CHAPTER 41
Tally
“Do you trust me?” Walker asks as we park on Maple Street, right across from my sister’s store. My heart races when I realize we’re in front of Mabel’s Bakery.
“Of course I do,” I mumble, even as I try not to get my hopes up.
Walker rounds the truck, and when he opens my door, holding out a hand to help me down, he flashes one of his dimple-popping grins.
“Good.” He nods toward the bakery. “Welcome to your kitchen.”
Walker wraps his arms around me and settles his chin on my shoulder, forcing me to stare at the bakery I’ve loved since I was a child. “Just breathe with me for a minute, Wildflower. Take a look at the storefront, and breathe.”
My eyes flutter closed and I smile. “What did you do?”
“I just got the keys from Rayna so we can use the kitchen. Thought maybe you could test out making some cupcakes and see if everything is up to snuff. If it all works, then tomorrow it’s yours to make the wedding cake.”
“Can we really go in?”
He nods against my cheek, and I squeal when he drops the keys to the bakery over my shoulder and into my hands. I don’t wait even a second before I rush forward, dragging Walker with me.
The moment the key notches in the lock and the door opens, something clicks into place.
I forgot how bright it was in here. How, even in the evenings, the sun cuts in off the harbor, creating this golden hue that makes the whole space seem magical.
Something blooms within my chest as a million memories race through my mind.
Mabel’s was the spot where I fell in love with baking.
“What do you think?” Walker’s smooth voice breaks through my thoughts and I turn to look at him, at this man who’s captured my heart in such a way that sometimes it’s hard to breathe.
“It’s just as I remember.” I sigh as I walk toward him. “But can we really use the kitchen for this?”
Walker nods. “Got it approved by the owner.”
“You actually talked to Rayna?” My jaw drops in mock surprise.
“I’d do anything for you, Wildflower.” Walker chuckles and thumbs toward the door.
“Get comfortable. I’m going to grab the ingredients from your sister. She picked them up for us earlier.”
I shake my head at Walker in wonder before allowing myself to focus on the bakery.
Refamiliarizing myself with the space, I’m amazed at how everything is exactly as I remember.
Mabel died more than two years ago, but it’s clear that Rayna has spent money to keep it in decent shape in hopes of renting it out, I suppose.
It’s clean but dated. I look to the worn wooden counter where I used to take orders and ring up customers on the old-fashioned black register.
I tap on it and it dings, the noise echoing through the tiny store.
As I move to the back kitchen, I find six ovens and an eight-burner gas stove.
I turn the dial to test if it still works and suck in an excited breath when a flame roars to life.
“So will it work?” Walker asks when he reappears, now holding two shopping bags. He sets them down, and I peer inside. Of course he’s got exactly what I need to make his favorite cupcakes.
“It’ll work.” I bite my lip as I lean against the counter. “Are you sure you want me to do this, though? What if I screw up the cake and ruin something else for the farm?”
The words are whispered. No one in my family has ever relied on me. At least not since I was in high school and my dad was asking me to help him out in the fields. Even then, there wasn’t much I could screw up. He was always by my side, guiding me if I needed it. But now it’s just me.
Walker brushes a hand against my cheek, reminding me that I’m not alone.
“But what if you don’t? What if you take this risk and save the event?
What if you stop worrying about whether you’re good enough and just try?
Remember, it was your cupcakes that started this whole thing.
You had a line of people raving about them—including the Liberty Ladies, and you know they complain about everything.
You have family who moan in delight every time they eat your food. ”
I try to hide my smile. “I think you’re hearing your own reaction.”
Walker wraps an arm around me and pulls me against his chest. “Damn right I am. Every meal you make is incredible, just like you.”
Resting my head against his chest, I glance up at him. “You really think I can do it?”
“Tally, you can do whatever you set your mind to.”
I will myself to believe him. Part of me feels like I’m not ready for any of this, that I need to go to Nantucket and then to school. I need to become this whole person before I’m ready for him and this life he’s laying out in front of me. But another part of me is tired of waiting to start living.
Determination wins out, and I nod. “Okay, let’s make some cupcakes.”
“That’s my girl.” Walkers drops a kiss to my lips and then empties both grocery bags.
I locate some bowls and an old mixer, relieved that everything is clean and will do the job.
Walker settles next to me, and I can feel his eyes watching me as I set up. “You’re making me nervous. Don’t just stand there, say something.”
Walker folds his arms across his chest and leans against the counter. “Okay, do you like weddings?”
I snort as I crack one egg after the next.
He shrugs. “What? Don’t all girls love weddings?”
I shake my head. “I wasn’t one of those girls who pictured every minute of my wedding.
That would be Penny. She’s the romantic.
” She may say she’s done dating, done with men.
But she’s full of it. I know this weekend Penny will be staring wistfully at the way the groom watches his bride like he’s in a damn fairy tale.
I smile. “She used to come down to the kitchen at the house, wearing one of her dresses and pretending she was a bride. My father would put on music and spin her around.” My voice catches as I realize how he probably thought that one day he’d do that with both of us for real.
