“You truly don’t mean to put the bakery out of business?”
Rob shook his head. “That would be bad for my business too. I definitely can’t make muffins like these. And the locals no doubt expect them. I wouldn’t be able to meet that expectation.”
One corner of Jane’s mouth hitched up in a smirk. She tried to swallow it but must not have been successful because he leaned forward eagerly, encouraged that he’d won her over even just a bit.
“So you’ll talk to your friend for me? Help her see that I’m not a threat to her?”
Jane pressed her lips together, but she nodded. “I’ll try. You have to understand, that bakery is like Claire’s baby. She’s put her heart and soul into it. She’s very overprotective.”
He chuckled. “That I can understand completely. Truth be told, I feel the same about my business.”
Jane drummed her fingernails against her coffee mug. “I’ll try to get her to soften up, but that’s it. I can’t in good conscience enter into an agreement with Bradford Breads at this time.”
Addie started to protest, but Rob held up his hands in surrender. “I understand. It’s not worth harming a friendship.” He swallowed down the last of his coffee, scraped back his chair, and took his plate to the sink. “Maybe once the tension has blown over, we can revisit the idea.”
Jane stood to shake his hand. “Absolutely.”
Despite the fact that Addie hadn’t yet stood, Rob made a show of shaking her hand too. “It was so lovely to spend an hour with you. I hope we meet again soon.”
“Do you need me to show you to the door?”
He shook his head. “I can remember the way. Thank you—and you know where to find me if you change your mind.”
As he left, the kitchen door shutting behind him, Jane couldn’t help but notice the glow on her mother’s face. It was nice to see her mother happy. So many people talked down to her these days. Rob’s kindness had done her good.
When Jane saw Claire again, she could safely say that his business meant hers no harm. Claire had texted her earlier that day about meeting at her cottage that night since her time was limited between now and the sale on Saturday. Maybe if Jane could get Claire to see what she had just learned of Rob Bradford, Claire would rest a little easier too.
But before she met with her friend, she had work to do at Tides. As she started to gather the cups to wash them, her mother giggled like a schoolgirl. She caught Jane by the arm, her eyes aglow. “How nice for him to come here and ask me to the dance. Won’t Sadie Thompson be jealous when she sees me walking in with that hunk on my arm?”
Chapter Eleven
The sea breeze gusted through the open windows of Maxi’s house. Waves crashed on the rocks below the cliff on which her house perched at the end of the lane. Maxi, accustomed to the white noise, almost thought of it like a companion. Right then, it was her only companion in the house.
For years, the house had been filled with sounds, shouts, teasing and laughter from her three children. But now, all three of them were grown, the youngest two in college and the oldest married with a place of his own. They were all doing well, and that made her happy, but now she needed more to fill her life, especially with James gone so often.
Maybe a decorating project? Decorating had been an artistic outlet for her over the years. She’d been told more than once that their house looked like it could be in a magazine. And at least that was something that James, too, was proud of. He loved entertaining his bank colleagues there and boasting about his wife’s talent.
But the main floor had been redone recently for the kids’ college graduation parties. Maybe the bedroom? Maxi climbed the staircase lined with family photos to the master bedroom. Done in cobalt blue and yellow, it had a serene feel to it. Was the color scheme dated? Maybe a new comforter in bright white and some accent pillows would give it a fresh look for summer.
At the foot of the bed, the pillows piled on a cedar chest provided cushioning to use it as a seat. She could get a new cushion for the seat part, maybe paint the wood white. Of course, she should probably clean it out first.
Something tugged at her to open it. Inside were memories: photo albums of her parents and grandparents, locks of hair from the kids, school pictures, and her art supplies that she hadn’t touched in decades. Maybe she should just take a little peek at them and see what condition they were in. As she started taking the pillows off the chest, her phone rang.James!
“Hi, honey,” she answered.
“Sweetie! How are you?” James’s voice sounded like he was genuinely happy to talk to her.
“Great. How about you? How is the conference going?”
“Well, you know how they are, just a bunch of boring lunches and sleep-inducing presentations. What have you been up to?”
“Me? Not much.” Maxi told him about the new bread store and Claire’s plan for a sale. “I’m going to help her out. I don’t have much to do with the kids gone now.”
There was silence on the other end, and for a minute, Maxi thought James might forbid her to help Claire, but instead he said, “You don’t? I guess maybe it will be good for you to help her out for the sale.”
He put an emphasis onfor the sale, but Maxi was encouraged anyway, so she plowed ahead. “I was thinking maybe I should take up drawing again. You know I used to enjoy it so much before the kids, and now with extra time…”
Muffled sounds came from the phone, as if James had covered it with his hand. Then she heard him faintly say, “Be there in a minute,” before his voice returned in full. “Taking up drawing sounds like a great idea. That should keep you busy.”
