The Sea Star Bakery: A Willa Bay Novel

by Nicole Ellis

  “At least they were able to fix the water damage. Who knows when that leak started. It’s lucky we remodeled the kitchen now before it got too bad,” Meg said. They’d lost about a week’s worth of time to contain the mold and rot behind the sink, but now the kitchen remodel could go forward.

  “Yeah, lucky.” Zoe scowled. “Between this and the roofers bailing on us, we’re so far behind schedule that it’s not even funny.”

  “I wasn’t laughing.” Meg crossed her arms.

  “Maybe not, but you don’t have to deal with it.” Zoe’s eyes were weary as she surveyed the kitchen.

  “I’m here as much as possible,” Meg said.

  “Yeah. But it’s not enough. How is it that you have time to go out with that new boyfriend of yours, but not help us here?”

  Meg recoiled. She’d been out with Theo a few times over the last two weeks, but it wasn’t like she saw him every day. His lighthearted attitude made him fun to be around and took her mind off the long hours she devoted to work and the Inn.

  “We both agreed that I’d keep my job for a few more months.” Meg tried to keep her voice even, but heat was rising in her chest as her temper threatened to get the better of her. Zoe was stressed to the max, but that didn’t mean she had the right to take it out on Meg. If this was what it was like being in business with one of her closest friends, she wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

  “You wanted to keep your job.” Zoe sighed. “Look I don’t want to fight about this. I just want things to go right.”

  Meg met Zoe’s gaze. “I know. Me too. Seriously, we’re all in this together – you, me, and Shawn.”

  “I know.” Zoe appeared to have aged several years over the last two months. “It’s just not how I thought it would be.”

  Meg’s heart softened, and she wrapped her arms around Zoe, patting her on the back. “It’ll get better.”

  “Thanks.” Zoe looked up to the ceiling. “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, though. What next? A sinkhole develops in the driveway? A raging rhino knocks over the new gazebo?”

  Meg smirked. “Those are probably unlikely.”

  In the hallway outside of the kitchen, the tennis balls on the back of Celia’s walker clopped rhythmically on the hardwood floors, and she appeared in the entrance to the kitchen. She looked sharply between the two of them. “Are you girls all right?”

  “We’re fine.” Zoe gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Just wondering what else can go wrong.”

  Celia smiled. “On that note, I do have some news for you. I’m not sure if you’ll consider it good or bad.”

  Meg narrowed her eyes at the elderly woman. “What is it?” If it was an escaped rhino, she was moving back to Portland.

  “Bruce Danville skipped town, along with all of the deposits people had paid for their events at Danville Hall.” Celia frowned. “I never did trust that guy.”

  Meg and Zoe exchanged worried glances.

  “What do you mean, skipped town?” Zoe asked.

  “So, what happens with the scheduled events?” Meg asked.

  Celia shook her head. “I don’t know. From what I heard, the employees found a sign on the door this morning that Danville Hall had closed. They’re still trying to figure out what’s going on, but, apparently, Bruce emptied the business accounts before leaving on a one-way ticket to Mexico this morning.”

  “All of those weddings,” Zoe whispered, her eyes wide with shock. “How awful.”

  “I know.” Celia came all the way into the kitchen and sat down on the only chair remaining in the torn up room. “I’m sure they were fully booked for the summer and fall – they always are.”

  “Why would he do that?” Meg asked.

  “Who knows,” Celia shrugged. “But clients paid him huge deposits to secure their reservations and now they’ve lost both that money and the venue.”

  Zoe looked around the room. “I wish we could do something to help, but we don’t open until late August. Maybe we could run a special discount for people who were supposed to have their events at Danville Hall?”

  Meg took a deep breath. “I know this is a long shot, but is there any chance we could open early? Like maybe at the beginning of August? That could help a lot of people.”

  A far-off look came into Zoe’s eyes, and Meg knew she was reviewing her to-do list and calculating how much time everything would take.

