Adams Grove 03-Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes Read Online Free

cross into the park. His shirt was already damp and sticking to his body. The jogging path was empty since most people were already at work by now. That was one of the best things about havinghis own law practice and answering to no one else. He could build in time for his workouts and extracurricular activities.
    The same old questions pounded out against the pavement. Impossible relationships. He always picked the girls who were taken or unattainable, and before, maybe that had been by design.
    Things had been different since his mom had died. She’d always wanted to be a grandmother. That ship had sailed, but now that she was gone, he’d been thinking more about settling down and having that family and kids she’d always wished for him.
    If I’m ever going to settle down and have a family, I’m going to have to break that trend.
    An image of Carolanne on a blanket in the park—under the big magnolia—with a child on her lap and holding up a glass of sweet tea for him as he ran by made him pick up speed. Right. Hell, Carolanne was more against marriage than Katherine was. At least Katherine pretended that someday she’d want to get married, just not now. Carolanne had vowed she’d never get married, and she seemed pretty comfortable with that decision—and there was the law practice thing, too.
    What would normally have been a good forty-five-minute run, he completed in just over thirty minutes. Sweaty and feeling more in control, Connor slowed to a walk on Main Street. Through the wide glass front window of Baxter and Buckham, he saw Carolanne greeting her first clients of the day. He still had time before his first meeting, so he headed up the block to Mac’s Bakery. He’d need the sugar rush to get him through the meeting with Mrs. Avery. Ever since Pearl Clemmons died and everyone heard about her video will, half the seniors in this town wanted to do the same thing to supplement their written wills.
    At this rate, he’d be able to add producer and director to his résumé. It was a hassle, but the good boy whom his mom raised couldn’t say no to the old folks that he’d respected all his life.
    Connor sucked in a big whiff of the salty bacon coming from the diner, but he wasn’t dressed for a sit-down breakfast, so he continued toward the sweet, sugary smells from Mac’s Bakery just a few doors down. He nodded to a woman he recognized from the gym.
    The planter boxes around each lamppost down the block overflowed with flowers. One type flaunted petals in a soft hue of color that reminded him of Carolanne’s dress this morning. Good thing Milly and Jill had been there. If they hadn’t been there, he probably would’ve really acted the fool. If I’d gotten there before they had, she might not have been wearing that dress by the time they arrived. He laughed aloud at the big-talk thought. Wishful thinking, man.
    Giant candy-blue letters in an arch spelled out M AC’S B AKERY across the center of the storefront window. Connor’s appetite grew as he pulled open the door and the smell of fresh bread and cinnamon wrapped around him. Glass cases filled with colorful cakes, cookies, and homemade bread baked fresh this morning filled the space.
    He glanced at the corner display boasting Mac’s achievements. Trophies and ribbons flanked pictures of him appearing on that cable television cook-off. Too bad it had ended in disaster when Mac’s cake came up just a smidgen short in the height requirement.
    Connor stood in line as Mac’s son, Derek, passed white wax-lined bags of goodies over the counter to customer after customer.
    Mac came out from the back of the store with a bear claw on a plate so fresh that Connor could see the steam and smell the buttery cinnamon wafting across the room. Mac served a woman sitting in one of the five bright-blue chairs that snugged up against the stainless steel counter, then leaned across the counter in conversation.
    “Good morning, Mac,” Connor called across the