Chapter 22

Once upon a time, Natasha Scott thought as she guided her car along the winding mountain road, coming back here would have felt like complete failure.

What a difference fifteen years made.

When she’d left, Natasha had sworn she’d never come back to Girdwood Springs – she’d honestly felt at the time that there was nothing for her in the tiny mountain town she’d grown up in except boredom and misery. Oh sure, it was fine if you were content to see the same people every day, do the same things, and work in the same small store. But Natasha had always dreamed big – and her dreams just couldn’t be contained by Girdwood Springs.

That had been almost half her life ago, though.

She’d applied to a prestigious college in the city, and she’d gotten in. She’d worked her ass off, gone to every networking event she could find, and spent untold hours doing unpaid interning to make a name for herself. Her efforts had definitely paid off: she’d been head-hunted the moment she graduated by a huge marketing and advertising company, without her even having to apply for a job.

And after that, it’d been ten years of climbing the corporate ladder – working long hours hunched over her computer putting together advertising campaigns, staying at her desk until the dawn had begun to lighten the sky through her office window. Attending cocktail events and schmoozing clients until her feet in their strappy heels had ached. Driving the team she headed hard to do their best work – but driving herself even harder.

She’d liked it, she had to admit. Natasha knew she was good at her job, and her meteoric rise to head of marketing had proved it. She knew what she was doing, and she knew she was good at it.

Well, I was, anyway.

She’d never imagined she could get so sick of work she loved – or so burned out.

That was really the only word for it, she thought grimly as she carefully steered her car around a sharp bend. Snatching only a couple of hours of sleep per night for years had taken its toll, as had all the stress and the long hours.

She didn’t mind a few gray hairs – even at her relatively young age! – but the constant bags under her eyes, the knowledge that living on microwaved meals was doing nothing for her health, and the constant, unending feeling of fatigue… well. That was something else.

But still, she’d pushed on. She hadn’t spent ten years building her career just to quit because she was a bit tired! She wasn’t about to admit defeat – or, to put it another way, failure.

Because I guess that was what I saw it as.

Sighing, Natasha shook her head.

She’d been a fool, she now knew. If she’d just taken a little time off when she’d first needed it instead of pushing herself even harder than before, she wouldn’t be in this mess now.

Not that it was really a mess, she supposed, pursing her lips. Being ordered by her boss to take a break after he’d walked in on her snoring at her desk hadn’t really been her finest hour, though, and nor had the fact that she’d apparently sent her boss seventy-three emails, the entirety of which had been some variation of

jhgjkdfgfhgf doiDf hghghgh?!

or

*hjghhhhj olgkfdghjf;

or

bnkdfgfd7g7777777777777777777777777

All of them sent with her face while she’d been passed out on her computer keyboard, until finally her boss had come to find out just what the hell was going on in her office.

Thathad been a dressing-down she hadn’t really needed, Natasha thought, cringing a little at the memory.

But at the end of it, her boss, Charlson – and he insisted, for some reason, on being called just Charlson, like he was Madonna or something – had told her in no uncertain terms that she was taking some time off.

But I can’t just – she’d started to argue with him, even as her heart had sunk with the knowledge that there was no getting out of this one.

I don’t want to hear it,Charlson had told her, in his most no-nonsense voice. Don’t make me force the issue by firing you. Imagine if you’d emailed a client all of that rubbish, instead of me.

Natasha gulped, mortification running through her veins at the mere thought of that. Client relationships were delicate, and her firm had spent years and years building its reputation. The idea she could have damaged it by falling asleep with her face on her keyboard was not something she even wanted to think about in too much detail.

But it’d all meant, in the end, that here she was: back in Girdwood Springs after fifteen years away.

And looking out of the window at the beauty of the surroundings, Natasha was honestly having trouble remembering now why she’d ever left.

She shook her head, grimacing.