  “Maybe?” Zoe said. “But we’d have to find a roofing company that can start in the next two weeks. We can’t proceed with the upstairs renovations until we get the roof fixed.”

  “Okay, but if we can make that happen, can we do it?” Meg asked.

  “It’ll be close, but maybe?” Zoe didn’t look too certain of her assessment. “I’d love to help all of those people because they’ve been put into a horrible situation. I can’t imagine inviting hundreds of people to my wedding and then finding out a week beforehand that the venue no longer exists. Plus, Danville Hall required that clients use their in-house caterers and florist, so they’d have to find those services as well.”

  “Wouldn’t we have to do that too?” Meg asked.

  “Yeah, but I can find people for that.” Zoe grinned. “Over the last decade in this business, I’ve made more than a few contacts I can count on. If the vendors that were going to provide services to Danville Hall events were left in the lurch, too, they’re probably available.” She toed the edge of a scrap of linoleum that stuck stubbornly to the plywood floor and looked over at Celia. “What do you think?”

  Celia leaned against her walker, taking time to compose her thoughts before speaking. “I think we can make it happen by the beginning of August. And I might have an idea for the roof. I’ve been thinking about it, and I may know some people who owe me a favor.”

  Meg smiled. Zoe may have been involved with Willa Bay’s wedding industry for a decade, but Celia had about half a century more experience with it. She had no doubt that Celia could pull off any event she wanted to on a moment’s notice.

  Meg raised her eyebrows and locked eyes with Zoe, who smiled back at her.

  “I guess we’re going to do this,” Zoe said. “I’ll tell Shawn that, somehow, we’ll open by the beginning of August. The Inn may not be in top form, but we’ll make sure that any client-facing areas are ready. Celia, can you let people know we’d be happy to help out clients of Danville Hall?”

  Celia nodded. “I’ll check with the Chamber of Commerce to find out if anyone is coordinating efforts to find new venues for them.”

  Meg checked her watch. Her shift at the Lodge was about to start.

  “Meg, can you help me decide what to prioritize before we open?” Zoe asked.

  Meg froze. Zoe was already upset with her and she hated to let her down yet again. “I’m so sorry, but I have to go to work now.”

  Zoe’s face fell. “Oh.”

  “I can come back tomorrow morning, though,” she said, ignoring the sinking feeling in her chest. She’d planned on spending the morning running errands and tidying her apartment, which had been sorely neglected lately.

  Zoe sighed. “I guess that will have to do.” She turned to Celia. “Can you find out if you can get a roofer out here soon?”

  “I’ll do it before I call the Chamber of Commerce.” Celia smiled at Zoe. “Don’t worry, dear. It’ll all work out.”

  “I sure hope so.” Zoe didn’t look too certain.

  Meg clocked into work and started preparing for dinner, but couldn’t focus. Her head ached from worrying about Zoe’s feelings, and her muscles burned from all of the physical labor she’d done recently at the Inn. She rolled her shoulders back, wincing as the muscles around her shoulder blades lengthened and contracted.

  “Are you okay?” Taylor asked as he came around the side of the counter island. “You look like you got run over by a truck.” His eyes widened and he stumbled to correct himself. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that you look like you’re hurting.”

  She laughed. �
�No offense taken. I am in pain.” She braced her hands against the counter and leaned back, stretching out her forearms. “I’ve been helping Zoe paint and do about a million other things at the Inn.” She frowned, remembering how upset Zoe had been with her earlier. “But none of that seems to be enough for her.”

  “I’m sure she knows how hard you’re trying.” Taylor peered at her, leaning one hip against the counter and folding his arms in front of him. “You’re doing everything you can.”

  “She doesn’t seem to think so.” Meg reached for the knife on the counter. Zoe hadn’t been happy that Meg had been spending time with Theo, and her accusations had stung, but maybe she had a point. Meg had considered calling Theo on her way to work to talk about it, but she’d decided against it. While Theo was fun to be around and she was enjoying her time with him, they weren’t at the place yet where she could unload everything that was on her mind. That kind of relationship was built over time. But, Zoe probably had free time to spend with Shawn, right? Why shouldn’t Meg have the same opportunities for fun?

