"Ask me in an hour."
The Barrett Development offices were modern and sleek—all glass and steel and expensive furniture. Shayna greeted them at the door with a warm smile.
"Lucy. And you must be Jake. I've heard so much about you."
"All good things, I hope," Jake said.
"The best things." Shayna led them to a conference room where a lawyer was already set up with stacks of paperwork. "This should take about an hour. We'll go through every document, make sure you understand what you're signing. No rushing, no pressure. Take all the time you need."
The next hour was a blur of legal language and signatures. Lucy's hand cramped from signing her name so many times. Jake sat beside her, a steady presence, occasionally squeezing her hand when the legal jargon got particularly dense.
Finally, Shayna slid the last document across the table. "This is it. Once you sign this, the sale is official. The Bread Basket becomes property of Barrett Development, with all the terms we discussed."
Lucy looked at the paper. Her grandmother's legacy, reduced to legal language and dollar signs.
"Take your time," Shayna said gently.
Lucy picked up the pen. Took a breath. And signed.
Shayna countersigned, then the lawyer, then it was done.
"Congratulations," Shayna said, shaking Lucy's hand. "You've made a brave choice. We're going to honor what your grandmother built, I promise you that."
"I know. That's why I chose you."
Shayna handed Lucy a check—more money than Lucy had ever seen in her life. Enough to pay off all the bakery's debts, fund six months in Paris, and still have savings left over.
"The transition team will be in touch Monday to schedule training sessions. You'll work with them through December to ensure everything's documented and the new staff is properly trained. And Lucy?" Shayna smiled. "Thank you. For trusting us with this."
In the parking lot, Lucy stood by Jake's truck and stared at the check in her hands.
"I just sold my grandmother's bakery."
"You just chose your future," Jake corrected gently.
"Same thing."
"Not even close."
Lucy folded the check carefully and put it in her purse. Then she burst into tears.
Jake pulled her into his arms and let her cry—big, ugly, relieved sobs that came from somewhere deep. She'd been holding this in for weeks, and now it was finally hitting her.
The bakery wasn't hers anymore. Her grandmother's legacy was in someone else's hands. Everything was changing.
"I've got you," Jake murmured into her hair. "I've got you."
They stood in the parking lot for a long time—Lucy crying, Jake holding her, both of them letting the magnitude of what had just happened sink in.
Finally, Lucy pulled back and wiped her face. "I'm a mess."
"You're beautiful. And brave. And you just made one of the hardest decisions of your life."
"Can we go somewhere? Not home, not the bakery. Just... somewhere else?"
Jake smiled. "I know just the place."
Jake drove them to the old overlook on the edge of town—a spot most tourists didn't know about, where you could see all of Timber Falls spread out below, the mountains rising in the distance.
