Recipe for success love.., p.1
Recipe for Success (Love Puppies #4), page 1
To my Aunt Netty, whose superb baking skills inspired me to keep baking new things, even when it was tough!
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1: A Dinner Unserved
Chapter 2: Two Boys and a Bakeoff
Chapter 3: Planning for a Win?
Chapter 4: Less than Egg-cellent
Chapter 5: Third Time’s the Charm
Chapter 6: Sugar, Spice, and Clydie—So Nice!
Chapter 7: A Not-So-Sweet Treat
Chapter 8: Practice Makes Paw-fect
Chapter 9: A Dash of Magic and a Peppermint Sprig
Chapter 10: C is for Cookie … and Confidence
Chapter 11: The Sweet Taste of Victory
Chapter 12: Mission Complete and a Cherry on Top
Sneak Peek of Love Puppies #5!
Fall in love with each paw-fectly sweet adventure!
About the Author
Copyright
“Nachos, nachos, yeaaaaah,” sang Clyde as he flew through the air with a pair of tongs in paw. “I’m gonna eat some nachos, yeah.”
Clyde hovered over a small grill where thin slices of steak sizzled and steamed. He took a sniff. The aroma of spices and meat made his tummy growl and his tail dance. “I said nachos, nachos, yeah,” he continued, flipping the steaks with his tongs.
This new recipe was one he had worked on for quite some time but never got right.
Seasonings too bland or too spicy.
Meat overcooked or not done enough.
Too much cheese.
Not enough veggies.
Zero bone bits.
But Clyde was sure this time would be just right.
Or at least, he hoped.
“Dinnertiiiiiiime,” Clyde called to his Love Puppy pals after placing the steak slices onto each plate of nachos. He topped the dishes off with a sprinkle of bone bits.
“Smells pup-tastic,” said Noodles the labradoodle. Her glowing nose led the way into the kitchen, and the smile on her puppy face shone as bright as a glistening rainbow.
Noodles was magical—all the pups were. Noodles could control the elements of weather to help the Love Puppies when they needed. Also, her nose could tell when others were feeling strong emotions, like the excitement Clyde was feeling right at that moment.
“Can’t wait to dig in!” said Noodles. She climbed onto a chair at the dinner table.
“Neither can I,” said Barkley, a tiny dachshund who magically appeared in the chair beside Noodles.
“Oh!” yipped Clyde and Noodles, startled by Barkley’s sudden appearance.
“That never gets old,” giggled Barkley. He had always had the ability to morph into anything, but a recent mission had taught Barkley that he could disappear and even camouflage, too! Barkley’s powers definitely came in handy when the pups were out on one of their missions.
Noodles sent a warm wind Barkley’s way, ruffling his ears as the three pups laughed.
Just then, Rosie bounded into the room with a bouquet of roses between her teeth. She hurried over to an empty vase that sat on the countertop and gently placed the flowers into it. Next, she carefully carried the vase to the dining room table. With a swish of her nose, the flowers shimmered and grew two sizes bigger.
“There,” she said. The bouquet made the dinner table look excellent. That was Rosie’s power: flower magic. As the leader of the puppy team, her ability to control plants and flowers never ceased to amaze. “Roses are the perfect touch for a fancy dinner table.”
“You mean the paw-fect touch,” said Barkley.
“Of course,” said Rosie, tickling Barkley’s chin as she passed him and made her way to her own seat.
“Welcome to your dinner,” said Clyde, flying belly-up while balancing all four plates on his upturned paws. Clyde’s power was flight. He could soar through the air with ease anytime he pleased!
As Clyde stopped at the table, Noodles helped by sending airstreams that lifted the plates and set them down in front of each puppy.
Clyde took his place next to Noodles and Rosie. “Okay, Pups,” he called, “dinner is served. I call this ‘Na-cho Grandpup’s Nachos,’ ” he said with a chuckle. “Bone appétit.”
