Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
EZRA
This bakery feels right for Violet. It’s in a good traffic area and already has everything she needs.
Probably needs a new paint job and whatever else she wants to do with it to make it her own.
She’s got the talent to turn this into her dream bakery.
Signing my name on a piece of paper for her to get this is easy.
The hard part will be on her end. I know she can do it.
She’s always had the drive to do something more and never gives up.
Watching her face light up when my inspector said everything works made her whole night.
“Thanks for doing this, Dad,” I say as we walk out of the bank.
I called my dad that night after checking out the bakery and told him everything. Since my auto shop is under his name, we had to put Violet’s bakery under his, too, so we could use my shop as collateral.
“Of course, Son.”
I’m thankful my dad trusts me the way he does. Letting me put my shop under his name was already a big risk. And now, letting Violet put her bakery under his name is riskier. It says a lot about the man he is. He believes in the people he loves, and it shows.
“How is everything going with…” he trails off like he’s struggling to find words because this situation isn’t normal. “I was going to say friends. But they’re not your friends anymore. Or at least I hope they’re not.”
I cross my arms, leaning my shoulder against my truck. “It’s like every week they figure out something new to do to make our lives miserable.”
He shakes his head. “It’s unbelievable what they did. Your mom and I still can’t wrap our brains around it.”
“Trust me, I know.”
I go on and tell him everything that has happened since the last time we spoke.
It’s nice to vent. For men, it’s easy for us to hold on to everything and let it boil inside of us until it explodes.
My dad always taught me not to do that. But sometimes it was hard because of the people I surrounded myself with.
I was shut down for years because of that.
I’m finally being more open, and it feels good to release everything.
“So, what’s going on with you and Violet?” he says, eyeing me for more information.
“What do you mean?”
“You know…are you two a thing now?”
“A thing?” I chuckle.
“What do you kids call it nowadays?”
“Dad, I’ve always loved her. And right now, everything going on has helped me realize my feelings for her have always been there.”
“I always thought you two would be the ones to get together.”
“It should have been us. Come to find out, Rya played us both in high school.”
His brows furrow sharply. “How?”
I tell him everything we found out. The last time I ever admitted I liked Violet was when I was a kid, and I only told my dad. After that, I kept it locked away, never saying it out loud to anyone. God, it feels good to finally share it. I don’t know how I carried it for so many years.
He shakes his head in disgust. “She’s a bigger snake than I thought. Have you told Violet how you feel?”
“I haven’t told her how I feel now, only how I felt back then.”
He gives me a smirk. “Son, don’t lose your chance with her again.”
“What if it’s too soon? Hell, she’s gone through so much in such a short amount of time. I don’t want to freak her out.”
“You’ll never know unless you say something. All you have to do is tell her.”
Easier said than done. I need to find the right time to talk to her. Everything in our lives right now feels out of our control. I don’t want to add one more thing to her plate, but I need to tell her before I lose her…again.
“You and Violet should come over for Sunday dinner.”
My eyes shift away from him in guilt. Sunday dinner used to always be a thing for my family. It’s something my parents always cherished when my sister and I moved out. But life started taking over, and we don’t make it over as much as we used to.
“We will. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
I nod with a smile.
“I hope two dozen cookies are enough.”
My eyes go wide in shock. “Are you feeding a family of ten?”
Her brows pull together, eyes narrowing as her mouth parts as if she’s trying to make sense of what I asked.
“It’s only going to be the five of us.”
“I know. But your dad loved my cookies the last time he was here. So I thought I should make a lot.”
“He loves anything with sugar in it.”
Her mouth parts. “Are you saying my cookies aren’t good?”
Oh, no, your cookie is good, I say to myself, chuckling low.
I was drunk, yeah. But something like that sticks with you. I’d waited years for her, and so many obstacles had come in our way. The wait made every second worth it. Even if nothing ever comes of us, that one night will still be enough. It will still mean everything to me.
Her head tilts at my chuckle. “Why are you laughing?”
“It’s nothing. Anything made by you is good. My dad will be thrilled.”
She rolls her eyes at me and starts placing the cookies in Tupperware.
Twenty minutes later, we’re pulling into my parents’ driveway next to my sister’s red Audi.
My heart sinks a little knowing that I haven’t told Dani anything about…
well, everything. Even though we never hung out much growing up, we told each other everything.
She’s four years younger than me, so the age difference stopped us from hanging out with the same friends.
She was never a fan of Rya but was always cordial with her on my behalf. Back then, I never understood why she wasn’t a fan, but now that I’m seeing more light shine out of the darkness of our relationship, I’m understanding.
I place my hand on Violet’s lower back, leading her to the front door and inhaling her vanilla scent.
She turns towards me. “Do I look okay?”
Her black skirt hugs her hips just right; her slightly loose beige sweater wraps around her upper body loosely.
“Of course you do.” It makes me melt knowing she’s nervous around my family.
She never was before when we were just friends.
Is she nervous because there is more she feels she hasn’t said yet?
Walking into my parents’ house, I inhale the sweet smoky scent as we enter the kitchen. “Hey, we’re here.”
“Hi,” my mom says with a cheerful smile on her face. “I’m so glad you could come,” she adds, pulling Vi into a hug.
“Me too; I made cookies,” Vi says.
She looks down at the cookies before taking the Tupperware. “Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I couldn’t come empty-handed.”
“Of course you could have. You’re always welcome here, empty-handed or not.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
A loud gasp comes from behind us. “Violet,” Dani says, rushing over to her, pulling her into a hug. Violet’s face lights up as she wraps her arms around my sister. They both hug while rocking their upper bodies from side to side.