  However, this didn’t seem appropriate to share with Taylor. Meg hadn’t told him she was dating someone and it hadn’t come up in conversation. If Cassie was right about him having feelings for her, she didn’t want to hurt him inadvertently.

  She put the knife down. “For some reason, I had this crazy idea that I’d love being in business with Zoe. I’d always admired her work ethic here, and she’s so organized and on top of things. I thought with her in charge, renovating the Inn would be a breeze. What I didn’t consider was how she gets when things don’t go according to plan. And with the Inn, nothing is following the approved timeline.”

  He nodded slowly. “But that’s not your fault.”

  “No, but I think Zoe is looking for anyone to blame.” She sighed. “That’s not really fair. She’s taken on a huge responsibility, and I don’t think it’s exactly how she envisioned things going either.” Her eyes blurred with unshed tears.

  He came over and put an arm around her, drawing her close to his chest. Her body went stiff for a few seconds, but then she relaxed against him. Taylor had a way of calming her and making her believe that things would be okay. She’d never found that with anyone else, including the few boyfriends she’d had over the years. When she eventually quit her job at the Lodge, she’d miss him and his support.

  “Am I interrupting something?” Lara’s voice cut through Meg’s bubble of safety, and she sprang away from Taylor, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

  “Nope,” Meg said.

  Taylor eyed Lara with disdain and walked into his office, closing the door. Cassie only had one more day at the Lodge before she left to work full-time at her new bakery. Of course, as soon as Cassie had announced her resignation, Lara had been named her replacement and started her on-the-job training the week before. Meg wasn’t looking forward to working with Lara on a daily basis, especially with her two best friends defecting from the Lodge.

  Lara looked around the room. “I’m definitely going to need to make some changes when I take over from Cassie. This place isn’t arranged very efficiently.”

  Raged seethed under Meg’s skin. “That’s because most of it is set up for a restaurant kitchen’s workflow.”

  “Well, I need it to work better for me.” Lara smiled sweetly at Meg. “I’m sure my dad won’t mind if I make some adjustments.”

  Meg said through tight lips, “I’m sure he won’t.”

  “It’s too bad that old Edgar let Cassie lease the bakery from him. I would have done a much better job.” Lara stacked mixing bowls at the end of a counter.

  “Oh really?” Meg stared at her.

  Lara laughed. “Of course. Cassie doesn’t have it in her to run a bakery. She’s much too nice. Everyone will walk right over her.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” Meg set her jaw. “Cassie has been running her cake decorating business for years and is in high demand. I have no doubt that her bakery will be even more successful.”

  Lara sneered at Meg. “We’ll see about that. I might as well start making preparations for leasing the bakery myself. She isn’t going to last long.”

  Between Zoe’s accusations about Meg not helping and Lara’s nastiness, Meg couldn’t hold back any longer. “You’re never getting the bakery from Cassie.” Meg stuck her hands on her hips. “She’s ten times the baker you’ll ever be, and the only reason you got this job was because your father owns the place.” She glared defiantly at Lara.

  Lara’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you just said that. I’m telling my father, and he’ll have your job.”

  Meg coolly removed her chef’s jacket and let it fall to the floor. “No need for that. I quit.”

  Lara spun on her heels and stalked out of the room. Meg picked up the jacket and hung it on the rack, then walked toward Taylor’s office with shaky legs. What had she just done? She and Zoe had agreed that she’d keep her job for a few more months. Then again, with all of the things at the Inn that hadn’t gone according to plan, this was par for the course.

  But what about Taylor? She’d just quit impulsively an hour before dinner service began. She hated to leave him shorthanded, but after the argument with Lara, she couldn’t go back on her decision to quit.

  She tapped lightly on Taylor’s office door.

  “Come in,” he called out.

