7. Sage

7

Sage

T he lids on the Tupperware full of baked goods couldn’t keep the sweet smell from wafting into the car as we drove to the Bronsons’ ranch.

“Do I get to have one, too?” Avery asked from the back seat.

I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel as I turned down their driveway. “You’ve already had two.”

“What’s one more?” she chimed.

“You don’t want a tummy ache while you’re riding, do you?” Because I knew what came after she overindulged in my pastries. This wouldn’t be the first time.

“Well, no. But it’s only one more.”

And that one more would turn into three more the second I turned my back. Avery had an even bigger sweet tooth than me, and my baking-to-relieve-stress problem was not helping. If anything, Callan letting me bring these for the ranch was a good thing, because then it’d keep them off my kitchen table. Regardless if he had said yes or no, they were going to be made anyway.

Baking was the thing I did to calm my nerves. The precise measurements and aroma that came from a warm croissant or fresh scone grounded me when nothing else would. Sure, I could light a candle and get a similar scent throughout the house, but it wasn’t the same. It was the process of baking that did it for me.

I pulled the car up to the white barn, taking the key out of the ignition and getting out along with Avery. I rounded the vehicle, opening the passenger door to grab the Tupperware on the seat. There were a total of three. I wasn't sure how many to make as I didn’t know how many volunteers or ranch hands they had here, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry and make more.

Cowboys were always hungry, anyway.

“Here, let me help you,” Callan’s deep voice offered from behind me.

I turned, coming face to face with him, the Tupperware touching both our chests. “Thank you.”

He set a hand under the bottom one, his fingers grazing mine as he grabbed them from me, our eyes latched onto each other. The hazel of his irises was so rich, with flecks of amber and gold exploding around his pupils. It was like a galaxy, and I was lost in it .

“My mama brought these for you,” Avery interrupted.

I swallowed as Callan cleared his throat, both our gazes dropping to Avery beside us. “Well, for everyone,” I corrected.

“Were you her taste tester?” he asked Avery.

She nodded, her hair bouncing over her shoulders. “I always am.”

“And what’s the verdict?”

“Dee-licious,” she answered with confidence.

The corner of Callan’s mouth ticked up. “That’s what I like to hear.”

He headed inside the barn, Avery skipping beside him as I followed. After setting the pastries down on a table by the tack room, he turned to her with his hands on his hips. “You remember everything from our last lesson?”

“I listened super close so I would,” Avery confirmed.

“Do you remember what the first step is?” he asked her, raising a brow.

She nodded. “Halter!”

He flashed a smile and nodded his head in the direction of the hooks. “Why don’t you go grab one and meet me by Red’s stall?”

“Can I pick the color?”

He dropped his hands to his sides. “Of course you can. Any color you want.”

She hurried to the hooks as Callan faced me.

“Do you want me to bring one of these over to the volunteers?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “Bailey will take care of it.”

“I’ll take care of what?” Bailey questioned from down the aisle, his head poking out from a stall that was propped open with a wheelbarrow in the entrance. “Hey, Sage!”

I waved. “Hey, Bailey.”

Callan looked over his shoulder at him. “When you’re done, can you bring one of these containers over to the rescue barn?” Each of the three barns served its purpose here on the ranch, as I’d come to learn during our last visit. The green barn was for rescues, the white barn for personal horses, and the red barn for quarantine intakes. Whenever they brought home new horses, they separated them for a period of time before mixing them with the others to be sure they weren’t sick. I knew that part because Avery liked to talk everyone’s ears off in the cafe, especially about horses. She was always asking questions about the rescue.

“Sure can,” Bailey said before ducking back into the stall to continue his chores.

Callan’s gaze moved back to where Avery was standing moments ago, but now she’d disappeared. “Guess she beat us over there.”

He began walking down the aisle and I fell in step beside him as we headed for Red’s stall. Avery was already there, patting Red’s nose where he had his muzzle stuck out of the little window.

“You don’t have to bring them again if it’s too much trouble,” Callan said as we walked, his spurs clanking with each step .

“It’s okay. I like baking.”

“If it’s ever too much work, don’t feel bad skipping a day, okay?”

My eyes fell to the matts under our feet. “You think I have too much on my plate.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

He stopped, his hand slightly closing around my elbow to get me to pause before he dropped it. “I don’t know you very well, Sage, but I think you’re doing great. Hell, I could never raise a child on my own.”

I crossed my arms. “How do you know I’m alone?”

“Well, I just—I thought—” he stuttered.

I let out a sigh, dropping my arms. “I’m sorry. I’m not meaning to be rude.” My hand came up to my necklace on instinct. “I’m really appreciative of what you’re doing for Avery.”

“It’s not just for her.”

My brows furrowed as my fingers paused on the charm. “What?”

His hand grabbed at the back of his neck as he gave me a sympathetic look. “It just seems like you could use a break.”

“Everyone can use a break, Callan, but you don’t need to be the one to give it to me. You don’t owe me anything.” Ugh, what was my problem? He was being so nice, and I was being a total bitch. I should just take what he was offering and appreciate it.

“I know.” He dropped his hand. “But if you’ll let me, I’d like to try. At least for an hour during her lessons. ”

I pursed my lips together, glancing over at Avery, then back to Callan. “Okay.”

I didn’t want people to see me as incapable of handling Avery on my own, but why was I getting defensive over someone offering to give me a much-needed break? There was no crime in taking a step back from your child for an hour.

“If you want to go up to the house, you can. Or stay down here. Whichever. But she’s in good hands.”

By the way he said it, he meant it. “I know. Thank you.”

“We’ll be done in an hour.” Callan took a second longer to study me, then turned to head for Avery, immediately falling into his casual, cool self with her.

