Page 5 of Coastal Reflections

“She told me,” Elaine assured him with a smile, setting her heavy bags down on the counter for a moment. “Thank you for always being so on top of our orders, by the way. You haven’t been even slightly late with a single one.”

Shep shrugged and grunted a little, but she could tell by the flush in his cheeks and the quirk of his lips that the comment had made him happy.

“I wanted to tell you,” Elaine continued, smiling at him and leaning toward him a little as if what she was about to tell him was conspiratorial. “We had a couple of tourists from Switzerland come and stay at The Birchwood House, and they were absolutely raving about your hazelnut croissants the other day while we were all having coffee. They said they’ve never had croissants that good before, not even in France.”

Shep made a little gasping sound and then waved his hand through the air. “Nonsense,” he said gruffly, but he looked thrilled.

“That’s what they said,” Elaine retorted cheerfully. “And I wanted to drop in and let you know what a hit the croissants have been. I’d love to get a dozen of them the next time you make them.”

“Certainly. I uh—I was planning on making them again tomorrow.”

Elaine caught Iris shooting Shep an amused look, and she guessed that Shep had been planning on nothing of the kind, and he’d just changed his baking plans for her sake.

Or it’s just because he’s excited the croissants are so popular, she told herself. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself here, thinking he cares more about me than he really does.

For a second she watched the baker’s careworn face. How much did Shep care about her? She realized with a jolt that her heart was beating faster as she contemplated the question. She hardly dared to admit it to herself, but she wanted him to care about her a great deal.

“Well,” she said briskly, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden surge of intense thoughts and emotions she was experiencing. “I think I’ll snag a bear claw before going on my way. I see you’ve still got some in the case there.” Her eyes scanned the bakery display case, and for a moment she considered buying a cupcake or an almond cranberry scone instead. The bear claws seemed to be calling her name, however. “Yes. A bear claw, please.”

She began to rummage in her purse.

“That’ll be on the house,” Shep said, lifting a hand and stopping her. He went over to the display case and opened it, gently taking out a bear claw as if it were something precious.

“Really?” Elaine dropped her wallet back inside her purse. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Shep said, his tone a bit gruff. Elaine could see that he was trying not to smile, however. “We’re just going to donate the rest of this anyway. We never sell day-old bakery at Townsend’s.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to stop by right when you’re closing more often,” Elaine joked.

“Sure,” Shep said, sounding as if he liked the idea. He handed her the bear claw, and for a moment, she hesitated, not knowing what to say.

“Thank you both again,” she said, smiling warmly at Iris and Shep. “And thanks again for making more croissants for us, Shep. I know the guests will love them.”

Shep nodded and Iris waved at her, and Elaine picked up her shopping bags and slipped back out the front door of the bakery. She started toward the mansion with a pep in her step, feeling upbeat and full of energy.

I always feel cheerier after visiting the bakery, she thought to herself, realizing it with a touch of surprise. I guess that’s the magic of sugary baked goods.

What she wasn’t admitting to herself was that there also seemed to be a bit of magic in the cantankerous, golden-hearted baker who made the sugary baked goods.

She arrived back at the hotel after only a few minutes of walking. She entered the mansion through the side door that led into the kitchen, and she found the room empty of people. Humming quietly to herself, she set her shopping bags down in a corner of the counter and took out the bear claw that Shep had picked out for her. As she sank her teeth into it, she made a soft “Mmm!” sound, because it seemed to her that it was even better than the last bear claw she’d had from Townsend’s. It seemed Shep had been tweaking his recipes again, making them even better than they’d been before.

She wandered out of the kitchen and into the parlor, looking for Audrey and Michelle. Michelle wasn’t at her post at the reception desk, and she could hear a few sets of voices coming faintly from upstairs. She thought she distinguished the sound of Audrey’s laughter.

I bet they’re upstairs, she thought, mounting the stairs with her bear claw in hand. We have that new couple coming in tonight, so they’re probably fixing up the tiger lily room.

Sure enough, she found her daughter and her granddaughter in the orange-themed bedroom, laughing and chatting as they made up the bed. Elaine stepped inside the room, enjoying watching them for a moment before they noticed her. Audrey and Michelle had a special relationship that was in many ways like a friendship. Elaine loved watching the affection between them and listening to the playful banter they exchanged.

“I’m telling you, I’m the sheet-changing master,” Michelle was saying. “I can totally change the bedding on a bed in five minutes, tucking and folding the sheets all fancy and everything. It’s a gift.”

“Then how come we’re still doing this?” Audrey countered with a laugh. She glanced at her watch. “It’s been six minutes already and we’re still not done.”

“That’s because you’re getting in my way,” Michelle retorted with a grin.

Elaine chuckled, looking around the beautiful bedroom. The walls were white, and the bedspread and armchair were a beautiful rusty orange that made her think of autumn. The gift basket, which was waiting on an antique desk placed under one of the windows, was brimming with orange-colored goodies—face wipes, hand lotion, toothbrushes, bar soap, and other things, including a bag of cinnamon sugar cookies that had been sealed up with an orange ribbon. Elaine knew that Michelle had given the tiger lily room a mango scent theme, and that all of the soaps and lotions it was stocked with smelled of mangos and other tropical fruits. Elaine and Audrey had teased her when she’d first made the decision, asking her why she didn’t make everything lily-scented, but Michelle had insisted that she knew what she was doing and that mangos “smelled orange” more than any other scent did. Audrey had countered that pumpkins smelled more orange than anything, but Michelle hadn’t wavered.

“Oh, hey Mom!” Audrey looked up with a laugh as she noticed Elaine standing in the doorway, munching on her bear claw. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“I just got back,” Elaine said with a smile.