45. Harper
CHAPTER 45
Harper
Angel Cakes didn’t look different.
It was so strange. The most horrifying day of my life had gone down right in that very kitchen. But you’d never know any of it had happened.
I was grateful for that. Not to be morbid, but if there’d been a big bloodstain on the floor, I would have had to convince Aunt Doris to sell the place and move.
Fortunately, Sheriff Jack’s people had made it look like nothing had happened. And interestingly, being there didn’t bring back a flood of unwanted memories. I knew what we’d been through. But it wasn’t as painful as I’d thought it might be.
Garrett, Owen, and I had already met with a therapist together, to help us start processing the incident. We’d be able to meet with her individually as needed, too. Owen was adorably humble about his heroics, once again saying he’d just done what his dad would do and that he’d been worried a taser would hurt his baby sibling. He had strong protector instincts, just like his father.
He was going to be the best big brother to the tiny one. I couldn’t wait .
Garrett had been gradually unwinding, his tension unraveling. The more time he spent at home with us, the more he relaxed. His smile came easily and he was sleeping well at night.
After several weeks of administrative leave, it was his first day back at work, so I’d decided it was time to reopen Angel Cakes.
It felt awesome to be back.
I’d spent the early morning in my happy place—baking dozens of delicious, sugary treats. Horatio, our illustrious bread baking genius, had stocked us up with bread and dinner rolls, and I’d filled the pastry case with my most popular cookies and cupcakes.
Mila had arrived around six to help and she’d been busy decorating the backlog of custom cake orders. And when Beth had come in to work the front counter when we opened for business, we’d shared a big, teary hug.
But something was bothering me. Things were almost too good. It was like the bad luck curse had gone dormant.
It wasn’t over. I still had months before the seven years were up. But since the day after the incident, I’d been—dare I say it—lucky.
Mostly, it had been little things. I’d found twenty dollars in the pocket of one of my zip-up hoodies. Lemons had been on sale, so I’d been able to stock up for all the lemon-flavored goodies I wanted to make. I’d been craving pepperoni pizza like crazy and won a free one in a drawing at Home Slice Pizza.
But a few things felt… bigger. Okay, the free pizza had been a huge one, because pregnancy cravings were no joke. But the sheriff’s office had also recovered my phone and it was undamaged, so I didn’t have to buy a new one. And my landlord had offered to let me break my lease if I wanted to officially move in with Garrett. I hadn’t even asked.
And the biggest one of all? My mom and sister had both asked—separately—if I was having a baby shower and if they could be invited. And neither of them had criticized me for the pregnancy, or Garrett, or Tilikum, or any of my life choices.
What was even happening?
“How’s it going over there?” I asked Mila.
She didn’t look up from the cake she was decorating. It was for a bridal shower and looking spectacular. It was rose gold with pink flowers and little white and gold pearls.
Pausing for a second, I gazed at it. So pretty. So… bridal.
Mila glanced up and pulled an earbud out of her ear. “Sorry. Did you say something?”
“Oh, nothing. Just asking how you’re doing. I forgot you had your earbuds in. True crime again?”
“Yes, always,” she said, her voice typically monotone. “I suppose you aren’t interested in hearing what it’s about.”
“You know, I could live without it.”
“Fair.” She put her earbud back in and continued with her work.
I heard a familiar voice up front. Aunt Doris. I was surprised she hadn’t come in through the kitchen. Beth poked her head in the back to get my attention.
“Yep, I’m coming.” My timer dinged—just in time, and I’d only set one. Was that lucky or just a coincidence? I took the batch of lemon cupcakes out of the oven and set them on the island to cool, then went out front to see my aunt.
Wearing a simple blue dress, Doris stood at the pastry case with Louise Haven, who wore a bright yellow tracksuit.
“Hi, ladies.”
I’d visited Aunt Doris a few days after the incident—that wasn’t the sort of story you could tell your slightly fragile aunt over the phone. She looked at me like she wanted to feed me chicken soup.
“Honey, how are you?” Doris reached across the counter to take my hands. “Are you sure you didn’t reopen too soon?”
