She was focusing on the job, which was exactly what she should be doing. She hadn’t come here to have an affair.
He was right, anyway. The first one was out of the way. She didn’t have to worry about whether or not another man would find her appealing, not that she had worried about that. But that question was answered. She probably could go down to the bar in town and hook up with any of the cowboys, if she felt like it.
Not that she had the time at the moment. She was busy getting a hotel up and running. She was busy building a life.
She still hadn’t told anyone about Cody. She couldn’t tell Laney, who was becoming a friend, but also worked for Cody, so that felt weird, and she couldn’t tell Cara because… Cara would either judge her or she would be too excited about it. And Marlowe didn’t think that she could cope with either thing. Not all things considered.
Not since it had already fizzled out.
Even though fizzled seemed like the wrong word since nothing inside of her felt fizzled at all.
If it weren’t for all of that, everything would be perfect. With a week left to go until the opening of the hotel, the bakery was complete and ready to go. All of Cara’s appliances were in place, and she was busy at work perfecting everything. Training her employees, even though her staff was much smaller than Marlowe’s.
Marlowe loved waking up early and taking a morning walk to the bakery. Sipping on a coffee as she went, and then getting a second one for Cara when she arrived.
There were so many things to love about this place. About this life.
Even if she did feel a little bit disconnected. Even if herbiggest connection felt like it was to Cody, and that was something she needed to let go of.
She tried to sigh, but her chest felt all bound up.
Then, she tried to smile as she walked into the bakery.
“Good morning.” The girl behind the register was blonde and chipper, a large pink name tag on her apron read:Annabelle. “Welcome to Juniper and Sage.”
“Perfect,” Cara said, popping her head around from the kitchen. “That’s exactly how I want you greeting guests.”
“I’m hardly a guest,” Marlowe said. “But happy to be a guinea pig.”
“What can I get you?” Annabelle asked, hands positioned just so on the counter as she looked at Marlowe with all the keen eagerness of a teenager with her very first job.
“I would like one of the strawberry rolls,” Marlowe said.
Cara claimed she was still working on perfecting them, but her strawberry roll attempts had quickly replaced the lemon as Marlowe’s favorite, and as Cara tweaked the recipe in ways that Marlowe couldn’t discern, Marlowe just reaped the benefits of being a willing participant in tasting.
“Right, one strawberry roll. Coming right up.”
“And an Americano, please.”
“Right, one Americano coming right up,” Annabelle repeated, obviously working from a carefully rehearsed script.
Marlowe knew a moment of envy. Annabelle was just starting out in life. First job, the whole world ahead of her. Then just as abruptly as the envy had filled her, Marlowe felt relief. Because she wasn’t just starting out. She knew who she was. She’d been hurt, and she wished she hadn’t been hurt quite like that. Wished she hadn’t experienced betrayal at the hands of the one man who was supposed to love her forever and care about her.
But here she was, living through it. Because she had a strong sense of herself.
And yes, this moment was weird, and it kind of sucked. But she was herself. She’d never considered that an asset. She’d always felt like her past was a liability she carried with her that made her vulnerable to mistakes and to judgment. A girl from the trailer park with an absentee mother and an alcoholic father.
Suddenly, that past felt like the thing that made her present possible.
The feeling was novel and momentous, but right now she had no idea what to do with it.
“Want to sit outside?” Cara asked, coming out of the kitchen with Marlowe’s roll and coffee on a tray, along with a savory egg pastry and a tea that was likely for Cara.
Marlowe nodded. “Sure.”
“So, how’s it going at the hotel?” Cara slipped her apron off and hung it on a peg behind the counter before coming around to the front and walking outside with Marlowe.
It was trying to warm up. Now that it was nearly April, the sun was doing its best, but winter had a firm grasp on the mountains, most of all.
