Chapter Twenty
I can do this.
I. Can. Do. This.
Avery’s whole body was tense as he entered the Main Street Diner for round two of the Bake-Off. The power of positive thinking was failing him today. He wasn’t worried so much about himself, but rather about Jillian. By now, everyone in Marietta knew that she was mentoring him, and he didn’t want to let her down.
He’d arrived early, hoping to get familiar with his surroundings and settle his nerves. But now that he was here, he was more nervous than ever.
Before checking out his work space, he needed to do something important. He wanted to make a sizable donation to Harry’s House and he knew exactly how to do it. He glanced around, finding that Jillian had her wristbands as well as her wire necklace and earrings on display. She’d worked so hard on them and it showed. They were stunning and they’d look amazing on Jillian.
His gaze strayed across the room to where Jillian was speaking with the judges. Her back was to him and so he made his way over to where the bid sheets were and grabbed one. As quickly as he could, he wrote out an amount he was certain no one would outbid. And then he dropped it in the jar.
Feeling as though he’d just gotten away with it, he turned around and bumped into Jillian’s mother. She frowned at him. He’d always had the feeling she didn’t like him, but he didn’t understand why.
“Hello, Mrs. Parker.” He forced a smile to his lips.
She didn’t smile back. “I see your house is up for sale.”
“It is.” Though he still had his reservations, he’d given in to his siblings’ plan.
Mrs. Parker nodded. “You’ve been seeing a lot of my daughter lately.”
“She’s been a huge help getting me ready for the competition.”
The woman studied him for a moment. The intensity of her stare made him want to turn away, but he stood his ground. If he ever wanted to win over the daughter, he’d need to win over the mother.
“What exactly is going on between you and my daughter?”
He swallowed hard. “We’re friends.”
“But you want it to be more than that?”
Wow. She wasn’t going to lighten up on him. He supposed he deserved it. “I, uh, like your daughter.”
“Listen, if you are just going to string her along and hurt her again, back away now.”
“But we aren’t dating. She’s seeing someone else.”
Her mother’s eyes widened. “She is? This is news to me.” Mrs. Parker’s gaze sought out her daughter. “Perhaps I’ll go have a word with her.”
Avery found it strange that Jillian wouldn’t tell her mother about Glenn, but maybe she was worried her mother wouldn’t like him. And for good reason too. Glenn wasn’t exactly the friendliest sort of guy—at least not the side of Glenn that Avery had seen.
He didn’t have long to think over his conversation with Jillian’s mother. He had more pressing matters on his mind. Right about now, Avery was regretting going along with this Bake-Off competition. Even though he’d baked three pies, he’d only produced one that made Jillian smile when it came out of the oven.
This event was making him way more nervous than the first round of baking. He didn’t even want to contemplate what it would be like to make a cake. The pie seemed challenging enough. He hoped he wouldn’t do anything to embarrass Jillian. He just needed to get through the pie portion of the contest without burning anything this time.
Avery headed to his station and put on his apron as Mrs. Monroe made the kickoff speech. As soon as the announcement concluded, Avery began putting together the ingredients for the pie crust.
His hands had a slight tremble as he cut the butter into the flour mixture. He struggled to get the dough to come together properly; then he recalled what Jillian had taught him about adding additional water to get the mixture to the right consistency. And it worked.
By the time he had the rolling pin out, he was starting to feel a bit more confident. He got all of the ingredients for the filling out. He just had to add everything at the appropriate time.
He glanced up every so often to check on Jillian. He didn’t know why, he just liked knowing she was close by. And that’s when he noticed she was speaking to someone. When the man glanced up, Avery recognized him—Glenn. And he didn’t look happy. Avery couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with them.
It was none of his business so he turned his attention to the bowl where he was measuring out the ingredients for the pie filling. He added sugar, cinnamon, salt—his gaze strayed back to Jillian.
Jerky arm movements said that the conversation had deteriorated. And now Jillian was frowning and pointing to the door, but Glenn was shaking his head.
Avery wasn’t going to stand for Glenn bullying Jillian. He set down the measuring cup, not the least bit worried about the pie at this point. He ignored the judges’ comments as he moved away from his station. He’d be back just as soon as he made sure everything was all right with Jillian.