“Oh, Doris, she’s fine.” Louise waved her hand, like she was batting away a fly. “Look at her. Tough as nails and sweet as sugar. Perfect for my Garrett.”
I smiled and squeezed Doris’s hands before letting go. “Thanks, Louise. Not so sure about the tough as nails part, but I appreciate the compliment.”
“I still can’t believe it,” Doris said. “That monster was living among us all those years.”
“I always thought he was shifty,” Louise said.
“Did you?” Doris asked. “I thought you said he was an asset to the community.”
“If I did, I was wrong. Besides, thanks to Garrett, he can’t hurt another soul. I’d put a check in the Haven column, but I guess we don’t keep score against the Baileys anymore.”
Doris rolled her eyes. “Oh, Louise.”
“Sorry, Doris. I’m glad the feud ended. But you can’t blame me for my family loyalty.”
“Of course not, dear,” Doris said. “And you’re right. If there’s ever another serial killer on the loose, Garrett Haven would be the one to call. But I will say, if the bakery catches fire, you know it’s the Baileys who’ll save the day.”
“Fair enough. We all have our place in this town. Anyway, Harper, dear, we’re here to place a special order.”
“Absolutely.” I grabbed a notepad and a pen. “What can I do for you?”
“The SPS is having a big meeting this Sunday. We’d like to surprise them with dessert. I’m open to your suggestions.”
“But they should have nuts,” Doris said.
That made me laugh a little. “Nuts would be appropriate. How many do you think will be there?”
“That’s a good question.” Louise tapped her chin. “Let’s just assume a hundred and that should be close enough.”
“Sounds about right,” Doris said .
“A hundred SPS members? Wow. They’ve really grown.”
“It’s a big job,” Doris said. “We just want to support them the best we can.”
“All right.” I scribbled a few notes. “Nut-filled goodies for about a hundred by Sunday. And I’ll include a box of nut-free goodies too, in case anyone is allergic or just doesn’t like them.”
“Such a good heart,” Doris said. “Thank you.”
“Do you want anything before you go?”
“Yes, but pick for me,” Louise said. “I’ll turn around so I won’t see. I want to be surprised.”
Doris’s eyes brightened. “Good idea. Me too.”
The door opened and another customer walked in.
But not just any customer. It was Matt Rudolph.
Well, at least I knew he wasn’t a serial killer.
While Doris and Louise stood with their backs turned, I chose a strawberry cream cheese cupcake for Doris and a sugared lemon cupcake for Louise. I packed them up in small to-go boxes and slid them across the counter.
“All right, ladies. Surprises are in the boxes.”
“What do we owe you?” Louise asked.
“You know your money’s no good here. Go on, go cause some trouble.”
They both smiled and took their cupcakes. Matt inched up behind them, standing slightly too close. Louise turned around and startled, almost dropping her box.
“Oh my goodness, young man. I didn’t see you there.”
“Sorry,” Matt said and took an overly large step backward.
“Bye, honey.” Doris waved as she and Louise left.
My familiar smile at Doris turned into my customer service smile. “Hi there, Matt. What can I do for you?”
“Hi, Harper.” He was wearing his true crime T-shirt again. “I’m happy you’re here. I didn’t know if you were going to reopen the bakery.”
“Yeah, we had to close for a little bit. ”
“I heard.”
Surprisingly, he didn’t launch into questions about the ordeal. With his passion for true crime stories, I thought he’d want to hear the whole thing straight from me. Word had gone around town about what had happened, so there was no way he didn’t know at least some of the awful details.
Maybe he was actually reading the room on this one.
Although I knew he wasn’t behind everything that had happened, I still had one unanswered question.
“Matt, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did you leave a teddy bear in a gift bag on my car a while ago?”
He sighed. “Yeah, that was me.”
“You didn’t leave a note.”
“I know. I forgot about that part.”
“Was it supposed to be… a gift?”
“Yeah, I thought you were nice and pretty. But then I found out you were with Garrett Haven, so I backed off.”
