We might have something,” Maria murmurs. “We’ll fiddle with it tomorrow. Y’all go on now, it’s getting late and you know this ranch wakes up when the rooster crows.”
“Fucking rooster, shoulda shot him years ago,” Rio grumbles, causing all of us to laugh. “Whoever heard of bikers getting up before noon?”
“Apparently, those who run a ranch,” BamBam states.
“No, I need to help get all of this cleaned up,” I say. Most of the kitchen is straight already, but I have the mug I used to dip the cake pops in to wash, as well as the mold that I used to form them.
“Nonsense, there are two little things to wash and that’ll take me no time at all,” Maria replies, shooing all of us away.
“Y’all used to do that when we were kids,” Rio says, grinning down at the two older women.
“Because y’all were always in the kitchen scrounging for something to snack on.”
“We were growing boys,” BamBam asserts.
“We’re still growing boys,” Rio announces, throwing his arm around Issy.
I shake my head at their antics; they’ve got such a good relationship that I’m glad Doc decided to claim me. It’s nice to belong somewhere again.