One Heartbeat Away (Murdock Brothers #6)

Chapter 1

Mercy

“Where do you need me?” Shannon Dillon flew in the door, the bell jangling with the force of her entrance. She was tying on her apron as she crossed the store to the display case, her dark hair was already tied back into a low ponytail.

“Fondant please!”

“Got it.” Shannon was my best decorator. She had a steady hand and thrived on stress. I was pretty sure she ate it crumbled over her oatmeal in the morning.

She was a high school teacher but always wanted to be a cake decorator. We compromised and I let her decorate cookies in her spare time. I needed her piping skills to finish up this cake for Sullivan Murdock and Nora Baker’s midnight nuptials.

Sweet Beats, my bakery, was officially closed for the afternoon. I’d already sold out of my daily batch of baked goods but tonight was a very special occasion. It was my first wedding cake delivery.

Of course it had to be on New Year’s Eve.

Why not?

Only the craziest night of the year deserved my first foray into wedding cakes. My secret love.

I was known for my confectionary delights as well as my eclectic record collection which made up the Sweet Beats aesthetic. At the moment, I had Evanescence’s iconic Fallen album blasting through the speakers. The atmospheric and intense lyrics fit my mood and the dreamy cake.

Nora and Sully had an instant reconnection earlier this year and they wanted a cake to signify their new beginnings. They also wanted to start off the new year as man and wife.

Oh, and they trusted me to pull this off.

Me, Nora’s former sister-in-law. When she and Sully walked into my shop and asked me to make their cake I nearly passed out. Not because I was angry. Nora and my brother had slowly grown apart in the years they’d moved away from Indigo Valley.

I didn’t begrudge her starting over. Especially when I saw just how deeply she loved Sully. We’d never been overly close, but there was one thing I knew for sure. She’d never looked at Booker like she looked at Sully.

And he showed up.

Every day.

Sully Murdock was all about the local businesses of Indigo Valley and he’d put his money where his mouth was for this wedding. Cementing his and Nora’s connection with the town he loved so much.

And, astonishingly, that included me.

He’d only used local people for food, baked goods, and even the dress had been found in the consignment shop a few doors down from me. Nora found a local designer who updated the dress and made it hers.

I’d been one of the few privy to the dress’s design so I could make the cake match along with putting my own spin on it.

Tonight was going to be the wedding of the year. Okay, so it was the last day of the year, but it was going to be the one everyone talked about for months, maybe even years to come. It was the perfect time to launch my cake decorating branch of Sweet Beats.

Shannon hurried behind the counter where I had a startling amount of fondant going through my sheeter. I wasn’t a big fan of fondant taste-wise, but I needed the smooth surface for part of the cake.

“Can I peek?”

I laughed. “Go for it.”

She pushed through the door to the back area where I did most of my baking. I followed her into the war zone of sugar, flour, and empty cake tins. Vanilla and the sharp scent of cherries still stung the air.

It was a six-tiered cake and I’d spent the last two days doing the painstakingly intense lace on the gray and pink layers.

I’d mirrored the soft blush pink lace of her dress.

Nora hadn’t picked a traditional wedding dress for her second run down the aisle.

But what I’d loved most about the dress was the misty gray under layer of the dress that swished around her feet.

It was like she was walking on a misty moor.

“Oh, Mercy. You outdid yourself.” Shannon laced her fingers under her chin as she crouched down to take in all the details. She glanced up at me. “Did you pipe all of this?”

My arms were still screaming. “I sure did. Don’t get too amazed, I did a lot of it on wax paper and transferred it on as a base.

” I didn’t need to explain all the hours I’d spent with an X-Acto blade and teeny tiny brush to make sure every inch was positively perfect.

Shannon knew and had often done the same with a sugar cookie.

I’d worked on the upper tiers of the cake well into the night.

“I need your help for the big sheet cake part that has to feed all the animals.”

Shannon laughed as she stood. “Understood. Hope you left a little decorating for me.”

“I sure did. I saved the groom’s cake details to you.”

Shannon clapped her hands. “I’m so excited.”

“Good, you can make all the little freaking tools. I’m an absolute idiot for offering that as an add-on to this beast.”

She pulled a bandana off the pile I kept on a shelf and tied it around her head before tucking the rest into a hair net. “Let’s do this.”

My dark hair was a puffy mass of sock curls trapped under my hairnet. I was going to the wedding as a guest as well and figured it was just easier to shake out my hair before the ceremony when I swapped my uniform for the red dress in my truck.

At the moment I was wearing black cargos with pockets for all my tools, my Chuck Taylors, and a Sweet Beats T-shirt, along with my good bra. It was digging the hell out of the side of one of my tits, but it hoisted the girls up and showed them off for later.

I cracked my knuckles and rolled my shoulders. “Let’s do this.”

Shannon helped me feed the gray fondant through the sheeter so I could keep it hydrated and not freaking crack.

It took us a full hour to smooth it out over the massive sheet cake.

The bride and groom had requested half black forest cake with rum soaked cherries and half strawberry champagne for a more traditional option for those who didn’t like a rich dessert.

The tiered cake alternated both flavors giving the bride and groom the option of freezing their cake for their one-year anniversary as some couples did.

I’d also made sixty tiny strawberry and champagne tarts with a mousse that actually tasted fizzy on the tongue.