“Oh.” I smiled at him, not quite sure what to say. He still gave me the weirds a little bit, but not in the same way anymore. “Well, thank you for the gift. Is there any chance you’d like it back?”
“That’s okay. You can keep it.”
“That’s very nice of you. Thank you, Matt. How about I give you a little gift in return?” I swept my hand over the pastry case. “Pick anything you’d like. It’s on me.”
“Yeah? Thanks, Harper. But I still want you to come over and meet my bearded dragon. I know she’d like you.” He pulled out his phone and held it up. Sure enough, his lockscreen had a picture of a lizard. “See?”
I nodded slowly. “She’s really cool. Thanks for the invitation.”
“I have a question.” Mila came through the doorway. She paused and looked at Matt for what felt like too long to not be considered staring. “Nice shirt.”
Matt looked up from the pastry case and his eyes widened. “Thanks. I love true crime.”
She gazed at him, her lips parted. “Me too.”
“Do you listen to podcasts?”
“All day long,” she said, her usually monotone voice going a little dreamy.
Sugar cookies, I had a feeling I was witnessing a real-life case of love at first sight. There might as well have been little red hearts and fireworks and birds singing around them.
“Matt, this is Mila. She’s our new baker. And Mila, this is Matt. He loves true crime and also has a bearded dragon.”
“That’s my favorite animal,” she said.
“Mine too.”
Neither of them were looking at me. They stared into each other’s eyes, as if they’d hypnotized each other.
“Okay, so Matt, take your time. Mila, you just… keep doing what you’re doing. You can ask me your question later.”
She nodded slowly, but her eyes didn’t leave Matt.
I had a feeling they were just going to stand there, staring at each other, so I decided to intervene. I stood behind Mila, so I was in Matt’s line of vision, and waved to get his attention. Then I mouthed, ask her out .
He blinked, like he was coming out of a trance. “Mila, do you want to go out with me?”
“Yes, so much.”
“Can you go right now?”
She looked at me and, although I could hardly detect any change in her usual blank expression, I had to imagine there was some excitement in her heavily lined eyes.
The whole thing was so weird, but also adorable. “Yeah, go ahead. Have fun talking true crime and stuff. I’ll see you tomorrow. ”
“Thank you.” She gave me a quick nod before heading back to the kitchen to retrieve her belongings.
Matt caught my eye and, with a wide smile, gave me a very obvious thumbs up. Not subtle, that one.
Mila walked out and tucked her hand under Matt’s arm. She hadn’t even taken her apron off.
“Bye, you two. Have a nice date.”
They left without another word to me.
Beth came back out front. “What was that about?”
“I think I just witnessed insta-love.”
“Mila?” she asked. “How do you know? Did she smile?”
“No.” I shook my head, gazing the way they’d gone. “But he asked her out and she said yes on the spot. They both love true crime, and bearded dragons, so I guess they have that going for them.”
“Huh.” She shook her head. “Only in Tilikum.”
I went back to the kitchen to see where Mila had left off with the cake. It was almost done, so I started putting on the final touches. It occurred to me that what I’d just seen might have been considered good luck. Matt had come in at a good time to meet Mila. It wasn’t crowded. And Mila had gone up front—which she almost never did—at exactly the right moment.
Was that Mila’s luck? Matt’s? Maybe both?
Did it have anything to do with mine?
I was probably overthinking again. Not everything had to do with luck.
Stepping back to look at my work, I sighed, admiring the bridal shower cake. My stomach gurgled, as if the tiny one was reminding me that he or she was there.
I wasn’t going to be sad. Yes, there was a little lump in my throat and a not-so-little longing in my heart. But what more did I want?
I was in love with the best man I’d ever known and he loved me back. We were having a baby together. We’d been through a harrowing ordeal and survived. If anything, it had brought us closer. Owen, too. We shared a bond that no one could ever break.
And yet, I couldn’t deny that longing. It was there, deep in my heart. It wasn’t about cakes or showers or parties or dresses or even rings.
It was about becoming Garrett’s wife. I really, really wanted that.
I just hoped he did too.