Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Shep’s hands moved at lightning speed as he measured and poured and mixed the ingredients for a new batch of sugar cookies.
Townsend’s Bakery had been particularly busy that day, and Shep hadn’t had a break since he started baking early that morning.
After he’d finished the baking for the front of his shop, he’d completed a couple of special orders for birthday cakes.
Those had required an hour each of painstakingly careful decoration, and although he’d enjoyed it, by the time the cakes were done he was tuckered out.
He’d been just sitting down to drink a cup of coffee and get a little rest when Iris had popped her head inside the kitchen to tell him that they had been struck with a busload of kids on their way to summer camp, and they were already almost out of sugar cookies.
Despite how busy his day had been, his mind had been even busier. All throughout his work, his thoughts had been running away from him like a pack of horses. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Elaine’s proposal ever since her impromptu visit.
In all my years of business, I’ve never considered partnering with another business, he thought as he worked.
I suppose it’s never made sense to—and heaven knows I’ve made a point of keeping to myself.
But I’ve been in awe of the progress that’s being made on The Birchwood House since the start, even though I haven’t told anyone.
Of all businesses in town, I’m definitely most interested in partnering with them.
He felt slightly worried that he’d scared Elaine off during their last conversation.
She’d seemed breezy and cheerful enough, but he’d certainly been the opposite, and he hoped that she wasn’t reconsidering her offer.
After all, they hadn’t written up a contract or anything of that sort.
It was more than possible that she was starting to rethink becoming business partners with Shep after taking into account what a grumpy attitude he’d had.
It’s true that I don’t like surprise visitors in my kitchen, he thought, but I really do want to partner with her.
He paused in his work, a slight smile creeping over his face as he remembered the way Elaine had barged into his kitchen. She was quite imposing and maddeningly straightforward, but there was something about her that he found attractive.
He started to consider what a business partnership between the two companies would look like on his end.
He would need to do more baking, certainly, but it was unlikely that he’d need to bake an entirely different type of pastry for The Birchwood House unless someone at the inn had dietary restrictions.
So he would probably be able to simply make more croissants, more doughnuts, and so forth.
He was deep in mental calculations about baking when he heard the front door’s overhead bell jangle more clamorously than it had all day. None of the other customers had disturbed the bell like that.
His ears pricked up even before he heard Elaine’s voice. The moment he heard her conversing with Iris, his heart did a strange flip-flop in his chest.
He was suddenly extremely aware of the fact that he was covered in flour. He glanced at his reflection in one of the clean cookie sheets that were drying in a rack and saw that his hair was plastered to his forehead due to the heat coming from the bakery ovens.
“Ah,” he gasped like a fish out of water, turning around in a circle as he looked for something he could clean himself up with. A rag? Where did he put those blasted paper towels?
There wasn’t time for him to freshen up, however. A second later, Elaine pushed open the door to the kitchen and stepped inside as if she owned the place. Iris was right at her heels, looking far more gleeful than apologetic.
“Iris,” Shep said dryly, trying to gather his dignity and sound stern, “is allowing people to barge into my territory going to become routine?”
Iris smirked. “No, it won’t, I promise. But Elaine here is a special case.”
Shep grunted and turned back to the batter he had been mixing. “You’ve got that right,” he muttered under his breath. Elaine had to be the only person in town he would have allowed into his kitchen like that, and in the middle of his workday no less!
Elaine smiled, the picture of confidence and charm. “I told you I’d be back,” she remarked to Shep cheerfully. “I’m ready to further discuss the details of our arrangement.”
“I haven’t formally agreed to this yet,” Shep pointed out, feeling flustered and, it had to be admitted, petulant.
“You will, though, I’m sure.” Elaine smiled her dazzling smile again, looking serenely certain. “After you’ve seen the proposal that I’ve put together, you’ll be sure to agree to a partnership between Townsend’s and The Birchwood House. It’s not a deal that you’ll want to pass up.”
Shep just grunted. Internally, he was sure she was right. He wasn’t about to admit to that verbally yet, however.
“There’s a clean table out front,” Iris said cheerfully.
“I’ll see you out there in a moment, then,” Elaine said to Shep, and her smile was so sweet that he thought to himself it might have melted his heart under different circumstances.
As soon as the women were out of the kitchen, he frantically located the roll of paper towels and dampened a couple of them under the faucet.
He hurriedly smoothed back his hair and cleaned off some of the flour that was dusting his face, arms, and shoulders.
When he was finished, he still looked a mess, but at least he looked like less of a mess than he had earlier.
He didn’t want to spend any more time cleaning himself off.
If he did, Elaine was sure to come back into the kitchen, and he certainly didn’t want to be caught trying to make himself look more presentable.
He trundled out into the front of the shop, and he was relieved to see that the only customers were a family of tourists who he’d never met before. Strangers never bothered trying to engage him in long conversations, and that made them his favorite type of customer.
Elaine was already sitting at the little table by the front window.
He sat down next to her, clearing his throat awkwardly.
He was trying to think of something to say to start their conversation, but he realized in a moment that he needn’t have bothered.
Elaine was ready with a cheerful remark in a matter of seconds.
“You know,” she said slowly, “I think it would be only right for me to be offered a complimentary pastry as we’re striking the deal that will define all deals. This is a great day for your business. I think that calls for refreshments.”
Shep’s jaw actually dropped for a moment before he clamped it shut. He could hardly believe how audacious Elaine was being yet again. She was acting as confident as a queen, and she wasn’t even in her own castle!
