LYDIA

Four months later…

 

“Now this right here… This is my idea of Heaven.”

Ben put the fork into his mouth. His eyes closed, you could see the satisfaction he had. The look on his face was almost orgasmic.

“Oh, yeah…” he sighed. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

He looked forward at the old man sitting across from him.

Sutton had a plain look on his face. If anything, he looked mildly annoyed at the enjoyment Ben seemed to be having.

“What?” Ben asked. “You don’t think it’s any good?”

“Tiramisu… I never thought that would be a regular in a town like this.”

“You know you like it. It’s good.”

“It is good. But I’ll stick with my usual. The good ol’ Sutton Special.”

He looked up at me and winked.

“I should charge royalties,” he said. “Using my name like that.”

“I have to admit it,” I said. “Sales have gone up a little bit now that it’s got a name. Coffee and a glazed donut. What’s your price?”

“I’m only kidding. Just keep making ‘em like Amy used to.”

“I haven’t changed a thing about the recipe.”

Ben groaned with pleasure again as he took another bite of his dessert.

“Donuts are good,” he said. “But this. This right here… This is what’s gonna get people coming back to Amy’s.”

“Nah,” Sutton responded. “People come to Amy’s because of what’s tried and true. Give me tradition any day of the week.”

“I don’t think so, pops.”

“Pops?”

Sutton raised an eyebrow at his young counterpart. Ben immediately turned sheepish, shifting his gaze away and stuffing his mouth with more dessert.

“So,” Sutton said as he turned his attention to me. “How have you been, Lydia?”

“I’ve been great. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“You look great. How far along are you now?”

He eyeballed my swollen stomach. I looked down and couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“A little over four months now,” I said. “The doctors say I’m doing well.”

“It looks like you’ve got everything going for you now,” Sutton said. “New kid, new bakery.”

“Yeah, I’ve got everything I need,” I sighed.

Amy’s Bakery got the renovation it sorely needed. The food was just as good. The service was the same. But the fresh coat of paint turned it into a place that was easier on the eyes.

“Where’s the father?” Sutton asked.

“Sean should be here in a little bit. He headed up north to get some product and he’s transporting it back here.”

“Product?” Ben said, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Yes, product. For the bakery.”

“Oh! Right!”

Sutton rolled his eyes at the young officer.

“I’ll let you go,” he said. “It looks like Gina’s getting a little backed up with some customers.”

“Gina can handle it. But… I suppose I should give her some help. Thank you for coming, Sheriff… Ben… You two are always welcome.”

Sutton gave me a wink. Ben nodded his head, some frosting on his lips as he indulged himself with another bite. I giggled to myself as I headed behind the counter to give Gina a hand.

It was a small rush of people. Citizens all over Ivory stopped by for the usual. Now that there were a few new items on the menu, more people discovered that Amy’s was the best bakery in the city to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Gina and I served the last customer. As soon as she was done, she leaned up against the counter with her arms crossed and sighed a deep breath of exhaustion.

“Oh, man,” she said. “I’m so tired. I need a break.”

“Come on, Gina. You’ve dealt with bigger rushes than that.”

“Well, I must be getting old.”

“You’re not getting old,” I said with a laugh.

“Maybe you should think about hiring some new help.”

“Hmm… I suppose it is getting a little busy.”

“Great! I can help.”

“You can help?”

“I’ll put it in the papers: Wanted! Hot stud needed to work with sweet girl. Hard labor. Big muscles are a must. Tattoos are a plus.”

Gina had stars in her eyes but I knew she wasn’t joking. Still, I had laughed at her all the same.

“I’m not putting that in the paper,” I said.

“Come on! You’re in charge now. Amy is retired. She picked you because of the vision you had for this place.”

“And that vision doesn’t include a bunch of shirtless guys walking around in aprons serving cupcakes.”

“Who said anything about shirtless? Now who’s talking crazy?”

I shared a laugh with my friend. Gina had been there since the beginning and I was glad that she was still with me.

“What else am I supposed to do for fun?” she said. “It’s not the same without you. Now that you’ve got a little bun in the oven, I don’t have anybody to drink with.”

“Gina, you’re a grown woman. I’m sure there’s plenty of hot guys willing to keep you company.”

“Yeah, I know… Maybe I just need a piece of tiramisu to cheer me up.”