“What’s going on here?” Avery asked, bringing the heated conversation between Jillian and Glen to a halt.
“I’ve got this,” Jillian said.
Glenn crossed his arms and glared at Avery. “Yeah, butt out. This is private.”
Avery’s gaze moved between the two of them. Was this a lover’s quarrel or something more?
“Glenn was just leaving.” Jillian glared at Glenn.
The man turned on Avery. “This is your fault. Everything would have been fine if you hadn’t come back to town.”
Avery refused to react to Glenn’s barbed comment. “The lady asked you to leave and I’d suggest you do it. Unless you need help out.”
Glenn hesitated before turning to Jillian.
“Just go,” she said. “We’ll talk later.”
Glenn strode away.
Talk later? Avery was disappointed to hear that Jillian wasn’t going to kick the man to the curb straightaway. What did she see in this man? It was totally beyond Avery’s comprehension.
“What are you still dealing with him for?” Avery blurted out in frustration.
Jillian shook her head. “You don’t understand. And I’m not getting into it here.”
“But he doesn’t even make you happy—”
“Avery, stop. I’m not discussing Glenn with you. It’s my problem. I’ll fix it.”
He understood enough to know that she hadn’t washed her hands of that jerk.
“What are you doing over here? You’re supposed to be baking.”
And then he remembered how he’d walked off halfway through making the pie filling. As he rushed back to his station, he realized one thing. He cared far too much about Jillian to stick around and watch her waste her life with that loser. The rodeo circuit was starting to look very appealing.
Lost in his conflicted thoughts, Avery picked up the measuring spoon he had left on the counter and added the salt followed by the remaining ingredients. Then he added the filling to the pie crust and proceeded to assemble the pie top just like he’d practiced.
At last, he slipped the pie in the oven.
Avery felt confident this time. He was happy to redeem himself for the Monroes’ sake. The pie was picture-perfect. Some of his finest work.
While the pies baked, it was time to announce the winner’s name for Jillian’s jewelry auction. Avery had forgotten about his bid until that point. He wished he hadn’t come up with the idea, but now it was too late. So he leaned back and watched the proceedings.
After Jillian said a few words, she reached out as Suzanna placed the highest bidder’s information into her hand. “And the winner is,” she unfolded the paper and paused, “um, it’s Avery Wainwright.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd and then the clapping began. He had won the necklace and earrings. Avery made his way to the front of the crowd. He’d never seen Jillian’s face so red.
When he approached her, she leaned over and whispered, “You shouldn’t have done this. But thank you. I hope Beth enjoys the set.”
“But they aren’t for Beth.” When her eyes filled with questions, he said, “They are for you. They’re almost as beautiful as you.”
“But I…um, I don’t know what to say.”
“Just turn around and let me put it on you.”
She shook her head. “I can’t wear them. It wouldn’t be right.”
Her refusal to wear the jewelry deflated his happiness. It was just one more reminder of the tension lingering between them. His gut twisted in a knot.
When she turned away to speak to another person, Avery placed the black velvet box holding the beautiful jewelry next to her purse. He just hoped she would keep the jewelry. After all, she deserved to wear her own creation.
*
The pies were done at last.
The eight contestants lined up behind their entries. Avery was nervous. He held his hands behind his back to keep from fidgeting. His pie looked amazing, especially considering last week he didn’t have a clue how to bake one.
Though the crust hadn’t browned evenly, the lattice was evenly distributed and the caramel sauce had really added an extra oomph. When the judges made it to him, he straightened his shoulders and waited. First they judged the pie’s appearance and a few other criteria.
And then it was time for the most important element—the taste test.
The breath caught in Avery’s throat as each judge slipped a fork into their piece of pie. And then one by one they lifted their forks and took a bite. And just as quickly each judge frowned.
“Ugh.” Ryan Henderson, a top pastry chef, frowned as he set his fork on the plate. His gaze met Avery’s. “I think you got too much salt in it.”
The other three judges nodded in agreement.
In that moment, Avery realized what he’d done wrong. He’d let himself become distracted with Jillian. In the process, he’d added salt not once but twice. How could he have let himself become distracted again?
As his spirits deflated, the air in his lungs escaped.
Today just wasn’t his day.