Let me know when you’re done with her.
I want you to see you later.
Willow
Okay.
There’s really only one thing he could want to see me for, so I don’t bother questioning him. I’m already running late for my meeting with Miss Maggie after unexpectedly having to drop Noah off at the farm store before his therapy appointment on my way into town.
Climbing out of my car, I throw my purse over my shoulder and drop my keys into my bag. Miss Maggie has owned the bakery in town for as long as I can remember. It’s been passed down, generation to generation, in her family and she’s been running it for years now.
The bell chimes as I enter the store and a rush of warm air surrounds me. It’s a stark contrast to the cold, fall chill in the air outside today. The sweet aroma of sugar and butter infiltrates my senses, and I take a moment to breathe in the scent of happiness in food form.
The glass cases are filled with so many different pastries, although at this time, there’s only one or two of each kind left and some are sold out. Miss Maggie does very well here in town. Her bakery is known for miles, bringing in customers from surrounding cities.
A young woman behind the counter lifts her head and a smile stretches across her lips when she spots me. Her brown hair is pulled back in a messy braid with some free curls springing free, framing her delicate face. There’s a dusting of flour across hercheek and up above her eyebrow. Her green eyes hone in on me, bright and cheerful.
“You must be Willow, right?” She closes one of the doors to the glass case. “Aunt Maggie said you were coming by today.”
I tug my scarf loose, unbuttoning my coat as I walk to the counter. “You’re Miss Maggie’s niece. Natalie, right?”
I knew she looked familiar when I first walked in. She lives in Manhattan, but she’s been here before to visit Maggie.
“Yep,” she nods as she pops theP. “She told me you were coming by this afternoon. She was hoping she’d be able to meet with you, but she’s having a pretty bad flare up.”
Miss Maggie has multiple sclerosis and her flare-ups really take her out sometimes.
“I know she has trouble sometimes, but I didn’t realize it’s been getting worse for her.”
Natalie nods, her lips pulling into a straight line. “The cold weather seems to make it worse for her. I’m in between jobs, so I came to stay with her for a bit. That way she’s not alone and has someone to help her if needed, and I can run the bakery for her if she’s unable to.”
“That’s so kind of you.”
She gives me a small smile and a shrug. “The things we do for family, right?”
“I get it,” I say, giving her a look of understanding. “My brothers decided it wasn’t worth keeping the maple store in town open anymore, but I know how much it meant to our grandmother, so here I am, trying to reopen it myself.”
Natalie’s smile spreads wider. “You do get it then,” she says with a soft laugh. “That’s what brings you in, isn’t it? Aunt Maggie said you wanted to talk to her about collaborating on some baked goods.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lifting my purse onto the counter, I dig out a few small bottles of maple syrup. “The Harvest Fest isn’t faraway and I thought it would be really cool to do things that would benefit multiple stores. We’re already doing a maple latte with Sweet Grounds and I thought it would be really special to have a cookie or some kind of pastry.”
Natalie’s eyes glimmer with excitement and something that resembles a new and exciting venture. “I actually really love that idea,” she says, clapping her hands together. “Maggie already gave me the authorization to make decisions on her behalf and I honestly can’t imagine her not wanting to do it.” She holds up her finger. “Give me one minute.”
She’s a flurry of flour and excitement as she spins on her heel and heads into the backroom. As the door shuts behind her, I walk along the glass cases, bending down to look at the name tags for all the different sweet treats. If it were Wednesday, I’d grab a loaf of bread. I wonder if Natalie will continue to do the bread if Maggie isn’t spending much time here anymore.
Natalie comes bouncing back through the door with a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other. “Okay. Let’s brainstorm.” She flips open the book and sets it down on the counter. “Unless you have ideas already?”
“I don’t,” I admit, smiling sheepishly as I move back to the other part of the counter. “I was hoping maybe Maggie, or you, would.”
“No worries, no worries!” She waves her hand dismissively. She pulls her gaze from mine, her eyes kind of glazing over as she stares off into the distance. After a few moments of silence stretch between us, her eyes flash back to mine. “What do you think about a maple butter cookie, so there’s maple in the dough and we could have some with a maple glaze too?”
“Oh, that sounds delicious.”
Her face lights up at my approval. “Doesn’t it?” She clicks the end of the pen and starts jotting some things down on the note pad. “I think I’ll try that and maybe we can do one that’s almostlike a salted caramel, but it’s salted maple. Hmm. I’m not exactly sure, but if you’re okay with it, I’d love to play around with some other ideas.”
“If Miss Maggie trusts you to run the whole show here, I trust you with whatever you want to do.”
Her smile stretches, revealing two dimples on either side of her cheeks. “Thank you. That really means a lot to me.” She clicks the top of the pen again and sets it down. “Obviously, I’m new here and this is my first time ever taking over a business. When I said I was between jobs, it wasn’t because I was fired. It was a personal choice… for personal reasons.”
