by Olivia Miles
“That just came up today? In the…two hours since I last saw you?”
He didn’t say anything, just shrugged.
“Look, I’m sorry if we got off to a…bad start this morning,” Maddie said quickly. “Candy had mentioned that she would help line up Gus for the work and so it came as a…a surprise when you came into the bakery.”
“A surprise, eh? And not a pleasant one,” Cole said, and it was then that she noticed his eyes had gone a little flat. The glimmer of amusement was lost.
“I was caught off guard,” she explained. “That was all.”
She held her breath, wondering if he would turn her down, knowing that he had the full advantage here. There was no doubt that Candy had painted the full picture for him: told him exactly when she needed the project completed, knowing that Gus was otherwise occupied, thanks to her. Could she find someone in a neighboring town to help out? Probably. But on such a compressed timeline, that was unlikely.
“I’ll be there at six,” Cole said, so gruffly that she barely caught what he’d said.
She blinked, hurrying after him as he walked toward the cashier. “Six? Tonight?” Not that she had other plans, but at the market on Sunday, her cousin Gabby had mentioned maybe meeting for dinner tonight, if she finished all her flower deliveries in time.
Cole set two of the paint cans on the counter. “Six in the morning.”
Maddie was used to getting up early—after all, up until last month, she would walk with Amelia to the café each morning at five, to get a start on the day before the café doors opened at seven. But this just felt so…sudden.
Still, his demeanor told her that there would be room for discussion. “I’ll see you then,” she said, with a nod.
He held her gaze until she was forced to look away. She clutched her paint strips in her hand and marched out the door, only breathing a sigh of relief once her feet hit the sidewalk, but knowing that it was short-lived.
Really, if she’d known just how difficult it would be to start her own business, she wasn’t so sure she would have ever taken the plunge!
*
That night Maddie sat across from Gabby at a high-top table at the pub in the Carriage House Inn, one of the more popular establishments on Main Street that had been owned by the Bradford family for generations. The eldest son, Jackson, was tending bar, and more than once Maddie had caught a telling glance pass between him and her cousin.
“Why don’t you just admit you like him?” she finally said, because hey, today wasn’t the day to be dancing around the obvious, was it? She’d seen firsthand the way that her father and then Amelia had run their businesses over the years, and she knew that Cora was much the same, feeling confident in how she handled everything from displays to purchasing to customers. Britt was probably the toughest of them all, because of her no-nonsense approach she’d garnered from working in management consulting before returning to town. Maddie would have to learn to be in control, rather than sit back and let her sisters drive her decisions, as they always had. And she would have to do that starting tomorrow.
God help her.
She took another sip of her wine. It was one of her family’s blends, sold in many restaurants in town. She’d feel traitorous drinking anything else, and she knew that Gabby felt the same way, seeing as her own father had been co-owner of the orchard until his retirement a couple years ago.
But Gabby wasn’t drinking her wine. Right now she was giving Maddie a hard look.
“I do not have a thing for Jackson Bradford,” she said firmly. “The guy is a complete cad.”
True, all true. Jackson had a charming—if not flirtatious—demeanor that wasn’t reserved for just one special someone. He’d dated a lot of the girls in town before moving on to the tourists who flocked to the area each summer. And he wasn’t shy about his intentions to stay unattached. He couldn’t be more different than his younger brother Robbie, who had been devoted to Britt for years before circumstances drove them apart, leaving him a widower and a single dad. And even he was still willing to try again, now happily reunited with his high school sweetheart.
Still, both Amelia and Maddie had suspected there was some attraction between Gabby and Jackson for years. She gave her cousin a little shrug. Gabby was beautiful, always had been, and Jackson was easily one of the best-looking bachelors in town.
Make that one of the only bachelors in town, she thought with a sigh.
“Would it be so unreasonable to assume that you might find him good looking?” With his dark hair and killer smile, it was almost a statement of fact that Jackson was attractive.
“Of course he’s good looking,” Gabby said lightly. She speared her salad and said, “But lots of men are.”
“In this town?” Maddie almost laughed. They’d grown up with the same group, gone through each grade seeing the same faces. Half those people had left town upon high school graduation, and the ones that stayed…Well, the pickings were a bit slim, especially when you eliminated any guy who had ever so much as kissed a sister or cousin or friend.
“Sure,” Gabby said. “The Bradfords are a fine-looking bunch.”
“And two of them are spoken for,” Maddie pointed out, referring to Robbie and their cousin Matt—Amelia’s boyfriend. “Gage doesn’t even live in Blue Harbor,” she added, though she wondered if now that Matt had returned to town, his younger brother might follow.
“And I always thought Cole McCarthy was attractive, in that mysterious, brooding type of way.”
Maddie almost choked on her drink, and she let out a small cough to cover her surprise. She set her glass down carefully and looked at her cousin across the table, wondering what she knew and what she was playing at. But Gabby just poked at her salad. Clearly, word hadn’t spread to the flower shop.
Yet.
“Cole McCarthy,” she repeated, incredulous. “You think that Cole is good looking?”
