Chapter Sixteen – Holly
“Teddy! We need to go!” Holly called up the stairs, glancing at her watch. If they didn’t leave in exactly seven minutes, they’d be late for school drop-off.
She turned back to the kitchen counter, where she was packing Maisie’s cookies into boxes for safe transportation to school. Maisie would be crushed if, after all her hard work, the cookies didn’t make it to the Christmas party in one piece.
“I can’t find my sock!” Teddy’s voice floated down, edged with the beginning of panic.
Holly abandoned the cookies and took the stairs two at a time, finding Teddy’s room in a state of controlled chaos. He sat on the edge of his bed, one sock on, the other foot bare, his lower lip trembling dangerously.
“Let’s see,” Holly said, dropping to her knees to check under the bed. “If I were a sock, where would I hide?”
Teddy giggled, disaster averted. “Maybe the dinosaurs took it.”
“Ah, sneaky dinosaurs,” Holly agreed, spotting a flash of blue fabric caught between the toy chest and the wall. She extracted it with a flourish. “Found the culprit!”
“You’re the best sock-finder ever,” Teddy declared, grabbing it and pulling it on.
Holly helped him slip on his shoes, the motions already familiar though she’d only been doing this for—what, two days? Three? The days had begun to blur together in the most pleasant way.
“Maisie! Five minutes!” she called, heading back downstairs.
Maisie appeared at the top of the stairs, her school uniform neat but her hair still loose around her shoulders. “Can you braid it? Like yesterday? And tie it with these red ribbons for the party.”
Holly’s heart skipped. She loved helping the kids. There was a satisfaction in it she could not describe. “Of course.”
In the kitchen, Holly worked quickly, one eye on the clock as her fingers wove Maisie’s soft brown hair into a French braid before securing the ribbons.
“There,” Holly said, securing the end with an elastic. “All done.”
“With the little loops at the end?” Maisie asked hopefully.
“With the little loops,” Holly confirmed, gently tugging a few strands loose to create the effect Maisie loved.
Teddy thundered down the stairs, backpack already strapped on. “I’m ready!”
“Okay, I just need to pack the last of the cookies.” Holly returned to packing the last few, making sure the box was secure. “Let’s make sure we don’t forget anything.”
The children scrambled into their winter gear, and Holly helped Teddy zip his coat when his fingers fumbled with the cold. Outside, Daniel’s truck waited in the driveway, frost sparkling on the windshield in the morning sun.
Holly helped them climb in, making sure their seatbelts were secure before sliding behind the wheel.
It felt odd, she’d never driven anything this big before.
But when she started the engine, and it rumbled to life, it sure felt safer to drive this beast rather than her car in these weather conditions.
“Dad always lets me pick the music,” Teddy announced as Holly started the engine.
“That’s not true. He lets us take turns,” Maisie countered from the backseat. “But he skips all the rap stations.”
“And the ones with the shouting people,” Teddy added, reaching for the radio dial.
“The metal stations,” Maisie clarified with the air of someone much older than her years.
Holly smiled, watching them in the rearview mirror as Teddy found a station playing Christmas carols. “Is this one okay?”
“Perfect,” Maisie said, clutching her cookie box protectively as Holly backed out of the driveway.
The drive to school was short but sweet, filled with Teddy’s enthusiastic off-key singing and Maisie’s more reserved humming. Holly navigated the morning traffic with growing confidence, already familiar with which turns to take and where to park.
When had this happened? When had Bear Creek started to feel so familiar?
At the school, Holly helped them out of the truck, straightening Teddy’s collar and making sure Maisie had a firm grip on her precious cookie cargo before walking them into the building.
“Have a wonderful day,” she said, kneeling to give Teddy a quick hug. “Be good, okay?”
“I’m always good,” Teddy insisted, although his mischievous grin suggested otherwise.
Maisie stepped forward for her own hug, her small arms wrapping tightly around Holly’s neck. “Will you pick us up too?”
The question caught Holly off guard. “I…I’m not sure. It depends on your dad.”
“I hope you do,” Maisie said before she walked away, cradling her cookies protectively.
As she walked away, her heart ached in the sweetest, most painful way. When she walked away from her wedding, she thought she was walking away from a future with children and morning school routines. Yet here she was. But would it last?
Could it last?
Not like this. She had to deal with the fallout of what had happened with Andrew and then figure out her future.
Back in the truck, Holly sat for a moment, hands resting on the steering wheel. She should probably deal with her car situation. The tow truck had likely delivered it somewhere by now. She should call someone, make arrangements to collect it, and then figure out what came next.
What did come next? The question loomed large in her mind.
She could go back to Daniel’s house, tidy up from the morning rush. Then start making calls, begin the process of untangling the mess she’d left behind. Andrew, her mother, the apartment they’d shared...
Or she could go help the man who had helped her when she needed it. Without a second thought, she put the truck in drive and headed toward the bakery. The rest of her life could wait another day.
When she pushed through the bakery door, the bell’s cheerful jingle was almost drowned out by the controlled chaos inside.
A line of customers stretched to the door, their faces showing varying degrees of impatience.
Behind the counter, Daniel moved with the efficient grace of someone who’d done this a thousand times, but the tension in his shoulders was visible even from across the room.
Mina was at the register, her usual calm demeanor fraying slightly at the edges as she tried to ring up orders while simultaneously answering the phone.
Holly didn’t hesitate. She slipped her coat off, hung it on the rack by the door, and moved behind the counter as if she’d been working there for years.
