“I’m not surprised. He made those little bug cupcakes for her school, and he let her help in the kitchen. He’s probably one step below an actual unicorn in her eyes. Thanks for keeping her an extra day, but I didn’t want to risk driving in the snow.”
“Sweetie, you act like she hasn’t lived in this house with me for the last two years. She still has her own room, and it’s no problem at all.”
“I guess.” She was right of course, but ever since Annie came to live with me, I’d tried to give my mom as much freedom as possible. She’d had a lot of plans for what she wanted to do after she retired from teaching, and giving up her job early because of her fight against breast cancer, and then raising Annie, had put those on hold. Now that she was well, I wanted her to enjoy herself. “I hope you didn’t have to cancel a hot date,” I teased.
She blushed and said, “Well, actually, I did. Maybe not a hot date, that remains to be seen since we rescheduled for tonight, but I did cancel a date.”
“Mom!” I exclaimed. “Who with?”
“Grady Townsend. Do you remember him?”
“Sure, he’s the pharmacist. He comes in every so often and gets a vanilla latte. He’s nice, Mom; handsome too.”
“He asked me out to dinner and I agreed. He has grandkids as well, so he was very understanding about me having to postpone. I remember his wife Debbie; she was so sweet.”
“Good for you, Mom. I’m excited for you.”
“Me too. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Well, we better get home. Annie has school tomorrow, don’t you munchkin?”
“I do. Can Frank the unicorn come with me?”
“I don’t see why not. As long as you promise to only play with him when Ms. Anderson says it’s okay.”
“I promise. I’ll follow the rules.”
“I’m sure you will. Now grab your backpack and we’ll head home.” She ran into her room and grabbed her bag. “Love you, Mom.” I gave her a hug. She still felt so small in my arms; we came so close to losing her it still terrified me.”
“Love you, too, Devin.”
I scooped up my munchkin and we headed home. Things might not be going according to my original plan, but damn, I was a lucky man.
Chapter 12
Frankie
I stood inside my empty house once the guys left and looked at the mess. I really didn’t have that much stuff and yet, there were boxes everywhere. I’d always had roommates, and pretty much just fit my own stuff in my room, but Ripley kept putting stuff in boxes, insisting that I needed it or that it suited me. Before I knew it, I had boxes and boxes of things. Not that I minded. I’d originally helped him pick out most of this stuff, and I liked all of it.
Grateful it was only me living here, so I didn’t have to take anyone else’s comfort in mind, I made a plan to unpack a little at a time. First and foremost was my kitchen. Not only did I need a functioning kitchen here, but I needed to take my baking supplies and tools to the coffee shop. Devin seemed convinced that I would have more business than I could handle, but I wasn’t as sure as he was. We weren’t far from a larger city where people could get anything they wanted, and while I would put my skills up against any of those bakers, I wasn’t sure people here wouldn’t be of the it comes from the city, so it must be better mindset. But either way, I planned to give it my best shot. I had a couple more people to call back already, and hopefully that would let me get my foot in the door.
A cup of tea. That’s what I needed to get things off on the right foot. A hot cup of tea and maybe a few minutes on the porch swing to get ready to tackle this place. I found the box that had tea kettle and teas written on the side—thank goodness for Reed’s insistence on careful labeling—and put the water on to heat. Ripley had insisted on wrapping one teacup to place in the box with the other things so I wouldn’t have to hunt for one. He knew me well enough to know I would want tea before I unpacked. He always talked like I was such a good friend to him and that he owed me so much, but the truth was, I’d been as lost as he was when he showed up in my apartment building that day. I took one look at him and knew not only that he needed me, but that by helping him, I would be saving myself. I’d just barely survived a breakup that almost broke me, and I was floundering. Helping Ripley gave me purpose in a time I had none, and by the time he left, he was taking care of me as much as I was taking care of him.
The kettle whistled and I poured the hot water into the cup. While the tea steeped, I found my box of books and opened it up. I chose a notebook to write in as well as a pencil, which I’d always preferred. In real life you couldn’t erase your mistakes, and that made life messy, but on paper you could. So even after you fucked up, it could still look neat and perfect. I grabbed my tea, my favorite blanket, and headed out onto the porch. I smiled at the floral cushions I’d purchased for the swing before we left. It was pretty, and pretty made me happy. I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and sat down. It was hard to believe that I'd been stuck in the snow the day before when it was barely chilly here. I was determined not to spend all day thinking about how wonderful my night with Devin was. Instead I was going to focus on starting my life here. I liked River Gorge, I especially enjoyed the peace and quiet, something I never got in the city. So took advantage of that and made a list of things I needed to do. By the time my tea was finished, I had a plan for unpacking the house and the first week of launching my business.
I went inside and tackled the first thing on my list which was putting the sheets and comforter on my bed and locating all my towels and wash clothes. When that was done, I took a shower and went to bed. I had to be at the bakery early the next morning, and I wasn’t going in tired from unpacking. I had a chance to really build something here that was mine, and I wasn’t going to screw it up.
The next morning, I carried the boxes of baking supplies, pans, and tools into the back door of the shop. Much like yesterday with the house, I stood there for a minute and looked at it. This was going to be where I made the magic happen, and no one could tell me that wasn’t what I did. I took flour, sugar, butter, and sprinkles and turned it into someone’s dream cake, or their favorite thing, or maybe their favorite memory. That was magic.
The early morning was my favorite time in a bakery. I liked being the only one there. I put on some music and started baking. Once the scones and muffins were in the ovens, I sorted and organized the things I’d brought from home. The previous week while I was there I’d made room for my supplies and already knew where most would go. By the time the first batch came out of the oven, I was about half done. As I put the second batch in, I heard the front door open, and Devin yelled he was here to start the coffee. I needed to learn how so he could start coming in later. It didn’t take but a minute before he popped his head in the kitchen.
“Smells amazing in here,” he said. “I’m going to steal a muffin. Can I bring you a cup of tea once the waters hot?”
“That would be amazing. I like—”
“The lemon tisane with two sugars. I remember.” He grinned, grabbed a muffin, and headed back out front.