11. Justin

11Justin

“Thank you and have a great day,”I said, handing over the cookies to the customer. I held onto the smile until the ping sounded, and they were out the door, then released a breath and collapsed against the counter. It’d been a long morning, that was for sure. Glancing at my watch, I smiled to see it was lunchtime since I had skipped breakfast. Over the last few months, I found a small window of time that allowed me to take a break and eat lunch. I could grab a bite most days, but other days there just wasn’t any time to stop. Not that I would ever complain. It would be ungrateful of me to have an issue with being busy.

I went to the back room and opened the refrigerator, delighted to find my delicious lunch waiting to be eaten. I could already taste the salmon that Kairo had brought home for us last night. God, it had been such a sweet gesture and one that I still couldn’t believe. Maybe Kairo was just this great guy, and I was all wrong about him. I recalled what Chris said, and he could be right. Perhaps he was one of those alphas who just needed a little time to get used to things.

He’d been so sweet with Theo and Sara too. Even when he couldn’t always understand what she was saying, he listened and nodded along, answering her the best he could. In the short time we had been there, Kairo had never made me feel like the kids and I were a burden. That alone meant more to me than he would ever know.

There had been no physical contact between us yet, but dinner last night felt like a tentative first step in our relationship. And I know I hadn’t imagined the look in his eyes that told me he wanted me.

Before I could get my food into the microwave, the bell above the front door alerted me that I had a customer. I sighed and left the bag on the table, hurrying out front so they wouldn’t leave. There was no rest for the weary. If business kept going this way, fingers crossed, I could really expand the bakery. And I wouldn’t have to worry about money as the kids got older.

With that thought in mind, I plastered on a smile, “Welcome! What can I get fresh for you?”

A woman with a preschooler at her side approached the counter. I looked down at the little girl, instantly thinking of Sara. I wonder what the kids were doing at this very moment. Sometimes I wished that I didn’t have to be away from them so much, but I knew that was my anxiety talking. I had to trust they would be okay even though I wasn’t there.

The little girl smiled up at me, and my niece came to mind again. Yeah, I wouldn’t complain about how hard I had to work. The more successful the business, the better I could care for them and not worry about Hazel’s threats.

The little girl giggled when I made a funny face at her, and her mom chuckled, “Sorry about that,” I said, “How can I help you?”

The mom waved me off, “I guess it just means I’m in the right place. She likes you.”

“I have two little ones of my own. They’re a handful but so worth it,” I beamed. Then it hit me what I had said. Sara and Theo were mine. They would always be my sister’s kids, but they were also mine now.

“Izzie May has a birthday coming up next month, and I need to order a cake. Assuming you make special occasion cakes like that… I wasn’t sure, but my husband and I came in here for lunch a couple of days ago, and the sandwiches we ordered were wonderful. We took some muffins and cookies home to Izzie, and she loved them too….” She trailed off. “I wasn’t sure you did catering orders, but I figured we should try.”

Before Teagan and Willow passed away, we were a full-service bakery that had belonged to our family for as long as I could remember. There were four of us here every day. The two of them took care of the pastries and cookies we sold while I made and decorated the special order cakes. Our one full-time employee was our barista and helped out wherever she was needed. After they died, I had to scale back what we offered so that I could keep up and keep it open. I hadn’t decorated a cake since she died.

I nodded, “Hold on, let me get the book.”

“I want a Unicorn!” Izzy May exclaimed. I looked over at her and smiled, but her mother had an exasperated look on her face.

“Yes, if you have a unicorn, major brownie points. Everything is a unicorn at the moment.” She groaned, but I had the perfect cake to show her.

We shared a look that said, you know it is.

“How about this?” I flipped through the cake design book, then placed it on the counter so that both Izzy May and her mother could see it.

“Mama, look!” The little girls’ eyes lit up in excitement.

“Yes, I would say that one is perfect.” She leaned back, and her a smile stretched across her face, peppered with a sense of relief. “This is the third place we’ve been to today to order her birthday cake. Little miss here sure has learned the word no. But they say the third time is the charm, and you definitely are!” She wrapped her arm around her daughter, and we enjoyed the ear-to-ear smile and the excitement that she was feeling.

