Chapter two
Astrid
“I’m home! I’m home! Sorry I’m late.” Scrambling through the front door, I drop my purse right in the entry way and rush toward the kitchen.
“Calm down. Everything is fine.” My mother brushes her hair over her shoulder as she takes dinner out of the oven. “I was running behind on dinner anyway.”
Sighing, I take a moment to catch my breath and then pour myself a glass of water from the fridge, draining it quickly. “I lost track of time and then started panicking when I saw the clock.”
“You had a good day then?”
“I did,” I say, just as my mother turns to me. “I think I’ve narrowed down the menu.”
“Well, that’s amazing, Astrid.” She turns off the oven and reaches for plates from the cupboard. “I hope you kept the lemon raspberry cupcake on there. You know that’s my favorite.”
Smiling, I move to gather utensils and set the table. “I did. I knew you’d disown me if I didn’t, and I kind of need your help with my children still.”
She chuckles. “Good to know that I have the ability to sway your menu selections. I’ll keep that in mind for later.” Then she calls over her shoulder, “Bentley! Lilly! Mom’s home!”
Lilly comes barreling down the hallway, slamming into my legs. “Mommy!”
“Hi, sweet girl.” I kiss the top of her head. “How was your day?”
“Ugh. Addison told me my dress was ugly, so I told her that her hair was stupid.”
Rolling my eyes, I reply, “You shouldn’t say that to her.”
“Why? She started it.”
“Yes, but you saying something back to her like that only makes you as mean as she is.”
“Addison deserves it. She’s a spoiled, rotten brat.” Bentley enters the room with much less enthusiasm than his little sister. And even though I don’t condone my kids calling other kids names, it’s nice to know that he stands up for his sister when it counts.
“Hey, bud.” I pull him forward and kiss the top of his head as well, but he moves away from me as quickly as he can. “How was your day?”
“It was fine.”
Yup. That’s all I get. If eleven is any indication of what the teen years are going to be like, I hope God helps us all.
“Did Grandma make enchiladas?” Bentley asks, peering over the counter at the pan on the stove.
“I sure did.”
“Heck yes!”
“I hate enchiladas!” Lilly whines right on schedule. It wouldn’t be dinnertime without one kid liking what is being served, and the other one hating it.
“I made you a quesadilla, Lilly Bear,” my mother croons, feeding into her demands. “But you know the rule. You must try at least one bite of what I made.”
“I don’t want to…”
“Lilly. That’s enough,” I scold, moving toward the table with plates full of food. “You’ll try a bite and that is that.”
I swear, I don’t know what I would do without my mother, especially during these past four years.
Before Brandon died, I was basically running a household by myself anyway, but when I had to start working two jobs just so we could survive, she helped fill in where she could.
As a recently retired nurse, she says she’s happy to spend the time with the kids and keep herself busy, but sometimes I wonder if I ask too much of her.
Still, when I told her I wanted to buy the bakery, she was the first person who encouraged me to do it.
“You deserve this, Astrid. As a mother, it’s important to have something just for you, something that feeds your soul separate from your children.
They grow up to be their own human beings, and you need to have a life to live that’s outside of them when they do.
I wish I could have done more of that when you and Grady were younger, but you have the chance now, so you’d better take it. ”
“Fine,” Lilly relents as we all sit down and begin eating.
“You need to make sure that you eat a good dinner because Uncle Penn will be here soon for game night, and you know he always brings candy.”
That makes her eyes light up again. “Yay!”
“Aw, man. I was going to play my video game again after dinner,” Bentley whines.
“Well, your game can wait.”
My mother eyes me across the table. “Do you know what game you’ll be playing tonight?” she asks me.
“Uno!” Lilly shouts. “Can we please play Uno?”
“Ugh, that game is for babies.” Bentley drops his fork to his plate in protest.
“It is not! It’s fun!”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Please stop, you two. I just got home and the last thing I want to do is listen to the two of you fight.”
“I swear, they save it for you,” my mother says, grinning in her chair as she holds her glass of water in front of her.
“Of course they do.”
On the nights when I come home late from work, my mother picks up the kids from school and cooks dinner for us.
She always eats with us before heading back to her quiet house.
My father left when I was little, so it was just her, me, and Grady, my older brother, growing up.
She’s dated here and there, but no man ever really stuck.
I think she had a hard time letting another man in after my dad left her all alone with two small children.
But selfishly, I’m glad I have her to relate to all the tribulations of being a single mom because she knows what it’s like firsthand.
