Not only am I in my own place, but I paid all my bills this month without breaking into my savings. I have customers who continue to come back day after day. I must be doing something right.
And with the offer Pierce made from the City Council making me an official partner of the Christmas parade, I don’t know what more could go right. It’s enough to make me stand on a street corner, throw my hands in the air, and a yell, “You like me. You really like me!”
Of course, that could be a way to make people really not like me. Rather than make a fool of myself by yelling on the side of the road, I just steal a chocolate chip cookie from the case. My own special reward. I take a bite and then steal five more cookies.
Calm down. Don’t get all judgmental. They aren’t for me.
But my boyfriend has the most adorable child ever. I plan to buy my way into his heart by feeding him copious amounts of cookies, cupcakes, and an assortment of small candy. I’ll do whatever it takes. Bribery is not beneath me. I never saw myself dating somebody who already had a child, but Bennett has to be the nicest, sweetest, most caring man ever. To Liam and me.
He absolutely drives me insane. He’s bossy and way too overprotective, but knowing the stress he’s under from trying to keep Liam safe, and all of his clients, and whatever it is he does for Ridge makes you realize how large the man’s heart is.
I sneak one more cookie. This one for Bennett. It won’t hurt to give him a little bribery too.
“Screw it,” I say to the empty room and stick the last of the tray of cookies into a bag. I’ve also made some great friends in Pelican Bay. While there were a few ladies I’d grown close to back home, they’re nothing compared to the relationships I’ve made with Tabitha and Katy in a few short months. They deserve cookies too. I add a few for Ridge as well. He gets at least twenty-five thousand dollars in free food.
With one last look at the front of the bakery I walk backward into the kitchen. There’s so much emotion surrounding everything it’s a tiny bit scary. Scary and wonderful. If business continues on this trend, soon I’ll be able to hire additional help. Maybe one day in the far future I’ll be able to buy a house somewhere in Pelican Bay. Put down roots. If I allow my mind to really wander, I picture Bennett in my future and giving Liam a little brother.
If I bake enough cookies and bring people in the door.
It’s everything I hoped for and yet nothing I actually thought I’d get. I’m just a small town college dropout from Washington. This all seems way too good to be true. I can’t help but question if some of it is fate. I help one nice guy find a place to stay for the night on his Christmas vacation with his girlfriend, which leads to an enormous tip. The money finishes off my savings and this place came on the market right as I began my search. It’s perfect.
Without the help of that stranger’s money, it would’ve taken me years to get enough saved up. Pierce would’ve rented the place to a sandwich maker and the story would be completely different. They’d call it Sandwiches ‘R’ Us and no one would make suggestive innuendoes about their name.
The back end of the bakery is clean. I finished wiping everything down while Tabitha made her mega list. All I have left to do is take out the trash and turn the lights off back here. The oversized trash can sits at the end of the prep table and I ease the black edge of the bag off from around the top. This bag always weighs a hundred and fifty pounds because it’s full of dough, old baked goods I couldn’t sell at a discount, and everything burned from the oven. If it’s a day Tabitha tried to cook, there’s usually a pan or two in there as well. I twist the top off, remove the bag from the can, and drop it by the back door.
The alarm disarms quickly, but I need to gather my strength before I attempt to haul the beast of the bag down the back steps and then to the dumpster all the businesses share in the back alley. I gulp a few deep breaths and will my shoulders for the heavy lifting. Reaching down for the bag, I’m stopped halfway by a knock on the back door.
That’s odd.
The person knocks again, the sound overly loud since my ear is right next to it. Considering no one I know would take the time to knock it’s obviously not Katy, Tabitha, or Bennett. Possibly Pierce back to finalize the details for the Christmas parade. I wasn’t expecting more information until later this summer, but I’m not willing let the chance get away from me.
I drop the trash bag the few inches I’d managed to lift it off the ground and open the back door.
It’s definitely not Pierce.
A man, maybe my height at five-five or so, wearing the kind of dark blue work shirt you find in mechanic shops or factories, stands at the base of my few small steps. The name tag, stitched above the left pocket with one corner coming loose reads Kevin. His hair is slicked back with either grease or from not washing. He could be homeless.
“Can I help you?”
He smiles, revealing a missing tooth on one side of his mouth. “Are you Anessa?”
I nod. “We’re closed right now, but if you come back tomorrow I might have something I could give you.”
His smile grows and it freaks me out. I’m supposed to meet Bennett and Liam down by the dock, but my plans change in an instant. New plan: I get this door closed, lock it, and call Bennett to come over and take the trash out for me. There is no way I’m going to the parking lot now.
I have experience with people and not much scares me, but there’s something off about this man. There is something wrong with his eyes. They’re too dark. Not that his pupils have dilated, but the coloring in his irises is too dark. Almost black. It’s the middle of the evening but a chill runs up my arms.
He doesn’t talk, just stands there smiling. Like the scared person I am, I smile back and nod my head a few times, the solution to get anyone out of any awkward situation.
“Okay, well thanks.” I have no idea what I’m thanking him for but use the opportunity to start shutting the door, no longer concerned with who he is or what he needs.
“I used to be a baker, you know.” He steps up one step. Reaching his hand out before I slam the door, he stops it with his palm.
I nod some more. “That’s nice, well thanks for stopping by. I have some place to be.”
“We both have some place to be.”
I push on the door with all my might, but even though he’s ragged and looks homeless, he’s stronger than I am. Even with one hand behind his back it doesn’t take him more than a second to push past my defenses. I back into the bakery, tripping over the trash bag and fall to the tile floor.
