by Bryce Evans
“Sure, I’ll give them a try. I didn’t know I was going to start so soon, but with your sister having a new piece of jewelry coming out today, I can’t pass it up.” Simone opened the back door and flipped the lights on. Everything smelled new and clean; she couldn’t wait to start. She pulled the notebook out of her backpack and started for the front.
“What do you need me to do first?” Bane asked looking around lost.
“You ever worked in a kitchen before?” Simone asked, tying the apron behind her back without any trouble at all.
“Sure, I baked some cupcakes and a couple of cakes before, but nothing to this magnitude.”
“Good, then you know about measurements and all that jazz. I have it all written down, all you have to do is pull out the ingredients and measure them out. Now, let me go ahead and tell you that it may seem odd putting some of these ingredients in the mix, but that’s the difference in what I do. These are proven recipes; I know they work and I know how good they are too. If you can handle that, then you can help me.”
Simone handed him an apron that said ‘Kiss the Cook’. She smiled when he looked down in horror at the words. What did Bane think she was going to do, kiss him? No such luck, wolf man.
“So, you ready to get started?” Simone turned all the stoves on to the right temperature. “Here are the cupcakes I want to make today. This should peak their interest into coming back.” Simone turned her notebook to a page, and put it in the holder for him. “All you have to do is put the right amount of ingredients into the mix; when you have done that, then we can mix and pour it. Piece of cake.”
Bane stared at the notebook, then glanced over at how she had prepared everything the night before. “You have all the ingredients laid out by each stove?”
“It speeds the process along if you do that. No room for mistake that way, and you don’t have to go and look for anything. We’ll be on a time crunch here. I’m used to having more help in the kitchen, but this is a way to see how much business we’ll have tomorrow. I have the pads upfront where anyone can pre-order once they taste it.”
“What if you don’t have a lot of pre-orders?” Bane asked.
Simone shivered, thinking about the money Mr. Olsen gave her; her life savings were tied up in this business. If she didn’t have a lot of pre-orders, she wouldn’t be able to make her payments or order more ingredients. This would be it. She would have to move on, again. “I’m not going to think about it, but I would be finished. All my money is tied up in this business.”
“Oh…well we need to get going then.” Bane turned back around and began putting the ingredients in the industrial sized bowl.
Chapter Ten
Simone started the taffy machine. This was a special blend she made up one night. When she let Mr. Olsen taste the first batch, he was in awe of the strawberry and honey flavors she had mixed together. It was a strange combination, but it worked with the taffy. When she finished putting it in, the machine started doing its job and stretching the taffy. Josh and Monica Hubbard, both twins and members of the Dixon pack, were watching in fascination as the taffy turned colors under the twists and pulls of the machine.
“That is so cool Simone.” Josh commented.
“First time seeing it made?” Simone asked.
“Yeah. I’ve eaten it before but never seen the process. Look, people are at the window watching too. This is so cool. Here I thought nothing happened here, and then you moved to our small town.”
Simone smiled; it was probably the nicest comment anyone had given her. “Thank you Josh. That’s very sweet of you.”
“I love learning about all of this. I want to open up my own business one day, but Arden wants me to finish college first. He says I need to learn the business part first, but this is going to be great experience for us both.” Josh glanced over at his sister, who was listening intently. She hadn’t spoken a word, but caught on quickly. When Monica didn’t say anything back, Josh said she doesn’t talk much and left it at that. She knew how to use the cash register, and that was really all Simone needed. Baking Simone could teach as they went, the basics were necessary from the start.
“The cupcakes look done, if you want to check them first.” Bane said from the door. She glanced at the clock—it was already ten. Southern Treasures would open in thirty minutes. People were already walking around. Most of them were standing outside her window, watching the taffy machine.
She walked to the back as Bane took the cupcakes out. She smiled as the scent of strawberries hit her.
“Perfect.”
He smiled back at her. Simone had a beautiful smile, and she didn’t even know it, but he could see the beauty within her. He shook his head as he continued to stare. “Now we put icing on them, right?”
“Yep, now we put the icing on them.” Simone went over to the bowl of frosting, ready to decorate. “I can do this, I’m faster. Besides, people are already standing outside waiting to get in.”
Bane didn’t argue with her, just moved out of her way and watched as she frosted each one perfectly. “Is there something else I can do?”
“Pull the candy out of the refrigerator and cut it up. It has to sit out for a few minutes first. Oh yeah, and we can wrap the candy apples. Can you ask Monica to come help with that?”
“Monica!” Bane yelled out.
Simone cringed at the volume, sighing in annoyance. Bane looked over at her. “What?”
“You didn’t have to yell at the poor girl.”
Monica walked into the kitchen, frantically looking around.
“Dammit Bane, you scared her.”
Damn, just another reason for her to dislike him that much more.
“It’s okay Monica. He’s just a typical male. Can you help me wrap the candy apples?” Simone asked.
Bane felt bad when he saw the look of fear on Monica’s face. She still had nightmares of when her parents were killed and she was…Bane shook his head, not wanting to think about what had happened to her.
