Bad Traveler
By Lola Karns
Genre: Contemporary Small town Romance, Foodie Romance, Heat
Level 3
Recipes are a way of life for Gwen Jones. Take one single
mother, her infant daughter and a business plan for a small town bakery. Combine
with an eventful cross-country flight, chance encounter with her college crush
and a dash of motion sickness. Stir in a few nuts, or family members, and large
quantities of chocolate. Will this recipe be an oven oops, or as delicious as
her alma matter’s newest coach?
Having survived an attack in Afghanistan that cost him a leg
and a wife, Kyle Collins developed a strategy to find meaning in life. He may
be an assistant basketball coach but he refuses to sit on the sidelines. When
the runs into the woman whose lips are as unforgettable as her brownies, Kyle
decides to spice up Gwen’s recipes.
When a secret ingredient is thrown into the mix, can their
recipe for a happily-ever-after rise to the occasion, or will it end up a hot
mess?
Excerpt:
“Or we could go
to my shop, drink some coffee or have cookies and milk. I have my keys.”
“Perfect.” His
heart thumped as he put the car in gear. No one would bother them. They would
be alone in a cozy space she’d created. The absence of students left the
streets virtually empty. Her gloved hand covered his for the five-minute drive.
After a few turns, they parked behind the store and entered through the
kitchen.
“What will you
have? Unfortunately, I have tons of inventory left from today.” She opened the
back side of the display counter, revealing about a dozen or so of six
different types of cookies. “I swore I wouldn’t sell day-old cookies, but I may
bundle up some at a discount rate tomorrow since there are so many.” The touch
of sadness in her voice made him want to whip out his wallet and buy them all
up.
“I’ll take an
oatmeal raisin, a chocolate chip, and…. Are those ginger snaps?”
“Actually, those
are molasses cookies. They are spicy like a ginger snap, but different.” She
stacked an assortment of cookies on a plate. “It’s my nana’s recipe. See what
you think. Coffee?”
“Don’t make
coffee on my account. I’m too wired already. I’d rather have milk.”
“Me, too.” She
poured milk into a couple of mugs and started toward the corner table, which
featured a plush, secondhand love seat. He followed with the cookies. A rapping
on the window drew their attention to a couple outside. Gwen pointed to the
Closed sign, but the couple persisted.
He walked to the
door. “We’re closed.”
She rushed to
his side, adding, “We’ll be open Tuesday at seven a.m. We hope to open in the
evenings starting in late January.”
The couple
walked away.
“I could have
made a sale, but….” She sounded frustrated and tired.
“I think we
should stay in the kitchen. I doubt people will bother us if we have lights on
back there.”
A spark returned
to her eyes. “If we sit on the floor behind the counter, no one will know we
we’re here. They’ll think someone left the lights on by accident.”
Sitting
side-by-side on the floor, backs against the counter, they set the plate of
cookies between them along with their mugs of milk, handy for dunking. He
picked up the firm molasses cookie with large pieces of sugar that stuck to his
fingers. The crisp outside yielded to a softness that melted in his mouth. Sweet
with a hint of saltiness to make it interesting, just like Gwen. Tonight, he’d
see if she would melt in his arms, and his mouth. It was his night.
****
Inspiration: For me, inspiration swirls in the ether until various pieces collide in my brain. Three factors came together for Bad Traveler.
1. There is nothing fun about flying cross country with an infant. I have been the screaming baby section and run through airports with car seats precariously dangling from the stroller. I have pretended turbulence is “super-fun bouncy ride in the sky” even though I’m more scared than the kids.
2. Living near the home of Seal Team 6, I grew more aware of issues facing veterans as they returned home from war. A series of reports in the Virginian-Pilot piqued my curiosity.
3. The bakery near me closed. I decided to invent one, which is much easier than opening a real one.
Ten facts about Lola:1. I am a bad traveler. The only thing worse than flying is traveling by boat or car, but I love seeing new places.
2. When I was four, I decided I wanted to go to Australia because it looked lonely.
3. In high school, I went to Australia for a summer as part of a 4-H youth exchange program. I stayed on farms and sheered a sheep.
4. I rarely make brownies – too dangerous.
5. My baking powder biscuits won a blue ribbon at the Illinois State Fair, but nowadays, I usually make buttermilk biscuits.
6. I have lived in seven states, but only one west of the Mississippi.
7. My favorite of high-heeled shoes are a black Chuck Taylor All-Stars.
8. Two of my cats are feline nudists, aka Sphynx cats. The other has fur.
9. My curls are natural. The color isn’t.
10. The best part of my morning routine – reading a few chapters of a book while drinking my first cup of coffee.
Brief Bio: Lola KarnsHaving worked as a bartender, shipping clerk, concierge, document translator, European history doctoral candidate, and more as she moved through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, Georgia, and Virginia, Lola decided she needed a more portable career. Writing fit the bill.
Lola currently resides in Minnesota with her husband, two children, two hairless cats and a fluffy ex-stray cat. When not writing, she enjoys baking, reading and drinking coffee.
Media links:
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http://www.pinterest.com/lolakarns/ Bad Traveler webpage: http://lolakarns.wordpress.com/bad-traveler/
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