Chapter 12
Friday arrived with heavy gray clouds and Lucy's stomach in knots.
Today was the day. The official signing. The moment The Bread Basket stopped being hers and became someone else's future.
"How long have you been awake?" Lucy asked.
"About an hour. Didn't want to wake you."
"Couldn't sleep?"
"Just thinking." Jake pulled her closer. "Today's a big day."
"Don't remind me."
They lay there in the pre-dawn darkness, holding each other, both knowing that after today, nothing would be quite the same.
At 5:30, Lucy forced herself out of bed and headed downstairs to the bakery. Jake followed, making coffee while Lucy started her morning prep.
"You don't have to stay," Lucy said, watching him measure out beans for the espresso machine like he'd been doing it for years instead of weeks.
"I want to. Besides, this is part of our routine now. Wednesday mornings and Friday coffee-making."
Lucy smiled despite her nerves. They'd fallen into this pattern over the past few days—Jake coming down early, making coffee, keeping her company during the quiet pre-opening hours. It felt natural. Right. Like they'd been doing this forever.
By 8 AM, the morning rush was in full swing. Word had spread about the signing today, and customers kept stopping by to wish Lucy well. Some still seemed uncertain about the change, but most were supportive.
Mrs. Henderson came in at 8:30 with a card signed by the entire Knitting Circle. "We're proud of you, dear. Your grandmother would be too."
Mr. Peterson brought flowers. "For your new adventure. Don't forget about us when you're fancy and French."
Lucy laughed through tears. "I could never forget you. You've been ordering the same bran muffin for forty years."
"Forty-two, actually. I started coming here before you were born."
At 11 AM, Mae took over the counter. "Go. Get ready. I've got this."
Lucy went upstairs and changed into the navy blazer and dress pants she'd bought specifically for today. Professional. Capable. Like someone who knew what she was doing.
Jake was waiting in her apartment, wearing a dark suit that made him look unfairly handsome.
"You clean up nice," Lucy said.
"So do you. Ready?"
"No. But let's do this anyway."
The signing was at the offices of Barrett Development, about twenty minutes outside Timber Falls. Shayna had offered to come to Lucy, but Lucy wanted to go to them—felt like it made the whole thing more official, more real.
Jake drove, his hand finding Lucy's across the center console.
"You okay?"
"Ask me in an hour."
The Barrett Development offices were modern and sleek—all glass and steel and expensive furniture. Shayna greeted them at the door with a warm smile.
"Lucy. And you must be Jake. I've heard so much about you."
"All good things, I hope," Jake said.
"The best things." Shayna led them to a conference room where a lawyer was already set up with stacks of paperwork. "This should take about an hour. We'll go through every document, make sure you understand what you're signing. No rushing, no pressure. Take all the time you need."
The next hour was a blur of legal language and signatures. Lucy's hand cramped from signing her name so many times. Jake sat beside her, a steady presence, occasionally squeezing her hand when the legal jargon got particularly dense.
Finally, Shayna slid the last document across the table. "This is it. Once you sign this, the sale is official. The Bread Basket becomes property of Barrett Development, with all the terms we discussed."
Lucy looked at the paper. Her grandmother's legacy, reduced to legal language and dollar signs.
"Take your time," Shayna said gently.
Lucy picked up the pen. Took a breath. And signed.
Shayna countersigned, then the lawyer, then it was done.
"Congratulations," Shayna said, shaking Lucy's hand. "You've made a brave choice. We're going to honor what your grandmother built, I promise you that."
"I know. That's why I chose you."
Shayna handed Lucy a check—more money than Lucy had ever seen in her life. Enough to pay off all the bakery's debts, fund six months in Paris, and still have savings left over.
"The transition team will be in touch Monday to schedule training sessions. You'll work with them through December to ensure everything's documented and the new staff is properly trained. And Lucy?" Shayna smiled. "Thank you. For trusting us with this."
In the parking lot, Lucy stood by Jake's truck and stared at the check in her hands.
"I just sold my grandmother's bakery."
"You just chose your future," Jake corrected gently.
"Same thing."
"Not even close."
Lucy folded the check carefully and put it in her purse. Then she burst into tears.
Jake pulled her into his arms and let her cry—big, ugly, relieved sobs that came from somewhere deep. She'd been holding this in for weeks, and now it was finally hitting her.