Monica hadn’t spoken another word since that terrible day, a fact her twin would say began the night of the attack. Most of the vampires were hunted down and killed, but some, including the leader, got away. Josh never left her side, even in college. They lived together in an apartment, took all the same classes. Arden had connections at the college, explained to her teachers that a traumatic event happened to her and she couldn’t talk. They didn’t question it and left her alone.
“Sorry, sweetheart.” Bane apologized profusely. Then he hugged Monica and nuzzled her face. This was the first time Simone had ever seen this happen, he realized too little too late. He could already see the disgust in her eyes, assuming he would take advantage of the young woman.
When Monica walked off and started wrapping the apples, Bane motioned for Simone to come across the room. “I know you don’t understand our ways, but it’s nothing sexual, if that’s what you are thinking. Wolves do this. We all do this. It comforts her.”
“Looks like it was more comforting to you.” Simone’s expression hardened.
“Good Lord woman, before you go accusing people with things you don’t even understand, maybe you need to do a little research on wolves first.” Bane stormed out the front of the store, leaving Simone standing there with her mouth hanging open.
* * *
How dare she think that I would do something sexual to Monica.
Why he was even attracted to this woman was beyond him. She infuriated him with her smart mouth remarks. After everything Monica had been through, Bane would cut off his own hand before he hurt her.
“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked, standing at the door. She could read him like a book.
“Nothing!”
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me, looks like your head’s about ready to pop off.” Quinn teased, putting her hand on his shoulder.
“She asked for me to get Monica, and instead of walking up front, I yelled for her to come to the back. I startled her, so I calmed her dow
n the way we always calm our young pups down. But Miss High and Mighty from New York City looked at me like I was some kind of child molester or something.” Bane was annoyed and he couldn’t keep it out of his voice. Simone’s thoughts shouldn’t matter this much to him anyway; this was crazy.
“You mean the old scratch and nuzzle?” Quinn winked. “Look, I’ll go explain it to her. I remember the first time I saw it too. Humans just don’t get it, and tend to assume it’s something sexual. You didn’t try to explain it to her?”
“I tried, and she started accusing me of liking it too much, like I was taking advantage of her or something. She’s a pup for God’s sake. Dammit, Quinn. I’m trying here. I’ve been working my ass off helping her all day, and now this. Look, I just need a break for a while. See if you can talk to her—I’ll be back later. I need to clear my head.” Bane left out the front door and didn’t look back. Sure, he could understand how it looked, but even when he explained it to her, she didn’t even give him a chance to explain. Who does that?
* * *
“Hey girl.”
Simone glanced up from her work, putting pieces of candy in little boxes. “Hey you.”
“You got a minute?” Quinn asked with a smile.
“Sure do. In fact, we can go out back for a few and relax for a second.” Simone opened the door for Quinn. They sat down in the chairs behind the store, breathing in the mountain air.
“I remember when I came here and learned that there was such a thing as shifters,” Quinn began. “It was hard for me to get used to in the beginning, all the touching and nuzzling they do with each other. When I saw Arden nuzzling some of the young pups, it worried me at first too. I thought that they were all perverts, but then Jade explained it all to me. When I saw them doing the same thing to old and young pack members, well, I finally got it. Finally, I researched wolves, and found out all sort of things about packs. It’s a way they comfort each other. Shifters are different, more loving—they stick together and help each other out. Like Bane today, he has duties he could be doing, and now he’s behind at it, but he wanted to help you out so you would be successful. It’s just how they are.”
Simone could feel her heart pounding so hard she thought it was going to jump out of her chest. “I pretty much accused him of molesting Monica today. I didn’t know. I just thought…well I thought he was trying to get in her pants. I’m so used to—” She felt so ashamed right now. She couldn’t even trust the good guys. “I should apologize to him. I just…”
“I know sweetie, you lumped him right in the mix with all the other men who’ve done you wrong. It’s easy to do. Eventually, he’ll understand, but give him some time to cool off.” Quinn patted her hand.
“I’m no good with people anymore, at least the ones who want to be my friend. Look at me Quinn, look at what I’ve done.”
“Nah, you ain’t done anything, except have some bad experiences you need to get over. Don’t expect to be cured in one week. It takes time to trust people, especially men once you’ve been burned. I like you Simone, and Bane likes you too. So you see, you have two friends already. Oh yeah, and Finn too. He’ll by here in a few. He had some work to do today, but he told me to let you know that he wouldn’t miss handing out stuff for you.”
“I don’t know what to say. I need to apologize to Bane.” Simone got up and looked out into the woods surrounding the town. “God, it’s so beautiful here.”
“Yes, it is. You’ll find your way, Simone. Don’t give up, just know you have friends whenever you need them.” Quinn got up with Simone and walked back into the store.
She had so much to do and little time to finish, but she was going to do it or die. When she saw Bane, she was going to apologize to him and really mean it. He spent his whole morning with her, and that said a lot about a person.