Dani has always loved her. When Violet was a teenager, Dani would always look up to her. Even if she wouldn’t admit it.
“Hi, Dani. It’s been so long,” she says.
They release each other from their hug, and Dani punches me softly in the stomach. “Yeah, because this one keeps you away from us.”
Violet giggles while looking at me.
“She’s a busy woman,” I say, smiling and shrugging my shoulders.
I’m getting the feeling Dani must know something if she’s not asking or even looking for Rya or Zayn. Usually if Violet is here, so is Zayn. Violet has never come over by herself like she used to after she and Zay got married.
“Hey,” my dad says, walking in. More of that smoky smell hits my nose.
He pats me on the shoulder before giving a hug to Vi.
“I made you cookies,” she says, pointing to the Tupperware on the kitchen counter.
“Really?” he asks, eyes wide as he grabs the Tupperware.
He gasps as he opens it. “Oh, my, you made a lot.” My mom peeks over his shoulders laughing.
He takes a cookie out and takes a big bite, leaving half of it.
His eyes roll to the back of his head. “These are so damn good.” He pulls her into another hug.
“Thank you. I will never turn down your baking.”
“The rice is done. Do you all want to eat outside?” Mom asks.
“Yeah,” I reply, and we all head out to the backyard.
Each of us grabs a plate before sitting down. My mom places the bowl of rice in the middle of the table while my dad goes around giving each of us two kabobs of shrimp and pineapple that he takes off the smoker.
The air feels nice. The skies are clear and the sun is shining down on us, giving us some warmth with the slightly crisp air.
The table’s quiet. Too quiet. Everyone is focused on their meal, eyes shifted down towards their plates.
All you can hear is the scrape of forks.
No one’s saying a word, but we’re all thinking the same thing.
The big elephant that’s sitting here that no one will break.
I keep my eyes on my plate, chewing slowly, pretending the silence doesn’t bother me.
Hopefully someone will say something because what the hell am I going to say?
My dad clears his throat and looks up from his plate.
Thank God.
“Congratulations on the bakery.”
Violet’s eyes shoot up, glancing over at me.
My shoulder lightly touches hers.
“Wait. Did you get it already?” she asks.
I nod. “I wanted to tell you at dinner.”
“Did I speak too soon?” Dad’s lips twitch with guilt.
I shake my head. “It’s okay. I wanted to tell her today, anyway.”
“What bakery?” Dani asks, with a soft thud as she places her cup back down.
“Violet is opening a bakery,” I say.
Violet’s cheeks turn pink as she shies away from everyone’s eyes on her.
“It was the best thing I signed my name on,” my dad says, taking a bite of his shrimp.
“What!” Her brows knit together, her eyes darting between my dad and me trying to figure out what he means.
I shift my body and look at her. “We got the loan under my dad’s name so we could use my shop as collateral.”
Her brows knit together even harder, still trying to make sense of what I’m saying.
“My shop is under my dad’s name. Remember I told you?”
She nods.
“So, to use my shop as collateral, we had to put the bakery under his name.”
Her mouth parts as her eyes stay glued on me.
She puts her hands over her face and shakes her head.
Her hands fall from her face, staring at my dad.
“No. I didn’t want you to do that. That’s way too much, Sean.
” Her eyes dart back to me. “If I had remembered, I wouldn’t have let you do this.
” She shakes her head again, disbelief written all over her face.
“I don’t know why I didn’t put that together. ”
I rest my hand on her thigh to reassure her that everything is okay.
“Violet, I’m more than happy to do this for you,” Dad says.
“I’m not even one of your kids.”
“Yes, you are,” my mom pipes in. Violet shifts her gaze over to her. My mom sits on the other side of her, brings her arm to her shoulder and rubs it. “You have always been like a daughter to me.”
Violet’s shoulders shake.
“Oh, honey.” Mom takes her into a hug. She rests her forehead on my mom’s shoulder.
I squeeze her thigh a little tighter for more reassurance. I know she’s not sad but happy.
She lifts her head and wipes her tears. “I should have made you more cookies,” she says, staring at my dad.
Everyone at the table laughs.
“Are those happy tears?” Dad asks.
She nods her head and wipes her eyes again. “Yes. I just…” she trails off. “I don’t know what to say. With everything going on, I can’t seem to stop crying.” She chuckles. “Thank you so much.” She shifts her gaze to me. “And thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulder; she leans into me, and I drop a kiss on the top of her head. “You all will have a lifetime of free baked goods.”
My dad rubs his hands together with a wide grin. “Oh yes. We should have done this sooner.”
Everyone chuckles.
“Well, I, for one, am happy for the both of you,” Dani says sternly.
Violet lifts herself off my shoulder as the whole table glances at Dani.
“You both deserve everything that is coming to you. And I am soooo”—She drags out the o’s—“Happy that Rya is finally gone.” All our mouths part open, stunned at her words. She shrugs her shoulders. “Oh, come on. I’m not the only one who thinks so.”
And there it is. My sister can be very blunt at times. I knew she would be the first to break the elephant in the room.
“Thanks, Dani,” Vi says.
“The nerve those two fuckers have is unbelievable,” my sister continues, shaking her head. She turns and glares at me. “And, Ez, why didn’t you tell me anything that was going on? We used to tell each other everything. What happened?”
I shrug my shoulders, eyes dropping away from hers. “I didn’t mean to,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “I thought I could figure it out on my own.”
I don’t even know why I never went to her. I used to go to her for everything. But somewhere along the way, I shut down and built a wall around myself without even realizing it.