Chapter Thirteen
Evan Wears His Mentor Pants
“That looks great,” I said, admiring the decorated cake. The white frosting was smoothed evenly all around, and the piped poinsettias added a nice pop of color. Holiday inspired, of course, even if the warmer weather didn’t quite feel like mid-December. “Keep at it and you’ll be better than me soon.”
William scoffed and pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “What utter nonsense. Your skills are far beyond my reach. I was so confident before your arrival. Now, here I am, a mere novice in comparison.”
“It’s not a competition.” I walked over to the coffee station and poured myself another mug.
“Life itself is a competition.” William checked the cookies in the oven before removing the platter. “Earn top marks in your academics in order to be recognized and recommended for the highest positions in your field. Slip even once and someone will outshine you. Once that happens, nothing you do will ever be good enough. Not to your professors nor to your parents. And when you realize you don’t want to walk the path they set you on and choose for yourself? You become a failure in their eyes.”
My heart ached at the sadness in his voice. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
“Yes. Well. Every family has at least one disappointment. I just so happen to be mine.” William topped off his cup of coffee, a grim set to his mouth.
In the beginning, I’d mistaken him for a rich snob who’d had it easy in life. Now, I saw the real William. He had rebelled against his family’s wishes and followed his heart. He’d had to fight to be where he was.
“You’re not a disappointment,” I told him. “Don’t ever let anyone make you think that. I, for one, am glad you chose your own path. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here with me right now.”
His expression pinched before he faced the oven. “Are we ready for the next batch?”
I got the hint. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“Almost.” I grabbed the large bowl of cupcake batter. “These will be the chocoholic cupcakes. Chocolate cake filled with a dark chocolate ganache and topped with airy espresso buttercream and chocolate flakes.”
William nodded and gathered the ingredients for the ganache.
I’d taught him many recipes over the past three days, from different types of pastries and cakes to the frostings, icings, and fillings that went with them. He was a fast learner and seemed to genuinely love what he did. He reminded me of Miles in a lot of ways. Just… more snooty. And not nearly as tall and burly.
“Hey, William?”
He placed the pan of cupcakes in the oven and turned to me. “Yes?”
“I don’t know your story, but don’t let whatever happened in the past make you doubt yourself. You’re doing amazing, and I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass. Bake from the heart and you can never go wrong.”
When he smiled, that faraway look in his eyes faded. “Thank you. Fortunately for me, I have the best instructor.”
“Eh.” I waved my hand. “I’m nothing special. You put in the hard work. I just guided you a little.”
“More than a little.” He turned to a bowl of cookie dough and began rolling the dough between his palms, forming small balls.
The day drew on, and we baked more treats. Talked more too. He told me about a girl he was crushing on who worked at the jewelry shop in the main square, and I told him about my three men—but kept Lake being a demi-wolf to myself.
A lot of progress had taken place in only three days.
Along with working with William in the kitchen, I’d spoken to the bookshop owner about supplying books and then went shopping with Gertrude for curtains, pillows, rugs, wall décor, and all the things that turned the café into the cozy place I’d envisioned. The lord mayor had already contracted the food and coffee bean suppliers, so that was one less thing I had on my plate.
“I’m glad your force of guards left,” William said, plating the snickerdoodle cookies after they’d cooled. “The angry one is frightening.”
“August?” I snorted. “He’s all bark and no bite. I think.”
“He threatened to gag you and throw you off the closest mountain.”
I scratched at the back of my head. “Yeah, he did, didn’t he? Good thing Finn was here.”
“Now, I like him . He’s the nice one of the two.” William snatched a cookie and took a bite, dabbing at his lips as he chewed.
Finnian and August had spent the morning with me before being relieved of Evan duty. My rambling mouth had driven August to his breaking point. Unintentional on my part. He just made me nervous, and when I got nervous, a string of rambles followed.
Callum and Ban had then taken over. They’d sat in the café for a while before moving outside to the courtyard, giving me and William room to work but staying close enough should anything bad happen.
Duke was with Lake back at the inn, going over a map of Exalos. They’d said it was a safety protocol to mark seemingly troublesome areas and alternate paths in case of an emergency. Lake had the best intel in that regard since he’d explored the perimeter of town on his own when I was preoccupied with café business.
I liked that Lake had someone to talk to during the day when I wasn’t there. He passed the time whittling a new project or reading, but I knew he got lonely sometimes.
Was Rowan lonely?
Over the past three days, I hadn’t seen him much. He’d popped into the room at the inn each night but hadn’t stayed long. Only long enough to annoy Lake and flash that smile that drove me a little crazy, and then he’d fade back into the night, going who knew where. He didn’t come and whisk me away for another night on the town. He didn’t seek me out when I was alone.
Was he avoiding spending too much time with me? If so, I understood the impulse to create some distance.
Emotions were scary.
William filled and decorated the chocoholic cupcakes before rolling out the sugar cookie dough and popping them into the oven.
The cookies reminded me of Sir Noah. I hoped he was okay. Not only him but all of my friends back in Bremloc. Thane and the evil monstrosity known as Herbert. Miles, Alice, and Peter. Was Kuya still taking his etiquette lessons? Had Prince Sawyer heard from his bride-to-be?
