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  SILENCED BY SUGAR

  by

  CATHERINE BRUNS

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  Copyright © 2018 by Catherine Bruns

  Cover design by Yocla Designs

  Gemma Halliday Publishing

  http://www.gemmahallidaypublishing.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  RECIPES

  FREE BOOK OFFER

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  BOOKS BY CATHERINE BRUNS

  SNEAK PEEK

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A huge thank you to retired Troy police captain Terrance Buchanan for his willingness to answer my questions and to Constance Atwater for serving as my wonderful beta reader. Special props to Kim Davis and Margaret Kehn for sharing their original delicious recipes with me. Thank you to my patient husband Frank for his assistance with "plotting" this novel. And as always, deep appreciation to publisher Gemma Halliday and her wonderful editorial staff (especially Danielle Kuhns and Wendi Baker) for taking such good care of Sally and her gang.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  Josie stood at the front window of the bakery, hands perched on her hips as she stared out at the dismal January day. "Did you win Publishers Clearing House and forget to tell me about it, Sal?"

  I glanced up from behind the display case to hand Mrs. Josten her change and the little pink box filled with jelly cookies. "Thanks so much. Have a great day." After the woman had departed, I joined my best friend at the window. "Why, what's up?"

  Josie pointed her slim hand in the direction of a black stretch limousine parked at the curb. An attendant in a black Eddie Bauer jacket and chauffer hat exited from the driver's seat and then held the rear door open for his passenger.

  Josie squinted, trying to see inside the limousine. "Maybe this person will buy everything we've got on hand," she quipped.

  "Don't I wish." At this point, any sale would be a blessing.

  A woman alighted from the back seat and said something to the driver. She was tall and thin with straight, fine dark hair that fell past her shoulders. She wore dark sunglasses and an expensive-looking, brown trench coat with suede boots to match. The boots had at least a four-inch heel, but she moved effortlessly and gracefully in them, despite the sidewalk being coated with freshly fallen snowflakes.

  Josie clutched my arm tightly. "Oh my God. Is that who I think it is?"

  I shrugged. "Beats me, but we sure could use a big order." My cookie shop, Sally's Samples, was in its second year of operation. We'd done fairly well so far, thanks in part to the free homemade fortune cookies we offered to customers with each purchase. After the busy holiday season, business had slowed to a crawl, and we were in desperate need of sales right now.

  Josie dug her nails into my flesh, and I yelped. "It's Donna Dooley!" she shrieked.

  Donna Dooley was a popular talk show host on the Food Network. She'd made her debut on television a few years ago when she'd been one of several people to audition for the host position of a new pilot show, Delicious Dishes in Twenty Minutes. Donna had won the job and risen to fame quickly. Her success was topped only by the likes of Rachel Ray, another native New Yorker. Rumor had it that they didn't like each other.

  Donna's current talk show, Someone's in the Kitchen with Donna, featured different chefs and celebrity personalities who presented their original recipes to the public. I didn't see the program often since it aired while I was at work, but Josie religiously DVR'd it every day and watched it after her kids went to bed.

  In shock, I stared out the window at the woman. Donna noticed us and gave a merry little-finger wave as she strolled in the direction of our front door. "What the heck is she doing here?"

  "Maybe she wants to have you on her show." A small squeak of excitement escaped from between Josie's lips, and she turned and ran into the back room. "Oh my God! That's my favorite show. I need her autograph."

  I struggled not to roll my eyes. "Jos, stop getting all crazy. She puts her pants on just like us, one leg at a time."

  "No, she doesn't," Josie yelled back. "She has enough money to pay someone else to do it."

  The bells over the door jingled cheerfully as Donna stepped inside my shop. She gave me an ethereal smile filled with gleaming white teeth. "Hi, I'm looking for Sally Muccio."

  "That's me." I took a moment to study the woman. Her face was angular—not exactly what I'd call pretty but as my Grandma Rosa would say, full of character. She had a high forehead, alabaster skin that was striking against her dark hair, and brown eyes fringed with long lashes.

  She extended a French-manicured hand adorned with a large ruby ring on her forefinger. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sally. I'm Donna Dooley."

  Josie handed her a piece of notebook paper. "Miss Dooley, can I have your autograph?"

  Donna gave her a warm, genuine smile. She must have been used to the request because she graciously took the paper and pen from Josie's outstretched hand. "Of course." She wrote out a quick message with a flourish and then handed it back to Josie.

  Josie's blue eyes widened in delight as she read the words aloud and laughed. "There's no bitchin' in my kitchen. Love and hugs, Donna D. Oh, this is great. I'll hang it in the back room."

  "Would you like to sit down, Miss Dooley?" I gestured toward the three little white tables which were set up in front of my bay window. "Could I get you a cup of coffee? Or maybe an espresso?"

