Chapter 4 Stella
FOUR
STELLA
“Hey Stel, don’t forget I have to head out early to go pick up my mom from the airport,” Luna called out to me from the doorway.
I was in the kitchen getting some items prepped for tomorrow since Milo was off today.
“Yep, no worries,” I told her. “I’ll get that last batch of cinnamon twists set and put in the fridge, and then Axel is coming back soon for some follow-up questions.”
“Ooooo, Axel is coming,” Luna said, smiling huge and continuing to stand in the doorway so she could keep an eye on whether customers needed her while still talking to me. “He is so sexy, Stella. You should definitely try the horizontal tango with him.”
My only response was to give a little chuckle, a nervous one. Normally, Luna and I could talk about sexy—and not-so-sexy—guys all day, but for some reason, talking about Axel in that way made me blush.
“He gives off such badass vibes. I bet he would be awesome in bed,” Luna added.
“What exactly is a badass vibe?”
“I don’t know exactly, just that he’s hot, filled with muscles and mystery, and is obviously one of the good guys since he works with Anna’s husband…so…you know…badass material,” Luna said, shrugging as if this was obvious conjecture.
The bell over the front door jingled as Luna turned around to look toward it. A moment later, she turned back to me with a huge smile on her face.
“Your tango instructor has arrived,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows exaggeratedly.
My hands were still covered in dough, and I didn’t want to stop now and mess up the process.
“Can you ask him to have a seat and tell him I’ll be there in five?” I asked Luna. “I just want to get these finished.”
Plus, I also wanted the opportunity to clean myself up a little since I knew I likely still had flour on my arms, and I had been known to get some on my face and hair before too.
“I got you,” Luna responded and then went back to the front of the bakery, the door swinging closed behind her.
Two moments later, the door swung back open and Luna and Axel walked through. “I told him you were finishing up, but you couldn’t wait to chat with him, so I offered to bring him back.”
“Thank you,” Axel said to her.
“My pleasure,” she said to him before turning back to me, a wide grin on her face. “As soon as Nell gets here, I’m going to head out.”
I nodded at her in response since my hands were covered in dough still as I grabbed large chunks, rolled them out, and twisted them into knots.
“Do you want me to wait out front instead?” he asked me. “You look busy.”
I was, and it probably would be better to have him out front, but Luna had told him it was no big deal, and I didn’t want to appear rude.
“It’s okay. I’m just finishing up. Sorry.”
He nodded and then proceeded to just watch me knead and twist the dough. I’d done this a thousand times with people watching me, and I never gave it another thought. Axel’s gaze, though, seared through me, and I found it quite nerve-wracking.
“Ummm…everything go okay this morning?” I asked him, hoping to distract myself through conversation.
“What?”
“You said you had a meeting this morning,” I reminded him. “Did everything go okay?”
After the words were out of my mouth, I wondered if maybe it was a private case or something that he couldn’t talk about and maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
“Oh, yes, I was training at the restaurant next door to Ranger Shield,” he said, surprising me. “Have you been to the Watering Hole?”
“Um, no, I haven’t, but Anna has mentioned it a few times,” I told him, wondering why he would be training there. “What exactly are you training for?”
“I’m going to be a bartender for a night or two every week to help with my English,” he said in response.
I was not expecting him to say that since I thought he was quite fluent already. Though he still carried his accent, it wasn’t hard to understand him.
“Really? I think your English is very good already,” I told him honestly as I placed all the twists on the trays.
“I do know a lot of English, but I struggle most with the phrases and street talk,” he explained.
“Like what? Do you have an example?” I asked, genuinely interested to hear his answer.
He seemed to ponder the question for a moment before a frustrated look took over his face. “The word shit. If someone tells you that something is shit, it means it is bad. But if someone tells you something is the shit, then it is good. Very confusing.”
I laughed at the stupidity of his statement, but also at the fact that it was the truth.
“That took me months to figure out, and honestly, I still don’t really get how the same word can be complete opposites just by adding the word the in front of it.” He shook his head at the ridiculousness.
“I hate to break it to you, but there’s a few other words like that too,” I told him with a slightly mischievous look on my face.
