I patted her head. She was one of Mickie’s best friends and clearly something or someone was getting to her. I took a chance that it was the latter. “Aw, sweetheart. Who’s got you all flustered?”
“You wouldn’t understand. I tried to talk to Bonnie but she’s floating on air and not listening to a word I say. Like she’s in a perpetual state of bliss. Which is great for her. She is probably replaying her wedding in her head…”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “I can try; give me a chance.”
“Rhett,” she sighed dreamily with a bit of frustration sprinkled in.
Rhett was a former military hacker. Very smart. Rugged. Handsome enough that most women swooned just from him walking near them. But, the two of them had been friends for years. I wondered if she was being stubborn or he was. “Come on. Out with it.”
“I’m invisible to him.”
“I highly doubt that, Maisie. Why are you all a twitter today?”
“I need help moving stuff into the shop. Heavy items. I hired movers but I only had enough money for two hours and there’s still more. I asked Rhett and he showed up. All muscles and…” She trailed off and covered her mouth, blushing.
“Mmmhmmm,” I said knowingly, giving her head another pat. “So, does he know you like him?”
“Are you kidding me? Look at him and look at me.”
Well, that wouldn’t do. I pinched her elbow. “Hey, now. You had better watch the way you speak about yourself.”
“You’re right, I know. I’m just so stressed out with the grand opening coming up. Rhett hasn’t dated anyone in a long time. I don’t think he’s interested.”
“Talk to him, Maisie. Don’t let the chance slip away. I’m not the perfect picture of what delayed gratification looks like. Or maybe I am. If Mickie hadn’t left after college…” I stopped because the timing hadn’t been right. No matter what that letter she wrote to me said. She owed it herself to see what life away from Brighton Creek looked like. To see what independence tasted like. Thinking of her tugged on my heartstrings again and I let out an exasperated sigh.
“I’ll think about it. I don’t want to risk not being happy just because it’s a big step. Do you want to talk about Mickie?” Her nose was scrunched up in concern.
“Not right now. I’m grumpy but I don’t need to sit here stewing. So, back to your shop. Are you trying to recruit more muscles?”
“Yeah, Sam. If you’ve got time. Judd is there and Nash is stopping by after his shift. But it’s still not enough. There’s a couple of things that are too heavy.”
“And you’re paying us in treats?” I pushed away the heavy burden on my mind and winked.
“Anything you want, I’ll whip it up. Please, Sam?” She gave me her cheesiest grin. “I’ll direct traffic, won’t even argue at all.”
I’d been lamenting in my head over missing Mikayla and beating myself up mentally which wouldn’t make me feel any better. I could lend a hand with or without her promise of baked goods. “All right, honey. I’ve got nothing going on today. Come on. We’ll get your stuff where it needs to go.”
Two hours later, Rhett, Judd and his brother Knox, Nash and I had everything moved into the kitchen that needed to be there as well as tables and chairs for the dining area. It hadn’t taken as long as we’d anticipated. True to her word, Maisie had directed the items and hadn’t gotten in the way. She already hired a professional cleaner to take care of the shop, so we were sitting around chatting.
“This place is going to be the busiest bakery in town,” Bonnie said observing the decorations and smiling. She’d added some last minute touches and they really brought the place an extra layer of warmth and comfort.
“I sure hope so,” Maisie replied with a huff. “If after all this planning, no one shows up? I’ll have to close shop before I even get off the ground.”
“Don’t get in your head again, Maze,” Rhett said knowingly from his chair next to mine. “You’ve worked hard for this. You’ve been selling out of every baked good you advertise for months. People have been lining up at your back door.”
Maisie chewed on her thumbnail, looking like she was deciding between throwing some sort of flirty challenge at him or agreeing. I couldn’t understand why the two of them hadn’t taken the plunge into a relationship yet, but I wasn’t really one to offer advice on that front. Not when my girl was four hours away in a city that didn’t support her. My mind was suddenly miles away again wondering what Mikayla was up to. If she was taking time for herself, resting, not overworking like she had the tendency to do.
“Yeah, Rhett. My back door was the center of attention for a while…” She batted her eyelashes as she spoke. Rhett leaned back in his chair studying her face.
“Sassy little thing,” he said, shaking his head. “My point is that I don’t think you have anything to worry about. You have a solid plan and are an amazing baker. It’s going to work out.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” she replied. “Thanks for the help today. Make sure you all text me what you want so I can add it to my baking list.”
“Mickie should be here for your grand opening,” Bonnie added seemingly out of nowhere. “I tried to get her to admit that she’s stuck in a dead end job. She hasn’t had a promotion in years.” She glanced up at me. I had a feeling what she was going to say next.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting.
“She belongs here. With us. I really thought that being back home would show her what she’s been missing!”
