Embraceable You (Irish Hearts Series)

Embraceable You (Irish Hearts Series) by Mary Tate Engels

Book: Embraceable You (Irish Hearts Series) by Mary Tate Engels Read Free Book Online
Authors: Mary Tate Engels
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that’s what she told Aunt Addie, which Siena overheard because she was a little snoop and listened through the door.
    What she said to Siena was, "Come on honey, you’re going to Aunt Addie’s for a few weeks to keep her company while I take care of some business. She loves having you there because she’s lonely."  And what that meant to Siena was that Mama didn’t want her around while she had a new boyfriend. So Siena started calling her Dana, like she was a big sister, not a mama.
    Siena remembered some of her rebellions. "Euwwww, bananas? I hate bananas."
    "Well then," Aunt Addie said patiently, "we’ll mash them and hide them in muffins so they can be nutritious and taste good, too." Siena recalled that Aunt Addie was always cheerful, not moody like Dana.
    Siena was not eager to cook bananas into muffins, so she folded her arms and watched. This was way before the current rage for muffins.
    Aunt Addie got the ingredients and pan and set them on the counter.  "One really great thing about muffins is that you have a small piece of a tasty cake that’s easy to share. Friends can eat them or take them along. They always bring people together to eat and that’s a good thing. They attract attention. So if I take them downstairs to my shop, they might draw more customers in. We can even put a surprise in them to make them unique."
    "A surprise? Like a toy?"
    "No, not a toy. Something good to eat. Like a couple of craisins. Or orange zest. Or a little dab of jam. What would you like to put into them, Siena?"
    "Whatever. Will it bring my ma—uh, Dana back?"
    "Probably not right away. But maybe a new friend will stop by."
    And sure enough, that afternoon, a skinny boy with a scratch on one cheek and wild blond hair stopped by the shop. "Do you have anything special today, Aunt Addie?"
    "Just these Surprise Muffin s. Siena helped me make them." Aunt Addie lifted the glass dome over a plate of muffins. "Have one, Zach. Or two."
    He snatched one in each hand and started for the door. "Thanks! You’re sure a much better cook than my mom."
    Siena followed him and yelled. "Hey, guess what the surprise is."
    He turned around and ran backward, showing both empty hands. "What surprise? They’re all gone. I already ate them."
    "You pig!"
    "Oink-oink!"
    And that was the first time Siena ever saw Zach Cassidy. He did not make a good first impression. But she didn’t care. She just knew that every time her mother had a new boyfriend, she was left with Aunt Addie. And eventually, over the years, Zach became a friend and more.
    Like now. She was in Haven’s Point to deal with Aunt Addie’s ghost and miserable little shop while Dana was heading cross-country with Chaz, yet another boyfriend.
    The cherished muffin recipe was in Boston in her favorite cookbook, tattered and well used over the years.
    Siena looked around and found a leather-bound ledger under the cash register counter. Handwritten sales for the week prior to Aunt Addie's leaving for Florida totaled less than fifty dollars. And now Siena was left holding this empty bag of a shop. And two damn cats the size of small dogs.
    If she abandoned all this, which was a strong temptation, Amazing Lace would be one more building in town to close its doors. And she would get nothing for this business that her aunt had worked so hard to build.
    Still, something drastic had to be done, or she might as well close up shop now and not waste any more time here.
     

Chapter Four
     
    The doorbell dinged. "Are they all gone?"
    Siena looked up to see George, the horror writer from next door. She nodded. "No one here but me. And I promise not to say a word."
    "Aw, you're all right I guess. But those women drive me nuts with all their jabberin’." 
    "They’re just lonely, that’s all." Siena slammed the ledger shut. "I didn’t realize things were this bad when I decided to come. Do you know what Aunt Addie took in receipts last week? Forty-seven dollars! Nobody can run a business on

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