Just as each pup opened their mouths to take giant bites, flashing lights stopped them cold. Noodles’s nose lit up like a birthday cake, as did the bright heart on Rosie’s chest. Barkley’s body flashed in and out of view, and a buzz filled the dining room as the Crystal Bone made its appearance, levitating through the kitchen toward the table. It vibrated and flashed—pink, purple, orange, and blue.
“Uh-oh,” said Rosie with worry on her puppy face.
But all the pups knew what this meant: A new mission was waiting for them.
“But … but—” began Clyde.
“I know, Clydie,” said Rosie in a gentle tone. “You worked so hard on this. But dinner will have to wait. Somebody, somewhere, needs our help. Let’s go, Pups.”
Off dashed Rosie, Noodles, and Barkley, following the Crystal Bone. It led the way toward the living room of the Love Puppy Headquarters, also known as the Doghouse.
Clyde stayed back. He hurried over to the kitchen cabinets and pulled out four large bowls. He placed each bowl down over the plates of nachos. “Hopefully, this will keep them warm enough,” he said to himself, “for when we eat them in just a minute.”
But he knew. With a new mission, it would keep the pups busy for hours.
My Na-cho Grandpup’s Nachos would be nach-so good if they were cold and soggy, he thought to himself.
That would be okay, though, if it meant the team would help someone in need.
When a mission called, hungry tummies had to wait.
And with how quickly the Bone alerted the pups, Clyde could tell this mission was going to be a doozy.
When Clyde entered the room, everyone was already in place.
“There you are, Pup!” said Rosie who stood on her hind legs with her paws hovering over the Crystal Bone, ready to receive a message.
The Crystal Bone wasn’t just a regular bone the pups chewed on or played with. It was a crystalline message center that sent missions to Rosie, the Love Puppy leader. Rosie’s paw pads glowed bright pink. She gently placed them onto the slick surface of the Bone and closed her eyes.
“Oh,” she said. “Hmmmm, very interesting.”
“What is it?” asked Barkley. Each of the pups sat on the carpet on all sides of the Bone, watching Rosie with tails waggling fiercely. “What did the Bone say?”
After a moment more, Rosie said, “Show them please, Bone.” She pulled her paws from the Bone and sat on all fours. A vivid light flashed from the Bone. Right at the Bone’s surface, a hologram image of a young boy emerged. Then the rest of the scene appeared.
The boy stood in a kitchen beside a woman who was stirring a large bowl with a wooden spoon. She handed him the bowl and the two of them mixed together, him holding the bowl, her stirring with the spoon. They smiled and laughed. The two continued on, mixing and placing things into pans and then into the oven.
Suddenly, the Bone changed the hologram scene, and this time, the boy walked into a crowded room handing out the treats he and the woman had just made. People patted him on the back, complimenting him on the dish. Even though it was only a hologram, the boy’s happiness shined through like starlight.
“Sho’ tastes good, son,” said a voice.
“You made this?” asked another.
“Jayden, you are so talented,” said another voice.
“Well, I helped Auntie,” the boy answered. “We made it together.”
The Bone switched up the scene one last time. This time, the boy stood in a kitchen by himself. He mixed something in a bowl then stopped. He dipped his finger in for a taste. He coughed and slammed the bowl down and charged from the room. The hologram burned out.
“This is Jayden,” said Rosie as the Bone projected words onto the ceiling, “and he’s our next mission.”
“A bakeoff!” said Clyde, his body lifting from the ground like his excitement was helium gas, filling him like a balloon. “That sounds PUP-TASTIC!” Clyde shot through the air and cartwheeled along the ceiling. There he flipped, right in front of the animated banner pups who yipped and jumped in their fabric flags that hung along the walls.
“This is definitely your speed, Clydie,” said Rosie. She and the others laughed at Clyde’s in-air antics.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go investigate,” called Clyde.
All the pups put their paws in the center of a huddle. Their paw pads glowed—Rosie’s pink, Noodles’s orange, Barkley’s purple, and Clyde’s—who swooped down just in time—bright blue.
“With the power of love, anything is possible! Love Puppies, go!”