“I’ll take the next customer,” she said as she tied on an apron.
Daniel looked up, relief washing over his features. “Holly…”
“You are a lifesaver,” Mina finished.
“Good morning to you too, Mina,” she said with a smile, turning to the elderly woman who’d stepped forward. “Good morning! What can I get for you today?”
It was as if she’d been doing this forever. The register was intuitive, and the prices were already familiar from yesterday’s impromptu training. Holly found herself settling into a rhythm, taking orders, bagging pastries, and making change with practiced efficiency.
“Six cinnamon rolls, Daniel!” she called over her shoulder, not needing to check if he’d heard. Somehow, she knew he had.
The morning rush became a dance, Holly and Daniel moving around each other with an ease that felt almost choreographed. When she reached for a bag, his hand was already extending it toward her. When he needed more receipt paper, she’d already noticed and had it ready.
“Two apple turnovers and a coffee, light cream,” Daniel announced, sliding the order toward her just as she finished with her customer.
“On it,” Holly replied, their fingers brushing as she took the plate. The contact sent a jolt of awareness through her, but there was no time to dwell on it as the next customer stepped forward.
“I don’t know how we’d get through this without a power couple behind the counter,” Mina remarked during a brief lull, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
Holly felt heat rise to her cheeks as Daniel sputtered beside her, his face turning an adorable shade of red.
“We’re not…I mean…we’re just…” Holly left the sentence hanging, not sure what she and Daniel were. But maybe it was time they had a talk and figured it out.
The morning went by in a blur, a constant stream of customers keeping them too busy for conversation.
Holly found herself slipping more deeply into the role with each passing hour, anticipating needs before they were voiced, translating Daniel’s increasingly terse instructions for Mina and the customers.
“He means the chocolate croissants are sold out, but we have chocolate muffins,” she explained to a disappointed teenager, earning a grateful glance from Daniel.
When the delivery truck finally arrived around noon, Daniel disappeared into the back, leaving Holly and Mina to handle the front.
“You’re a natural,” Mina observed as they restocked the display case. “Daniel’s lucky you showed up when you did.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Holly admitted, surprising herself with her honesty. “He took me in when I had nowhere to go.”
Mina nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Sometimes the universe puts us exactly where we need to be.”
Holly pondered that as she helped the next customer, wondering if perhaps Mina was right. Maybe ending up in Bear Creek wasn’t the disaster it had initially seemed. Maybe it was exactly where she needed to be.
When Daniel reappeared, flour dusting his hair and exhaustion lining his face, Holly’s heart clenched. He worked so hard, carried so much on his shoulders.
“The delivery’s sorted,” he said, his voice rough with fatigue. “But I still need to finish the special orders for tomorrow.”
Holly glanced at the clock. Nearly two-thirty. “The kids will be out of school soon.”
Daniel’s eyes widened with sudden panic. “I completely lost track of time.”
“I can pick them up,” Holly offered without hesitation. “You stay and finish what you need to do.”
“Are you sure?” Daniel’s voice held equal measures of relief and guilt. “You’ve already done so much today.”
“I’m sure,” Holly said firmly. “You finish what you need to here. We’ll figure out dinner.”
She grabbed her coat and slipped out the door before he could protest further, the bell jingling cheerfully behind her. In Daniel’s truck, Holly sat for a moment, catching her breath. What a day!
But it wasn’t over yet.
The drive to the school was quick since Bear Creek’s streets were now familiar to her. She parked the truck and went to meet Maisie and Teddy, humming the Christmas song that had been playing in the bakery.
She’d been humming a lot lately. Which wasn’t like her. But then none of this was like her.
But she was happy. Happier than…well, maybe happier than she had ever been in her life.
“Holly!” Teddy crashed into her legs the moment he saw her. “You came to get us!”
“I did,” Holly said, ruffling his hair. “Your dad’s still busy at the bakery.”
Maisie approached more carefully, studying Holly’s face. “Is Dad okay?”
The question touched Holly deeply – this child’s first concern was for her father’s well-being. “He’s fine, just very busy. But he’s got it all under control.”
“Is he stressed?” Maisie asked, her small face serious. “He gets a line right here…” she touched between her eyebrows “…when he’s really worried.”
Holly thought of Daniel’s face as she’d left him, that exact furrow between his brows. “He is a little stressed,” she admitted. “But he’s managing.”
“Poor Dad,” Teddy said, climbing into the truck. “He works really hard.”
“He does,” Holly agreed, helping Maisie with her seatbelt. “He works so hard for you guys and for all his customers.”
As she pulled away from the school, Holly glanced at the children in the rearview mirror. They looked thoughtful, concerned for their father. The depth of their love for him was written plainly on their faces.
An idea began to form in her mind.
“You know,” Holly said carefully, “I was thinking... maybe we could make something special for your dad tonight. To cheer him up after such a long day.”
The suggestion hung in the air for a heartbeat before both children erupted with enthusiasm.
“Yes!” Teddy bounced in his seat. “We could make him a cake! With sprinkles!”
“Or cookies,” Maisie suggested, then frowned. “No, he makes cookies all day. It should be something different.”
“What about his favorite dinner?” Holly asked, turning onto the street that led to Daniel’s house. “Do you know what he likes best?”
“Lasagna!” Teddy shouted.
“Chicken pot pie,” Maisie contradicted.
“Okay, grocery store, here we come,” Holly said, determined to make this an evening Daniel would never forget.