Chapter 2
Jake
I thought that after multiple attempts at a stern talking to that Charlotte wouldn’t wander off again, like just now.
But alas, a four-year-old in a bakery is bound to leave your side and go ogle at pastries.
Or chat with people she knows. I did promise her a cake pop after I grabbed my paycheck from the office in the back.
I look around the bakery seating. There’s a handful of locals and a few strangers probably here for the festival. I groan. The Heart-to-Heart Festival is great for the town. It gives us an influx of tourists at a time when most people wouldn’t even think of making the trip to Montana.
February means a second round of winter is just beginning.
When the town started the festival as a fun way to entice singles looking for love when most people don’t leave their own homes, much less travel, our bakery became the unofficial sponsor.
My deliveries have increased twofold. While I can’t always take my bike, it all depends on the ice and the snowplows.
I at least still have a job during the winter season.
Working at Spice Spice Baby Bakery has been a lifesaver.
And definitely not what I pictured myself doing at thirty-one.
But after a tour in the army, I was feeling restless.
I had a lack of purpose and no drive to change it.
I wandered up and down the east coast trying to figure out what to do next. That’s when I met Sophia.
She was a music loving hiker who had me wrapped around her finger.
I was hopelessly and madly in love. I followed her all the way out to Montana.
When we found out she was pregnant we were both over the moon, or at least I was.
After Charlotte was born things changed.
Sophia decided she didn’t want to be a mom.
She relinquished custody, signed over her rights, and left.
I stayed in Montana in case she ever came back.
but she never did. It’s been me and Char for four years now.
I pull myself from my drifting thoughts and keep looking for Char.
If I was a four-year-old who talked to anyone and everyone, where would I be?
I hear loud giggling from a corner and spy Char sitting with a blonde lady.
The two look happy, almost like a mother daughter duo.
But the bright red hair is a dead giveaway for Charlotte. Not too many redheads in town.
I greet the two of them and Char leaps into my arms. The woman stands and introduces herself. My brain blows a fuse.
She’s absolutely gorgeous.
Her long blonde hair cascades over her shoulders in waves.
Her blue eyes sparkle and remind me of the way the sun dances along the surface of the ocean.
She’s short and curvy, her jeans highlight her wider hips and her orange sweater seems to accentuate her chest and waistline.
Fashionable but relaxed, she must be here for the Valentine’s Day festivities.
When she speaks her accent confirms my thought about her being a fleeting tourist to the area. I won’t get closer if she’s here to find love. Best to squash it in the bud before anything could happen. My brain and my mouth don’t seem to be on the same page though.
Because I invite her to dinner.
And she agrees.
I have a date with Mallory. The curvy blonde with a French-tinged accent who probably has a ticket home in a few days.
Oh well, it’s not like I’m going to date her.
I won’t date anyone until Charlotte is older.
I have chosen to put Char first. And most people, in my previous dating experience, don’t like that. They want to be first.
I grab a cake pop for Char and we head home. Thoughts of dating Mallory, and having her over for dinner, bounce around my head all day.
It’s just a thank you dinner. Nothing more.
After a restless night and one too many snooze alarms, Char and I are finally dressed and ready to go. I’ll bring her to the bakery and after a quick breakfast we’ll head to her daycare. I made sure that she packed extra books since she’ll be there later than normal.
On a typical Friday I pick her up at four and we grab a pizza on the way home or we eat at the Italian restaurant in town.
But, since I have the dinner date with Mallory she’ll be going to daycare for the afternoon, then spending a few hours with me before I take her over to the babysitter’s house.
I make sure I have cash to pay the sitter and a pizza for them.
We get to the bakery at eight and it’s already hopping.
I clock in and say hi to the guys working in the kitchen before checking in with Liam and Henry to go over the day’s deliveries.
Those two run the bakery with such business acumen it’s easy to just go with the flow at work.
If I have an idea then I don’t feel uneasy sharing it with them.