Had Prince Cedric stopped being a dickwad?
I was enjoying my time in Exalos, but I couldn’t wait to get home.
By the end of the day, William had a basic understanding of the entire café menu. The coffee and desserts anyway. We’d start working on the savory dishes in the morning—mainly, the soups and sandwiches. I wrote down the recipes, as well, so he could reference them when needed. He’d train more bakers after I left. My job was to get things up and running, then hand the reins over to him.
“This is a lot of food,” William said after we’d wiped down the counters and washed the dishes. Cupcakes, muffins, and cookies covered the kitchen island, stacked on platters.
An idea struck. “Hey, this is around the time the minors come home from their shift, right?”
“Yes, I believe so.” He adjusted his glasses in a way that reminded me of Briar.
“Would you wanna hand these out to them? It’d be nice, don’t you think?”
He smiled. “I do.”
“Okay, give me a sec.” I bolted toward the doors that led to the back patio. Callum and Ban reclined in two of the chairs and snapped their heads in my direction. “Hi. Can I get your help?”
Alarm flickered across Ban’s face.
“Nothing bad,” I quickly added. “We have a lot of food and want to give it away, but I need muscle to help carry it all. You’re the muscle.”
Callum smiled. “Anything for you, Ev.”
Ban nodded.
With their help, William and I bundled up the desserts in baskets and left the café with them in tow. The sight of the two armed men carrying wicker baskets was insanely adorable too. Even more so when Ban peeked under the lid of one, his normally hard expression softening with curiosity.
“Try one,” I urged him. “That one’s snickerdoodle.”
He cocked his head.
“A sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon, basically,” I explained.
He grabbed one and took a bite. A deep wrinkle formed in his brow as he chewed.
“Do you like it?”
Ban looked toward the ground and took another bite. My heart damn near exploded when I noticed the flush going up his neck and into his cheeks.
“Eat all the cookies you want,” Callum told him. “But the muffins are mine.” His brown eyes moved to me. “I can say that because the captain isn’t here.”
I laughed. It sounded kind of sad. Made sense because it was how I felt. Happy and excited but missing Maddox and Briar. I didn’t feel whole without them. I was homesick and still had at least another week before I’d be able to hold them again.
“There they are.” William pointed up the road.
Just like the last time I’d seen the minors, exhaustion weighed heavily on each of them. Their clothes were covered in grime and dark streaks, like coal, and they varied in age, from teenagers to probably fifties or so. A mule walked with them, hauling a cart with their tools and bags.
“Excuse me!” I waved to get their attention. They stopped and frowned at me. Not a bad frown. It was the tired kind that came from working yourself to the bone. “Um, hi. I’m Evan. That’s William, Callum, and Ban. We’ve been baking all day. Practicing recipes for our café’s grand opening and all of that.” I held up my basket. “Anyway, we made way too much and have a lot leftover. Cookies, muffins, and cupcakes. Do you want them?”
Oh no. The words were flying out of my mouth at the speed of light.
The man beside the mule turned to the others. He was the oldest of the group, with deep forehead wrinkles and a rough exterior that came from working hard, day in and day out, probably for decades.
Suddenly, I felt silly. These men were tired and just wanted to go home, and there I was, standing in their way and offering them sweets. The man turned back to me.
“Thanks for the offer,” he said in a hoarse voice. “But we don’t have much coin.”
“No worries! We’re giving them to you, no coin necessary.” I stepped closer and handed him two bundles from my basket. Callum and the others distributed the bundles from their baskets to the rest of the minors.
One of the men looked younger than me. He had a face full of freckles and a rail-thin body, like he was burning way more calories than he was taking in. When he took a sugar cookie from his bundle and bit into it, his tired eyes gained a spark, and a toothy smile followed.
That smile was worth more than any amount of coin.
“You have my thanks,” the man in front said. His russet eyes then raked over my face. “It’s odd.”
“What is?” I asked.
“Years ago, too many for me to count off the top of my head, there was a pretty blonde who did this same thing. She’d come up the mountain each day and give us lunch. Said she wouldn’t tolerate us goin’ hungry. Brought us sandwiches and pastries.”
My heart knocked hard.
“The Beauty of Exalos, we all called her. And she was a beauty. She really was.” He scratched at the stubble on his chin. “You remind me of her a little.”
My mom.
“What happened to her?” My sternum felt like it was about to snap in half.
“Vanished,” he answered. “One day, she was handing out food to me and my men, then the next, she was just gone. Rumors spread through town, but no one knows for sure. But anyway.” He nodded to the wrapped bundle of treats in his hand. “Thanks again for this. I need to get home to the wife and young’uns.”
I stepped aside so he and the mule hauling the cart could pass. The other men nodded to me, and the youngest one with the freckles smiled again.
“It’s delicious,” he said before biting into another cookie. “I’ll be sure to visit your café when it opens.”
“Well, would you look at that.” William shut the lid on his empty basket. “We already have a guaranteed first customer.”
