Chapter 9
9
H anna finished up the dishes in the bakery, and ran to grab her little floral overnight bag that she'd packed clean clothes in. Hurrying to the bathroom, she freshened up, added a little bit of lip gloss and some mascara, and nervously inspected herself in the mirror. It's good. She's good. It's all good.
She brushed her hair out, letting it fall over her shoulders, and headed into the kitchen to dry the dishes she'd just washed.
After putting everything away, she wiped down the counter and held her stomach one more time as nerves made her a little queasy.
Hearing a truck outside, she twisted her fingers together as she stepped to the front door.
Opening the door for Quinn, she smiled as he stepped inside. "You look beautiful."
His aftershave wrapped around her and for a moment, she could only think of how great he smelled. "Thank you." The heat crawled up her chest and landed in her cheeks .
"You look very handsome yourself."
He shook his head and smiled. "I wasn't fishing for a compliment."
"I know." She quietly responded, feeling a bit sheepish now.
She watched Quinn peruse the bakery. She couldn't tell from the expression on his face what he thought about it. Then again, he was here yesterday and had seen it. "Your bakery is nice. I like the ambiance. It's warm and inviting."
She glanced around to see what he was seeing. "Thank you. It's probably in need of an update soon enough. I think my mom updated this place probably twenty years ago now, and since then only just little things here and there as they were needed. But honestly, I haven't decided yet what I want to do with it, and I'm still getting my feet wet with running the bakery."
"That's right. You're back in town from being somewhere else, correct?"
"Yes, I was in Colorado, Denver area. Ah, for the last twenty years or so. I went there for college, got married, and I managed a large restaurant while I was there. I had these big pie-in-the-sky dreams of being some huge popular master chef. But the business is hard, and my mom's health isn't the best. Arthritis has crept in, and she had a hard time manning the bakery. When I got divorced, she asked me to come back and take over the bakery from her. It had been the family dream all along." She swallowed. "I'll say I reluctantly came back, but it was good for the break, change in scenery, and a fresh start. So here I am, making my cinnamon rolls, trying to keep Grandma's recipes going, and figuring out what I want to do with my business and my bakery. "
She watched Quinn's face as his eyes landed on the tables and the counter and the chalkboard behind the back bar where she wrote down the daily specials. It wasn't a bad bakery. It just needed updating. And she wasn't embarrassed that he was looking it over. And he wasn't bad to look at, anyway. But she still felt a bit nervous.
He said, "Well, there's time for all of that. When you know what you want, it'll be time. Until then, keep baking those cinnamon rolls. I have a crew full of guys that absolutely love them. And I say that sheepishly because I love them, too."
She chuckled, "Thank you. I really do appreciate that."
"Shall we go?"
"Sure. Let me just make sure the back door's locked, please."
She hustled to the kitchen, locked the back door, checked things over, and was happy with the way everything looked and would be ready for tomorrow.
And then she hurried to the front. "Okay, all set," she said.
Quinn turned and smiled at her, then opened the door to the bakery and held it open for her. She pulled her keys from her little shoulder bag and he held his hand out.
"I can do it."
She was flustered. Her fingers shook a little bit. "Sure."
Wow, it had been years since a man had offered to do something so mundane for her.
He locked the bakery door for her, and then with his hand at the small of her back, he walked her around to the passenger side of his truck.
Butterflies swarmed her stomach as she felt his firm warm hand at her back .
She was excited. She was nervous. She was all the things.
He opened the passenger door and a drop-down running board lowered itself.
He held his hand out and she gently placed her palm against his as she lifted herself up onto the running board. Electricity shot up her arm as their palms touched. His skin was warm. His hand was firm and slightly rough from his construction work.
Hers were much different. She worked with cookie and bread dough all day. Her hands were soft.
She sat inside, tugging on her tan skort to make sure she wasn't showing more than was appropriate. Buckling her seat belt, she watched as Quinn walked around the front of the truck.
