“Sorry,” I murmured. “I didn’t hear you.”
She smiled knowingly. “I understand. This place holds your history.”
“Everything looks the same,” I said softly. “I can’t believe she barely changed anything.”
“The décor never mattered,” Eva replied. “People came for the pies. Marie did upgrade the kitchen though. New appliances. An expanded menu.”
“That’s good,” I said absently. “It’ll increase the value.”
Her smile faded. “You’re still planning to sell it?”
Guilt hit me instantly.
“Eva, can we sit?” I gestured toward the stools. “I don’t really have a choice. My life is far from here now. But I love this place. I just don’t think I deserve to keep it.”
I hesitated, then added, “If you want it, I’d be honored to pass it on to you.”
She stared at me, shocked. “I’m almost sixty-two, Bailey. I can bake a damn good pie, but running a business? No.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I just thought—”
“You’re wrong about one thing,” she interrupted gently. “Marie left this place to you because she loved you. She missed you. Even when she never said your name, you were always on her mind.”
My throat tightened.
“Sometimes she’d stop working and just stare at the red table by the window,” Eva continued. “I always knew it was yours.”
“I didn’t know,” I whispered.
“After you left, she wouldn’t let Ashton inside,” Eva added. “Yesterday was the first time he stepped foot in here.”
My head snapped up. “She chased him away?”
“Every time. He truly believed you betrayed him.”
“You believe I didn’t?”
“Of course,” she said. “So did Marie. She was only hurt that you never came to her.”
Pain swelled in my chest. “I was already condemned. Ashton wouldn’t even look at me. No one believed me. I was ashamed.”
Eva hugged me tightly. “You were young and scared. But now you have another chance. Don’t walk away again.”
Her words left me breathless.
When she disappeared into the kitchen, I felt suspended between two lives. One led back to Michigan, safe and familiar. The other promised chaos, pain, and truth.
With a heavy sigh, I called Sissy.
“I might stay a little longer,” I told her. “A week or two.”
“You know I’ve got you,” she said.
“Can you put Tristan on?”
“Hey, Mom!” he shouted. “I just beat Uncle Adam!”
I laughed, then froze when he asked, “Are you going to see Grandpa?”
