Chapter Two

Business was slow at the bakery. Kayla assured me it was out of respect for our grandmother. I didn’t mind. It gave us time to clean up the bakery and make arrangements for our future remodel.

“What about shelves here?” I asked, pointing to the wall above where my counter would be.

“Perfect,” Kayla said, her face beaming with excitement.

The place smelled of vanilla and cocoa and was filled with delicious treats. I didn’t have the heart to tell her to slow down since business was so slow. I knew baking was her way of dealing with our grandmother’s death.

“So, what’s going on with this Silas guy?” she asked.

It had been almost a week since he’d called me to introduce himself. I was beginning to wonder if he’d done that just to be polite, or if maybe he was having second thoughts about taking things any further.

“He’s freakin’ hot,” I sighed, slouching into one of the booths against the wall.

“So, what do you guys talk about?” she asked.

I sighed again. “We haven’t. Not yet,” I admitted.

“I thought you’d talked to him,” she said, her voice filled with confusion.

I explained that the first contact was all I’d had. He said he would call later in the week, or possibly the weekend. “It’s Sunday,” Kayla scoffed. “The weekend’s almost over,” she added with her hand on her hip.

“I know,” I sulked.

Maybe he wasn’t going to call.

“Gunner has our sign ready,” she said, changing the topic.

“Are you serious?” I stood, the disappointment washing off of me as excitement filled my veins.

“Yup. He worked two nights straight to get it done,” she said proudly.

Gunner was always extremely helpful, especially when it came to Kayla. He’d been after her since eighth grade, and after graduation, he finally got her. Kayla seemed happier than I’d ever seen her when she was with Gunner, or even when she just talked about him. I envied her for their relationship. I wished things would come that easily to me. I had to go through pain, work hard for what I wanted, and even then, still not get it. Sigh.

“He’ll bring it over right after work,” Kayla said proudly.

My counter would be delivered sometime after lunch, and now that I had the wall measured, I could order my shelving. It was all coming together nicely.

“You girls open?” an elderly man wearing denim overalls asked as he entered the shop.

“We sure are,” Kayla said, quickly moving toward the counter to serve him.

I watched her as she helped him select a puffed pastry filled with custard from the display case, which looked amazing. Kayla had several gourmet cupcakes, decorated cookies, a specialty cake, and even doughnuts all prepared and ready for sale. If business didn’t pick up soon, we would both end up eating the left-overs, and gaining more weight than we could work off.

“You might want to slow down a little on the baking. At least until things start to pick up,” I chuckled as the old man left. “I mean, unless you want us both to get as big as a barn.”

She smirked. “You may be right.”

My counter was delivered and set up right after lunch as promised. It was beautifully simple, just like my products. I set up my smaller display cases on the counter and then cleaned out the shelves underneath. I loved how the glass front allowed me to display my products to everyone that stepped inside, and the large window near my counter would allow me to attract the ones who walked by.

“I want to be your first customer,” Kayla said, pushing her hair to her back.

She picked through my box of goat’s milk soaps, honey facial scrubs, and even my mint shampoo. I’d started a new line of products, but hadn’t had time to package them yet for sale, and I was still working on a few new items to add to my inventory. Kayla picked up the honey-mud masque I’d just packaged. “This is eighty bucks from Lindstrom,” she said, giving me a concerned look.

“I know,” I said.

“Don’t you think twenty is a little cheap?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It’s not all about money, Kayla.”

“But seriously. If this works as good…” she said, trailing off.

“It works better,” I boasted.

“I’ll take this,” she said, handing me a twenty.

I picked up the cheap black frame I’d bought at the five-and-dime store and carefully placed the twenty inside. She watched me as I proudly hung the frame behind my counter.

Gunner burst through the store’s front door with a large smile. “I’m ready to hang the sign.”

Kayla rushed to his side, squeezing her arms around his thick frame. He leaned down, kissed her on top of the head, and then pulled her toward the door. “Come check it out,” he said proudly.

I followed them out onto the sidewalk. Gunner pulled the tarp from the large metal sign. The largest portion of the sign said ‘Eppes Sisters’ Creations’ with smaller signs below that offered our brands: ‘Kayla’s Kakes’ and ‘Bee-U-Tiful Beauty Products.’ It was perfect.

“Here,” he said, reaching into the cab of his truck.

He pulled out two large pieces of cardboard, handing one to me, and one to Kayla. “What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s the stickers for your windows,” he smiled.

She jumped into his arms, kissing him on the lips as she tip-toed to reach him. “Thank you,” she said sweetly.

“Yes. Thank you, Gunner,” I said.

Kayla watched him while he and a couple buddies worked to get the sign installed. It was disheartening to watch our grandmother’s sign come down, but it was a new start. “Can I keep that sign?” I asked before they hauled it away.

Kayla smiled. Gunner loaded it into his truck. “I’ll leave it at the loft,” he said.

I wanted it as inspiration. It would be a great reminder of how my grandmother started her business with nothing but a couple recipes. It would hang in my work area, keeping me strong, and making me continue to pursue my dream.

After watching Kayla and Gunner, my heart had grown heavy. I really did want a relationship, and I was actually ready for one. I knew the man from Texas was nothing more than a pipedream. He was too far away, even if he did call, which I didn’t think he would.