They have the big picture in their mind but are open to alternative ways of reaching it.
My pocket buzzes and it’s the sitter’s mom.
“Shit.” I curse as Char tells me I said a bad word. “I know honey, I owe you a quarter.”
“What’s up Jake?” Dylan, our cake decorator, comes over. He’s carrying a big stainless-steel bowl that’s filled with various containers of spices, sprinkles, and colored icing tubes.
“The babysitter is sick and I have no one to watch Charlotte tonight.”
“Big plans?” he wiggles his eyebrows and Char laughs at his silly face.
“I was supposed to have a date.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep breath. “I’ll have to cancel. Unless you have a sitter that you recommend?”
That’s one of the plus sides to the Spice Spice Baby Bakery, all the guys who work here have kids at home. They’re all dads who know exactly what I’m going through at all times. Despite our various backgrounds and careers, we’re all dads who love our kids.
“Last minute on a Friday night the weekend before Valentine’s Day? No way man. Everyone is booked.” He shrugs his shoulders, “if we were open later, I’d say leave Char with us. But I think we’re all in the same boat.”
“Yeah, I’ll go ahead and cancel. We’re way too busy for me to call around.
” I’m bummed. I was looking forward to getting to know Mallory a little bit, even if she’s just in town for the festival.
She seemed nice, especially if she had Char giggling like that.
Char likes the guys at the bakery but she hasn’t really bonded with any girls outside of the women who watch her at daycare and the sitter.
Not like I bring a lot of women around though.
“Sorry man, maybe she’ll reschedule.” Dylan pats my shoulder before he leaves to go grab more decorating supplies.
I sigh and try to shove my apparent disappointment to the side.
Focus on Charlotte. Not a girl you barely know.
I ask Charlotte if she wants a ham and cheese croissant or a piece of quiche for breakfast. Once I have her settled at a table with her meal I check my phone. Mallory had sent me a short text last night that just had her name and a smiley face emoji and a Canadian flag.
Jake: I know it’s early. My babysitter is sick and I don’t have a backup. I need to cancel our dinner. I’m sorry.
I tuck my phone in my pocket and pour myself a mug of coffee.
I start to prep for my first delivery run of the morning.
I mark off boxes as I stack them in my insulated bag.
I’ll make a few and then swing back for another round.
The snow is all cleared off and the sun is already shining.
My phone vibrates as I pack the last box I need.
Mallory: If you want to cancel you can, but I thought Charlotte was coming with us.
I stare at my screen as my stomach does summersaults. She expected Char to tag along? Even with my comment about a steak dinner? I’m even more intrigued by this mysterious out of towner.
Jake: If you’re okay with her tagging along then we can go to the festival. I think they have pancake dinner at the firehouse scheduled for tonight.
Mallory: As long as there’s maple syrup count me in.
I laugh out loud at her reply and then text her to meet me at the bakery at six like we had planned and we’ll walk over together. I’m pleasantly surprised that she wants to do dinner with both me and Charlotte. More so that she just expected Char to be included.
Maybe there is a small chance that something could happen between us.
No, she’s just temporary. Mallory is a tourist who helped me when I was panicked about Charlotte. Nothing more.
I put my phone back in my pocket and finish getting my deliveries together.
I grab my insulated bag and bring it to the front of the bakery.
I find Charlotte in her seat finishing up her slice of quiche.
She offers me a toothy grin when I ask if she’s ready to go.
We both pull on our coats and I help her with her mittens and beanie.
I get the bag attached to my bike and strap Char in the little seat on the back.
We head off to her daycare before I trek out for deliveries.
Even as I make my rounds and drop off pastries and cakes to locals and businesses, my mind can’t stop going back to Mallory. How mesmerizing her eyes were, how it felt like little electric currents when she took my hand, and how kissable her plump, cherry lips looked.
All I need is a date to shake these lingering thoughts.
Yeah, just a date.