I guess I don’t know her all that well, he thought. We’ve been acquainted for years, but she always seemed more reserved to me. She certainly isn’t acting reserved now!
He had a suspicion that the arrival of her family had something to do with her new spunk and playfulness.
He suspected that not only were her daughter and granddaughter rubbing off on her, they were also awakening her own fun-loving personality.
He’d observed that people tended to behave more freely when they felt safe, and Elaine probably felt safe and happy enough to break out of the mold of politeness that she’d lived in for years.
I also suspect she isn’t this way with everyone, and that because of this business deal, she’s welcoming me into her inner circle, he thought.
I’m glad she’s experiencing a new spurt of energy and all that, but I can’t help feeling that my life would be a lot easier if she wasn’t so motivated and outgoing.
“I’ll get us something,” he said, standing up.
He was glad of a moment to step away from her, since he’d been trying to hold a neutral expression on his face and finding it difficult.
Normally it was the opposite for him—he had a neutral expression even when people expected him to react more to what they were saying.
Now, however, he could feel a smirk wanting to creep across his face, and he was determined not to show it to Elaine.
He felt completely baffled by her, and certainly very inconvenienced, but he was also starting to feel very amused.
He got a couple of slices of streusel coffee cake and set them on plates for the both of them.
The choice made sense for two reasons—it was a less popular baked good, so he was unlikely to lose any money on it by offering a slice to Elaine, and he happened to like it a great deal.
He had a feeling that Elaine would like it as well.
By the time he got back to the table, Elaine had set out a notebook. On two of the pages, she’d written out detailed notes using colored pens. It looked to be a very detailed, organized plan, and he liked that.
“Streusel coffee cake!” Elaine said, thrilled. “Oh, thank you, Shep. This looks delicious.”
He grunted and took a bite out of his slice of cake. He’d found that people seldom expected him to speak when he was chewing.
“Here’s my plan,” Elaine said, looking eager. She began to outline everything she’d come up with, using the notebook page in front of her as a visual. As he listened, Shep couldn’t help being impressed.
“What do you think?” she said finally, sounding slightly breathless at the end of her presentation as if she’d just run a race.
“It sounds like a great deal,” Shep said, nodding. “You’re right. It sounds like this is going to be very beneficial for both of us.”
“Wonderful!” Elaine clapped her hands together. “How soon can you be ready to start providing us with pastries? We’re planning on having an open house for the hotel soon, and I’d love to have some pastries for that.”
“I can be ready whenever you need me to be—tomorrow even,” Shep said, unable to stop himself from feeling eager.
Elaine’s enthusiasm seemed to be contagious.
“I’ll just go get an order form for you.
You can fill it out with the date and whatever pastries you want to have on hand.
I’d recommend a few gluten and dairy-free options, if you’re having an open house. Maybe even a few vegan pastries.”
“Do you make vegan pastries?” Elaine asked, looking amused. It was clear that she thought he was the kind of crusty old man who would never consider such a thing.
“I can make anything,” he said, a touch defensively.
“I have no doubt about that,” she said, and her smile was so warm his stomach did a somersault.
“I’ll get that form,” he said, his tone more of a mutter than he meant it to be.
He stood up and went to retrieve the form for her. He kept all the papers necessary to run his business in a little cupboard under the display counter. As he reached for the order forms, he realized that his hands were sweaty, and he quickly wiped them on the legs of his trousers.
He grabbed an order form for Elaine and hurried back to the little table where she was sitting. He saw that she’d packed up her notebook, and he realized with surprise that he was disappointed by the sight. It meant that she was about to leave.
What on earth is wrong with me? he thought. I hate social situations of any kind. This meeting has been a major inconvenience to my day. Why would I be disappointed that it’s over?
He felt a warm sensation in his stomach again and he decided not to try to answer that question.
“Here you are,” he said, handing the paper to Elaine. “You can drop it off whenever it’s finished or fill it out here if you want.”
“I’ll bring it home so I can ask the girls what they think we should put on the menu. I think we’ll go along with those suggestions of yours, though. Great ideas.”
Shep grunted and nodded, pleased by her compliment.
Elaine folded the piece of paper and tucked it into her purse.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Shep,” she said, standing up.
“Next time I need to talk with you, I’ll be sure to schedule a meeting with you first. I’ll refrain from barging in on you in the future. ”
“Very kind of you,” he said, his tone a touch dry. “It’s very considerate of you to check with me about my availability.”
She chuckled. “Would this coming Saturday work for you?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “That will be fine.” The truth was, he seldom had any real conflicts. As long as she didn’t want to meet before dawn, when he did most of his baking, he wouldn’t really be busy any day of the week.
“Splendid.” She flashed another radiant smile at him and took her leave, still moving as confidently as a queen in her own castle.
Shep watched her go for a few heartbeats, shaking his head and still feeling dumbfounded by her behavior.
Her spunkiness is rather attractive, he thought, unable to stop himself from thinking it.
He hurried back into his kitchen, feeling suddenly jittery.
As he stepped inside his quiet space, he didn’t feel the sense of solitude that he usually experienced there.
Instead, his head and heart still felt flooded with images of Elaine.
He tried to tamp down the admiration he could feel growing within himself in reaction to her grit, but he felt as though he was doggy-paddling helplessly against a strong current.
Sighing, he returned to working on the batch of sugar cookies he’d started before Elaine’s arrival. The work soothed his jitters a little, but try as he might, for the rest of the day he kept thinking about Elaine.