“Let me grab my calendar, then we can get all the details taken care of for you. Then you can enjoy the rest of the day.” Purposely getting Izzie involved in the selections was fun. First, we determined the size and flavors of the cake and icing. We then chose the colors for her unicorn cake and the special message across the front. The pick-up date was our last detail, and we had one happy and excited little girl.

“Thank you, Mister,” Izzy May said, waving to me.

“Have a great day Izzie May!” I waved back at them and waited for them to leave the bakery. It made me feel good to assist another happy little customer, and I couldn’t wait to work on her cake. It reminded me of the good times from the past, and I knew Teagan sent them to me to help me heal and be able to go on.

“Now, salmon,” I mumbled, turning and heading back into the back room.

I popped the salmon into the microwave and was about to hit start when I heard the ping of the bell at the front door once again. Seriously? This may be the day I don’t get to eat. I turned and headed out of the room, my smile not so bright this time.

“Welcome, and how may I…oh, Hazel.”

There was anything but a jovial look on her face as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot. The happy buzz I’d found a moment ago vanished. Even the small pleasure I would have gotten from warming up my salmon and thinking of Kairo came crashing down.

“How are you?” I asked in a flat tone.

“Not great,” she said.

So, I noticed. “Ahh.” I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say to that.

“Not going to ask me why?” Her arms dropped and landed on her hips as she tried to bore a hole through me.

I sighed, but refused to let her bate me. Of course, I didn’t have to wait long for her to tell me what I’d done wrong now. “I went to the house today to see the children, you know, my niece and nephew….” Her words trailed off.

“They’re mine too,” I reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. “The house is under construction, and the kids were nowhere to be found. Care to explain what’s going on here?”

“I told you about the remodel, hadn’t I? Well, I thought that I did.” I grimaced. Okay, that was a teensy lie but whatever. I had planned to tell Hazel, but I really didn’t want her to suggest the kids move in with her, even temporarily. “Anyway, it must have slipped my mind. It’s been quite hectic. But yes, some work is being done at the house, and we can’t stay there while it’s under construction.”

Her eyes narrowed at me as if she were trying to detect a lie, so I did my best not to squirm. I had done nothing wrong. “The house is being renovated, and we’re staying with a friend while the work is being completed.” It wasn’t the whole story, but she didn’t need to know that. Hazel had been an option, but I had to trust that Willow and Teagan had a reason for making the decision to leave the kids in my care. “And that is where the kids are now.”

“Let me get this straight…they’re with a stranger. You are letting my niece and nephew stay with a stranger?” Her eyes darkened, and her nostrils flared as her voice steadily became louder.

“They’re fine. And it’s not a stranger, Ashley is still watching them, and they know her. And as you know, Willow and Teagan like her too.” I didn’t want to argue with her in my place of business. She was Theo and Sara’s aunt, after all. “If you’d like to see them, you can come over tonight when I’m home. I’ll text you the information, and you can check on them yourself.”

Hazel took some paper and a pen out of her purse and thrust them towards me. “That’s exactly what I’ll do. I’m sure you won’t mind me popping by whenever. Unless you prefer we do this officially with a welfare check.” I clenched my fist and released it slowly, telling myself to breathe. I kept reminding myself she cared about Sara and Theo and having people in their lives that loved them could never be a bad thing. “Jot down the address. I’ll just see about this place. You think it’s okay to leave my sister’s kids.”

I swallowed down my retort that they were my sister’s kids too. “Hazel, you know this isn’t necessary. The kids are fine and well taken care of. Willow and Teagan trusted me with them. Why can’t you trust that I know what I’m doing.”

She snorted, “I’m not sure what they were thinking. But we’re not here to talk about that.” She tapped the paper, “the address, please.”

There was no use debating this. I wrote down the address and handed it back. Without another word, Hazel turned on her heel and left. I rubbed my hand on my face between my brow. Why was it that after every meeting with her, I felt a headache coming on? She was up to something; I could feel it. I could also remember Willow saying her sister usually had an ulterior motive for the things she does.

But there was nothing for her to complain about. The kids were fine. The house would be better than it ever was. The business hopefully would grow. I just had to hope that she didn’t cause drama just for the sake of it.