Maybe even on our farm. A vision flashes in my mind of my daddy walking a bride down the aisle.
The sun is setting in a brilliant burst of magenta behind the dance floor, and he’s spinning her around to “What a Wonderful World.” I drop the eggshell on the counter and bring my fist to my mouth to choke back a sob.
Walker grabs my shoulders and pulls me flush against him, pressing kiss after kiss against my head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“I didn’t realize I even cared about some imaginary wedding that now I’ll never have.”
Walker squeezes me tighter. “You will. It might look different than what you imagined, but you’ll get every everything, Wildflower. I’m sure of it.”
I let out a loud breath to get my emotions under control. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
I glance at him. “Did you ever picture your wedding?”
Walker is silent for a second too long, and my stomach swoops in realization. “Wow, you did, huh?”
Walker groans.
“Oh, there’s a story there.”
His jaw hardens. “No.”
“No, you never pictured your wedding, or no, you don’t want to tell me about your dream event?” I bite my lip and settle back against the counter. “Let me guess, you planned on wearing a cowboy hat and some spurs?”
He snorts and shakes his head. “Sounds like a better wedding than what I’d have planned.”
I raise my brows in question as jealousy singes my stomach. It’s such a surprising feeling that I find myself cracking the next egg I pick up in the palm of my hand. I stare down at it in shock before going to the sink to clean it off.
“What happened?” I ask over my shoulder as I dry my hands. I grab another egg from the carton and attempt to focus on the job at hand.
“Not much to tell. Gina and I were together through high school, then college and quite a while after that. I asked her to marry me, and she told me she was seeing someone else. I haven’t talked to her since.”
The eggs drops on the floor with a loud splat.
“Tally,” Walker growls.
Breath short, I glare at him as the egg continues to spread. “She did what?”
Walker shakes his head and then grabs a towel to clean up the mess.
“It was years ago, and I’m over it. I told you before, my life wasn’t like yours.
We were extremely poor, and my father was—” He blows out a breath.
“Not like your father. My sister needed me. Every penny, every ounce of extra attention I had went to Billie. She’s my only real family.
Gina needed more than I could give her, which”—he flexes his fists—“was fair.”
“No, it’s not.” This isn’t the Walker I know. The man who’s sure of himself, who’s surly because he can be, because he’s right most of the time. “There’s never an excuse for cheating.”
Maybe it’s because I watched Penny go from one bad relationship to the next in the hopes of falling in love, desperate in her chase of a beautiful love story.
Or maybe I’m naive because I’ve never been in a relationship, but to me, choosing to be with someone doesn’t mean they need to be perfect.
It just means that you need to show up for each other in the best way you can.
I grab Walker’s hand and squeeze. “I’m sorry that happened to you. ”
Walker’s face softens. “It’s okay, Tally. She did me a favor. Truly.”
I scoff. “Well, obviously. Because now you’re with me.”
Walker’s smile spreads all the way to his eyes. “Yes.”
I press a kiss to his jaw and then turn back to the ingredients, telling myself I won’t break any more eggs. “When I first showed up, you mentioned your sister wanting the job to help my mom. Is she still interested?”
Walker tilts his head. “The weddings will be done by the first weekend in June. It’s already May, so I’m not sure how needed she is.”
“If we had more flowers, though …” I sigh as the words die on my lips. The reason we don’t have enough flowers to get us through the season is because of me.
“No indication we’d have more weddings, Tal. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“But you were fixing the cottage for her and Quinn, right?” It’s the topic we’ve avoided since my mother mentioned it weeks ago. And because I’ve come to think of it as our cottage. Stupid really, considering I’ll be gone before she moves in.
“Billie’s stubborn,” he says with a smile. “Kind of like someone else I know.”
I flash him a grin. “I like her.”
“I was just trying to give her another option to consider. Quinn’s father has never really been in the picture, and it’s hard being a single parent.”
“You’re a good brother. I’m sorry I got in the way of you being able to do that.”
“I’m not. She needs to want to make the change and she’s not there yet, but you being her friend, and including her in stuff with Penny and Rosie, means a lot to her. It means a lot to me.”
“Of course,” I say quickly. “We’re a team. Just like you’re helping me right now, I want to help with the farm. I want to help your sister. I want to help you.”
Walker frowns as I drop the whisk and turn toward him, placing my hands on his chest.
“What are you doing, Wildflower?”
“I’m making you smile.”
His lip twitches, but he’s not strong enough to fight it. “Oh yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?”
“I have my ways,” I whisper against his cheek before pressing a kiss to his rough skin.
His lips hook into a smile, his dimple popping out with the movement.
“I think maybe you didn’t always have the time to be happy because you were too busy being strong for everyone else,” I whisper against his neck, peppering light kisses up to his jaw.
His voice comes out scratchy. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, Cowboy. But I’m here now. You don’t have to be strong anymore.”