Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Elaine shifted the brown paper bags in her arms as she strolled along Coral Sands’ main street.
It was a blustery autumn day, but despite the chilliness in the air, she loved being outdoors.
She loved the way the air started to smell crisp and spicy in the fall, as if it was being scented by all of the leaves.
Overhead, the sky was a breathtaking blue, and the warmth of the sun offered a pleasant contrast to the cold.
She’d been busy all afternoon, running errands for The Birchwood House.
She’d gone to the grocery store and driven back a car full of grocery bags, and then set out on foot because she wanted to enjoy the beautiful day.
She’d picked up bars of soap and some hand lotions from a local gift shop, since they always furnished every room with welcome baskets and she wanted to make sure they didn’t run out of the supplies they needed for those.
After that, she’d stopped at the hardware store and purchased kerosine for the kerosine lamps that they liked to light in the parlor at night.
The lamps gave The Birchwood House a cozy atmosphere and they made Elaine feel as if they were able to travel back in time, just a little.
The guests loved them as well, which was all the encouragement Elaine needed to keep up the habit.
Although the bags were somewhat heavy, she was enjoying her walk and wondering if there was anywhere else she should go before returning to the mansion.
She was only a couple of blocks away from home, and she considered returning to the hotel to drop her bags off and then walking back to the main street to continue shopping.
Suddenly, however, she caught sight of Townsend’s Bakery, its windows gleaming in the golden late afternoon sunlight.
Oh, I have to stop there, she thought, picking up her pace. I want to talk to Shep before they close.
Suddenly feeling lighthearted, she began to whistle slightly as she made her way toward the bakery. She arrived just as the old Lutheran church’s bells began to chime the hour, but she hurried forward and stepped inside the shop just as Iris was about to lock the doors.
“Could I have a minute, Iris?” Elaine asked with a smile, slightly out of breath because of how quickly she’d been walking.
Iris, who was holding the key to the bakery in her hands, smiled knowingly. “Come on in,” she said. “Shep’s in the kitchen.”
Iris was, for the most part, the face of Townsend’s Bakery, since Shep Townsend preferred to keep to his kitchen and seldom ventured out to talk to anyone.
Elaine had managed to arrange a partnership between the bakery and The Birchwood House, but only after she’d barged into Shep’s kitchen a couple of times, insisting on talking with him.
Elaine and Iris had always thought well of each other, but their friendship had strengthened ever since the business partnership had begun.
Spending time with Elaine had caused Shep to start being slightly less reclusive, and he’d even come out of the kitchen to greet customers every now and again.
Iris always encouraged Elaine to do anything that might help pull Shep out of his shell, and Elaine knew that his happiness was a shared goal of theirs.
“Shep!” Iris called loudly. “Elaine is here!”
Almost instantly, Shep stepped out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a green and white checkered towel.
“Hello, Elaine,” he said, smiling at her fondly.
“Michelle already came and picked up the evening order of cookies for your guests.” Shep had suggested once that they add cookies to the welcome baskets, and all of the Sutton women had agreed that was a wonderful idea.
“She told me,” Elaine assured him with a smile, setting her heavy bags down on the counter for a moment. “Thank you for always being so on top of our orders, by the way. You haven’t been even slightly late with a single one.”
Shep shrugged and grunted a little, but she could tell by the flush in his cheeks and the quirk of his lips that the comment had made him happy.
“I wanted to tell you,” Elaine continued, smiling at him and leaning toward him a little as if what she was about to tell him was conspiratorial.
“We had a couple of tourists from Switzerland come and stay at The Birchwood House, and they were absolutely raving about your hazelnut croissants the other day while we were all having coffee. They said they’ve never had croissants that good before, not even in France. ”
Shep made a little gasping sound and then waved his hand through the air. “Nonsense,” he said gruffly, but he looked thrilled.
“That’s what they said,” Elaine retorted cheerfully. “And I wanted to drop in and let you know what a hit the croissants have been. I’d love to get a dozen of them the next time you make them.”
“Certainly. I uh—I was planning on making them again tomorrow.”
Elaine caught Iris shooting Shep an amused look, and she guessed that Shep had been planning on nothing of the kind, and he’d just changed his baking plans for her sake.
Or it’s just because he’s excited the croissants are so popular, she told herself. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself here, thinking he cares more about me than he really does.
For a second she watched the baker’s careworn face. How much did Shep care about her? She realized with a jolt that her heart was beating faster as she contemplated the question. She hardly dared to admit it to herself, but she wanted him to care about her a great deal.
“Well,” she said briskly, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden surge of intense thoughts and emotions she was experiencing.
“I think I’ll snag a bear claw before going on my way.
I see you’ve still got some in the case there.
” Her eyes scanned the bakery display case, and for a moment she considered buying a cupcake or an almond cranberry scone instead.
The bear claws seemed to be calling her name, however. “Yes. A bear claw, please.”
She began to rummage in her purse.
“That’ll be on the house,” Shep said, lifting a hand and stopping her. He went over to the display case and opened it, gently taking out a bear claw as if it were something precious.
“Really?” Elaine dropped her wallet back inside her purse. “Are you sure?”
“Of course,” Shep said, his tone a bit gruff. Elaine could see that he was trying not to smile, however. “We’re just going to donate the rest of this anyway. We never sell day-old bakery at Townsend’s.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to stop by right when you’re closing more often,” Elaine joked.