“Not only him,” Callum said. “The old mage from the guild wants a piece of Ev too. Piece of his cake, I mean.”
I jabbed at his ribs. “First of all, Xavier isn’t old. And second, he was just being nice. Not everyone who smiles at me wants a piece. ”
“But most of them do.” He winked.
“Your cinnamon roll status is fluttering away,” I said. “Soon, you’ll be a slab of stale and crusty bread.”
“Still delicious with a smear of butter or jam.”
“Or in a bread pudding,” I said, then elbowed him again.
“Ow. What was that for?”
“Giving me more recipe ideas. I have enough going on in my head.”
Callum laughed.
The four of us returned to the café to drop off the empty baskets before locking up and heading back outside. The sun was setting now, the light of day fading into a dark golden hue that shone on the peaks of the mountains in the distance while casting everything else in shadow.
“See you in the morning,” William told me with a respectful nod. He fastened the buttons on his thin overcoat and smoothed down the front.
“See you then,” I responded. “Tomorrow is bread day. Prepare to make the softest and fluffiest bread ever.”
“I look forward to it.”
“And I look forward to eating the leftovers,” Callum said as William hailed a carriage and stepped up into it.
“I may show him how to make cinnamon rolls too. The food of your people.”
“I thought you said I was stale bread now?”
“Eh.” I shrugged. “Changed my mind.”
Callum ruffled the top of my hair. “Let’s go. I know a certain person who’ll be eager to see you.”
Ban kept a short distance behind us as we started toward the inn. The distance wasn’t too far from the café, and the stroll through town at sunset was nice.
“Fancy a flower?” a woman in the market asked, holding a basket over her arm with a few roses, tulips, camellias, and ones I didn’t know the name of, but they were pretty. “Pickin’s are slim this late in the day, but I’m sure the beautiful young maiden in your life would love one.”
“He is the maiden,” Callum said with a shit-eating grin. “More like a damsel.”
I elbowed him in the ribs, and he laughed. Ban then drew my attention. He stepped toward the woman and pointed toward a red camellia. She told him the price, and he withdrew a coin from his pouch, exchanging it for the flower.
Who was he buying it for? Heck, maybe he wanted it for himself. No shame in that.
Ban approached me. His cheeks were a noticeable shade darker than the rest of his face, matching the flush going up his neck. His gaze lowered as he offered me the flower.
“You bought this for me? Really?”
He nodded.
“As thanks for the cookies?”
Another nod.
“Thank you.” I accepted it and pressed my nose to the soft petals. “It’s pretty.”
“You big sap,” Callum said to Ban. “Now he’s going to start crying because of you.”
“No I won’t,” I denied, even though, yes, my eyes did burn a little. “It’s just allergies.”
As we headed in the direction of the inn, I periodically smelled the flower and smiled each time. The gift had been unexpected. Ban was so different than I’d thought. He was kindhearted and sweet despite the intensity with which he carried himself.
The warm, fluttery feeling from the gift then faded a little. I learned two things that evening. One, someone in Exalos remembered my mom. It made her feel real in a way she hadn’t before. She’d also loved feeding people, just like I did, and had touched several lives with her food. And two?
She had vanished without a trace.
***
“Shoulda told me you liked flowers. I would’ve stolen several bouquets for you by now.” Rowan lounged on the windowsill, one leg hanging down and touching the floor while the other bent at the knee.
Lake sneered at him. He sat at the table near the fireplace, whittling a piece of wood.
“Stop stealing.” I sat on the bed, hugging a pillow to my chest and admiring the flower Ban had bought for me. Lake had found a vase for it. “It’s wrong.”
“Ah, little treasure.” Rowan hopped down from his perch and eased farther into the room. “Nothing is wrong if it comes from the heart. Why did the ogre buy it for you anyway?”
“You did not just call Ban an ogre.” I took the pillow I’d been cuddling with and tossed it at him.
Rowan dodged it. “Well, he’s big, tall, simpleminded, and he grunts a lot. See? An ogre. Hey! Drop the pillow.”
I threw it at him.
“So violent.” Rowan shook his head. “Such a feisty little thing.”
“You’re lucky I’m out of ammo now,” I said, having sent both pillows flying at him.
“What are you making?” Rowan approached Lake at the table.
“Something sharp to stab you with,” Lake responded without taking his eyes off the wood.
“I can’t wait.” Rowan smirked. “Make it extra sharp, pup. I want it to really hurt.”
Lake huffed at him. He was whittling game pieces for a chess board. He and Duke had bonded a lot since reaching Exalos, and it turned out Duke liked to whittle too—a fact I’d been oblivious to. Both of them were working on the pieces so they could play together.
Rowan neared me, and as the firelight reflected in his topaz eyes, the hints of gold deepened. He pointed at me and flicked his hand. “Up.”
“Up?”
“Yes. As in, get your adorable arse out of that bed before I drag you out of it.” He tossed my cloak at me. “And put that on. It’s a bit chilly tonight.”
“We’re going out?” I asked.
“Well, not if you sit there like a bump on a log, we’re not.” He snapped his fingers. “Now, up with you. We don’t have all night.”