No – don’t think like that. This is just a temporary thing. A short leave of absence! Just until I can stop writing emails with my face. I’m going back to the city in a month or so. I don’t have any plans of dropping my career and moving back here permanently. This is just… a thing. A momentary thing. I just thought it’d be nice to come see how the old stomping ground was doing. With the extra added bonus of there being absolutely no chance of running into a client or anyone I know from work, and having to answer awkward questions about just why exactly I’m on a mandated hiatus.

Well, the old stomping grounds, as it turned out, were doing beautifully.

Back when she’d been a kid, Natasha had thought she’d scream if she had to see another tree – since that was pretty much all there was in Girdwood Springs. Trees and mountains. A few stores scattered along the way. A road.

She’d been so bored as a teenager that she’d spent all her time fantasizing about running away to the bright lights of the big city.

But now that I’m back…

Natasha shook her head again. No, no. She wasn’t about to turn her back on the career she’d spent ten years building. That was nothing but crazy talk.

By the time I’ve been here a month I’ll have gotten so bored I’ll remember why I wanted to leave in the first place,she thought, as she drove past what – she guessed – counted as the Girdwood Springs city limits.

It was a battered little sign that didn’t even bother to list the population of the town – mainly because it was so low Natasha thought it probably didn’t bear mentioning. And there was a tree painted on it.

Another tree!Natasha thought cynically. Just what the town needed! There weren’t enough live ones, so they had to paint some more!

But even as she thought it, Natasha had to admit to feeling just the smallest amount of guilt. So Girdwood Springs was boring. So she hadn’t really been able to find a way to fulfil her ambitions here. So she might never have come back, if not for this forced break from her job.

But badmouthing it – even if only inside her own head – just felt plain old mean. It was just a little mountain town, and it’d never hurt anyone.

And anyway, if I’m going to stay here for a month, I better start finding something positive about it,Natasha thought, pursing her lips. She was here for a break, after all, not to complain endlessly and then go home even more miserable and stressed out than when she arrived.

Okay. Putting a positive face on things. Starting now.

That was what she was good at after all, wasn’t it? She worked in marketing – it was her job to make things people initially thought were unpalatable into a dream come true. She could work her magic on her own brain, surely?

The first thing she’d need to do, she decided, was find something good to eat.

Natasha wondered if the food scene had gotten any better here since she was a kid – back when she’d been growing up, there’d been a grand total of the diner (which she and her friends had joked kept itself in business by taking care of the town’s rat problem by putting them in the burgers) and the itsy-bitsy supermarket, which had always run out of bread by Sunday afternoon. Also apples. Also most other kinds of products anyone cared to name.

Maybe things have changed, Natasha thought as she turned down what passed as the main drag, not really believing it even as she thought it. Maybe –

Natasha wasn’t sure where she’d been going with that maybe, but wherever it had been, she forgot about it completely as her mouth popped open in surprise – or maybe it was to make room for the absolutely massive slice of humble pie she now realized she’d have to eat.

This is… this is nothing like I remember it.

And it wasn’t.

Where in the past there’d been nothing but boarded-up storefronts and buildings that looked like they were about to fall to pieces at any moment, there was now… well, there was now this.

Natasha had to slow her car to stare, still open-mouthed, out the window.

Is that a gift shop?!

And not just a gift shop – a kind of adorable-looking gift shop, with cute hand-made-looking blankets in the window, dried flowers hanging up, and beautifully carved wooden figurines of bears and cougars and other local wildlife on display.

And there – a garden center?!

Natasha wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told her there was a plant nursery in Girdwood Springs, but that seemed to be the case: a beautiful one, too, with tall green trees outside the main gates, verdant ferns overflowing from their pots, and flowers bursting into color along the sidewalk.

