Chapter eight
Astrid
“Thank you, Tanya.” My assistant moves around me, sliding a brand-new tray of fresh muffins into the stunning new display cases that Penn installed last Sunday.
“No problem. I’m going to get back to filling the eclairs and then move on to the macarons.”
“I’ll be back there to help when I can.” I hear her glide through the swinging door to the kitchen as I focus back on the inventory sheets on the iPad in my hands, making a note of our products and how much we’re selling so I know what to order for next week from my supplier.
This was my least favorite task when Greg and Jenny still owned the place, and even though I’ve simplified it by updating the system, it’s more complicated in other ways now since I’m expanding the menu.
The only thing I have left to do is land on a name.
The bakery will either be Cooper’s Creations, paying homage to my married name even though my husband didn’t support this “hobby” of mine or Whisk Me Away Bakery since baking always helped me escape when I was lonely and needed some time for myself.
I’m not sold on either option, but I haven’t come up with anything better.
“Good morning, Astrid!” The cheery voice of Pam from Cove Real Estate summons my attention as she walks through the door of the store.
“Hi, Pam. How are you?”
Brushing her gray bangs from her eyes, she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose and smiles as she walks over to the counter where I’m standing. “I’m fantastic, dear. How are you? How’s it feel to be the boss?”
“Oh, it’s something.” We share a laugh. “Honestly, it’s overwhelming and exhilarating and some days I still can’t believe that it’s real.”
“Well, it is dear.” Her eyes scan the shop. “And the improvements look just gorgeous! Seriously, this place looks completely different.”
I track her eyes as she takes it all in.
Penn has done an amazing job repainting the walls a soft pink with white stripes.
The display cases really pop against the pale color, and the new tables and chairs remind me of antique furniture you would see at a Victorian tea house—elegant, yet rustic.
The only thing left to do is the floors, which he’s working on tonight.
I have to stay late just to let him in since I only have one key to the shop right now.
Getting another is one more item on my very long to-do list.
“Thank you. Penn’s done amazing work.”
Pam smiles knowingly. “He’s so talented. I can’t wait to see what he does with Tom’s old place.”
“Tom Nelson?”
“That’s right.”
“Huh. I didn’t know he got contracted for that.”
“Oh, it isn’t a contracting job. Penn bought the place! He’s going to fix it up and turn it into a rental. Brilliant idea, if you ask me.” The crease between my brows must be so harsh because Pam studies me and then says, “He didn’t tell you about it?”
My mind is spinning. A rental? Is that where he took Bentley last night?
When we were eating dinner, Lilly kept asking if she could go to Penn’s house to smash stuff since Bentley got to.
I thought it was a little weird that he would let Bentley destroy a wall at his place, so this makes a lot more sense.
But more importantly, why didn’t Penn say anything?
Oh my God. His super-secret project is his own rental business?
“Uh, nope. He hasn’t said anything.”
She purses her lips. “Interesting. I mean, he told me not to say anything, but I assumed he’d have at least told you, as close as you two are.
Hell, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were involved.
” She shrugs and then begins scanning the display case for her purchase as my heart has palpitations that are rocking my entire body.
“I’m sure he would have told you eventually. ”
Would he?
Penn and I normally tell each other everything. Why would he keep something this big from me?
Really, Astrid? You tell each other everything? Then why haven’t you told him about the dirty dream you had about him last night? Or the one the night before? Or about the Morgan Hotel event that is stressing you out while simultaneously making you giddy about the opportunity…
Okay, subconscious. You’ve made your freaking point.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I say, agreeing because it’s the polite thing to do and because it’s easier than saying what’s really on my mind right now—how that man frustrates me like no other. “Do you know what you’d like today?”
After I fill Pam’s order, take her payment, and talk to her about her grandkids for a few minutes, she leaves and I pick up my iPad again, trying to focus on order numbers when all I want to do is call Penn and interrogate him about the house he bought.
Yet, as soon as I reach for my phone, the chime above the door rings and in walks Richard Cockwell, professionally dressed and smiling, despite the fact I had to cancel our date last night.
“Hello, Astrid.”
“Um…Hi, Richard.” I set my clipboard down and move closer to him. “Look, I’m so sorry about last night…”
He holds up a hand to stop me. “No apologies needed. I get it. You’re a mom. Your kids will always come first.”