It took me six weeks to figure out just the right ratios of smooth, silky mousse and keeping that champagne specialness.

And an ode to the parents with two cheesecakes in a decadent salted caramel and tiramisu.

Luckily, I’d already delivered the smaller treats and they were being kept in the on-site fridge.

I’d worked with the caterer before. I was pretty sure he was a little afraid of me which was a good thing, it meant he’d keep them safe.

I was going to need a week to recover from this damn wedding, but my desserts were going to be exceptional.

But I wanted Sweet Beats first wedding cake to shout exactly what I could do.

Since female badassery was the deal of the day, I played Within Temptation after Evanescence and as we were finishing stabilizing the cakes, the Pretty Reckless vocals soared through the empty bakery.

Four hours later, Shannon and I stood side by side, both of us covered in sugar and frosting and no small amount of sweat and tears.

“We kicked ass.”

I glanced over at her. “We damn sure did. Thanks so much for coming in to help.”

“I’m so glad you asked. I know this one is pretty special to you.”

I hip bumped her. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Liar, but I appreciate it.”

“Okay, ready to get this in the truck?”

She nodded. “Ready.”

I rolled out the stainless-steel cooler box I’d had since my company’s inception.

It was covered in tour and band stickers with the nicks and dings to match.

The most nerve-racking part of a delivery was getting it safely to its destination.

Bettie, named for the famous pinup girl, worked great for my larger desserts, but this was the first time the case would hold something as important as a wedding cake.

I carefully loaded the intricate tiered pieces, and the groom’s cake, into the cart and we slowly rolled it out to the truck and locked it in. Then we loaded up the rest.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to ride with you?”

“No. You have plans with Danny tonight.”

“He’d understand.”

I arched a brow at her. “Sure, he would. After he bent over backwards to get those tickets to the candlelight New Year’s event in Albany. I think not.”

She sagged. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Have the best time. I appreciate all your help today.”

“Of course. I’m so excited to do more.”

“This is only the first one.” I squeezed her fingers. “Now, let’s hope we get more orders after tonight.”

“Girl, your desserts sell out in three hours most days. They’re going to want them.”

I laughed. “I really hope so.” It had taken a few months for people to get on board with my crazy sales model.

I didn’t want to bake all damn day. Work-life balance was important.

It meant that I busted my ass most mornings, but it also meant I was done with work before noon most days.

The fear-of-missing-out mentality worked well for getting people into my shop to see what I came up with on a daily basis.

Most of the time it matched the music playing in the shop as well.

It was a wild ride, but I was already looking to do a little something different. I would never be the kind of business who followed trends and that worked for me.

So far.

Now, I guess I’d see if wedding cakes were my next level up.

I slammed the back door of the Sweet Beats truck. I’d contracted out for a skin on the truck with a ton of my favorite vinyl records and an extra chunky font with a vintage feel that couldn’t be missed.

Now, I just had to get the cakes there safely.

I double checked my emergency decoration kit for fixing anything that didn’t survive the trip, my duffel bag that had my dress rolled up inside, and my stash of sour gummy candies to keep me energized through the night.

My bedtime was usually eight o’clock thanks to a three in the morning start.

I locked up and waved at Shannon as she pulled away from the curb and into the surprisingly dense traffic.

I had a feeling a lot of it was last minute for the wedding. The Murdock brothers had been the talk of the town this year thanks to a viral moment that exploded their business. Having a hot guy do your renovations wasn’t the worst way to market, that was for sure.

Even if my particular motor had never been revved by that portion of the Murdock clan.

Nope.

I’d always had a secret thing for the black sheep of the Murdocks.

The eldest.

The enigma.

The snarky and intense Ripley Murdock with his broad shoulders and scarred hands was the one who gave me a few rocky moments since I turned sixteen.

But as the oldest Murdock, he’d been unattainable.

He’d worked at the Indigo Valley Gear Heads since nineteen and then taken it over at twenty-five and renamed it Murdock Automotive.

It had become a cornerstone of Indigo Valley’s businesses in a few short years.

I was pretty sure it was a Murdock trait.

Which was why I’d taken the leap on doing this wedding cake.

The Murdocks meant stability unlike my family.

I hopped into the conversion van and rolled over the engine. The slight hiccup as it started made my belly tighten. I’d just picked up the stupid thing from a reputable dealer in Albany.

I patted the steering wheel. “Do not invoke the Hart fuckery gene. You have one job, Thelma. You are going to get this beautiful cake to the pavilion. Eight miles. Easy peasy, darlin’. You can do it.”

The engine shuddered as I turned off Hope Street and onto the winding road that led to the edge of town.

It had a view of the valley and had a sheltered area for the wedding.

It had been a gamble to do an outdoor wedding in the winter when it came to Upstate New York, but the Murdock luck was holding steady and they got a gorgeous night.

Not a cloud in sight.

Fifty degrees.

And a star strewn sky perfect for the fireworks finale to ring in the new year.

I gripped the wheel as the engine made another clunking sound. “No. Please, no.” I patted the dash. “Just another five miles. Please don’t do this to me.”

Just as I hit the steep incline, I watched the RPMs slowly drop and the engine whine to a stop.

I pressed my forehead to the steering wheel. “No, no, no.”

Then I threw my head back with a tension breaker scream.