From Scratch

The novel follows three newcomers to a tiny Southern town on the brink of collapse as they build new careers, forge unexpected bonds, and fall into a polyamorous relationship that tests the limits of small-town acceptance.

Three months before the story opens, Mary Woods, a former English professor at a prestigious East Coast university, drove south with her cat, Cat-leen Cleaver, and everything she owned to start over in Sea Port. Mary had spent years overworked and underpaid, clinging to the promise that tenure would justify her sacrifices. When she was denied, the rejection confirmed her deepest fear of failure, and she spiraled. She scrambled for adjunct positions until she found an online ad for the Sea Port Relocation Initiative, a program offering business loans, free housing, and career coaching to anyone willing to move to a town on the verge of population collapse. Mary applied as an entrepreneur, reviving a childhood dream of baking nurtured by her grandfather, and now operates Confections by Mary out of a renovated former post office. Each morning she calls her three best friends, Leah, Keisha, and Dominique, while prepping recipes; they serve as her emotional lifeline.

Miguel Santos, the town's new police officer, arrived by a different route. After years in the Marine Corps and then the Air Force, Santos returned to Denver planning to join the local police. Mayra, a base psychologist, warned him that joining a department meant entering a "cesspool of a profession" (17), and her words dismantled his plan. Santos spent months adrift until Sergeant William Knox, his closest friend from the Marines, called with a lead. Knox had already relocated to Sea Port as fire chief and told Santos the town needed one officer. Santos researched the department, found no history of misconduct, and saw a chance to build a force from the ground up.

Knox's path to Sea Port began in a childhood marked by abuse. He resolved never to become like his parents, took his GED before turning 18, enlisted in the Marines, and left home in the middle of the night. After a decade of service and a directionless stretch following his discharge, therapy helped him find a goal: Find one thing that made him happy and build a life around it. Sea Port became that thing. He renovated a condo in a former factory, recruited volunteer firefighters, and anchored his routine around early morning coffee with Santos at Sully's, the town's new café.

One morning at Sully's, Knox spots Mary walking down Main Street and is immediately struck by her. Santos is equally transfixed. Minutes later, Mary enters carrying a basket of homemade donuts, part of a marketing campaign Leah devised to introduce Confections to the community. The chemistry among all three is instant. Santos and Knox compete to escort her to the police department, their banter delighting Mary, who has not dated in years. They give her a tour of the aging administrative building, where Mary grows alarmed at the minimal infrastructure and nearly has a panic attack. Knox calms her with a breathing exercise while both men praise her donuts with genuine enthusiasm.

The next morning, Santos stops by Confections after a run and tells Mary they need to talk about "you, me, and Knox." Mary admits she dreamed about all three of them together and asks if Santos wants Knox too; he cannot deny it. They share a passionate first kiss and bring each other to orgasm in the bakery's powder room, Mary whispering Knox's name and noting how Santos's body responds each time. Later that day, Knox arrives to return Mary's basket and tells her he will not fight Santos for her. Mary locks the front door and leads him to the same powder room, provoking him by using his military rank suggestively, a vulnerability Santos had revealed. Knox groans when she mentions Santos's name, confirming his desire runs in both directions.

The next morning, Knox confronts Santos. His grievance is not jealousy but hurt that Santos did not tell him about Mary directly. They walk through town and acknowledge that they both want Mary and she wants them both. Santos asks if this will come between them. Knox answers, "Hopefully not," then quickly corrects himself: "Definitely not" (136). They agree to sit down with Mary together.

The soft opening of Confections is a success, selling out nearly everything by noon. Santos and Knox arrive together, and on the sidewalk Santos whispers into Knox's ear, asking if his body responds when Santos calls him "Sergeant." Knox whispers "yes." Mary proposes they all meet Friday evening. Before that date, Santos goes to Knox's apartment and confesses he has wanted Knox physically for years. He performs oral sex on Knox; Knox insists on reciprocating. Both leave with their bond deepened rather than damaged.

Friday evening, they pick Mary up at Confections and walk to the Sunnyside diner for their first official date. Flirting and physical teasing escalate until none of them can stay in public. At Knox's condo, they shower together and spend the night in various configurations of intimacy, taking breaks for water and short naps. The night culminates in Mary receiving both men simultaneously in a scene of profound mutual trust.

Their relationship quickly weaves into daily life. They meet during Mary's lunch breaks, share meals at her cottage, and trade stories about their pasts. Knox reveals he has never had anyone to miss him; Santos and Mary tenderly correct him. Meanwhile, Confections grows into the center of Sea Port's baked goods economy, and Mary's assistant Bria Stone, a sharp young local hired through a city grant, proves indispensable. Through Bria and her elderly customers, Mary learns that Sea Port was founded after the Civil War by formerly enslaved people known as "The Firsts," who built enduring institutions of freedom.

The peace shatters when the Sea Port Sentinel publishes a front-page article headlined "Sordid Confections: Three's Company Downtown" (276), exposing the relationship through anonymous testimonials. Mary closes the bakery and walks home in tears, anxiety she has not felt since academia flooding back. Mayor Waltham warns Santos and Knox that a City Council hearing is inevitable: Mary's business loan contains a morality clause someone is attempting to weaponize. Mary's friends rally around her, but she firmly declares she is staying. Knox and Santos arrive at her cottage, and the three spend the night planning their defense. Knox briefly suggests they stop seeing each other; Mary and Santos immediately reject the idea.

At the hearing, Mary distributes muffins and delivers an impassioned speech about professional failure and reinvention. She addresses Mr. James, the Council president and a descendant of the Firsts, who has called the newcomers "Northern degenerates" (302). Mary reminds him that Sea Port once fought to protect his own marriage to his husband. Mayor Waltham reinforces the point, recalling her father's defense of that marriage. She rules that Mary has not violated the morality clause, announces the clause will be removed from all loan contracts, and clears Santos and Knox. She declares that love among the three will never be deemed immoral under her administration. Knox realizes that Santos and Mary are his home.

Three months later, Mary, Santos, and Knox live together in a house on the outskirts of town chosen for privacy. Confections is thriving, Bria works full-time, and the town's attention has moved on. The novel closes in their kitchen, where Santos arrives home to find Mary feeding Knox brownie batter from her finger as Knox begins undressing her. Mary reflects that not getting tenure was a blessing in disguise and that her new life is sweeter than anything she could have imagined.