There’s the old diner too… and…

And it looked nothing like what she remembered. It was clean, for starters – the windows were washed, the sign wasn’t the peeling disaster she’d known from her childhood, when she and her friends had only gone there because there was literally nowhere else for them to go. The trash can outside wasn’t overflowing with hot dog – or hot rat, as she’d called them – wrappers, and the canvas awning wasn’t falling away in rotten pieces. It looked…

It looks kind of like a place I’d actually eat at now,Natasha thought, suddenly all too aware of her stomach rumbling greedily. As much as she wanted to pull over though, her curiosity about what else she’d find kept her foot on the gas pedal, even though the car had slowed to a crawl.

A little farther along the street, and Natasha let out a gasp as she saw a bakery, decked out with sweet little flower garlands on the door and on the wooden chairs and tables arranged beneath its pink and white awning.

It’s cute as a cupcake – and definitely not the kind of thing we had back in my day!

Natasha would have been shocked if anyone in Girdwood Springs had even heard of a cupcake, let alone baked one.

Not that I’ll really have room to eat one, since I think all I’m going to be eating for the next month or so is crow.

Her wonderment at how much the little town had changed, however, was temporarily pushed out of her head as Natasha suddenly noticed the beautifully done calligraphy sign painted across the bakery’s front window: Sylvie’s Sweets and Bakery.

Wait – Sylvie? Sylvie Taylor?!

She remembered Sylvie Taylor – they’d gone to school together. Sylvie had been a couple of years younger than her, so she hadn’t known her well, but in a small place like Girdwood Springs, you couldn’t help but at least be aware of all the other kids in town. And Natasha remembered that Sylvie had always liked baking – well, a little kid’s version of baking, anyway, like mud cakes down by the river, decorated with leaves and stones, or sand pies in the sandpit.

Sylvie had always said she would be a baker when she grew up, and Natasha had, in their little kid way, believed her – anything had seemed possible when you were five years old! – but she had to admit that in the fifteen years since she’d left town, she’d mostly forgotten all about Sylvie Taylor and her dreams of being a baker, just as she imagined Sylvie Taylor had forgotten all about her, and her own dreams of making it big in the city.

But... well…

If there was ever a time to re-make an old acquaintance, Natasha supposed that this was it. Plus, maybe she could quiz Sylvie a little about the changes that had been made in Girdwood Springs. Had the town… come into some money? Somehow?

Without another thought, Natasha swung her car into an empty space outside the bakery, cutting the engine.

That mountain air really is fresh,she had to admit, taking in a huge lungful as she paused outside the bakery door – perhaps she hadn’t realized just how used she’d gotten to the smoggy city air. Here, everything smelled crisp and clean.

But when she opened the door of the bakery, she was suddenly hit with the wafting aromas of sugar and spice – and, naturally, all things nice.

“Oh my God,” Natasha couldn’t help murmuring as she stood in the doorway, transfixed by the sight before her.

Sylvie’s bakery wasn’t just a bakery – it was a work of art.

Well, that was what it seemed like, anyway: Natasha wasn’t sure she could call the rows and rows of delicate pastries, iced confections, and tiny pastel cakes anything but art.

And it went without saying that the whole place smelled amazing.

Natasha was pretty sure if she could bottle this scent and send it to clients, there’d be a line out the door of this place – but, looking around, she thought it must be doing pretty well on its own. If the incredible cakes, pastries and pies alone weren’t enough evidence of that, there was also the wooden tables, each one decorated with a spray of little pink and white flowers, just like the awning outside, and the little basket of ‘FREE FOR KIDS!’ chocolate chip cookies on a low table in front of the cash register. It all spoke to a thriving and well-beloved local business.

“Sorry about the wait, I had my hands full back there for a moment!” a voice suddenly trilled, a moment before a woman wearing a black apron and cap bustled out from the back room. “Welcome to Sylvie’s! If you have any questions, just ask! Or if you’d like a free sample, let me see what I –”

The woman suddenly stopped mid-sentence, tilting her head as she looked at Natasha, as if she was trying to place her in her memories.

Natasha didn’t blame her – she would have been doing the same thing, if she didn’t already know exactly who she was looking at. She smiled a little – one half of her wanted to simply tell Sylvie who she was, but the other wanted to see if she could guess.