“Yes, I know,” he groaned and rolled his eyes, and I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips.
I found it oddly amusing how this handsome, strong, and seemingly smart man had to struggle in any way.
“If you know more, tell me. Please,” he pleaded. “I’d rather know than say the wrong thing.”
I thought for a moment, and Luna’s word from earlier popped into my head.
“Okay, well, the first one that comes to mind is bad,” I started. “If you call someone bad, it’s…obviously a bad thing. And if you call someone an ass, that is also a bad thing.”
“I do know that much,” he said with a small grin, as though he thought I was placating him.
“Okay, good. But if you combine them and someone calls you a badass, then it’s actually a good thing,” I replied, watching the grin fall from his face.
“Ugh,” he mumbled as his shoulders almost slumped in defeat. “Okay, new plan,” he said. “If you feel like coming to visit the bar, maybe you could come visit on a night I work. I could use some of your help.”
As unusual as the suggestion was, a lightbulb went off in my head. If he wouldn’t let me pay him for helping me with my stalker, at least I could add English lessons to the boxes of pastries I was sending with him as my payment.
“Deal,” I told him, smiling as I carried the trays over to the cooler. “Just let me know what days you work.”
“I think my first shift might be Monday,” he said.
“Great. I don’t work Mondays, so that should work out.”
“I am not sure of my exact hours yet, but I can text you and let you know.”
“Perfect,” I replied, hoping my voice was the right balance of excited but not too excited.
“Unfortunately, I do have a few more questions about this Braden man,” he said, his voice switching to a more serious tone, and I wanted to immediately go back to our fun banter about stupid English words.
I washed my hands and then led him to my office. He had me describe how I first met Braden. What he was like during our encounters. Was he aggressive, polite, or nervous? Did he ever get into small talk with me, such as where he was from, did he have siblings, and every other possible topic.
“These are the kinds of details that make finding him and tracking him down easier,” he explained.
Since Braden had always made me uncomfortable, even before the letters, I hadn’t spent much time talking to him. In fact, I had always kept the conversation going long enough to be polite but never taken it any further so it didn’t give him the wrong impression.
But beyond him making me uncomfortable, I also found him rather boring.
Axel asked a few more questions before finally heading out.
He told me to give them a few more days, but they should be able to get some answers soon.
Braden hadn’t been back in a few months, which was unusual for him, but he had been sending letters instead.
Even though I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing him in person, the letters were creepier.
About fifteen minutes after Axel left, I made my way back out to the front to add the newest batch of princess cakes I had made to the display case.
“Hey, Stella,” a friendly, familiar voice called out.
I looked up and smiled at my customer. “Hey, Anna. How are you?”
“I’m alive and well-caffeinated, so I can’t complain,” she joked, and I chuckled.
“Glad to hear it. What can I get you today?”
“I’ll just get my usual, but I also stopped by to see how you were holding up,” she said. “I heard Axel and Jack were by to help out with Braden and his letters.”
I sighed. I knew she was asking because she cared, but I still hated talking about it because it always brought the mood down.
“Yeah, Axel actually just left not that long ago.” I filled her in on what he had told me.
“That’s good. I’m glad they’re on it. Look, can I give you my cell phone number? You know, just in case there’s something you aren’t sure about, but don’t necessarily want to bother the guys with. Maybe I can help.”
I appreciated her doing that. And I noticed how she worded that offer too—using my own words of not wanting to bother “the guys” with the letters in the first place.
“Thanks, Anna,” I told her, giving her my number so she could program it into her phone.
“Okay, I just texted you, so you have mine, too,” she noted. “Now, on second thought, let’s get a few more goodies that I can take to Ruthie while I’m at it.”
She smiled at me, and I got her a bunch of stuff to take over to her husband’s office and then proceeded to tell her that her money was no good here until the situation with Braden was taken care of.
Unlike Axel and Jack, Anna knew when to just let it go, so she didn’t fight me on it, but simply thanked me and headed out. As much as I didn’t mind giving her free treats as payment, I hoped I didn’t have to for long, simply because it would mean my problem had not been solved.