PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE: MAG - CERTIFIED
Recipes from the Kitchen of Danny Magnusson
Mag’s Appetizers
Cheesy Bacon Knots ~ Buffalo Chicken Rolls ~ Southwest Rolls
Mag’s Mains
Pimento Cheese Bacon Burger ~ Monte Cristo Sliders ~ Grilled Pizza
Mag’s Desserts
Evie’s Cinnamon Clusters ~ Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mag
Bonus from Mag and Evie for the Puppers
Dog Treats
CHAPTER TWO: BOONE - NOT A HOUSE, A HOME
Recipes from the Kitchen of Boone Sadler
Boone’s Appetizers
Bruschetta with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms ~ Jala’ Poppin’ Bites with Blueberry Pepper Jelly
Boone’s Sides
Cobb Wedge with Blue Cheese Dressing ~ Smoked Mac and Cheese
Boone’s Mains
Bacon Wrapped Steak Kabobs ~ Boone’s Lasagna (the Chefy Kind) ~ Ryn’s (Momma’s) Lasagna (the Cheat and Eat Kind) ~ Ryn’s Momma’s Homemade Caesar Salad ~ Smoked Boston Butt ~ Filet with Blue Cheese Sauce
Boone’s Desserts
Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
Boone
CHAPTER THREE - COMES FROM THE HEART
CHAPTER FOUR: AXL - TAKE CARE OF YOU
Recipes from the Kitchen of Axl Pantera
Axl’s Appetizers
Petite Potato Wedges with Homemade Ketchup ~ Loaded Petite Potato Wedges ~ Deviled Eggs 3 Ways-Pimento Cheese & Bacon ~ Deviled Eggs-Mexican Street Corn ~ Deviled Eggs-Cajun Crab
Axl’s Mains
Tuscan Chicken ~ Pork Tacos with Peach Salsa ~ Apple Stuffed Pork Chops
Axl’s Desserts
Turtle Pie ~ Coca-Cola Cake ~ Dr. Pepper Cake
CHAPTER FIVE - MESSIN’ WITH FAMILY
CHAPTER SIX - SOMETHING SPECIAL
More Recipes from the Kitchen of Axl Pantera
Axl’s Sandwich and Side
Fried Pork Sandwich ~ Fried Corn
Something Special, The End
CHAPTER SEVEN - ALL ON MY SIDE
Recipes from the Kitchen of Auggie Hero
Auggie’s Appetizers
Pimento Cheese Hushpuppies with Blueberry Pepper Jelly ~ 1-2-3-GO Pork Rind BBQ Nachos ~ 1-2-3-GO Pork Rind Fiesta Nachos
Auggie’s Mains
Chicken Gyros ~ “Pre-Game” Philly Cheese Ribeye Steak ~ Ham and Hash Casserole
Auggie’s Desserts
Candied Cashews ~ Auggie and Juno’s Chocolate Butter Bars
Bonus Round
An Elvira Board ~ Hot Pepper Brie in Puff Pastry ~ Elvira’s Famous Cosmopolitan
All on My Side, The End
CHAPTER EIGHT - INEVITABLE
Recipes from the Kitchen of Brett “Cisco” Rappaport
Brett’s Appetizer
Grilled Cheese Bread Bowl with Tomato Basil Soup
Brett’s Mains
Oh’ Honey, You’re HOT!...Chicken Sandwich ~ Nashville Hot Chicken
Brett’s Desserts
Key Lime Cream Pie ~ Brownie Lasagna ~ Chocolate Chess Pie
Hawk and KA Take a Ride
Afterword
Dream Bites Character Reference
Other Books by Kristen Ashley
Other Books by Suzanne McCollum Johnson
About the Author – Kristen Ashley
About the Author – Suzanne M. Johnson
Prologue
Coming Home
KA
I fly into Denver International Airport, pick up my rental car, and fret that, after I leave Peña Boulevard, I won’t be able to find my way downtown.
That emotion is wasted.
Time has flown. It’s been nearly two decades since I left Denver. And when I did, I knew the Mile High City like the back of my hand.
But as my car cruises the distance, I find that hasn’t changed.
I’ve made a life in other places.
But being in Denver always feels like coming home.
Arriving downtown, I check into Hotel Teatro, itching to head right back out.
Once I dump my bags in my room, this is what I do.
Get to Speer Boulevard.
Turn onto Broadway.
Go south.
When I near it, I search for a parking spot (not easy).
I then hoof it to that special corner on Broadway where it all began.
All of it.
The realization of my dream.
I open the door and the bell above it rings.
Immediately, I see there’s a huge movie poster of Da 5 Bloods tacked over the shelves behind the espresso counter, this partly obscuring an epic collage of pictures of cats.
I walk to the line extending from the counter, eyeing the two people who are busy behind it.
I wait in line and finally make the front.
Of course, the gorgeous, curvy redhead who waits on me doesn’t recognize me.
I pretend I don’t know her intimately and order a Textual, the bespoke coffee drink named after the famous barista who is working next to her. His hair is wild, his beard wilder, and his manner even wilder.
He’s now banging on the large, red espresso machine, creating his concoctions from what appears to be brute force.
He’s doing this multitasking.
The other task he’s performing is having an argument with a man with a long gray ponytail peeking out from under the back of a bandana wrapped around his cranium. A man who is all the way across the bookstore standing behind a counter.
“It’s about where that damned red cap landed in the end, motherfucker,” the barista is saying. “That’s Spike’s statement.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you,” Bandana Man replies.
Famous Barista returns, “Then what were you saying?”
Which brings an exasperated, “Man, the same thing as you. Spike Lee doesn’t give you anything for free, brother. With Spike, you gotta earn it. And to do that, you gotta pay attention.”
Since I’ve seen the film (and the huge-ass poster is a big honking clue), I know they’re talking about Da 5 Bloods.
The redhead gets close to the barista in order to give him a cup with a drink order, a heart with an arrow through it and several stars drawn on it with a hot pink sharpie (my cup has a stick figure alien on it made up of an oval with eyes, nose and smiling mouth, antennae looping from the top, with mitten hands sticking out each side and globs for feet).
“It bums me out when Duke agrees with me,” the barista grumbles to the redhead.
That’s when she looks at me.
And winks.
Indy Nightingale.
Winking at me.
My heart flips in my chest as I smile back.
Through all of this, I’m waiting at the end of the espresso counter to get my drink.
And when Tex, the barista, puts it there, I mutter, “Thanks.”
He doesn’t even look at me.
He starts banging on the big red machine again.