  She opened the door halfway.

  A smile flooded his face. “Oh good, I was worried you were Lara. I couldn’t deal with her anymore.” He looked past Meg. “Is the wicked witch gone for the day?”

  Meg laughed at the image of Lara as a witch, then sobered. “She’s out of the kitchen, but she went to go talk to George.”

  “Figures.” He shook his head.

  Meg shuffled her feet. “I need to tell you something.”

  His eyes drilled into her. “What is it?”

  She took a deep breath. “I told Lara that I quit.”

  He leaned back in his office chair and rested a hand on his chin. “Ah.”

  “I’m so sorry. I never meant to do it this way. You and I had talked about me staying for a few more months, but then Lara came in and was being horrible about Cassie, and—”

  “And you couldn’t deal with her any longer,” he finished for her.

  She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them, hoping he wasn’t angry with her. “Yeah.”

  He laughed. “Well, good for you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re not mad?”

  “No, of course not.” He sat up. “I’d give anything to tell her off, but I don’t want to get fired. You have nothing to lose. Besides, I think this will be good for you. Now you’ll be able to help more at the Inn, and maybe the situation with Zoe will get better.”

  Her cheek muscles twitched, and tears of gratitude moistened her eyes. He was being more than understanding. “Thank you.”

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “No problem. But do you think you could finish out the weekend?”

  Meg glanced at the door. “But Lara’s telling George that I quit.”

  “Eh.” He grinned again, and stood from his chair. “Leave it to me. I’ll talk to George and work things out with him. It’s in his best interest to have the kitchen fully staffed until Monday, and it will give me a few days to get someone else in here.” He gazed at her. “I’ll never find anyone as qualified as you, though. You’ll be sorely missed.”

  A pit filled her stomach at the thought of not seeing his smile every day. “I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”

  He came over to her, and for a moment, she thought he was going to hug her again. Her nerves tingled as she waited for him to put his arm around her, but instead, he just patted her shoulder before leaving the office. Meg leaned against the doorframe. Her impetuous decision had opened up her life to new beginnings, but had it ended something else before it could really take hold?

  14

  Cassie

  “Cassie, this is the best r
ed velvet I’ve ever had.” Denise Alvarez unwrapped the other half of her cupcake and hungrily eyed the tiered cake tray Cassie had used to display her Fourth of July treats. “Do you mind if I take one for my husband?”

  “Go ahead.” Cassie beamed at her. “I’m only here for another two hours, and I don’t want to get stuck bringing these home with me.”

  Denise laughed. “I don’t think I’d want to own a bakery. I’d eat all of my inventory.” She licked some cream cheese frosting away from the corner of her mouth. “Are you planning on serving these cupcakes when you open?”

  Cassie shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I have so many things I want to try, but I haven’t made a final list yet.” A thrill shot through her. The Sea Star Bakery wouldn’t officially open for another three weeks, but each day it became more real to her.

  She’d made four different types of cupcakes for her booth at the Fourth of July Community Fair to get the word out about the bakery’s grand opening on July twenty-third. After agonizing over the decision for days, she’d finally selected a red velvet with cream cheese frosting, a German chocolate with a shredded coconut and chocolate topping, a classic vanilla with buttercream icing and sprinkles, and a carrot cake with the same frosting as the red velvet. They were some of her most popular choices for wedding cakes, and so far they’d been a hit with everyone in town.

  “Well, I plan to be there as soon as you open.” Denise threw the empty wrapper in the garbage can under the table, then selected a German chocolate cupcake for her husband, setting it on a paper napkin. “Are you planning on serving Edgar’s cinnamon rolls? I hate the thought of never having one of those again.”

  Cassie covered the side of her mouth as though she were telling a secret and leaned over the table. “Edgar gave me the recipe before he left. Don’t tell too many people, though. I don’t want to be mobbed when I open.”

  Denise looked pointedly at the cupcakes and then at Cassie. “You’re going to have a line out the door no matter what.”