“You look a little familiar,” Sylvie finally said slowly, raising a finger to her lips. “But don’t tell me, I’ll get it in a minute. Is it… Natalie? No – Natasha! Natasha Scott! I remember you from school!”

Natasha had to laugh – she couldn’t hold back.

“You got it in one! I’d like to say I remembered your name without any help, but…” She gestured at the shopfront, with Sylvie’s name in huge, sweeping letters. “I guess I have to admit I had a little help.”

Sylvie laughed, her smile wide, just the way Natasha remembered it from when they were kids. Sylvie really hadn’t changed that much at all!

“Wow – I don’t think I’ve seen you here in…” Sylvie began, before her forehead scrunched in thought, clearly trying to think far enough back.

“Fifteen years,” Natasha said, shaking her head. It sounded like such a long time now that she said it out loud. “I left when I was nineteen – off to college.”

“I wasn’t too far behind you, I have to admit,” Sylvie said, her mouth quirking in a smile. “I traveled around for a while, did a few apprenticeships with different bakers here and there. Until I felt ready to strike out on my own.”

“But you still came back here?” Natasha said, cocking her head. “It seems like… well, I hope you won’t think I’m being rude, but Girdwood Springs isn’t the place I would have thought you could run a clearly pretty fancy bakery.”

“Oh, but the place has changed a lot now!” Sylvie enthused. “Ever since people started coming up the mountain to go skiing, a lot of things have changed. I know the place used to be nothing special –”

You can say that again,Natasha thought to herself.

“— but now that we’re getting more tourists passing through and more custom, the town has really started to thrive. I always wanted to come back here anyway, but when I heard the mountain had become popular with skiers, I knew it was the right time. So I jumped at the chance!”

Natasha shook her head. The secluded mountainside having been discovered as a great place for family holidays suddenly made all the changes she’d seen around town make a little more sense.

“The diner we used to go to…” she started, only for Sylvie to cut her off with a laugh.

“I know, right? It used to be a total dump! But since Eula took it over she’s really made something of the place. You didn’t see any rats scurrying around the trash cans, right?”

“No, I did not,” Natasha said, joining in Sylvie’s laughter. “Wait – Eula? You mean Mrs. James, who used to do substitute teaching sometimes?”

“Yeah – that’s exactly who I mean. Apparently it was always her dream to run a diner – and remembering how we used to behave in class, I can’t exactly say I blame her for wanting to get out of teaching – so when she heard the old owner was selling up for a song, she went for it. You should definitely try the chili dogs. They’re out of this world.”

“I will, if you recommend them,” Natasha said sincerely. “And there’s a garden center now too…?”

“As run by my husband, Gale,” Sylvie said, giving Natasha a quick, slightly shy smile. “You could say he has a bit of a green thumb. I get all my herbs and spices from our garden. I can’t keep a cactus alive, but Gale… well, I guess you could say he has a talent.”

“Oh, you’re married? Congratulations!” Natasha said – and she meant it! But at the same time, she couldn’t ignore the little pang of envy in her heart. She’d never had much time for relationships – she’d been married to her job. The few she’d had had been as disappointing as they had been short-lived.

“Thank you,” Sylvie said, her smile growing wider. “Believe me, it was the last thing I expected – but Gale happened to come into town and… it was pretty much love at first sight.”

“That’s amazing, truly,” Natasha said, returning Sylvie’s wide smile. “It seems like a lot has changed around here, you included!”

Sylvie laughed. “Oh, you haven’t seen the half of it yet! We even have open-air movie nights out here now. Do you remember Kira?”

“Kira Dearborn?” Natasha asked, cocking her head. She did – Kira had been outdoorsy and athletic at school, so not one of the girls Natasha had spent a lot of time with. But she did definitely remember her always winning every sporting event, even against the boys.