  Donna placed her Dolce & Gabbana handbag on a table. "No thank you, dear. Too much caffeine isn't good for the complexion." She removed her coat, and Josie ran over to assist her.

  Although I loved Josie dearly, I was tempted to shake her and yell, Snap out of it! This behavior was so unlike her. We'd been best friends since the age of eight. She was a superb baker and had even made my wedding cake last year. My shop would never have gotten off the ground without her. Sure, it technically belonged to me, and Josie was a paid employee, but she was also the backbone of the operation.

  After we graduated from high school, J
osie had attended the Culinary Institute of Buffalo. My background skills had been limited mostly to the fast food industry, where I'd been a server of ice cream, food preparer at Dunkin' Donuts, and then barista and eventually assistant manager at a Starbucks in Florida. Although I could bake almost anything Josie could—with proper directions—my expertise leaned more toward the financial side of the business.

  Donna smiled as Josie placed her coat on one of the brass wall hooks by the front door. "Are you one of Miss Muccio's employees?"

  "Oh, forgive my manners," I stammered. "This is Josie Sullivan, my head baker." And obviously your biggest fan.

  Donna watched Josie with newfound interest. "Ah, yes. You must be the one who appeared on Cookie Crusades with Miss Muccio last January."

  "That's right." Josie grinned. "We kicked some serious butt on that show."

  "My last name is Donovan now," I interrupted. "I got married last year."

  "Congratulations," Donna beamed. "I'm thinking of featuring newlyweds on one of the shows in the near future. What line of work is your husband in? Does he cook as well?"

  I laughed. "No, but he loves to eat. He owns a one-person construction company." Mike and I had been married for six months, and this was truly the happiest time of my life so far. We'd first dated in high school and then broken up on the night of senior prom over a stupid misunderstanding. I'd gone on to date and eventually marry another classmate, Colin Brown, which had ended in disaster when I'd caught him in bed with my high school nemesis, Amanda Gregorio. By two weird twists of unrelated fate, they were both dead now.

  "Oh well, you never know. Maybe we can work something out." Donna glanced around the bakery with a satisfied air, and then suddenly her face lit up. I followed her gaze. She was staring at the certificate from our win on the Cookie Crusades competition a year ago. We'd taken home the grand prize of $20,000 and a lot of prestige as well.

  "This shop is adorable," she said. "When I graduated from culinary school, I thought about opening a bakery. I love the smell of chocolate and cinnamon. It's like a distinct perfume to my nose. Do you know what I mean?"

  Yes, I did know what she meant, but since I inhaled so many different scents on a daily basis, they sometimes tended to blend together.

  "I'm actually here about your win on Cookie Crusades." Donna fingered the beige tablecloth in front of her that my Grandma Rosa had so lovingly crocheted for me. "My talk show is taking on a new theme this year. I've started a journey of sorts, where I go around to visit past winners then invite them to be on my show to make a popular recipe and talk about their business. Would you be interested?"

  Josie squealed out loud then covered her mouth with both hands. I was dumbfounded. This was a golden opportunity for us and the bakery. "Of course we're interested, but you didn't have to come all this way to ask in person." I'd never heard of a celebrity doing that before, and frankly, it baffled me.

  Donna tapped her perfect oval nails on the table. "I admit the producers are usually the ones who call people to set up appearances, but since I've bought the rights to Cookie Crusades, this is a personal interest for me. There are also two more winners located in Western New York that I need to visit, so it wasn't too much trouble. Besides, I'll be in the area for several days. I'm accepting an award at the Culinary Institute of Buffalo next week."

  "Oh!" Josie's eyes grew wide. "I went to school there and heard you were going to be giving a speech. They were already sold out when I tried to get tickets."

  Donna cocked a pencil-thin, fine eyebrow at her. "What year did you graduate? I'm sure it was several years after me, though. You look like you're just out of high school yourself."

  Despite having four children and her thirtieth birthday looming, Josie did look much younger than her actual age. "Thanks for the compliment," she said, "but I didn't graduate. I left before school was over."

  What Josie didn't bother to explain was that she had chosen to leave school when she became unintentionally pregnant with her first child. At the young age of nineteen, she'd found herself married and a new mother to a baby boy. Her four boys now ranged in age from eleven to twenty months old. Although she loved her children dearly, Josie always felt that she'd lost out on her one opportunity in life to make a huge splash in the baking world.

  Fortunately Donna had too much tact to pursue the subject. "I would love it if you both would appear on the show the day after tomorrow," she said.

