Chapter Six

For a split second, Sage’s breath halted. “What do you mean, you’ve never met her?” Had she assumed wrong? It was certainly possible the bakery belonged to another person whose name started with a B. It seemed highly unlikely in a town so small. “I’m talking about Bea Bennett. I assumed this bakery belonged to her.”

“It did.” Katie reached for her purse and pulled out a pink envelope and a packet of stapled pages. “I got this in the mail a few days ago.”

“She left you her bakery?” It was a statement with a hint of a question. What was their connection? The scientist in Sage knew there was a logical answer, but then again, Bea had left Sage the bed and breakfast, and she couldn’t find the reasoning for that either.

“Yes, but why?” Katie smoothed the papers out on the table.

Sage reached into her own bag and pulled out a matching envelope. “I don’t know, but she left me her property.” She opened the papers and pointed to the top where it said B’s Bed and Breakfast. “I imagine she saw something she liked in us.”

“That’s great for you, you met her. I’ve never been to Colorado. In fact, I’ve never left the state of Texas until this letter arrived.”

Sage was no detective, but at least she’d pegged the southern accent; now it was confirmed to be Texan, but there was a new mystery surrounding the gifts. Would there be more people showing up in Aspen Cove with pink stationery tucked inside their bags?

“Are you sure you never met her?”

“Positive. Unless she lived in Dallas at one time or another.”

“No, I know for a fact her family homesteaded here, and this town had been a part of Bea’s life since she was born.” Sage reached for the packet of papers in front of Katie. “Do you mind if I look at this?”

Katie slid the pages over to Sage.

She rustled through them and found what she expected. One Hundred Reasons. She anticipated the letter would read the same as her own, starting with, 1. You need to live a little and ending with 100. Aspen Cove needs you, but Katie’s was different. She had her own set of reasons Bea felt she belonged in the tiny town.

Her page started with, 1. You have a good heart. 2. You are generous with your time and talents and ended with 100. Aspen Cove will care for you.

“Not sure what’s crazier.” Katie looked at the pages. “That I got this letter, or that I packed up my stuff and left Dallas?”

“I know what you mean. Although my situation is different, it’s eerily similar.”

She tossed Sage a questioning look. “How did you end up here?”

Sage began her story at the same time as Katie’s hobo bag rang. She pulled her phone from the pouch on the side of her purse and rolled her eyes. She lifted a finger. “Hold that thought. I’m sorry, but I have to take this.” She rose from the chair and walked behind the bakery counter.

“Hey, Mama.” Seconds of silence followed. “I’m okay. I need this.” Her voice rode between pleading and expiration.

Though several feet away, Sage could hear clearly an argument that had too many rounds and no solution. There was no murmur of patrons to drown out the call. No hum of an oven. No whir of a mixer. The bakery was like the rest of the town—silenced. Sage went to the window to avoid eavesdropping.

Across the street, a very pregnant woman walked into the Corner Store with six kids in tow. In Denver, everyone working in the labor and delivery ward would have called her a breeder, but here, in this small town, Sage imagined the woman was bored. She laughed at that ludicrous thought. With six kids and one on the way, she would never be bored. She was a mother, and from the sound of Katie’s, “I’m twenty-eight years old, and for once I will live by my rules,” she expected that Katie’s mom wasn’t bored, but rather concerned.

She remembered her last fight with her mother. Did they really argue over whether Sage should go to the dance? Her mom didn’t hold her back but pushed her forward to take risks and live a little. It sounded reminiscent of Bea’s reasons for giving her the property.

“I’m not telling you where I’m at.” Katie’s voice rose. “I’ll call you soon.” She ended the call with an exaggerated exhale, and when it rang again, she silenced the caller by powering down the phone.

“I’m sorry about that.” Katie flopped so heavily into the chair, the red plastic cushion wheezed as the air beneath her escaped.

“Moms can be tough.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “Mine treats me like I’m seven. What about yours? Does your mom respect boundaries?”

“My mom was protective, but she made us push boundaries. My sister Lydia and I didn’t get away with much, but we could do a lot, so there wasn’t much need to break out of parental confines.” Sage took in a big breath. She was over the pain of losing her mother, but she would never stop missing her. “I lost my parents when I was a teenager.”

“Oh. My. God, I’m so sorry.” What little pink was left in Katie’s cheeks blanched to white. “That was so insensitive of me.”

