“Well, you have him get some cards made up. Too bad you don’t have any now because when people see these, they’re going to want to order stuff, just you mark my words.”
As I walked down the hall, being extra careful with the boxes, I grinned. She was right. This was going to work out. I peeked through the glass on the classroom door, and Molly saw me. I’d gone to school with her. That’s the way it was in these small towns. At one time, I thought I wanted nothing more than to get away, but now that I had Annie, I was relieved that her teacher was someone I’d known since elementary school. She waved me in and pointed over to the tables in the back where a group of women stood arranging snacks and goodie bags. Since when were there goodie bags at school parties? Boy, I had a lot to learn. I knew most of the ladies from us either growing up together or from the coffee shop. I snuck over so I wouldn’t distract Annie, put the cake boxes on the table, and started setting them out. The moms quietly had a fit over the cake balls.
“He calls them love bugs,” I told them.
“Oh, and who is he? Is there a new man in your life?”
“Not in my life,” I said with a chuckle, ignoring the image of him laughing this morning, so full of joy. He’d been adorable. “In my coffee shop’s life. He’s the new baker.”
“Will he be doing things like this?” another asked. “Mya has a birthday coming up, and I don’t want to go all the way to the city to get her cake.”
“Depends on how quick you need them. He has to have a chance to get set up first. He still needs to find a place to live as well. Right now he’s staying out at the Bluebird Ranch.”
“Oh,” Sherrie said. “I’ve seen him come into the real estate office with Ripley; cute little blond right?” I’d forgotten that since Sherrie worked in the real estate office with my friend Miller, she’d probably already met Frankie.
“Yeah, that’s him,” I said.
“I don’t know what kind of place he’s looking for, but have him call me. I have a couple of empty rentals that I own here in town.” She handed me a card, and then all conversation was over. Molly had released the kids and it was like the running of the bulls. She was saying no running, and they were stampeding for the snacks.
I was pleased to see that Annie was still wearing her tutu from this morning. Most of the kids went straight for the food, but Annie came straight for me. I knelt down and she threw herself into my arms. “I knew you would come. The other mommies got here and I worried for a minute, but just a minute. I knew you would come.”
“Of course I came, munchkin.”
“What did you bring?”
I turned us and pointed at the cake balls sitting on the table. The kids were loving them. She squealed in my ear. “They’re so cute. And they’re pink, pink is my favorite color.”
“It is. But there are red ones, too, for people who don’t like pink as much as you.”
She made a disgruntled face and glared at one of the little boys. “Like Billy, he said pink is dumb.”
“Well, I don’t see how a color can be dumb, especially one as pretty as pink. Now let’s get you some snacks before they’re all gone.”
By the time the party was done and the balentimes had all been shared, I had three different people who wanted Frankie to make something for birthday parties and one who asked if he made breads for Easter. I told them all to come by the bakery next week and ask him because I simply didn’t know the answers.
Annie was excited to meet the person who made the love bugs for her party, and that excitement doubled when I told her we were going to take him home and that there were goats where he lived.
“What kind of goats?” she asked.
“I don’t know the kind, but they’re the ones like in those videos I showed you.”
“Can I pet them?”
“You’ll have to ask Ripley if you can pet them, but either way, we’ll get to see them.”
“This is the best day ever. I had heart pancakes, and a party at school, and you came, and now I get to see goats.”
“Yep,” I agreed. “Best day ever.”
When we arrived back at the coffee shop, we found Frankie in the kitchen pantry taking inventory and making a list.
I lifted Annie up on one of the stools at the counter and said, “See that guy over there? He’s the one who made your love bugs.”
At the sound of my voice, he popped his head out of the pantry. “Oh! Hey there. You must be Annie.” She nodded her and gave him a shy smile. “So, how did it go?”
“Excellent. Everyone loved the cake balls, didn’t they Annie?”
“We didn’t have none left. But I got a pink one 'cause pink is my favorite. I wanted to try a red one too because my shirt is red, but there weren’t any red ones left ‘cause everyone liked them so much they ate them. And now we get to go see the goats.”
“I love the goats, they’re so cute. Have you ever seen them before?”
“Nope, only on Uncle Cap’s phone ‘cause he showed me ‘em.”
“You’re in for a treat because they’re adorable.”
“Will they be in their ‘jamas? Uncle Cap said they wear ‘jamas just like me.”
“They do sometimes,” he said. He took out his phone and I thought he was going to show her pictures of the goats, but he did something really quickly, and then put it back in his pocket.
“I hope they’re wearing them. It’s not bedtime, though, and I’m not in my ‘jamas yet, so they probably aren’t.” She slid her legs behind her off the stool until she was lying across the seat on her stomach. Then she slid backwards until her feet touched the ground.
“I could’ve helped you down.”
She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I don’t need help. I gotta tell Stacy about the goats.” And she was gone.
“She’s adorable,” Frankie said, watching her run off. “I made a list of everything I needed to get us started. What day is your supply delivery?”
“Wednesdays”
“Okay, I can make a supply run to the city tomorrow and get everything for the first couple of days. We should have everything we need to last until then.”
“Just give me the list, and I’ll have the order put in tomorrow. Be warned, though, you have a bunch of people interested in your cakes after those love bugs.”
“Not much I can do cake-wise without my stuff, and there’s no sense in making more than one trip to Dallas, but as soon as I find a house, I’ll go after it.”
“That reminds me. Sherrie asked me to give you this. She said you’ve met.” I handed him her card.
He looked at it. “She works with Ripley’s friend, Miller, right?
“Yeah, she has a son in Annie’s class, so she was at the school. She said she has a few rentals that you might be interested in.”
His phone chimed and he pulled it out, then smiled at the message he’d received. “Ripley says give him fifteen minutes, and the goats will be in pajamas when we arrive.”
“You asked him to get them dressed for her?” I’d already figured out he was a good guy or I wouldn’t have offered him a job, but that was sweet. So sweet I wasn’t sure what to say. “Thank you. She’ll love that.”