My sticker was adhered to my window, and Kayla’s to hers. The large sign above was installed, and Kayla blew up balloons with a large ‘Grand Re-Opening’ sign placed in front of the store. “We’ll be busy tomorrow,” she said with a smile.

I finished cleaning up the store and left to go home. It was Sunday evening, and still no sign of Silas. “Just call him,” Kayla suggested.

“No way,” I argued.

“Why not?” she asked.

“He’s in Texas. He probably decided it was too far, and I’m thinking he’s right,” I shrugged her off.

On my drive home, all I could think about was Silas. What if he was my soulmate, my perfect match?

The old bakery sign was perched against the barn as I pulled into my parking spot. I stared it, wondering what my grandmother would have done in this situation. Would she have called him?

I knew she probably would’ve. My grandmother was fearless. She always went after what she wanted, and she usually got it. I remembered her telling the story of how she and my grandfather met. She had been on a trip after college with her girlfriends and saw him in a small shop by the sea. She’d approached him, telling him how handsome he was in his sailor’s uniform. I leaned back in my seat, just staring at that sign and thinking about how she took the chance on a boy that was a thousand miles away from home.

Inside, I turned on the lights and started my laptop. I was working on a new formula for a lip balm and a few things had to be ordered for packaging online. After that, I was going to call Silas. If my grandmother could do it, then I could, too.

I finished uploading my package design and clicked the ‘submit’ button for my order. My nerves were making it feel as though my skin was crawling. I took a deep breath and gripped my phone. I found the number from where Silas called, saved it with his name, and added the picture he sent me to his profile. I was stalling, I knew that, but I couldn’t get myself to do it. What if he didn’t want to talk to me?

My phone vibrated and rang in my hand, causing me to jump in my seat. My heart raced and my palms started to sweat as I stared at Silas’s image on my screen.

I took another deep breath and then slid my thumb across the answer button.

“Hello,” I said softly.

“Lucy, it’s Silas. Are you busy?” he asked.

 “Hey, Silas. No, I just finished up with work,” I said.

“Great. I’d love to chat, if you still want to,” he said.

“Sure. I thought you’d forgotten about me,” I admitted.

“Oh, no. I was just really busy this week. I wanted to have enough time to actually talk to you. I have to admit, I’ve been thinking about you a lot. There’s no way I could have forgotten,” he said.

“I’m glad you called,” I said.

My cheeks were burning as I spoke. His voice filled me with excitement and curiosity.

“So, what work were you finishing up? It’s pretty late there, isn’t it?” he asked.

I told him about my packaging, and the grand re-opening of the bakery and beauty store. He seemed genuinely interested, and very impressed by my use of the organic ingredients grown on my farm.

“I miss the farm,” he said calmly.

“Are you planning on staying in the military? Or, are you planning on going back home after you finish your next tour?” I asked.

“I was planning on staying in. But I would like to find a home, and from there, I’ll weigh my options,” he said.

He told me how his grandfather and dad taught him to fly when he was just a boy. They had a crop-dusting business when they were both alive, but now, it was just him, his sister, and his mother. His sister moved their mother to the city to live with her and her family, so the farm was gone, and home was something he’d have to make on his own.

I longed to tell him he had a home with me, but had to remind myself I didn’t even know this man. Talking to him made me feel as though I’d known him for years. He was so easy to share with, and such a good listener.

“Is that why you joined the Air Force, because you loved to fly?” I asked.

“My grandfather was a fighter pilot. I loved listening to his stories.” His voice drifted off into a softer tone as he continued to tell me some of the stories he’d heard as a kid.

“I just wanted to make him proud. I still feel like that’s all I want,” he said.

I loved the gentle tone of his voice. The deep, masculine tone was replaced with a softer, warmer one that made my heart melt.

My phone beeped to alert me of the low battery. I checked the time. “We’ve been talking nearly two hours,” I chuckled.

“Really?” he said, sounding as surprised as I was. “I’m sorry to keep you so long. I’m probably boring you with all the military stories,” he apologized.

“Not at all,” I said.

“I do have to get up early,” he said.

I hated to hang up. His voice had become like a soothing entity, lulling me into a calm like I’d never felt before.

“Me too,” I agreed reluctantly.

“Oh, yes. You have your grand opening in the morning,” he said cheerfully.

“Don’t remind me,” I groaned.

“You’ll do great. How about I text you when I get a chance to see how it’s going?” he asked.

“I’d like that,” I replied.

“I’ve really enjoyed talking to you, Lucy. Would it be strange if I asked you out on a date?” he asked.

I giggled. He was a thousand miles away, so it was a strange question to me. “That’s a long drive for a date. Would we meet half way?” I laughed.

“We could Skype,” he suggested.

“I’ve never used it,” I admitted.

“Well, would you?” he asked.

“I would,” I replied.

“Saturday night?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Great. It’s a date,” he boasted.

I hung up and fell back into my favorite orange chair. My fingers caressed the arms, rubbing the velvety fabric against my skin. I was tingling all over, my heart was racing, and for what it was worth, I was really looking forward to our date next weekend.

Silas and I had a lot in common, that much Christine got right. But he was still a thousand miles away, so I wasn’t sure how this would all work. All I knew was my face hurt from smiling so much, and I had butterflies in my stomach. It was worth a try.