Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
“All righty, then,” Emelia said, more to herself than to John or Stacy. “This is not the end of the world.” She picked up the tray of cream puffs and tossed them in the trash. “I’ll call next door and tell Mr. Dorian that I’ll be a little late.”
She leaned against the wall for a moment, catching her breath and willing her heart to stop pounding. Then she opened the freezer and pulled out a tray of frozen puffs.
“That’s why we have a freezer,” she said to herself.
“The pastry cream will take a few minutes to make and chill. I’ll fill them and get them over to him as soon as possible.” Emelia slammed the tray on the workbench. “That’s all I can do.”
“Who could have done this?” asked Stacy. She cocked her head. “I know we all have access to the refrigerator, but that’s just nasty.”
“Maybe you should get cameras in the shop,” suggested John.
Emelia rubbed her neck. The day was turning into a long, stressful one. “Maybe someday when I have extra money. Right now, I need to get this order done so I can make payroll.”
John shrugged. “That works for me.”
She pulled out a pot and placed it on the stove. Next, she got eggs and milk from the fridge; cornstarch, vanilla beans, and sugar from the pantry. Crème patisserie was one of the first things she learned in cooking school. Emelia could handle this blindfolded. No one and she meant no one was getting close to this filling.
Abby walked in and looked around at the group. “What happened?”
“Someone put salt in the pastry cream and ruined it,” said Stacy.
“Holy crap. Who would do that?” Abby asked.
“Must’ve been someone here or with kitchen access,” John responded. Taking the loaves out of the oven, he placed them on racks.
Abby shook her head. “I can’t believe someone working here would do that. Emelia is a great boss and pays well.”
“Thanks for that,” said Emelia. She scraped the vanilla seed from the pod and added it to the milk on the stove. “This has to simmer and then rest before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.” She blew out her breath. “Then I’m stepping out for a few minutes.”
Emelia took off her apron and walked outside. What she could see of the sky between the buildings was dark gray and salmon. Dawn was fast approaching. She looked at the end of the alleyway. PushYourLimits gym was in full swing. The glass windows gave her a bird’s-eye view of buff men on the treadmills with earphones on. Not a bad sight first thing in the morning.
There was a bench outside one shop. She headed over and sat. A cup of coffee would be nice right about now, but she didn’t want to go back to the bakery for a few minutes, or an hour or ever. Emelia closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart. It was quiet right now. Soon the sounds of shops opening, people moving, and the honking of cars would disrupt the quiet. The scent of baking bread wafted from the bakery.
Her stomach ached. The stress was too much. She just wanted to bake, run a successful bakery, make friends, and perhaps find a desirable man. Was that too much to ask?
A faint sound of distress from one building forced her eyes open. Was someone hurt? She got up to look around. Nothing.
She cocked her ear. There in the bush, she heard it again. Emelia walked over, and the bushes rustled. Secure in its hiding place, a dark brown snout appeared. The bush jiggled slightly, revealing a puppy’s face with soulful eyes. Its tail thumped energetically into the bush.
“Hey there, little buddy.” Emelia kneeled to pet it. “What are you doing here?” His soft coat contrasted with the gritty feeling of dirt clinging to it. He was skinny but friendly, judging from the double time his tail was moving.
“Aren’t you a sweet thing?” He licked her hand. “I bet you’re hungry.”
The puppy didn’t answer. However, Emelia knew he had to be.
Among the few good things she could achieve today, one was giving something to a hungry dog. Emelia got up. The pup whined lightly.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, as if the pup could understand her. She walked back to the bakery. Emelia turned, but the dog vanished in the bush.
What could she feed him? She had peanut butter on the shelf and bread to make a sandwich. That would have to do. She got out a metal bowl and filled it with water. Got another and broke the sandwich. Thought about what a bad idea it was for a hot second.
Emelia hated the abuse of animals, or anyone or anything, for that matter. The dog must not have been on the streets for long. His coat was dirty, but he wasn’t that skinny. Was he a runaway, or had he been abandoned? Who would harm a defenseless creature?