* * *
The puppies landed on top of bleachers next to a football field. There was a school building and a parking lot nearby. The pups looked around for a second, confused. Where was Jayden? Usually, the Doggie Door—the Love Puppy Portal—placed the pups exactly where they needed to be for any mission they were on. It was odd that it landed them in this particular spot.
Just then, the pups could hear voices coming from beside the bleachers.
“I know, man,” said a boy’s voice. “I can’t believe Summerland is doing it, too! A bakeoff?!”
Barkley’s head disappeared into thin air as he leaned over the side of the bleachers and looked down to see where the voices were com
“It sounds awesome,” said another voice. “What was the prize again, Jay?”
“I don’t remember. Let me see.” Jayden’s voice got closer to the pups, and suddenly, he was standing right next to them, pulling a crinkled piece of paper from his pocket.
“ ‘Young Baker Summer Bakeoff. A competition just for kids!’ ” read Jayden. “Adults can only help with tricky stuff like using knives and ovens, but everything else is made by kid bakers. Then it says … ‘Kid bakers who enter cannot use recipes but must make up their own.’ ”
Jayden stopped and gulped. “Our own recipes? That’s gonna be hard, DeAndre.”
“What? That ain’t stopped us before,” said DeAndre. “Remember when we made that lemon pudding stuff without a recipe? It was good.”
“Yeah, it was all right,” said Jayden.
“Well, read the rest of the flyer, Jay. You haven’t even said the prize yet.”
Jayden lifted the paper again. “ ‘Each baker must make two different treats from scratch with their own recipes. One must be a cookie and the other can be a treat of the baker’s choosing. Then the bakers will have to make one more mystery recipe given to them by the judges. Everything will be judged on Taste, Presentation, and Creativity.’ ”
“What’s the prize?! What’s the prize?!” interrupted DeAndre.
“Oh yeah. Third place is a hundred and fifty dollars and a trophy. Second place—”
“We don’t care about those. What’s the grand prize?”
“Dre, it’s FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!”
“Five hundred dollars! What?!” Both boys jumped up and down and cheered.
“We’d be almost rich!” laughed Jayden as they high-fived each other. “I could buy so much.”
“That’s like ten video games,” said Dre.
“Or a new skateboard,” said Jayden.
At that, a loud whoosh sounded off nearby. Both DeAndre and Jayden snapped their heads in the direction of the noise.
“The bus!” called the boys, and they dashed out the gate toward the giant bus that was nearing their pickup stop.
“They’re not going to make it,” called Rosie.
“Not if I can help it!” said Noodles. She kicked up a wind that pushed the boys from behind and launched them toward the bus’s door. Just as the door began to close, the boys landed on the bus steps.
“Get on in here,” said the bus driver. The doors closed, and the bus pulled away with Jayden and DeAndre inside.
“That was close. Good thinking, Noodles!” said Rosie.
“Did you see how excited they got about the prize?” said Clyde. “They both really want to win.”
“I think Jayden’s got the stuff,” said Rosie. “And with a little Pup Power, I have a feeling we’ll have a win on our paws.”
“This mission should be a piece of cake,” giggled Clyde. “Let’s follow that bus to Jayden’s to get all the clues we need to seal this deal.”
Barkley morphed into a hoverboard, and Rosie and Noodles hopped on, with Clyde flying beside them.
“Love Puppies,” said Rosie, “let’s GO!”
“Auntie!” called Jayden as he and DeAndre burst through the door of a first-floor apartment. The Love Puppies positioned themselves by a window that overlooked the kitchen, which was hidden behind a bush. No one could see them from the street.
“Hey, Auntie!” Jayden called again, his voice echoing from down the hallway.
The pups watched as a tall woman with dark skin moved around the kitchen. She wore an apron and had smudges of flour on her young-looking face.
“In here, boys,” she called. Jayden and DeAndre bounded into the kitchen.
“Auntie, guess what—” started Jayden.
“Ah-ah,” said Auntie, stopping him with a smile. “Sugar first. Story next.”