After watching them put the halter on Red, I headed back out to my car to grab my romance novel from the center console. Closing the door, I looked around to find a place to read and settled on the chair sitting by the white barn. Instead of leaving it where it was, I picked it up and moved it closer to the pasture so I could look out at the horses grazing in the field as I got lost in the pages of my book.

An hour wasn’t bad.

This was nice.

I feared I could get used to it.

Twenty minutes later, footsteps approached as I finished the last paragraph in the chapter I was reading. I looked up, expecting to see Callan or Avery, but found Callan’s mother standing there instead.

“Good book?” she asked, glancing at the paperback .

I nodded, closing it. “It is.” I wouldn’t get into the nitty gritty of the smut I’d just read. That was not a conversation I wanted to have with Charlotte Bronson.

“I was wondering if I could ask you a favor,” she started.

I stood from the chair, gripping the book in front of me. “What’s that?”

“We have a meeting for the horse rescue tomorrow night, and I know it’s last minute, but I’d love if you could bring some pastries for everyone. If it’s too much to ask—”

“No, I can do it.” With tonight to prep and tomorrow to bake, I could hurry to get it done. Thankfully, I had the day off, otherwise it wouldn’t be possible. “How many are you thinking? And what time is the meeting?”

“Enough for about fifty people,” she answered with a slight wince. “Is that too many?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.” I’d be up all night, but I didn’t want to turn her down.

“Great. It’s at six p.m. You don’t have to stay for the meeting if you need to be home. I can always have someone drop by and grab them, too. I know finding someone to watch Avery can be difficult. If you want, you can even bring her, if that’s easier.”

Bringing Avery to a meeting for a rescue was the last place she needed to be. She’d sneak around eating all the sweets, and then she’d be up all night. “I’m sure she can have a playdate for a few hours. Don’t worry about having someone pick them up. ”

Charlotte nodded. “It’s at the library in town. We rented out the event space in the back. Call me when you get there, and I’ll send one of my boys out to help.”

My fingers brushed along the pages of the book as I gave her a closed-lip smile. “Sounds good.”

She grinned back, patting my arm. “Thanks, Sage. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course.” It’d be a tight timeline, but I’d do my best to pull it off. I had to figure out what to make, account for baking times, be sure I had extras in case any were a bad batch, and prep any fillings tonight. There was a lot that went into catering for that big of a group, but I could do it.

I’d done a lot harder things in life and came out just fine. This wasn’t impossible.

***

I was wrong.

I was currently in the act of kicking myself for agreeing to make enough baked goods for fifty people, plus extras just in case. Why did I need to stress myself out more? I should have made the recipe for fifty, but instead I upped it to seventy-five, and that was for each item. What if people wanted more than one? What if some of them burned?

It would’ve been fine if I’d stuck with one item, but then I’d decided I wanted to make a variety for people to choose from, so I’d dug through my recipe book to pick out two other sweets. It took a bit to multiply the ingredients for the size of the batch I needed to make, then I got to work prepping what could be made last night. That included chopping, deseeding, and pulling out what would fit on the counter so I didn’t have to dig through our tiny pantry in the middle of cooking. I thanked myself for that this morning before I dove in.

On top of baking this many pastries for that many people with this short of a timeframe, I had made arrangements for Avery to go to her friend’s house, so I didn’t have to worry about her at the meeting. After all, an almost six-year-old didn’t belong in a horse rescue meeting. I’d spend more time stressing over where she was and what she was doing while my focus needed to be on this.

With the amount of people going to this get-together, it could be a big deal for my future if I ever wanted to get out of Bell Buckle Brews. I didn’t mind working there, but having my own baking business wouldn’t be bad either. Making my own hours and managing my own clients—it would be perfect.

It’d definitely give me the flexibility I needed for Avery’s school hours.

So this had to be flawless. A lot was riding on these cherry turnovers, white chocolate cranberry scones, and blueberry tarts. On the bright side, my house smelled absolutely amazing.

The timer on the counter rang out and I yanked my oven mitts on as I blew a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. Opening the oven door, I was met with a blast of heat as I pulled out the last batch of cherry turnovers.

After turning the oven off, I moved the pastries to a metal rack and rushed to my bedroom while they cooled. My time management was on par with baking, but when it came to myself, I left little time to get ready.

Glancing at the clock, I opted to skip the shower and do a light makeup look instead. I dusted bronzer over my eyelids, slapped on a single coat of mascara, let my cheeks shine with their natural blush, and took my hair out of the ponytail it’d been dying to come free from all day.

I ran a brush through my hair and sprayed some dry shampoo in it, then headed for my closet. I didn’t have much to choose from outside of work and casual attire, so I sifted through my few sundresses, landing on a short blush pink one. Little roses popped all over the material.

I slipped out of my clothes and tugged on the dress, giving myself a second to glance in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable, then headed back out to the kitchen to start boxing up the pastries.

As I was in the middle of doing that, my phone rang on the edge of the counter, but I didn’t have time to stop and talk to whoever was calling. They’d have to wait a minute for me to call them back once I was in my car.

Finishing up with the boxing, I took three trips to and from my car, trusting my balancing techniques far too much with each tall stack that I could barely see around.

I was just about to get in when I remembered my phone in the kitchen. Running back inside to get it, I tapped at the screen on my walk back out, but it wouldn’t light up.

It was my luck that my phone decided to die right before the meeting.

I’d have to hope everything was okay with Avery, but even if something was wrong, her friend’s mother knew where I was.

Finally settling in behind the wheel, I shifted the car into reverse and headed toward the town library.

Soon, people’s bellies would be full with my baked goods and the stress would all be worth it. But for now, I’d continue to overthink that everything probably came out terrible and I’d overdone it.

Heaving a sigh, I let my muscles relax a fraction on the drive.

Just a few more hours.