“Not at all. You didn’t know, and honestly, it’s nice to hear that I’m not the only person who was driven crazy by their mother’s meddling. Of course, I was fifteen, so she had a right and responsibility to meddle when she did.”

Katie laid her cool hand on top of Sage’s in what could only be considered a loving gesture. Sage knew immediately that Bea was right. Katie had a good heart.

“My mother is why they coined the term helicopter parent. I can’t remember a time when she didn’t hover over me. It only got worse when . . .” Katie paused. “I shouldn’t complain. She just wants what she thinks is best for me.”

“Yes, but at twenty-eight, I’d say you get to choose.”

Katie lifted her hand in a dismissive wave. “Enough about me, what about you?”

Sage told her the whole story. She started from the day Bea entered her ward asking for stationery and ended it with the night she found out Bea had died.

“I wish I could have met her. She sounds amazing.” Katie glanced around the bakery. “The last thing I want to do is abandon her gift, but honestly, I used what money I had on hand to get here thinking I’d just take over the place. I thought there would be employees and supplies.” Katie sighed heavily, and her shoulders rounded. “Look at this place. Maybe my mama is right. Maybe I am completely naïve.”

What Katie undoubtedly saw was the peeling wallpaper. The chipped floor tiles. The oven without a handle. The yellowing cross-stitch pictures that hung askew around the room. Half the chairs were torn, with golden-colored foam seeping through the cracks in the red vinyl. A quarter of the tables were turned black where years of use had worn off the white paint.

What she didn’t see was the charm, the warmth, and the love that had lived and passed through this little sugary delight.

“I can help.” The words were out of Sage’s mouth before she tested the logic in them. Offering to help meant she’d have to stick around for more than a day. After seeing the town, she wasn’t sure she wanted to stay the night. But the words were out, and she believed words had value. “Let me get settled at the bed and breakfast tonight. We’ll figure out a schedule tomorrow. All this place needs is a little love, and maybe some cleaning. Bea said you have a good heart, so you have the love part covered. I’ll provide the elbow grease.”

Katie flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around Sage. “You may be my favorite person in town.” She pulled back and gave Sage a blue ribbon, tiara-winning grin.

Sage laughed. “By the look of things, I may be the only person in town.” Except, of course, the mother with the kids. So there were nine confirmed residents, and by her size, almost ten.

“Do you really think I can make a go of it? I don’t even know how to bake.”

“I’m going to give you some Sage advice. It doesn’t mean the advice is good. It’s only Sage because it’s coming from me.” She shrugged her shoulders in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion.

“I’m open to any suggestions at this point.”

“Take it one minute and one problem at a time. Sometimes even a minute can seem overwhelming, and that’s when you take life a second at a time.” She would do well to follow her own counsel.

“Overwhelmed seems tame for what I feel inside.”

“Let’s start small. Cleaning is the easy part, and learning to bake isn’t rocket science. Don’t get me wrong, it is science, especially when you add high altitude to the mix, but there are a thousand chefs who have simplified the process. I’m sure there are a ton of recipes online. Have you looked around the bakery? Maybe Bea left recipes behind.”

Katie nodded her head. “She did.” Her blonde waves bounced over her shoulders. She dug back into her purse and pulled out several recipe cards like she was yanking a rabbit out of a hat. There was a flourish of excitement as she waved them through the air. “Muffins. She left muffin recipes.”

“Perfect. Then you start with muffins.”

Katie gazed out the window. “Once I bake ’em, who do I sell them to?”

“That’s a problem for another day.” Sage rose from her chair and looked to where she’d parked her SUV. Otis sat up in the front seat with his head bobbing back and forth like he was taking in the scenery. “Tomorrow is Bea’s funeral. I imagine it will be a good opportunity to meet people. Will you be going?”

“Yes, I’d like to hear more about Bea from the people who knew her best.”

Sage bent over to give her new friend a hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She walked out of the bakery filled with a purpose that was sure to keep her in town a few days. She caught movement to her left and turned.

Coming at her like a car without brakes was the most gorgeous man she’d seen in her lifetime. Despite his size, he moved with the speed and grace of a hawk. Everything about him screamed to her. As he neared, her breath hitched. He might have been gorgeous with his thick brown hair, incredible sexy scruff, and hazel eyes, but the man moved with the determination of a predator, and she felt like his next kill.