“Sure,” Shep said, sounding as if he liked the idea. He handed her the bear claw, and for a moment, she hesitated, not knowing what to say.
“Thank you both again,” she said, smiling warmly at Iris and Shep. “And thanks again for making more croissants for us, Shep. I know the guests will love them.”
Shep nodded and Iris waved at her, and Elaine picked up her shopping bags and slipped back out the front door of the bakery. She started toward the mansion with a pep in her step, feeling upbeat and full of energy.
I always feel cheerier after visiting the bakery, she thought to herself, realizing it with a touch of surprise. I guess that’s the magic of sugary baked goods.
What she wasn’t admitting to herself was that there also seemed to be a bit of magic in the cantankerous, golden-hearted baker who made the sugary baked goods.
She arrived back at the hotel after only a few minutes of walking.
She entered the mansion through the side door that led into the kitchen, and she found the room empty of people.
Humming quietly to herself, she set her shopping bags down in a corner of the counter and took out the bear claw that Shep had picked out for her.
As she sank her teeth into it, she made a soft “Mmm!” sound, because it seemed to her that it was even better than the last bear claw she’d had from Townsend’s.
It seemed Shep had been tweaking his recipes again, making them even better than they’d been before.
She wandered out of the kitchen and into the parlor, looking for Audrey and Michelle. Michelle wasn’t at her post at the reception desk, and she could hear a few sets of voices coming faintly from upstairs. She thought she distinguished the sound of Audrey’s laughter.
I bet they’re upstairs, she thought, mounting the stairs with her bear claw in hand. We have that new couple coming in tonight, so they’re probably fixing up the tiger lily room.
Sure enough, she found her daughter and her granddaughter in the orange-themed bedroom, laughing and chatting as they made up the bed.
Elaine stepped inside the room, enjoying watching them for a moment before they noticed her.
Audrey and Michelle had a special relationship that was in many ways like a friendship.
Elaine loved watching the affection between them and listening to the playful banter they exchanged.
“I’m telling you, I’m the sheet-changing master,” Michelle was saying. “I can totally change the bedding on a bed in five minutes, tucking and folding the sheets all fancy and everything. It’s a gift.”
“Then how come we’re still doing this?” Audrey countered with a laugh. She glanced at her watch. “It’s been six minutes already and we’re still not done.”
“That’s because you’re getting in my way,” Michelle retorted with a grin.
Elaine chuckled, looking around the beautiful bedroom.
The walls were white, and the bedspread and armchair were a beautiful rusty orange that made her think of autumn.
The gift basket, which was waiting on an antique desk placed under one of the windows, was brimming with orange-colored goodies—face wipes, hand lotion, toothbrushes, bar soap, and other things, including a bag of cinnamon sugar cookies that had been sealed up with an orange ribbon.
Elaine knew that Michelle had given the tiger lily room a mango scent theme, and that all of the soaps and lotions it was stocked with smelled of mangos and other tropical fruits.
Elaine and Audrey had teased her when she’d first made the decision, asking her why she didn’t make everything lily-scented, but Michelle had insisted that she knew what she was doing and that mangos “smelled orange” more than any other scent did.
Audrey had countered that pumpkins smelled more orange than anything, but Michelle hadn’t wavered.
“Oh, hey Mom!” Audrey looked up with a laugh as she noticed Elaine standing in the doorway, munching on her bear claw. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I just got back,” Elaine said with a smile.
“Oh, from Townsend’s, huh?” Michelle asked with a touch of glee in her voice.
“Yes,” Elaine said primly.
“You made an excuse to visit the shop, huh?” Audrey said, also sounding a little gleeful.
“Well, I was walking right past it,” Elaine said.
“How’s Shep doing?” Michelle asked, grinning widely.
“Um, he’s doing fine—how did you know I saw Shep?”
“Isn’t that why you stopped?” Audrey teased. “I mean, we have plenty of baked goods here at home. You didn’t need to stop there for that.”
“I—well, I did want to mention something to him briefly, but—” Elaine started to protest, feeling slightly flushed in her cheeks, when they all heard a strange sound.
Each of the Sutton women froze and listened carefully.
Audrey’s brow furrowed and Michelle cocked her head to one side as she concentrated on the noise.
“I think it’s one of the pipes in the wall rumbling,” Audrey said.
A moment later, the sound faded to a low murmur and then stopped.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Michelle said. “Maybe it’s something playing from inside one of the guest rooms.”
All three of them put the finishing touches on the room—they spread out the rust-colored quilt and arranged the bouquet of flowers that was placed on one of the windowsills. They set the welcome basket on the bed so that it would be more obvious when their guests first arrived.
“I know Grandma isn’t hungry after that bear claw,” Michelle teased, “but I sure am. What do you say to going downstairs and making some dinner?”
“Sounds great to me,” Audrey said. “We said we were making tacos tonight, right?”
“Yes,” Elaine said. “Nice and easy.”
They served the guests of the hotel breakfast, but dinner and lunch were still just the three of them.
Making meals together was a chance for them to unwind and catch up on their days.
Sometimes if a guest happened to wander into the kitchen while they were making food, they would offer to share the meal with them, but for the most part they usually had the kitchen to themselves.
They turned out the lights in the tiger lily room and made their way downstairs, chatting about something that one of their guests had said the other day.
Elaine put her hands in her pockets and felt the wax paper wrapper from the bear claw, feeling a surge of contentment.
Everything seemed to be going beautifully.