  I gaped at her. "That soon? Uh, I'm not sure. What would we make?" Heck, what would I even say? This appearance would be different from Cookie Crusades. We would actually have to chat with Donna while we cooked. Her show was filmed in front of a live studio audience, and I was afraid my nerves might turn me into a babbling idiot.

  Donna reached across the table to pat my hand. "There's nothing to worry about. My assistant will take care of all the details. Of course you can make anything you like, but I've heard that you won last year thanks to your original fortune cookie recipe. Personally I adore them and would love it if you'd make them on my show. Perhaps you could do enough for our entire audience."

  Sweat started to break out on my forehead. "I don't know. As I'm sure you're aware, fortune cookies can only be prepared a few at a time because they harden so quickly. How many people are in the audience?"

  Donna wiggled her hand back and forth. "About 200 or so, but again, no worries. You can make them ahead of time. We'll only do one sample tray on the actual show."

  Relief soared through me. "Okay, that sounds much better."

  Donna laughed. "Relax, dear! This is supposed to be fun, and it should be great exposure for your business." Her phone beeped, and she stared down at the screen. "Excellent. My assistant is on her way over. She's been at the television studio arranging everything for tomorrow's taping. We're featuring the owners of the Magnolia Bakery."

  Josie stared at Donna with unbridled adoration. "The Magnolia Bakery? That has to be one of the most popular bakeries in all of New York."

  Okay, Josie was completely star struck, and even I had to admit that it was difficult not to be excited. However, we would need to stay calm and focused for the taping. This might mean a great profit for the bakery, which I hoped to expand within the next year and even add a small lunch menu. That had actually been my plan from the start, but a fire in our former location and my wedding had derailed things a bit.

  "Kelly will stop by in a little while with the details," Donna said. "She'll tell you what time to be there, what to bring with you, all those important particulars. We'll be using the television station right in Buffalo, which is about a forty-five-minute drive from here. The owners of Magnolia Bakery have family in the area, so it's convenient for them as well. Speaking of which, if you'd like to have relatives attend the taping, you're more than welcome. Just let Kelly know so she can arrange seating for them."

  Josie's face went white as flour underneath her freckles, and I knew what she was thinking. My parents were not exactly people you would want in the studio audience. I loved them dearly, but my father was the type to make catcalls while my mother, who dressed like a teenager most days, would show up in a provocative outfit two sizes too small and twenty years too young for her. "I'll let Kelly know, thanks."

  "I'm looking forward to having you both on the show," Donna said. "To be honest, the ratings for Cookie Crusades have dropped in the past few months, and this appearance is as much for me as it is for you." She handed me a business card. "This is my office number. When you phone, my administrative assistant will get in touch, and then I'll return your call. But I'm almost positive that Kelly can answer any questions you have."

  Josie wrinkled her nose. "I thought your assistant's name was Eve? I've seen her on a couple of episodes. Do you have more than one?"

  "I do have other assistants, but Eve was my personal one," Donna explained. "She handled all the details of the show and was quite a fabulous baker herself. She recently found out she was pregnant with twins and had some health is
sues, so unfortunately she had to give up the job. Kelly started with me a couple of months ago."

  Whenever I heard anything associated with babies, my heart went into overdrive. "I hope she and the twins will be okay."

  Donna nodded. "Me too. Do either of you have children?"

  Josie raised a hand. "Four for me. Sal doesn't have any—yet."

  Yet. The momentary hesitation caused a pang in my chest, although I knew Josie had not intended to do so. More than anything, I wanted a child. We'd been trying since our honeymoon, but there was currently no baby on the way. Every month I said a little prayer, but they'd all gone unanswered so far. Mike had assured me it would happen eventually and not to worry. He was right, but there were still times when I tended to get a bit anxious.

  I decided to change the subject. "Thank you again for this opportunity."

  Donna opened the front door of my bakery and waved gaily at us. "Bye girls. So lovely to meet you both."

  The bells chimed with Donna's departure, and we both watched as the driver held the limousine door open for her. She sidestepped the snow at the curb on her way into the vehicle, and it drove away shortly afterward.

  "Isn't she wonderful?" Josie sighed. "Maybe I could have worked for her if I'd finished culinary school. She only hires people with the most experience."

  She was thinking about missed opportunities again. Josie had been doing this quite often as of late and claimed it was part of her "turning thirty" crisis.

  "Hey," I said. "Who cares about having a talk show? You're a fantastic baker and have had lots of requests lately to make wedding cakes. You're the biggest bakery success I know."

  "Thanks, Sal." She continued to stare out the window with a solemn expression on her face that saddened me. When we were in high school, Josie had often talked about touring the world, working in a French restaurant, or perhaps even writing a cookbook. Real life had intervened, and she'd done none of those things. Josie had always been more of a restless soul than me, and it had been difficult for her to settle down at such a young age.