Betty Patterson arrives to start the baking at her newly successful start-up café to find a window smashed in– and it might end up to be a problem that shakes the foundation of her small Oregon town.

Her childhood spent in and around foster homes prepared Betty well to help tutor foster kids in the town she adopted, and her slow-simmering attraction to her delicious neighbor, mechanic repair shop owner Ahanu, is progressing nicely. Even her business is getting better as the local economy adapted from the logging slowdown, the locals are accepting her enough for her to have “regulars.”

But Maple Grove harbors secrets. Greed is as present there as it is anywhere, and it does not often care who gets hurt. Who will get hit by violence next in Maple Grove? And can Betty finally get her romance with Ahanu in third gear by Christmas?

Christmas at Patterson’s Café includes recipes for easy and scrumptious comfort food that Betty and Peggy, her hippie holdout assistant, serve each day at the café. Enjoy “Heavenly Beer-Cheese Soup,” “Pumpkin Pie in a Cup,” and “Disappearing Chocolate No-Bakes,” plus lots more perfect for the busy Christmas season or any time of year. Most of the recipes have gluten-free and vegan variations!

Enjoy a good romance with a dash of mystery and pull up a chair for a taste of small-town Oregon at Christmas at Patterson’s Café.

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