A sigh of relief leaves my lips. “Thank you.”
“I’m not going to lie and say that I wasn’t disappointed, but I get it.”
“I know. I’m sorry…again.”
“It’s okay, but I had to stop in this morning to fulfill my weekly order for the office ladies. Can’t let a failed date get in the way of making sure my girls at work are taken care of.”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “That’s sweet of you.”
“I’m a sweet guy.” He winks and then rattles off his order. Once he pays, he tucks the box under his arm. “I don’t suppose you might want to reschedule for tomorrow by any chance?”
“I would, but Bentley’s soccer team has the championship game at three, and then his team party afterward.”
Richard nods. “Gotcha.”
“I’ll text you Sunday though,” I say, even though the idea of trying to reschedule our date is making me sweat. The truth is, I think I was more infatuated with the idea of going out than who I was going to go out with.
Nevertheless, his face lights up. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Bye, Richard.”
“Bye, Astrid.”
I watch him leave and then pick up my phone again, but I don’t call Penn like I planned. I call my mother to check on my son and see if I can get any more information out of him.
“Hello?” My mother answers, the volume of the television on full blast. She must be watching one of her talk shows.
“Mom, turn down the television, please.”
“But Maddox Taylor is on the show right now.” She goes silent for a moment. “I’ve never been one to watch football, but I would watch that man run around in tight pants any day of the week.”
“Mom!”
“What? He’s a handsome man. His wife is one very lucky lady.”
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Can you focus, please? I called for a reason.”
“Okay, fine. But it’s just on a commercial break, so you’d better hurry up.”
“Nice, Mom. Is Bentley around?”
“He’s still pulling the weeds out of the flower beds.”
After I talked with my son last night, and cried myself to sleep over not being able to shield him from the pain of losing his father, I spoke to him this morning about how he’s going to spend his time away from school.
A few chores around the house needed to be done, and even though I don’t blame him for hitting that kid for what he said, I can’t condone that behavior as a means to solve his problems and deal with his emotions.
And then this morning, I added find a therapist for Bentley to my to-do list.
I really think he should talk to someone about everything he’s feeling, especially as he’s getting older. I was also a child that grew up without a dad and it’s not easy. I know it’s affected a lot of aspects of my life, but at least I can help my son process it sooner than I ever did.
“Can you put him on the phone, please?”
I hear rustling in the background, and then the creak of the back door opening. “Bentley, your mom wants to talk to you, sweetie!”
“About what?” he calls back.
“I don’t know, honey. Just come grab the phone.”
When I finally hear my son’s voice, my shoulders sag with relief. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, honey. How are you feeling today?”
“Besides being sweaty and dirty, I’m okay.”
“Well, a little hard work won’t kill you.”
“I know, Mom. You and Uncle Penn tell me that all the time.”
“Yeah, I know. Speaking of Uncle Penn, I have a question.”
“Okay?”
“He mentioned that he let you demolish a wall last night?”
“Yeah…”
“Was it at his house?”
“No. It was some house I’d never been to before.”
“Did Uncle Penn tell you who the house belongs to?”
“Uh, no. Not that I remember.”
“Did you recognize the place, though?”
He thinks about it for a minute. “Maybe? I think it was in the neighborhood we trick-or-treat in. Yeah, it definitely was,” he says confidently now.
“Okay. Anything else about it that stood out?”
“Why are you so curious about the house?”
“No reason. I just wanted to know where he took you, that’s all.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention too much, Mom. I was angry and just kept swinging the sledgehammer. And then…” he trails off.
“I know, Bentley. It’s okay.”
He draws in a shaky breath. “Well, anyway, I’m almost done with the weeds and then I have to crush all the aluminum cans.”
“Good work, honey. I’ll see you later tonight. We’ll make some popcorn and watch a movie and just relax before your big game tomorrow.”
“Okay. Love you, Mom.”
My heart instantly melts for the boy I’m still raising and the man he’s slowly becoming. “Love you too, Bentley.”
When I hang up the phone, clutching it to my chest, I take a moment to breathe deeply and remind myself of everything I have to be grateful for. My kids are healthy, I now have a business that I love, and a mother and brother that support me no matter what.
And then there’s Penn.
The man I count on for everything the other people can’t give me.