Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“Is she having a hard time with the bakery?” I direct my question to Tully and Juni seeing as how they seem to know more about her than anyone else in this damn house.
“Not that I’m aware. As far as I know she wants to push other desserts that sell well so she needs the space in her cases,” Tallulah says with a shrug of her shoulders. I pick up the box that houses my cinnamon rolls, holding them in my hands and away from anyone else’s grubby fingers.
“Gotcha. Well, I’m outta here. I’m gonna drop these off at my house then get to working on the horses.” I’m a farrier for our ranch, working on the horses, cows, goats, and whatever other four-legged animals Mom and the girls bring home.
“Oh, that reminds me. There’s a new donkey in the spare stall. Will you and Tully check him out?” Mom just dropping bombs out here, not surprising in the least.
“Where’d you find this one, Donkey’s R Us?” Trey inserts. He’s on a roll today, and it won’t be me who knocks him on his ass. It’ll be Mom.
“No, smart aleck.” Mom grabs him by the ear and continues, “Someone was selling the poor thing out of the back of a pick-up truck. He was the last one and needed a home. You don’t take care of my animals, so zip your lips. I swear my boys are trying to age me well before my time today.”
“Text me whenever Tallulah is done, then I’ll come look at your new baby.” I bend down and drop a kiss to Mom’s cheek. “See the rest of you later.” I give them all a two-finger wave. Before I get my day started, I’m going to enjoy a cinnamon roll and mull over what I’m going to do about Maeve discontinuing a couple of desserts all of a sudden.
TWO
MAEVE
“What in the world is going on?” My storefront is quiet today, which wouldn’t be so bad, except it was like that yesterday and the day before. Honestly, it makes no sense at all. Prime Cuts, Arrowleaf Bed and Breakfast, and a few other places are still ordering left and right. It’s the foot traffic lately that has me scratching my head. The dough beneath my hands is now over-kneaded, meaning I’ll have to start over. For the third time. What a waste of product.
“Damn it.” I throw the dough back on my stainless-steel wheeled table. There are some days I’m here at the bakery by myself and need to keep an eye on the front, like today. The wheels allow me to have a better visual of the store and get a change of scenery while working. There are only so many television shows, music, and talking on the phone a girl can take while she bakes. Sometimes I need to watch the passersby, the hustle and bustle on the street. Not like that’s been happening lately.
I move away from the table and head to the sink to wash my hands. I’m going to get down to the bottom of this craziness. Maybe I’ll see if my sisters can do some digging around. I swear there is no information they can’t find; it’s like they work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. There’s no red tape that would stop their hunt.
I finish washing my hands, dry them on my apron, and grab my phone off the counter near the register. A quick look at my screen unlocks it, then my fingers slide to our group text, hitting the camera icon to bring all three of us in on the FaceTime call.
“Hey, there’s my favorite baby sister,” Madison answers on the first ring. Her phone is always near her, probably due to the fact she works more than me. As a family law attorney, she eats, lives, and breathes helping others.
“I’m your only baby sister. Hi, by the way. Am I calling at a bad time?” We’re still waiting on Michelle to join the call. I glance at the time and see it’s late afternoon. She should be home by now. Our oldest sister is a teacher at my niece’s elementary school. Michelle and her husband, Joel, wanted their daughter, Ryan, to be at the same school as Michelle. It’s worked well for their little family of three. My sister has the same hours as her daughter, and they don’t have to worry about a babysitter during the summer. The downfall? Well, I don’t get my niece near enough these days. I know in another few years, she’ll be too cool to hang with her aunt and bake cookies.
“Nope, I need a break from this case,” Maddie replies.
“Hi, sorry. We’re just walking through the door, and your niece needed a snack before the hangry animal appeared from this tiny human.”