“Why don’t you go take a break?” I said.

“That sounds like the best idea you’ve had so far today.”

I giggled at her. Gina helped herself to a piece of dessert in the display then took a seat in the bakery.

While I cleaned up behind the counter, the bell on the door rang. I looked up and saw him walking in.

His muscles bulged as he carried the giant box toward me.

“Where do you want this?” he asked.

“Just put it in the back with everything else.”

I made my way over to him and watched him set it down with the other products in the storage room. He let out a deep sigh then greeted me with a peck on the cheek.

“That’s more than usual,” Sean said.

“I need it. People are ordering more of my desserts. You can’t get those ingredients here in Ivory.”

“Pretty soon I’m gonna need another bike to bring it all down. You might need to hire a whole group of bikers.”

“You mean like a club?”

“Yeah, a club. Transporting sugar and flour down from the big city. Think the cops will bust me for that?”

“They might.”

I giggled at him as he gave me another kiss. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight. My eyes closed, I forgot about everything I was thinking of while I was in his embrace.

“The money is good,” I said. “Business is better than I could have ever expected it to be. I can pay you and the club back.”

He pulled away and looked down at me, the smile no longer on his face.

“It wasn’t a loan,” he said. “That was my money because I was still part of that job.”

“I know. I just don’t feel right knowing where that money came from. I can’t just take it from you.”

“You didn’t take it from me. It was an investment. The last investment I’ll ever need to make. Consider it a going away present from the club.”

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it…”

I turned my back to him, my head down as sudden thoughts started to swirl around in my head.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“I’ve just been thinking…”

I put my hands on my stomach.

“…I’ve got everything I could ask for. I have you. Our child. The bakery. Gina is here with me, too.”

“What’s wrong with any of that?”

“Nothing,” I said as I turned back around. “Nothing is wrong. It’s like everything is perfect now.”

“I still don’t see a problem,” he said, confusion on his face.

“I guess I just never thought I would find all of that here.”

“What did you think you would find?”

I thought about it for a second. When I realized I didn’t have an answer, a smile came to my lips.

“…I don’t know,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters now is that we’re here, together. And nothing will ever change that.”

He leaned forward and kissed me again. His lips on mine eased any doubts I might have had.

I gasped a deep breath just as I pulled away from him.

“Something else wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing’s wrong. I think I just need a breath of fresh air.”

“Take a break. It doesn’t look like the bakery is too busy.”

“Let’s do that.”

He took my hand in his and led me back out to the front of the bakery. Sheriff Sutton and Ben greeted us with a smile as we walked by them. The bell on the door handle rang as Sean opened it up for me.

I stepped outside into the warm Ivory sun. The rays shining down invigorated me.

I looked out into the small town and watched as the traffic rolled by. Everybody was going about their usual day.

“This is the life,” I sighed. “I can’t think of a way to make this any better.”

“I can think of one way.”

“Oh?”

I turned toward him, my eyes widened.

“My name is Sean Scott,” he said.

“I know. I like your name. It suits you.”

“Do you? Then I suppose you wouldn’t object to becoming Mrs. Sean Scott?”

“No, I…”

It took me a second to realize what he was getting at. My mouth half-open, I blinked in disbelief.

“It might take awhile,” he said. “I want to get you something worthy to put on your finger.”

“You know I don’t care about that. The money we make from the bakery… It’s not for me. It’s for all of us.”

I reached down and rubbed my stomach as a reminder. My eyes were still locked on Sean’s.

“I guess your job is done,” I said.

“My job?”

“You’re part of the Ivory welcoming committee. Remember?”

“Oh, that… I suppose I might have lied about that.”

We grinned at each other.

Then he took his hands in mine with a serious look in his eyes.

“Lydia… You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of. You’re my queen. You saved me.”

“You saved me.”

“I’ll always be with you. No matter what. We’ll always be together.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He leaned forward and put his arms around me. A deep kiss made me feel like I was floating toward the sky.

The small town of Ivory was unlike any place I’d ever been to. It was such a dramatic change from the way I’d lived my entire life. I took a big risk dropping everything to come here.

But I’m glad I did.

Sometimes you never know what you’ll find until you take a risk. I found Sean and he found me.

We would never have to wonder what the future held for us because it was right there in front of us.