The bakery wasn't hers anymore. Her grandmother's legacy was in someone else's hands. Everything was changing.
"I've got you," Jake murmured into her hair. "I've got you."
They stood in the parking lot for a long time—Lucy crying, Jake holding her, both of them letting the magnitude of what had just happened sink in.
Finally, Lucy pulled back and wiped her face. "I'm a mess."
"You're beautiful. And brave. And you just made one of the hardest decisions of your life."
"Can we go somewhere? Not home, not the bakery. Just... somewhere else?"
Jake smiled. "I know just the place."
Jake drove them to the old overlook on the edge of town—a spot most tourists didn't know about, where you could see all of Timber Falls spread out below, the mountains rising in the distance.
He'd come here a lot in the months after his dad died. When everything felt too big and overwhelming. When he needed space to breathe.
They sat on the hood of his truck, looking down at the town that had been home their entire lives.
"My dad used to bring me here," Jake said. "When I was a kid. He'd say that sometimes you need to get above something to see it clearly."
"And? Do you see it clearly?"
"I'm starting to." Jake took Lucy's hand. "I see that this town shaped me in ways I didn't appreciate when I was trying so hard to leave. I see that what I thought was failure was actually just life redirecting me to where I was supposed to be."
"You don't regret turning down Nashville?"
"Not even a little. Do you regret selling the bakery?"
Lucy was quiet for a long moment. "No. I'm sad. I'm scared. But I don't regret it. I think—I think my grandmother would be proud of me. For being brave enough to let go."
They sat in comfortable silence, watching the afternoon light shift across the mountains.
"February fifth," Lucy said suddenly. "That's when I leave for Paris. The program starts February tenth, but I want a few days to get settled first."
Jake felt his stomach clench. February fifth. Two and a half months away.
"That's soon."
"I know. Barrett Development takes over January first, and I'll stay through the transition. But after that—" Lucy turned to face him. "Jake, are we really going to do this? Long distance for six months?"
"Yes."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I love you. Because this matters.
Because I'm not going to let distance determine whether we work.
" Jake squeezed her hand. "Lucy, I spent three years of my life waiting for something better to come along.
For the NHL to call, for my real life to start.
I'm done waiting. I'm done letting fear make my decisions.
You're here now. We're here now. And when you're in Paris, we'll figure out how to make that work too. "
"What if six months turns into a year? What if I love Paris and don't want to come back right away?"
"Then we'll deal with that when it happens. But Lucy—I'm not asking you to promise me forever. I'm just asking you to let me love you. Here, in Paris, wherever you end up. Let me be part of your adventure."
Lucy kissed him then—deep and grateful and a little desperate. When they pulled apart, she was crying again.
"I'm going to miss you so much."
"I'm going to miss you too. But we have two and a half months. That's not nothing. And video calls. And texts. And spring break—I could come visit if you want."
"Really?"
"Really. I've never been to Paris. You could show me around. We could eat all the pastries and you could teach me to tell the difference between a croissant and a pain au chocolat."
Lucy laughed through her tears. "They're very different."
"Prove it. In Paris. In March."
They stayed at the overlook until the sun started to set, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange. Then Jake drove them back to town, taking the long way, neither quite ready for the day to end.
At their building, Jake parked but didn't immediately get out.
"What do you want to do tonight?" he asked. "Celebrate? Process? Hide from the world?"
"All of the above?" Lucy smiled. "Uncle Walter and Rei want to take us to dinner. Giuseppe's, naturally. He's been texting me all day about planning a 'celebration feast.'"
"Then Giuseppe's it is."
The celebration dinner at Giuseppe's was exactly what Lucy needed.
Giuseppe had outdone himself—the entire back room was decorated with lights and flowers, and he'd prepared a seven-course meal that he kept describing as "a feast for love and bravery!"
Uncle Walter gave a toast. "To Lucy, who finally learned that honoring the past doesn't mean living in it. To new adventures, new dreams, and the courage to choose yourself."
Rei added, "And to Jake, who turned down the NHL twice to stay in Timber Falls and coach hockey to seven-year-olds. That's true love if I ever saw it."
Jake turned red, but he was smiling.
Marcus and several other Wolves players showed up around 8 PM, apparently having heard about the celebration. Even Tommy came, pulling Lucy aside at one point.
"Your grandmother would be proud," Tommy said. "Not because you're selling the bakery—because you're choosing to grow. That takes guts."