The doorbell rings, and Lilly bolts from her chair and runs to the door, swinging it open. “Uncle Penn!” She lunges for him as soon as he crosses the threshold.
“Hey, Lilly Bear.” He scoops her up in his arms, lifting her as if she weighs nothing. With the way his muscles bulge under the sleeves of his shirt, I can see why it’s so easy for him.
Ugh. Stop looking at his muscles, Astrid.
“You ready to play a game?”
“Can we play Uno? Please?”
He bops her on the nose before setting her back down. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Yay!” She runs back to the table and stands right next to Bentley, leaning into his space. “We’re gonna play Uno, Bentley. Ha, ha!”
“Lilly!” I admonish. “Don’t start trouble. Now go get in the shower first before we play the game. You know the rules.”
She races to the bathroom, granting me a moment to gather my sanity again before I stand and greet Penn. “Hey, there.”
One of his hands is holding a bag filled with something, but he shoves his free hand in his jeans. “Hey.”
God, he’s so tall. Seriously, it never fails to amaze me just how big of a man he is—and strong, dependable, stoic, but not afraid to speak up when it counts.
Jesus, you’re doing it again, Astrid. Stop ogling him in front of your mother, for crying out loud.
My mom chooses that moment to clear her throat. “Hi, Penn. Good to see you.”
“Hey, Melissa. Did you make enchiladas?” Penn sniffs the air dramatically.
My mother chuckles. “I sure did, and there are plenty left over. Help yourself.”
“Awesome. I didn’t eat yet.”
“You know there’s always a spot reserved for you here,” I say because it’s the truth. If there’s one other person on this planet that helps keep my world spinning besides my mom, it’s this man right here.
He’s the rock I never had, and the one I can’t afford to lose.
“Today was crazy, and I didn’t want to be late getting over here.” My mother fixes him a hefty plate as he takes a seat at the table. “Thanks.”
“Bentley, go get ready to get in the shower after your sister,” I say, glancing at the clock. Our game night won’t be a long one tonight since it’s already after seven.
“Fine.” He clears his plate and then scurries down the hall.
“Well, I’m gonna get out of your hair,” my mother declares as Penn scarfs down his food and I start cleaning up the kitchen.
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Once I get a solid schedule down at the bakery, I probably will only need my mom early in the mornings. Owning a bakery means rising before the sun most days so the baked goods are ready by six as people stop by on their way to work.
“Yup.” She kisses me on the cheek. “Have a good night, sweetie. And you too, Penn.”
Penn waves at her until he finishes chewing. “Thanks for dinner, Melissa.”
She winks at him. “My pleasure.”
After the door shuts behind her, I sigh as I make my way back over to the kitchen, turning the faucet on to wash the sink full of dishes. When my mother cooks, I clean. It’s the least I can do.
“So, busy day?”
Penn nods as he shovels his last bite in his mouth. “Extremely. I had to help Dallas at the restaurant during the lunch rush, and then I headed out to a project I just started working on.”
“What kind of project?” I ask, eyeing him over my shoulder.
He shrugs, avoiding my eyes. “It’s nothing. Just something to pay the bills.”
As I place the last clean dish in the rack on the counter, I say, “Well, I’ve got another project we need to discuss, too.”
Penn grins. “I’m ready.” He wipes the corner of his mouth, brings his plate to the sink, and takes the sponge from my hands, cleaning his own dish before placing it into the rack with the others.
God, he washes his own dishes. Why is that so freaking hot?
Once he’s done, he brushes past me, our arms touching as he walks by, and takes a notepad from the bag that he brought with him, along with a pen.
“Oh, but before I forget.” He takes out a brand-new bag of Hershey Kisses, heads over to the glass vase on the small table by the front door, rips open the plastic, and pours in the candy until the vase is full once more.
“Penn…you don’t have to keep doing that,” I say, watching him as he empties the contents, careful not to spill them all over the floor.
“Yes, I do, Astrid.”
“Bentley already knows that you fill it up. Lilly will realize soon too, you know…”
He lifts his head and his eyes meet mine. “Well, until she does, I’m going to keep that smile on her face for as long as I can.”
If I didn’t already have feelings for this man, that would have sealed it right there.
I know what you’re thinking.
“Your husband is dead, and you’re lusting after his best friend? That’s some daytime soap opera shit right there.”
But in my defense, these feelings weren’t always there. In fact, I never felt like this about Penn until after my husband died, and almost a year later at that.