She swore it was her dad. This little voice in her ear that motivated her. Maybe she was being delusional, but it didn’t matter. It spurred her on and kept a fire burning within.
Even still, her feet were killing her, her hands were so sore they ached, and she had completely run out of room on the tables and work stations in the back of her bakery. Every surface was cluttered with trays, bowls, and ingredients.
Earlier that day, her good friends Sarah and Rachel had popped into the shop, instructing her to put them to work. She’d immediately turned down their gracious offer, knowing she wouldn’t be able to pay them. At that point, she was hemorrhaging money, having closed the bakery for more consecutive days than she had in the entire previous yearcombined. But they wouldn’t take no for an answer, and they insisted they wouldn’t be taking any of her money, either.
So while they manned the front counter, selling the remaining items that Faith had on hand in her pastry cases, she kneaded and shaped, baked and frosted, packaged and stored. She’d fallen into a groove, this dance of precision in her kitchen. And Mitch would be so proud. She didn’t burn or overcook a single item.
She took her first break around four o’clock, following the afternoon rush that had completely wiped her out of the pastries and baked goods on hand.
“I’m officially putting up theSold Outsign,” Rachel said, carrying the magnetic sign to the front door to adhere it to the sandwich board out on the walkway. “When was the last time that happened?”
“It’s kind of cheating because I didn’t refill the cases all the way this morning,” Faith admitted a little sheepishly. “And don’t tell anyone, but it was all day-olds.”
“Nobody noticed, nor would they have cared had they known the truth. Still, they cleared you out,” Sarah said through a wide, encouraging smile. “Might have helped that you had two gorgeous salesladies helping you out on the floor today.”
“Couldn’t have hurt,” Faith replied, grinning back at her friend.
“Are you in a good place to take a break?” Rachel asked once she’d returned from posting the sign out front.
Faith nodded. She actually was. “Yeah, what are you thinking?”
“How about heading down to the dress shop to pick something up for tomorrow night? I’ve been so busy with wedding and bridesmaid dress selections that I haven’t even thought about what I’m going to wear to the soiree.”
“Ifthere’s a soiree,” Faith said to temper her friend’s excitement.
“There will be one,” she said, slinking her arm in Faith’s elbow. “I have completefaith.”
CHAPTER 21
Mitch supposed he couldn’t consider himself a true Snowdrift Summit transplant without experiencing his very first blizzard. He’d heard terms like whiteout conditions, squall, and snowstorm before, but the words didn’t convey the true intensity that could only come from experiencing it firsthand.
He had been jerked awake at the station that morning to a call to assist an elderly man experiencing chest pains. Mitch’s own chest ached with concern when the fire station doors rolled up and a sheet of opaque white greeted them. And while his lifelong goal had always been to operate the truck, he was grateful someone else was at the helm today. Troy was trained to operate in severe winter weather like this, and even though their response time was a little longer due to the road conditions and low visibility, they still made it to the man’s cabin in record time.
“One would think that with the brutally long fire season we have to endure around here that we’d get a break in the off season,” RJ mumbled as the big firetruck lumbered down the road at a snail’s pace on their way back from responding to the call. Thankfully, the man had been diagnosed with a bad caseof indigestion, not the heart attack he was certain he’d been experiencing.
“There is no off season in Snowdrift,” Captain Anderson quipped. “When it’s not fire season, it’s snow season or rainy season or heat-wave season. No rest for the weary.”
Mitch had to laugh. Zachary had given him so much grief in the classroom, saying his job couldn’t possibly be exciting in a place like this small town. But Mitch was learning just the opposite.
“Just to put it on everyone’s radar, there’s a large population up the ridge currently without power,” Captain Anderson conveyed once they’d returned to the station. “I’m in communication with the utility company, and they mentioned they’re concerned about another transformer that looks like it’s about to fail. That could mean even more residents without electricity, possibly for days at a time. We’ll need to be ready.”
The crew nodded their understanding one by one, but Mitch wondered what something like that might even look like. Most everyone in these parts had generators, but those would only last so long. Gas would run out. Batteries in flashlights would die. Food shortages would ensue. It would be cold and dark and possibly dangerous. And Mitch was ready to assist in any way he could.
Later that morning,he got a text from the only number he cared to grace his phone.
Faith: It came through! I’ve got the permit in my hands! Talk about it coming through last minute, but it’s here! Thank you so much for your help with this.
A grin played on his lips, her waves of relief and excitement palpable, even through the phone screen between them.
Mitch: I didn’t do anything, but I’m so glad it all worked out. Sounds like it calls for a celebration.
He had to put it out there. He wanted so badly to see her again. But he knew she would be up to her ears in last-minute baking and soiree details. He probably should have thought about that before he punched out the text, but he just couldn’t help himself. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and his need to honor her success in person was undeniable.
Faith: How about I save the first dance for you?
That was more than perfect. Mitch’s hope of holding Faith in his arms again, swaying to the music as they celebrated, got him through the rest of his shift. He was just about to head for home when Captain Anderson called all the crew into the briefing room.
“Bad news.” The boss smoothed his handlebar mustache, a nervous tic Mitch had recently picked up on. “That transformer they were worried about is out and we’ve got about a hundred houses currently without power. The weather service also informed us that they’re expecting record snowfall overnight, which means many of those residents might be trapped in their homes without the ability to leave to get food or rations. Most are being evacuated, so we need to open up a place to accept them. Give them a warm roof over their heads to hunker down and ride out the storm.”
