“Good morning to you too, Mina,” she said with a smile, turning to the elderly woman who’d stepped forward. “Good morning! What can I get for you today?”
It was as if she’d been doing this forever. The register was intuitive, and the prices were already familiar from yesterday’s impromptu training. Holly found herself settling into a rhythm, taking orders, bagging pastries, and making change with practiced efficiency.
“Six cinnamon rolls, Daniel!” she called over her shoulder, not needing to check if he’d heard. Somehow, she knew he had.
The morning rush became a dance, Holly and Daniel moving around each other with an ease that felt almost choreographed. When she reached for a bag, his hand was already extending it toward her. When he needed more receipt paper, she’d already noticed and had it ready.
“Two apple turnovers and a coffee, light cream,” Daniel announced, sliding the order toward her just as she finished with her customer.
“On it,” Holly replied, their fingers brushing as she took the plate. The contact sent a jolt of awareness through her, but there was no time to dwell on it as the next customer stepped forward.
“I don’t know how we’d get through this without a power couple behind the counter,” Mina remarked during a brief lull, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
Holly felt heat rise to her cheeks as Daniel sputtered beside her, his face turning an adorable shade of red.
“We’re not…I mean…we’re just…” Holly left the sentence hanging, not sure what she and Daniel were. But maybe it was time they had a talk and figured it out.
The morning went by in a blur, a constant stream of customers keeping them too busy for conversation. Holly found herself slipping more deeply into the role with each passing hour, anticipating needs before they were voiced, translating Daniel’s increasingly terse instructions for Mina and the customers.
“He means the chocolate croissants are sold out, but we have chocolate muffins,” she explained to a disappointed teenager, earning a grateful glance from Daniel.
When the delivery truck finally arrived around noon, Daniel disappeared into the back, leaving Holly and Mina to handle the front.
“You’re a natural,” Mina observed as they restocked the display case. “Daniel’s lucky you showed up when you did.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Holly admitted, surprising herself with her honesty. “He took me in when I had nowhere to go.”
Mina nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Sometimes the universe puts us exactly where we need to be.”
Holly pondered that as she helped the next customer, wondering if perhaps Mina was right. Maybe ending up in Bear Creek wasn’t the disaster it had initially seemed. Maybe it was exactly where she needed to be.
When Daniel reappeared, flour dusting his hair and exhaustion lining his face, Holly’s heart clenched. He worked so hard, carried so much on his shoulders.
“The delivery’s sorted,” he said, his voice rough with fatigue. “But I still need to finish the special orders for tomorrow.”
Holly glanced at the clock. Nearly two-thirty. “The kids will be out of school soon.”
Daniel’s eyes widened with sudden panic. “I completely lost track of time.”
“I can pick them up,” Holly offered without hesitation. “You stay and finish what you need to do.”
“Are you sure?” Daniel’s voice held equal measures of relief and guilt. “You’ve already done so much today.”
“I’m sure,” Holly said firmly. “You finish what you need to here. We’ll figure out dinner.”
She grabbed her coat and slipped out the door before he could protest further, the bell jingling cheerfully behind her. In Daniel’s truck, Holly sat for a moment, catching her breath. What a day!
But it wasn’t over yet.
The drive to the school was quick since Bear Creek’s streets were now familiar to her. She parked the truck and went to meet Maisie and Teddy, humming the Christmas song that had been playing in the bakery.
She’d been humming a lot lately. Which wasn’t like her. But then none of this was like her.
But she was happy. Happier than…well, maybe happier than she had ever been in her life.
“Holly!” Teddy crashed into her legs the moment he saw her. “You came to get us!”
“I did,” Holly said, ruffling his hair. “Your dad’s still busy at the bakery.”