Her mind flashed back to the way his eyes had lingered on hers, seeming to look right into the depths of her soul, reading her every thoughts, until she’d been forced to look away. She shivered now, just thinking about it.
“Hell yeah!” Gabby gave her a quizzical look. “With those deep-set dark eyes and that thick, dark hair. He’s so…quiet. So…intense.”
“So unfriendly,” Maddie said, jabbing at her own salad. “That’s what he is.”
Gabby gave a little smile. “I’d like to say he’s more…mysterious.”
Maddie snorted. “You’ve been reading too many of those romance novels that Bella orders for you.”
Gabby’s cousin on her mother’s side owned the town’s only bookstore, and kept her loyal patrons’ favorite authors stocked. Maddie knew for certain that the romance section of her shop had expanded due to Gabby’s patronage.
And lately, Candy’s, too.
“What can I say? I’m a romantic.” Gabby grinned. “I should be, considering I sell flowers for a living. Oh, and while we are on the topic of my beloved reading material, I wanted to invite you to book club this Saturday night.”
Maddie had always seen the signs for Bella’s monthly book club that was held at her bookstore across the street from Gabby’s shop, and she knew that Gabby never missed a meeting. Maddie had never been able to go since Saturday nights at the café were usually so busy, but now she couldn’t think of an excuse.
“Okay!” She smiled.
“Boy, you didn’t need to think about that for long,” Gabby said, laughing.
It was true. Some decisions were easy, and once you committed, it was easier to follow through than hem and haw.
“I’ve wanted to go for a while to support Bella’s business.” Although…a flashback of a conversation with Candy came to mind. “Doesn’t Candy attend those meetings?”
“Only once,” Gabby said. She fought off a smile. “She brought her cheese biscuits.”
Maddie laughed. “Of course she did. Well, I’ll bring pie. Of course. And maybe something from my new menu.”
“Good idea!” Gabby licked her lip. “Brownies?”
Maddie had been trying to perfect her brownie recipe, so she nodded. “It’s a plan.”
Gabby pulled a paperback from her bag and slid it across the table. “I already finished, so you can use my copy. And speaking of businesses, how is the bakery coming along? Do you have a set opening date?”
Like her sisters, Gabby was a successful small business owner, but unlike her sisters, Maddie didn’t feel the same need to keep up with her. She sighed and wondered how much she wanted to open up tonight. In some ways, it was nice to get her mind off things for a little while.
“It’s all a little overwhelming,” she admitted, her heart starting to pick up speed. “At the café, I pretty much just did what Amelia asked.”
Gabby tipped her head, giving her a look of understanding. “You’ve had years of hands-on training between the orchard and working for Amelia. Once you get things running, you’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” Maddie said. She inhaled deeply.
“You could always ask Britt for advice if you’re not sure about something,” Gabby said. “I’m sure she’d love to give you some advice.”
As a former management consultant, Britt would, and she would also know what she was talking about it, too, but Britt almost knew too much when it came to operating a successful business, and she was a little intimidating at times. Maddie thought back to the spring when Britt was eager for her to mass-produce her pies at the family orchard, not understanding easily that not everything Maddie did was for profit. Baking came from her heart.
“It will be fine once I get things off the ground,” she said, hoping that was true. “I think I’ll feel more excited once it starts to actually look like a bakery. Construction starts tomorrow.”
“You using Gus?”
Maddie braced herself for it. “No. He’s unavailable. I’m using…well, Cole, actually.”
As expected Gabby’s eyes widened. “Is that so?”
“It’s not like that,” Maddie said, frowning. “My dad wanted me to let Candy be involved in the bakery. She’s so eager to help us, to be a part of our lives.” The cousins exchanged a knowing look. “And when she suggested she line up the contractor, it felt like a win-win at the time.”
“I’ll say it did!” Gabby laughed.
Maddie bit down on her teeth, still mad every time she thought of Candy’s part in all of this. “Well, it’s only for a couple weeks,” she said, trying to make herself feel better. It couldn’t drag on longer than that—not if she wanted to get her doors open by October, and not if she wanted to keep her sanity, either.
“A lot can happen in a couple of weeks,” Gabby said, waggling her eyebrows.
Maddie was in no mood. “Now you sound like Candy.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Gabby said with a grin. “We both have your best interest at heart.”
“And you think that Cole McCarthy is in my best interest?” Maddie shook her head. “The only thing that’s going to transpire in the next couple of weeks is the build out of my space.”
“If you say so,” Gabby remarked.
“I do say so,” Maddie said. More than that, she knew so.
Gabby was ahead of Cole in school. She hadn’t seen his daily antics in class, hadn’t known the trouble he’d caused. Hadn’t stood beside him at the bus stop every day, feeling on edge, knowing that his every move was so unpredictable.
And that in many ways, it still was. Gabby may have been correct in describing Cole as mysterious, but while her cousin may find that sort of thing appealing, Maddie did not.
Maddie wanted safety, stability, and security from relationships, and from her business.
She’d had enough upheaval to last a lifetime.
4
Cole was already sitting in the back of truck, the hatch down, when Maddie arrived at one minute to six the next morning, holding two thermoses of hot coffee, which she hoped might lessen the tension that she sensed was still lingering between them. Not only that, but she’d spent so much time getting ready for what should have been a regular day planning menus and ordering supplies that she hadn’t had time to enjoy her coffee at home, and it seemed rude to only bring something for herself.
She extended a thermos to him. He took it with a nod.
“You were sure that I’d show,” he remarked.
It was true that a part of her had wondered if he’d bail, disappear, or change his mind. She’d lost count of how many times he’d cut class back in school. Attendance was hardly one of his strong points.
“I took a chance,” she said. A lot of chances. Everything about opening this business had started to feel like one big chance. One big risk.
He took a sip, hopped out of the back of the truck, and grabbed his toolbox with his freehand.
Her gaze drifted to the cords in his arms as his muscles tensed. Despite the chill in the air, he was wearing a tee shirt and jeans, and if the temperature bothered him, he didn’t show it.
“Good coffee,” was all he said as he walked to the bakery.
Maddie fished her key from her tote and unlocked the door. Every time she entered the bare space her heart swelled with excitement. She’d never had anything that was just hers before. Being the youngest of four sisters, she was used to wearing hand-me-downs that had made it from Britt to Amelia to Cora and to her without being completely threadbare. The house she now lived in technically belonged to Amelia, and she was just renting out the bottom unit, and despite Amelia being too kind to ever admit she was cutting her a deal, Maddie knew what real estate went for around here, and she knew that she was being taken care of, much the same as she’d been brought on to the café, and was still welcome to help out at the orchard. Cora would no doubt hire her without a blink of the eye either.
She was lucky. She was grateful. And now it was time to prove that she didn’t need help. She could do this all on her own.
Only question was, could she? The doubts were still there, even as she rolled out the blueprints (again, kindly drawn up by Amelia’s boyfriend) and walked Cole through the space.
They landed in the large room that had once been used for storage and overstock. “This will be the kitchen,” she explained. It was a big room, with shelving and cabinets. There had been no need for a kitchen in a stationery store. “This wall backs up to the kitchen of the café, so the plumbing and gas lines should all be easily accessible.”
At least, that’s what Matt had told her when he drew up the plans and approved her permits.
The room had been cleared out, but still, it felt suddenly claustrophobic, despite its fairly generous size. Cole was blocking the doorway, a strange, large physical presence in what had up until now been an empty four walls that echoed when she walked.
She swallowed hard, not sure what to say next, knowing that she was technically in charge here, and that he was probably waiting for her to take the lead. That there was no Amelia to turn to, or Britt, or her father for that matter.
She cleared her throat, about to ask about supplies, when she heard the main door swing open. “Yoohoo!” a voice called out from the other room.
Oh, brother.
“Candy.” Maddie’s eyes hooded, and for a moment, she felt a secret exchange pass between her and Cole when he cocked an eyebrow.
Just as quickly, it was gone, and he stepped aside, letting her pass, back into the storefront, where sure enough, Candy was standing near the windows, in head to toe pink aside from the blue and white striped apron that she wore from the café, bearing a basket of her “famous” cheese biscuits, which she’d managed to convince Amelia to offer at the café.
She set the basket down on the card table that Maddie had set up her first day here as a makeshift desk, and opened her arms wide, coming toward Maddie with a look that was nearing apologetic, until her eyes darted to the storage room door and landed on Cole.
Her expression transformed to one of transparent joy, and sh
e clasped her hands together, shooting coy looks at Maddie that were anything but subtle.
“Cole! So you’re here! Oh, I’m so happy that this is working out. I just knew that this arrangement would be perfect.”
“Did you now?” Maddie leveled a stare at Candy, who did a masterful job of ignoring her.
Instead, she reached for her basket, proffering it to Cole as she explained, “I brought you some goodies. Nothing special, just my world-famous cheese biscuits.” She laughed until she snorted. “After all, a big, strong young man like yourself is probably going to work up quite an appetite with all this manual labor.”
Maddie resisted an eye roll. Cole, to his credit, took the basket and managed something that almost classified as an actual smile. “These look delicious. Thank you, Candy.”
Now Maddie felt herself frown. What was this? The man was being more polite to her father’s pushy girlfriend than he was to her, his employer?
Granted, they had gotten off to a rather strange start. And Candy was a force. Perhaps he just knew what he was dealing with, and that it was easier to let her have her way.
Or perhaps he was just being nice…
She shook that thought away. Cole McCarthy was a recluse. A broody, moody man. He wasn’t mysterious. He was unfriendly.
Mostly.
“Well,” Candy said, giving Maddie a suggestive look. “I’ll let you two get back to…whatever it was that I interrupted.” She waggled her eyebrows, biting down on her bottom lip in excitement.
“You mean the kitchen plans?” Maddie folded her arms across her chest.
“If that’s what you’re calling it!” Candy grinned as she inched away. She glanced back once more to rake her eyes over Cole before disappearing out the door. Still, she could be seen looking through the windows as she crossed the deck back toward the café.
Cole set a hand on the wall near where the counter would be. “You’re positive that you want a doorway here connecting your bakery to the café?” he asked, and Maddie turned to him, surprised, and burst out laughing.