Sylvie nodded. “Yeah – well, she became a ranger for the park area, and a few years ago she married a guy who… well, I guess you could call him a movie buff. But together they run movie screenings in the picnic area of the parklands. If you’re in town, you should come. You’re just in time – spring is just starting, so the movie nights will be starting up again in a couple of weeks, once things warm up!” Sylvie cut herself off abruptly, shaking her head. “But listen to me, rattling on, and I haven’t even asked how you’re doing! Are you on vacation? What brings you back to Girdwood Springs after all this time?”

Natasha swallowed. In the excitement of seeing – and hearing about – how much Girdwood Springs had changed, she’d forgotten about how reluctant she was to talk about why exactly she was taking time off from her job. She’d left the city to avoid running into anyone she knew – only for the first person she spoke to turning out to be someone she’d grown up with.

“I… Uh. Well. I guess you could call it a vacation,” she said, realizing she was really raising more questions than she was answering by phrasing things like that. Certainly, Sylvie was giving her a curious look. “To be honest, it’s a bit of a forced vacation,” Natasha forced herself to say, even as embarrassment welled up within her. But she had always thought of herself as an honest person – lying just didn’t come all that naturally to her. “I got a bit burned out at my job – I work in marketing, by the way – and, well… I thought I’d come see how the old place was doing. I’ll only be here for a month, though.”

“Well, a month is plenty of time to take a rest and catch up with everyone and see what’s changed,” Sylvie said with a bright smile, clearly sensing that Natasha was just a little uncomfortable and not pressing her too hard for details. “And believe me, everyone’ll be glad to see you again. You’ll be more than welcome at the movie night – there’s some flyers by the door, so make sure you grab one! Oh, and –”

Pausing, Sylvie ducked down behind the counter, opening the glass-fronted cabinet containing all her beautiful little cakes and confections. She selected a few, placing them in a box before wrapping it all up in brown paper.

“Here,” she said, pushing the box across the counter to Natasha. “On the house. Consider it a welcome back present.”

“Oh, no – I couldn’t do that!” Natasha protested, shaking her head. “You have to let me pay for these – they’re so beautiful, and it must have taken you hours to make them –”

“It did, but believe me, it’s a labor of love,” Sylvie laughed. “You remember how I always wanted to be a baker? Well, trust me, I’m living the dream.”

“Are you really sure?” Natasha asked, still reluctant to take something for free, but also seeing that Sylvie wasn’t going to be easily persuaded out of her gift. “I mean, I do have the money, I promise –”

“Oh, I’m sure of it!” Sylvie said. “But it’s not really about that. And anyway, this is just a sample – I’m pretty sure you’ll be back for more once you try these.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re right,” Natasha said warmly, finally reaching out to accept the box from Sylvie’s hands. “This place looks – and smells – amazing.”

“Well, definitely don’t be a stranger!” Sylvie said, as Natasha began to turn back toward the door. “And welcome home!”

Home.

The word echoed through her in an odd way as she walked back to her car, the sweet-smelling box of cakes in her hands. Had she ever really thought of Girdwood Springs as home?

She’d only ever wanted to get out of here as fast as she could when she’d been young – and now, the place had changed so much she barely recognized it.

As she started her car, Natasha recalled Sylvie’s words: I’m living the dream.

She’d thought she’d been living her dream, back in the city. And it was true: she did love her job. But even after only a few days away from it, she realized how tired out she’d been. The long hours and demanding clients had, somewhere along the way, become less of an exhilarating challenge and more just… well, tiring.

But that doesn’t mean I want to throw it all away!Natasha thought firmly as she started her car. She was just in need of a break – that was all. A month out here and she’d be climbing up the walls in boredom. No matter how much the place had changed, and no matter how beautiful the scenery was. And what would she even do out here? She wasn’t a baker – and she definitely wasn’t a park ranger!

Nodding to herself as she began her drive back up to the cabin she’d rented on the mountain, Natasha told herself once again: It’s only a month’s vacation. That’s all.