"He wanted normalcy. And he wanted the unmistakable glimmer of worry that flickered across Bridgette’s face when she looked at him to disappear and never return."
-The Secret Ingredient, Chapter 2
In a world of faith and flour, love is the secret ingredient.
The Secret Ingredient
Holy Grounds runs on two things: the nutty, caramel scent of coffee and Sebastien Davenport’s beloved cranberry-gingerbread muffins.
When the pastry chef collapses days before Christmas, owner Bridgette Calloway faces an impossible morning rush and an even harder truth: the beloved chef she’s leaned on may need her more than ever.
When a frightening diagnosis upends Seb’s independence and he’s at his lowest, it’s his boss he finds himself calling. Perhaps she’s more than a boss after all… Bridgette shows up with a Bible, Chinese takeout, and the solid courage he didn’t know he needed. In the hush of winter and a kitchen dusted with flour and light, their friendship warms into something deeper. But fear, pride, and new limitations could cost them more than a holiday menu.
As carols ring and candlelight glows, Bridgette and Seb are thrust into uncharted territory and must make a choice. Will they retreat into safety, or put their trust in the God who writes love stories in unexpected places like a coffee sleeve, a baker’s bench, and prayer whispered over racks of cooling pastries?
The Secret Ingredient
Quotes and Excerpt
“Hello stranger. How are you feeling?” She threw the phone on speaker mode and scrutinized her reflection in the dull mirror above the sink. Bridgette dug into her jeans pocket for a tube of lipstick. Her tired face needed all the help it could get.
“Bridg...” came a soft male voice that cracked, dropping her stomach towards her toes. Because in the four years she’d known that voice, known the six-four man that voice belonged to, ate his croissants and elbowed him in the side and giggled at his jokes and scrubbed floors alongside him and prayed with him and signed his paychecks and watched him fully become a part of Holy Grounds, she’d never heard the crackle of fear in his words that she heard now.
-Chapter 1
"Bridgette hummed along to a favorite Christmas carol, willing herself to carry on as normal, but the notes rang hollow. All she could think about was Sebastien. What did she usually think about, in the days before Seb’s seizures?"
-The Secret Ingredient, Chapter 3
Sebastien didn’t miss the pinched pucker of her mouth, or the fizz of apprehension that hovered in her gaze. But she was here. That’s what mattered."
-The Secret Ingredient, Chapter 6
Alberta Romance Writers' Association Anthology including "On the Straight and Narrow" By Kirsten Clark
Treasures Along the Fenceline 2025
Hoity-toity highrise living Alice Mae has left Calgary behind, returning to the family farm in Red Grove to care for her ailing mother.
As it turns out, Alice’s hell-raising party animal neighbour Matthew Floyd Phillips is back in town too. And if Alice knows anything about Matthew Flloyd Philips, it's that he’s trouble. Trouble with a capital T.
But Matthew swears he’s changed. Sobered up. Matured. Gotten on the straight and narrow.
Can they find common ground along the fenceline?
He's a lost soul. She has faith. God has a plan for them both.
A Christmas Cup of Joe
Simon Jenkins is a lost soul. Struggling to process a deep loss, he survives one day at a time on the freezing streets. So when a beautiful woman with ruby-red lips thrusts a blessing bag into his arms and shares a message of faith, Simon is dubious. But her eyes twinkle with the promise of hope and love.
Sandra Williams leads a life of faith. She has a great job and a cozy apartment, but her life hasn’t always been this way. And, to be honest, she’s lonely. So when she’s called by God to take a blessing bag to Dickensfield Park, she’s taken aback by the handsome man she meets, but is also excited about God’s plans.
Brought together by nothing less than divine intervention and a cup of joe, can Sandra convince Simon that he’s worthy of giving God’s love, and their budding relationship, a chance?
A Christmas Cup of Joe
Quotes and Excerpt
"Sandra Williams stood in line at Holy Grounds, surveying the menu board with mock interest. She came to the little shop often enough to know exactly what she wanted—a London Fog, extra hot, made with almond milk— but she needed something concrete and familiar to stare at in a bid to slow her rapidly beating heart.
She hadn’t meant to go for coffee this morning. She hadn't even meant to leave the warm comfort of her little apartment on her Friday off, but the tug in her heart to take a blessing bag and go to the park had been intense.
At first, she’d tried to ignore it, rolling over and pulling the fluffy feather duvet over her head. That didn't work.
She’d tried to focus on reading a book. That didn’t work either.
Finally, she’d tried to busy herself with making pancakes, but the tug in her heart demanded so much of her attention that the pancakes ended up burnt and in the bottom of the trashcan, much to the chagrin of her roommates, and her cat.
OK, God, message received, she’d finally thought, I’ll go to the park."
-Chapter 2
"Simon huddled deeper into the tattered sleeping bag wrapped around his shoulders, and put on his best leave me alone face."
-A Christmas Cup of Joe, Chapter 1
"'‘The world is full of bad people who often do bad things,’ she said carefully. ‘But it isn’t a bad world. God makes sure of that.'"
-A Christmas Cup of Joe, Chapter 2
"Her coat was red to match her lips. Simon could see that, even peering through the frosty window."
-A Christmas Cup of Joe, Chapter 3