“So…” Joe said, “let’s talk about you.”
Chapter Nine
Kristine squirmed under Joe’s intense gaze. He’d folded his arms across his broad chest and was watching her expectantly. “Well,” he prompted. “Tell me about you.”
“What’s to tell?” she said. “I work a lot. I…” She scrunched her face in thought. “I work a lot.”
Joe gave her a commiserating smile. “But what do you do in your free—? Stupid question. You don’t have any free time.”
“What about you, Joe? You’re running your dad’s company. Do you have any time for yourself?”
“Yes, I do,” he said succinctly. “I make time for myself.” He gave a self-deprecating shrug. “There was a time when I worked around the clock and had little to no leisure time, but I came to my senses. I sit here before you a well-rounded individual.”
She considered his words. “I don’t even know what I’d do if I had time on my hands,” she admitted ruefully. “I guess the bakery is my life.” She paused. “Wait a minute. Are you suggesting I’m not a well-rounded individual?”
“Not at all, and there are certainly worse things to occupy your time than your bakery,” he said. “But Krissy, what’s the payoff for all the hard work?”
“What do you mean?” She watched him, puzzled. “Isn’t it obvious? The payoff is a paycheck.”
“That’s it?”
She considered the question. “Well, no, that’s not all. Baking allows me to be creative, to come up with new recipes—to create beautiful, tasty treats for people to enjoy. And I take pride in knowing I’m part of something bigger than myself—a family bakery that has withstood the test of changing times. Do you know how few families can say they have a business that has been around since the turn of the century—the twentieth century! And under my management, we’re doing better than we’ve ever done.”
“You are good at what you do,” he said. “But…” He glanced away and back to her. “Don’t you want to be married someday? To have children of your own?”
“Sure.”
He laughed. “Okay, what are you doing to accomplish those particular goals?”
She chewed her lip thoughtfully. She almost made the cheeky remark that going on a date with him was a step in the right direction, but she didn’t want to alarm him. Instead, she said, “I’m building a future.”
“How so?”
“I’ve put away a tidy little nest egg.”
He chuckled. “That’s good, but what are you doing to accomplish those particular goals?”
“Which?” she said obtusely.
“Finding a husband with whom to have children.”
“I’m starting to see your point,” she admitted, but perked up. “What am I doing? Well, I’ve been asked out on dates by several of my customers.”
“Have you ever gone out with any of them?” he asked, bracing for her answer. He realized he didn’t like to think about her dating.
“No.”
“Why not?”
She suddenly glared at him as her temper flared. “You know why not. I never know exactly what time I’m going to get off work. I have a nephew who, thanks to his mother, ends up stranded at the daycare until Auntie Kristine comes to the rescue. Until recently, my mother was practically comatose and if you’ll remember, my dad died!”
“Krissy, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you.”
“Then stop calling me Krissy,” she insisted crossly.
“I don’t know if I can,” he said with an apologetic wince. “You’ll always be ‘Krissy’ to me.”
“Joe, what do you want me to say?” she said finally, woefully. “I get where you’re coming from and I agree with you, I have no life to speak of. There. I said it. But I don’t know what to do about it at this point.”
“Sure you do. You could establish boundaries. You could delegate more. You could hire additional help.”
“I suppose.”
He watched her thoughtfully, unsure if he should say the words that came to mind. He took a deep breath and forged ahead. “You could … sell the business,” he said, anticipating the explosion to follow.
None was forthcoming. “Did you put the idea of selling the business into my mother’s head?” she asked in a low voice, watching him with a penetrating gaze.
“No, I’m telling you the truth. But maybe it isn’t such a bad idea. You never know. Maybe the new owners would allow you to work there, or even manage it. But you’d have to be firm about restricting your work hours.”
“Oh, okay,” she said sarcastically. “It feels as if you’ve given this a lot of thought.” She couldn’t help but wonder why.
“I guess I have,” he said.
“Why, Joe? You don’t even know me. You never did.” She glared at him with a challenging glint in her eyes.
He held her gaze, refusing to avert his eyes. When a smile tugged at his lips, he feared she might come over the table and strangle him, but he couldn’t prevent the smile that lit his face. It became even larger as her eyes flashed with fury.
“I don’t appreciate being laughed at, Joe,” she said angrily.
“I’m not laughing at you, honey,” he said.
She was caught off guard by the term of endearment. “Did you just call me honey? I’m not your honey.”
He laughed as reached across the table and held one of her hands. “But I’d like you to be.”
***
Kristine was still pondering Joe’s declaration that he was interested in her romantically when he dropped her by her house. Surprisingly, after he’d made his intentions more clear to her earlier in the evening, the two had managed to settle down and have an enjoyable dinner together.
She couldn’t deny she felt something for Joe. But she had so little dating experience, she wasn’t sure how to quantify those feelings or put them into words. It was nice having someone on her side who seemed to care about her well being. She spent so much time assuring others’ needs were met, she had forgotten about her own.
When Joe had asked her what she was doing to accomplish her goals, she hadn’t understood specifically what he’d been asking. He’d asked what she was doing to make things happen in her own life. He was asking if she was being proactive, rather than allowing things to happen to her.
It was interesting thinking about it now. She’d always been a ‘make it happen’ person. As a youngster, she had had spunk. Her dad used to get a kick out of his spirited young daughter. But that girl had been lost somewhere along the way. Why had it happened? Why had she allowed it to happen?
She couldn’t deny she was a pleaser, and perhaps her desire to please outweighed everything else. But why?
She had to admit that having Joe express an interest in her was an ego booster. The man was drop-dead gorgeous and not nearly as annoying as he’d been when they were kids. He’d morphed into a pretty good guy. And that handsome, good guy seemed to like her.
Unlike her sister, she preferred the good guys. She’d never been drawn to bad boys and didn’t intend to start now.
“Hello, honey,” her mother said, stepping into the living room from the kitchen. “Did you and Joe have a good time tonight?”
She nodded.
“Why didn’t you bring him inside when he picked you up? You know I wanted to speak with him, and Lori was especially eager to see him. You could have invited him in when he brought you home.”
“Why? I mean, I know why you wanted to talk to him, but what did Lori want?”
“Well, Kristine,” she said crisply, “as you recall, Lori and Joe have a history.”
What did that have to do with anything? “Yes. They dated for awhile in high school,” she said.
“For a year,” her mother clarified, enunciating carefully. “And during their senior year. I was sure they were going to get married someday.”
Kristine gave an unconcerned shrug. “I guess you were wrong, Mom.” She started for the stairway leading upstairs, but p
aused. “I’m sorry, Mom,” she said wearily. “I don’t mean to sound so…”
“Snotty,” her mother readily interjected.
“Yeah,” she sighed. “I guess I’m just tired.”
“It’s not like you to be so curt. And it’s not like you to actively pursue Joe when you’re well aware he’s interested in Lori,” her mother said.
“WHAT?” Kristine cried, as she shook her head in surprise. “What?” she repeated, still too stunned to formulate a complete and coherent sentence.
“Kristine, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Joe stopped by the bakery looking for Lori originally. Why didn’t you tell her he was back in town?”
“But, he didn’t come in looking for her.” Did he? She racked her brain. Had he come seeking her older sister? He had asked about her several times…
“Yes, he did,” