Charleston Harbor Novels: Books 1 - 3

by Debbie White

  “She’s gone,” he said, making his way up the steps. He held out his arms and took Ashton.

  “I’m sorry, babe. Maybe they can repair her. We’ll wait for final word.”

  To keep busy, Jack went back to work at the woodshop, and Annie to the bakery. Milly picked up right where she’d left off in terms of watching Ashton for them. Annie found herself becoming less involved with the day-to-day operation of Sweet Indulgence. She’d hired wonderful staff and they were performing great. She’d pop in a couple of days a week, but truth be told, they’d just as soon wish she weren’t there. “Sometimes, the boss can hinder job performance,” she overheard one of them saying. And with Betsy cutting her hours back to almost nothing to care for Grandmother and Auntie, Annie almost felt like a stranger in her own bakery.

  “Greetings, everyone,” she said, waving to Peter in the kitchen.

  “Hey, Ms. Annie,” Toby said.

  “Hello, Toby. Just you today? Where’s Keith at?” She didn’t even know who was on the schedule these days.

  “Peter has him scheduled to come in later today.”

  Annie nodded as she made her way around the counter. “Has it been slow today?”

  “A little. It will pick up later when the college kids come in. They sleep later.” A wide-toothed grin spread across his face.

  Annie stepped into the kitchen. She took in the wonderful smell of flour, sugar, and baked goodies. “I love the smell of cupcakes,” she said, peering into the ovens.

  “Chocolate chip, banana crème, and my new favorite, heath.” Peter continued to mix ingredients, not looking up at Annie.

  “Heath?”

  “It’s a vanilla based batter with little bits of toffee and chocolate. The icing is a butterscotch crème. It’s really popular.”

  “Did you come up with this new flavor all by yourself?”

  Peter stopped cleaning off the beaters and slowly rose. Squaring his shoulders, he smiled. “Yep.”

  “Brilliant,” Annie said.

  “I wanted to ask you about hiring some more workers,” he said.

  “Oh?”

  “Keith can’t work as many hours anymore. He’s on the schedule for ten this week, and six next. Toby and I have been covering counter duty.”

  “That’s not good. Okay, let’s run another ad. Do you want me to set up interviews?” She surprised herself by falling into the employee, and not the boss, frame of mind. “I mean, I probably should set up the interviews,” she corrected.

  “Whatever, no worries,” Peter said, getting back to work.

  Annie felt strange about how the conversation had went and how she felt standing in her once favorite spot in the entire world. Marriage and motherhood had changed her. She slowly made her way out of the kitchen and glanced around the bakery. Just as Toby had predicted, customers were beginning to come in. She whispered goodbye and then retreated from the bakery. Breathing heavily, she stood with her back against the brick portion of the outside and clutched her chest. A tear rolled down her face, and she quickly brushed it away. Then, she briskly walked to her parked car and drove hurriedly to Milly’s. For some unexplained reason, she had a strong yearning to see Ashton … and Jack.

  Chapter 10

  “Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” Milly said, opening the door wide with Ashton on her hip.

  Annie reached her arms out, and Ashton laughingly slid right into his mommy’s arms. Annie nuzzled his neck, then kissed him on the cheek. “I missed my boy,” she said, her eyes misting a little.

  “Come in. Tell me how you’re feeling today. I sense a bit of an emotional roller coaster going on,” Milly said, leading the way to the kitchen.

  Annie sighed loudly.

  “Cinnamon and rose, or rose and lavender?”

  “Either sounds delightful,” Annie said, sliding out a chair at the kitchen table and sitting down.

  While the two waited for the water to boil, Milly rested her backside against the cabinetry. She tilted her head and furrowed her brows. “What’s going on, honey?”

  “I don’t know. All of a sudden, I’ve lost interest in Sweet Indulgence, or maybe it’s the workers have lost interest in me. I miss Ashton while I’m there, and have trouble concentrating. Maybe I’m not the modern woman of today, after all.” Annie lowered her mouth to the top of Ashton’s head and kissed him lightly.

  “These are normal feelings you’re having. Ask any new mother, and they’ll tell you.” Milly went to work preparing the cups of tea.

  “I know, but this feels different. It’s as if my purpose in life has changed.”

  “Maybe it has, but don’t do anything drastic.”

  “I won’t,” Annie said, feeling defeated.

  “Listen,” Milly brought the cups over and pulled out a chair. “Why don’t you give it a few days? Think over about what it is you really want. Talk to Jack. He’ll tell you exactly how he feels about it. Then make the decision together.” Milly brought one of the cups to her mouth and blew. “I love the smell of this lavender rose one.” She drew in a small taste.

  Annie picked up her cup and copied Milly. “Cinnamon, yum.”

  “I think I would be just as happy being the owner and just overseeing the cupcakery that way. I have my hands full with being a mom and wife. I don’t need to be running a business right now.” Ashton began to wiggle on his mom’s lap and tried to get down. “He’ll be walking soon. Then, you’ll have your hands full, and I don’t think that’s fair to you. You’ve raised your family, and you’ve helped with watching Crystal for Richard and Diane.”

  Milly nodded her head. “True, and I have loved every minute of it.” She drew in another taste of her tea.

  “We want to have another child,” Annie blurted out.

  Milly put the cup down hard on the table. “Are you …?”

  “No, but we’re trying.” A wide smile spread across Annie’s face.

  “A little brother or sister for Ashton,” Milly said, reaching over and playfully grabbing his leg.

  Ashton let out a shrill scream that made both Annie and Milly laugh.

  “Well, it sounds like you know what you have to do, my dear. You’ll make the right decision.”

  While Ashton played with his Cheerios on his high chair top, Annie prepared Jack’s favorite dinner. She’d just peeked in the oven, when he entered the house.

  “Something smells wonderful,” he said, first kissing Ashton then hugging Annie.

  “I made your favorite.”

  “What’s the occasion?” He peered inside the oven and took in a deep whiff of the roast with carrots and potatoes.

  Annie shrugged her shoulders. “No special occasion.”

  Jack started to head back to the bedroom but stopped quickly. He placed both hands on her arms and stared deeply into her eyes. “You’re not … we’re not …”

  Annie laughed and shook her head vehemently. “No, not yet, but I do want to discuss something with you.”

  “Let me jump in the shower and wash off all the wood dust. Hold that thought.” He leaned in and dropped a kiss on her mouth.

  “Dinner will be ready in twenty,” she yelled as he ran down the hallway.

  Annie plated slices of tender roast, spoonfuls of cooked carrots and potatoes, and carried them to the table Jack made. She placed one of the plates in front of Jack. She cut up the carrots and mashed the cubes of potatoes and put them on a child’s plate and placed it on Ashton’s high chair tray.

  Jack clasped his hands first, and then Annie followed. “Thank you, Father, for this food we’re about to eat, and thank you for keeping my family safe from the hurricane. Amen.”

  “Amen,” Annie repeated.

  Their prayers were always simple but well intended.

  Jack sampled a piece of the tender meat, while Annie coaxed Ashton into eating. She finally took a bite of the food. “The meat is so tender. I bet Ashton could eat some of this, too.” She offered him a bite. He wiggled in his seat after he tasted it.
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  “I think he likes it,” Jack said, shoveling the food in, one bite after another.

  Annie smiled. “Are you starving?”

  “I didn’t get lunch today, so yes, I am.” He took another bite of the food, then leaned back in his chair. “If you keep making dinners like this, I’m going to gain weight. It’s a good thing you have a job that keeps you out of the kitchen, well, at least out of our kitchen,” he joked.

  Annie drew in her bottom lip and bit down. “Well, about that …”

  Jack leaned forward and put his fork down. “What happened? Did something happen to the bakery?” A worried look traversed his face as he waited for Annie to answer.

  Annie swallowed down the lump that tried to take up residence in her throat, with a sip of her water. “I’ve been thinking about stepping back from the business.”

  Jack nodded as he tried to follow her train of thought. “Go on.”

  “They seem to be doing well without me. I’m going to hire a few more workers, though.”

  “Okay,” Jack said, stretching out the word.

  “I miss Ashton,” Annie blurted.

  “Now, we’re getting somewhere,” Jack said, smiling.

  “And we are planning on having another baby. I don’t think it’s fair to your mother … who’s raised her children, to have to raise ours, too.”

  Jack cocked his head and pulled his brows in. “Did Mom say she didn’t want to watch him?”

  “No, no she’d never say that. I’m saying that. I just don’t think it’s fair to her.”

  “Annie, if you want to sell the business, you can. I’m for whatever you want. You know that, right?” Jack reached over and touched her hand with his.

  Annie’s eyes lowered to his hand. “I know,” she whispered.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I think I’ll just be the owner. I’ll drop in once a month or so. Just so that they don’t forget about me. I’m going to make Peter supervisor, as well as a lead baker. We’ll get some more help for him so he can mainly concentrate on baking and scheduling employees. I can order the supplies for him, right here from our home computer.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out.” He laced his fingers with hers and gently squeezed her hand. “As I said, anything you want, I want it, too.”

  “The other bit of news I have is regarding Mary and Danny.”

  Jack withdrew his hand and began eating his dinner again.

  “Aren’t you interested in what I have to say about them?”

  “I already know. They want to get married and live in the cottage.”

  Annie fell back against the chair and gasped. “Well … what do you think about all of that?”

  “Well, I told Danny that the cottage was intended for Lilly and Patty, but since they are too stubborn about moving out of their own home, and it sits empty, why not? I did tell him that I’d have to ask you, first.” He winked at Annie as he forked another piece of the meat.

  “You men, you already had it all decided. Here, Mary and I thought that we could be sneaky about something.” Annie crossed her arms over her chest as she tightened her lips.

  “What do you think? Can you have Mary living so close?

  “Mary? How about Danny?” Annie uncrossed her arms and began to feed Ashton again.

  Jack nodded. “True that.” He lifted some carrots onto his fork and then ate them.

  “We’d have to lay down some rules. Get it in writing,” Annie continued.

  Jack tipped his head toward her. “It hardly ever works out when you rent to family, though.”

  “Rent? I told Mary they could live there rent-free.”

  “What? I told Danny one thousand dollars a month, including utilities.”

  They both dropped their forks and stared at each other.

  “Now what?” they both said at the same time.

  Chapter 11

  “Hey, Mary, what are you doing?” Annie asked in a chipper tone, while twirling her hair around her finger.

  “Just finished going for a run with Danny. His therapist said exercise is one of the best things for his anxiety.”

  “That’s great, Mary. Listen, I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Is it Grandma or Auntie Patty?”

  “No,” Annie said, trying to think fast on her feet.

  “It’s not Jack, or Ashton … or you, is it? You’re doing okay, right?”

  “No, we’re all fine,” she said, delaying the real reason for her call. “I wanted to know if you wanted to have lunch with me.” Why was it so hard to just tell her the truth? “I thought we could discuss your wedding plans.”

  Mary let out a long and overexaggerated gasp. “Thank goodness. Things have been going along so well, I couldn’t take someone being ill. Unless it was from morning sickness,” she said teasingly.

  “No, no morning sickness … yet.”

  “Yet!?”

  “I’m just kidding. You’ll be the third person to know, when it happens.”

  “Okay, lunch sounds good, but let’s go for a drive first. I’ll pick you up around eleven thirty. I want to show you something.”

  Annie raised her brow as she took in the mysterious tone in Mary’s voice. She was up to something. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

  “Did you tell her?” Jack said, startling Annie.

  Annie turned to face Jack and crossed her arms. “No, we’re going to have lunch today. She wants to show me something first, though. I have no idea what is up her sleeve. You never know with Mary.”

  Jack stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her waist, causing her to drop her arms to her side. She looked at his scraggly two-day growth on his face. “When are you going to shave this off?” She ran her fingers across the scratchy patch.

  Jack ran his hand along his jaw. “Don’t you like it?”

  Annie knitted her brows as she searched his face, studying it in more depth. “I’m not sure. It’s kind of scratchy right now, maybe after it grows out.”

  Jack pulled her quickly against his chest and planted a kiss on her mouth. Annie’s snicker soon turned into a soft groan as he smothered her with his juicy lips. She fell into his warm mouth and parted her lips for him. His kisses were simply the best.

  With his hands on her arms now, Jack gently pushed away and stared into her eyes. “How’s that for an I love you kiss?”

  Annie beamed.

  “Okay, so I have Ashton today, and you and Mary go out and have a great time.”

  Annie took a few steps toward Jack and reached for his hands. She playfully laced her fingers with his, while swinging their hands to and fro. “I love you, Jack. You’re so good for me.”

  “We’re good for each other.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Now, go get ready for your lunch date with Mary.”

  Annie turned to head toward the hall, and Jack playfully swatted her bottom. She turned quickly and scowled. “Remember, I’ll pay you back when you least expect it.” She continued to the bedroom to get ready, chuckling all the way.

  “Where are you taking me?” Annie asked as Mary traveled down a long gravel and dirt road, through a grove of huge oak trees draped in moss.

  Mary shot her a grin. “It’s a secret.”

  Annie tightened her lips as she stared out the windshield. Soon, a small white building came into view.

  Mary pulled in and turned the motor off. “This is what I wanted to show you.” She nodded toward the tiny structure.

  “A worn down church?I mean, I think it’s a church. It has a steeple on the top. What is this place, Mary?”

  “This is on the historical register as being one of the oldest churches in this county.”

  “So?” Annie said, letting her know that her idea was not only preposterous, but downright idiotic.

  “It started out as a one-room schoolhouse. Isn’t that cool?” Mary opened her door. “Come on,” she pleaded. She stood and stretched her arms as she waited for Annie to join her
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  Annie reluctantly got out of the car and crossed over to where Mary stood. “You’re serious? This is where you want to get married? Out in the middle of nowhere, in a one-room schoolhouse?”

  “Don’t be such a fuddy-duddy. This is really a cool place. They still use it for special occasions. What is more special than Danny and my wedding?” She grabbed Annie’s hand and sprinted toward the door, dragging Annie behind.

  They climbed the few steps leading to the porch. Mary dug into her pocket, and producing a key, she waved it in Annie’s face. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. Annie followed Mary inside.

  “Isn’t this just great?” Mary skipped up the aisle to the front of the church. “We can have vases of flowers here on either side; we can have ribbons and bows on the pews. Grandmother and Auntie will be so happy that I get married in a church. They are still talking about your outdoor wedding.”

  Annie cut Mary a scowl. “What? They loved my wedding.” Annie frowned, and then paused. “Didn’t they?”

  Mary ran back toward Annie and hugged her. “Yes, they loved your wedding. They just mentioned that they would have loved to see you get married in a church like Rebecca did.”

  Annie raised her shoulders up and down and sighed. “I can never please those women.”

  “Don’t think about them. This makes up for Danny and me living in sin.” Mary let out a loud laugh.

  “Well, at least Jack and I didn’t do that.”

  “Don’t tell me you didn’t try out the merchandise before you tied the knot, Ms. Annie.” Mary shot her a wild grin.

  Annie raised her chin and looked behind Mary, toward the front of the church. “I think your idea of flowers on either side would bring some color to this rather drab interior. It’s so dark and gloomy.”

  “That’s because the shutters are closed. We’ll liven this place up. Plus, there’s plenty of parking; it’s a great location. Come on, Annie, tell me you like it,” Mary said, begging for her approval.