She inhaled his aftershave as it lingered in the truck. A little thrill ran through her. Woodsy. Maybe a little spicy. He smelled fantastic.
Quinn climbed into the truck and said, "I thought we'd go out to the Supper Club. Have you been there since you've been back?"
She swallowed. "Actually, I've never been there. It wasn't here when I left town twenty years ago."
"Didn't you get back to see your parents?"
"Now and then, but we come from a cooking family, so we didn't go out to eat much. And Dad likes to grill now and then, so he would man the grill when I came back. He said his ladies needed to relax from cooking and let him help us, and take care of us. We were always happy to oblige." She smiled.
Quinn chuckled, and it was nice. She liked the way he laughed. His face transformed when he smiled. He was very handsome .
He maneuvered the truck out of the parking lot, around the square, and down Main Street, making a left on Main Street and turning down on Second Street. At the end of Second Street was the Supper Club, across from the police station.
He pulled into the parking lot and hopped out quickly. She reached for the door handle and then realized she was supposed to wait. She'd forgotten what this was like. Isaac had never opened the door for her or showed her chivalry. It was foreign to her, all the social graces. She waited for him to open the door, feeling a little foolish. She could open it herself, but he was being a gentleman, and she was going to let him.
He opened the door and held his hand out for her, and those little butterflies began fluttering around her belly again. They walked into the restaurant, Quinn's hand at the small of her back. It made her feel taken care of and revered. Wasn't that silly? A simple gesture like his hand at the small of her back gave her goosebumps.
She quickly shook her head to change the trajectory of her thoughts. This was just a date among friends, new friends, nothing more. She didn't need anything more right now. She wasn't even sure what was going to happen with all of the stuff with Isaac.
They were seated at a table. People looked their way. A lot of people in town knew Quinn.
"Hello, Quinn. How are you?" They greeted.
He responded to everyone nicely. "May I introduce you to Hanna Valentine? Hanna owns the bakery. Mae's."
People seemed happy to meet her, and she wondered how soon before word would get around to everyone in town that she had a date with Quinn Kurtz.
She chuckled. "Small towns are interesting. "
Quinn grinned as they settled in their seats. "So tell me about Hanna Valentine," he asked.
She let out a breath. "Well, let's see. I graduated top of my class from the culinary school in Boulder, Colorado. I started a job at a restaurant shortly after graduation. I had worked there part-time while I was in college. I had every intention of being the head chef there, but that wasn't meant to be, I guess. It's a very tough industry, and especially in some of the prime restaurants. You really have to have a lot of experience and work your way up. I started as a garde-manager. That's a pantry chef. I worked my way up to commis chef, which means I followed the chef around to learn. He'd give me tasks, and I'd have to prove myself. Then I made it to pastry chef, and that's where I excelled and stayed.
"Unfortunately for me, I'm great with desserts. I guess that's fortunate now that I have the bakery. But unfortunately, at the time, it appeared I was too good, and they had no intention of moving me off of desserts.
"And then I got divorced, and Mom needed help at the bakery and asked me to come back. So I guess it was meant to be. How about you, Quinn Kurtz? What about you?"
He chuckled. It was a beautiful sound coming from deep in his chest. It was genuine. His smile was beautiful. His dark eyes landed on hers.
And he said, "Well, Quinn Kurtz went into the service after high school. And when I got out, I came back and started my construction company. I've always been good with building, and I've always been great with my hands. And I decided that's what I wanted to do. You know, after a few years of kicking around in between times, starting a construction business in a small town isn't easy. But I was born and raised here. My parents had a lot of contacts. And slowly, but surely, I managed to get little jobs here and there. I struggle a bit with PTSD. I've mostly managed to keep it under control. And my way of giving back is that I only hire veterans. As a matter of fact, my son Jared, went into the service so he could get hired by me. That's how serious I am about it. And I'm proud of that."
She nodded. "That's wonderful. Thank you so much for your service and for hiring veterans."
"My pleasure," he said. "Did you serve?"