Jayden laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, Auntie,” he said.
“Hi, Jay. Uh, you too, young man,” she said, eyeing DeAndre.
“Hi, Ms. Kreisha,” he said, also kissing her on the cheek.
“Hi, Dre,” she said back with a smile. “Okay. Now, what’s all this excitement about?”
“Auntie, guess what? Summerland camp is having a bakeoff!” Jayden said.
Both boys went back and forth, explaining the rules to Auntie. When they told her what the prize for first place was, they started jumping up and down, dancing, and high-fiving each other.
“Five hundred dollars? Wow!” said Auntie, their joy and excitement wrapping around her.
Noodles’s nose was in full-blast mode, bathing the puppies in orange light. “So much happiness coming from that little kitchen,” she whispered as the pups continued watching.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” said Rosie. Behind them, the bush began sprouting bright pink roses that danced in Noodles’s slight breeze.
After the boys stopped jumping and celebrating, they calmed themselves, sitting at a table and watching Auntie pull something from the oven.
“Jay, grab the peaches, please,” she said.
He jumped up and grabbed a bowl of strained peaches from the counter. Then he pulled out a knife and cutting board and began slicing the pieces.
“Remember your fingers,” Auntie said, watching Jayden with the knife. “Slow and steady.” She plated her treat and added Jayden’s peaches and a dallop of whipped cream.
The smell was amazing. Like peaches dancing with gingerbread and brown sugar and butter. And Clyde could tell it tasted wonderful, too, by how the boys smacked their lips and said “mmm” over and over again. Also, by how the treat only lasted on their plates for about a minute and a half until it was inhaled.
This got Clyde’s tummy grumbling again. His mind went back to the plates of untouched nachos that the pups had left behind.
“Five hundred dollars, Auntie,” said Jayden after finishing his last bite.
“Yeah, but we have to make it past the first round, though,” said DeAndre, having finished his plate, too. “Our camp counselor said judges at our summer camp are gonna pick the finalists next Friday.”
“And the final bakeoff is at the convention center. Could you imagine how happy everybody would be if I won the whole thing? Like Granddad and all the aunties and uncles and everybody.”
“Yeah, they’d be happy,” said Auntie. “They would be very proud. Honestly, they’d be just as proud if you gave it your best.”
Jayden rolled his eyes and DeAndre chuckled a little.
“Well, we like winning,” DeAndre said.
“Then, what’s your plan?” she asked.
The boys stared at each other in silence. DeAndre shrugged his shoulders and Jayden said: “To win?”
“I see,” said Auntie. “It’s best if you each make a plan of action. Plan out how you are going to win. Which recipes are you going to build off of? What tweaks are you going to make? You know, strategize.”
The boys nodded their heads as they cleared their plates.
“I’ll think about a plan when I get home,” said DeAndre, pulling his backpack onto his back. Strategizing did sound like a good idea. “See you later, Jay,” he said, quickly doing their handshake. “Let’s get that win!”
The pups looked at one another. Inside Clyde’s tummy swirled a whole bunch of feelings. And a whole bunch of questions swirled around in his head.
If Jayden’s auntie was already an excellent baker and had good ideas about making plans, why did Jayden need the puppies at all?
The puppy’s concern about whether they were needed or not only grew as they continued to watch Jay and his auntie in the kitchen.
“All right now, Jay,” his auntie said, “I want to try out this new recipe I’ve been working on. I need you to whisk nine egg whites.” Auntie held a bright pink piece of paper that she had written on. She read it over as Jayden walked to the refrigerator, a little less pep in his step than the pups had seen earlier.
Noodles’s nose began to blink—some kind of emotion was building in the room.
“What is it, pretty pup?” asked Rosie.
“Not sure yet,” answered Noodles.
Jay carried a carton of eggs to the countertop along with a large glass bowl. He positioned an egg over the side of the bowl and took a deep breath.
“You sure you want me to do the egg whites?” he finally asked, looking up at Auntie.