Her cakes were finished cooling off, and she needed to put the finishing touches on them. “I need to get the icing on the cakes and take the cookies out of the oven. Then I’m done, unless we get some orders.
“I can do that for you, if you want.” Bane said as he walked back in, tightening the apron behind his back.
Simone was grateful that he had come back to help her, even after the way she had treated him. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she watched Bane.
“That would be great.” Simone smiled and nodded.
Bane walked over, pulled the icing out, and got to work, repeating Simone’s method. He turned the lazy Suzan as he smeared the icing on the sides. It smelled heavenly as the chocolate’s rich scent hit her nose. This recipe was divine, certain to get the attention Simone needed to stay in business.
She watched him as he perfectly iced each dessert. He had only watched her once, and now he was a perfectionist. “You’re doing good.”
“Thanks, I watched you and thought, ‘I can do that’.” Bane said, smirking as he worked.
“The ability to see someone do a task just once and repeat it exactly is quite the skill. Is it a gift of yours?” Simone asked as she got the cookies out of the oven. She hoped she had enough; she still had two more batches to go in the display. The smells in the kitchen had to be making their way outside, tempting would-be customers.
“I’m just a fast learner, always have been. But I like to cook. I try to come up with new recipes when it’s my turn to make dinner at the Pack House.”
“How many live at the pack house?” Simone questioned.
“About thirty of us. The rest have cabins all over the property, and some live here in town.”
“You’ve lived here all your life?”
“Yep, born and bred. I thought about leaving when I was just a pup, but I wanted to stay here.” Bane chuckled like he was remembering something from the past. “I remember when I was young. Arden and I got mad at our dads, so we decided we were going to run away and be rock stars. We loved music but couldn’t sing a lick or write a tune, and yet for some reason, we had it in our heads that we could.”
He shook his head at the foolishness of his youth before he continued, “So we packed our backpacks, and headed out. We got to Los Angeles, and boy did we find out real fast how unprepared we were. We lasted all of two days on the street with the drug dealers and prostitutes, before we ran home as fast as we could. What we learned later was that two guards were following us the whole time. They were instructed to watch out for us and make sure we didn’t come to any harm, but we were to experience the life there, then bring us back home.”
“What did your parents say when you got home?” Simone asked.
“Nothing, at first. When we got home, my mom had been crying, and boy did I feel bad. The woman was a saint. She was good as gold, and I was the one who had hurt her. I beat myself up for making that woman unhappy. Then my dad called me into his office and told me that I was to report everyday after school to the pack clean up crew.”
“At least he didn’t spank you. I’d say you got off lucky.” Simone answered. still enthralled with the story.
“Trust me, I would have rather had the whipping. You’ve never cleaned up after all the pups and the adults that use those bathrooms, showers, and kitchens. Those wolves can mess up a place, but after the first week, the Alpha called us into his office and told us how scared they were when we left, how much they loved us. I never saw my dad cry before, but on that day, he teared up. He was always so hard on me, and the Alpha was just as hard on Arden too, but I learned a lot from those two days away from the pack.”
Simone leaned up against the stove, listening to the most interesting stories she had ever heard. She didn’t grow up with loving parents like Bane did. She grew up with a drunk for a mother, and a father she never knew. The woman had taken care of her until she dropped her cigarette in bed, catching the blankets and her mother on fire. She was so drunk she couldn’t find her way out of the apartment before the smoke killed her. Simone was at school when it happened. Bane didn’t know how lucky he was, or maybe he did.
“What did you learn?
” Simone questioned.
“First, I learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Second, I learned how much my pack meant to me. I was scared. Even though Arden was with me, I felt alone. I’ve never felt alone with my pack. When one of us needs help, we all help each other out. Besides, we’re all in each other’s business too.” Simone laughed.
“Bane.” Simone put her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry about accusing you earlier, you know, with Monica.” She bowed her head in shame. He was a good man, and she had screwed up. She needed to learn that not everyone was Terry.
Without speaking, Bane’s finger pushed her chin up. “No harm done.”
“But I should have known it wasn’t anything bad, or Monica would have said something. I’ve just never seen wolves before, so I’ve got nothing to compare it too. I’m really sorry for not letting you explain. I’m just so used to Terry and…”
“I’m over it—are you over it?” Bane asked with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, I’m over it too.”
They both stared at each other, neither one looking away.
Josh cleared his voice, “I think you may want to come check out the crowd out front.”
Simone blinked, looking away. “Let’s get these sweets out front and open the store.” Her voice was hoarse as she turned around and picked up the cookies.
When Bane walked out, he stopped in his tracks. Simone glanced around him to see what was wrong; only to see faces gazing into the store. Not just a few of them, but a lot of people were waiting for the doors to open.
“Holy shit.” Simone barked as she came in the front with a batch of cookies. “Are they waiting to get in here?
“Yes ma’am, I believe they are.” Josh said with a laugh.
“I’m almost afraid to open the doors.” Simone confessed. She was suddenly nervous as the people continued to stare at her while she rushed to put the cookies in the display.