She placed the bowl of water and food in front of the bush. The pup edged out and sniffed the offering. Then he licked her hand and scarfed down the bread and peanut butter, licked his lips, and lapped the water. Then he lay down and stared at her.
“Did you like that, buddy? Where’s your family?” The dog looked at her with big brown eyes. He was a mutt for sure but a real cutie. Could she keep him? He didn’t seem to have a family.
She’d always wanted a dog, but her sister was allergic to animals. But where would she keep him? In her tiny apartment? She couldn’t bring a dog into the bakery. But it would be nice to have company and maybe even a little protection. Some nights, she heard noises on the street and was concerned for her safety. The baseball bat was by the door, assuming she grabbed it in time. A barking dog would be a perfect deterrent.
Emelia sat on the bench and talked to the pup while he stared at her but didn’t move closer.
“What the hell are you doing?” a man’s voice yelled out.
Emelia stiffened. Who was it? Was she in danger? Should she scream?
A large, muscular man stomped down the alleyway and stepped in front of her. The dog cowered, then retreated into the bush.
Emelia stood. She came up to the man’s broad chest. Then she glanced up past his dark red beard and stared into angry brown eyes. Titus Finch.
“What do you mean, what am I doing?” Before he could answer, she poked him in the chest. “And why are you yelling at me?”
Titus stared at her finger on his chest. Then looked down at her. Emelia thought it best to withdraw the finger. She’d never poked someone in her life.
“You can’t feed stray dogs here. It’s bad for business.” He scowled at her and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I can do what I damn well please,” she replied. Oh God. Emelia winced. She’d never talked like that to anyone, ever. This man was pushing all her buttons this morning. His eyebrows furrowed together. Emelia took a step back. Her heart pounded in her chest. Confrontation was not her strong suit, but she wasn’t taking crap from any man again. Time to defuse the situation.
“Well,” she huffed. “I have cream puffs to fill. Hope you have a great day.”
She walked back to the bakery, never looking behind her, but could feel his angry eyes following her.
Titus rubbed his face. Terrific! He’d just terrified the baker, who left to fill cream puffs. She was a feisty thing, though. Poked his chest and talked back to him. Something lesser men wouldn’t dare to do. What did that say about him? That he was reduced to scaring women?
Sure, he could blame it on a shitty night and morning. He could blame it on a lot of things, but women were to be cherished, not yelled at or frightened. All she was doing was feeding a stray pup. However, stray animals weren’t good for business. Now the damn dog probably wouldn’t leave. Next thing, the dog would invite his friends and any stray cats to visit. Then they’d be pooping and peeing in the alleyway and scaring away customers.
Titus stomped back to the gym. Fuck.
He was in a foul mood already and had been since early dawn.
He opened the door. The sound of pedals whirring and grunts from the boxing ring was something he usually loved. The fact that most machines were taken was even better good news.
The bad news was his aerobics instructor was sick and canceled all classes for the week. Also, there was something wrong with the water heater, so no one could use the showers.
And he couldn’t forget the multiple calls from Darcy last night. Each was more frantic than the next. She wanted to get back with him. Shit, that was a big no.
Darcy was too clingy and rude. She claimed she loved and missed him. She was sorry. He wasn’t.
The more he thought about her actions at the party with his friends’ women, he realized Darcy was standoffish and hated being with them.
It was too bad, too. He enjoyed the sex with her, liked that she stood on her own two feet, and it didn’t hurt that she was pretty, but outward appearances were only part of a person.
Sure, she was successful. However, he questioned her methods. She wasn’t kind to people who worked in the service field. That was a big no-no in his book.
You had to have values, a moral compass, as it were—respect for others, kindness, trustworthiness, honesty, and having someone’s six. These were important to him. He didn’t see them in Darcy.
Titus took a deep breath and sighed. There was little time to salvage the day before he had to leave for a job.
Sometime before that, an apology was due to the pretty baker. Although she was pissed enough that she might not take his apology. He’d deal with that scenario when it happened.