"No, I'm afraid I didn't. I went right to culinary school from high school. I've often wondered if I should have when I've seen men and women come back. They stand taller and prouder for having served, despite the hidden injuries.”
"Well," he said, "not everybody serves. And as long as you keep serving those wonderful baked goods of yours, we're all good."
She chuckled. Butterflies swirled in her tummy as she watched his genuine interest in her. He was intent and didn't let those walking by their table divert his attention. It was refreshing.
"So what's next for Quinn Kurtz? Do you have big projects lined up?"
He leaned back and smiled. "Yes, right now we are building a stage, believe it or not, at Sarge's for..."
He chuckled, "Well, I guess it's for Jace. He likes to have live music there, here and there, but he wants to have it more often. I'm having a big party there in three weeks. It's actually a celebration of me not having to pay alimony anymore. And I'm in touch with Jami Hart from Hart & the Hurricanes. It appears that they'll be in town for my party and have agreed to play. Therefore, Jace has commissioned a stage at the bar outside on the sand. So that's what we're in the middle of building right now."
He took a drink of water and she watched his Adam's apple move up and down. "And just this morning, I put an offer in to buy the Army barracks just outside of town."
"Oh, that's wonderful. I've seen that old installation and thought someone should do something with it. It's looking rather rough. What will you do with that?"
"I'm thinking apartments. Maybe condos."
She grinned at him. "Have you thought about making it housing for veterans working for you? Veterans coming to town? Veteran housing is so needed."
He looked at her, his brows furrowed, and he cocked his head to the side. He leaned his forearms on the table. "Hanna, that is the best idea I've heard all day. Thank you so much for thinking of that. And you're right. I hire these guys, sometimes fresh out of the military, and they don't have a place to stay. I think that's just what I'm going to do. Thank you so much for the idea."
She swallowed a knot that formed in her throat. Hopefully, she didn't steer him in the wrong direction. "Please don't do it on my account. What if I'm wrong?"
He shook his head. "You're not wrong. You're absolutely right. And I love the idea."
Their food came, and they ate. Small talk. He told her about Jared and his service, and that he was going to make him the assistant general contractor on the Army barracks job. He felt so much better about having a firm direction to go with that.
She told him about her mom and her dad.
The conversation floated briefly to Isaac when Quinn asked, "So, is your ex in town? "
"No, he's not in town, and I'm grateful for that, but I still seem to have to clean up some of his messes."
Quinn shook his head. "I know what you mean. My ex has been a pain all these five years after our divorce. It's always something new with her. She continues to find ways to drag me into something. But I'm officially finished with that."
Hanna nodded. "I'm hoping to get there soon. I don't want to deal with any more of his messes. He keeps getting in trouble. He's been trouble from day one."
Quinn grinned. "How about we both make a deal with each other? We're both finished cleaning up our ex's messes."
She laughed. "I love that idea. Deal."
She reached across the table and they shook hands. That same electric bolt ran up her arm. His skin was warm, his handshake firm, and he stared right into her eyes. That was the most disconcerting. His eyes were wonderful, dark, shiny, and captivating. She had to be very careful around this man.
The waitress stopped at their table. "Did you folks save room for dessert?"
He conspiratorially leaned forward and said, "Though I doubt that you'd want anyone else's dessert since you're the expert on desserts and all. But would you like something else?"
The waitress inhaled. "Oh my God, that's who you are. You're Hanna from Mae's."
Hanna chuckled, "Yes, I'm from Mae's. And no, thank you. I didn't save room for dessert."
Quinn grinned, "I'll pass myself. Thank you. I'll just take the check."
The waitress hustled off and came back very soon with the check, took their plates, and Quinn said, "Thank you for a lovely dinner, Hanna. It's been a long time since I've been able to enjoy the company of a beautiful woman. And I'm grateful you said yes."
She felt the heat climb up her torso and her cheeks warmed. "Thank you for asking. I nearly called to cancel today, but I'm glad I didn't."
"That would have been a travesty. We both deserve some respite from our former lives."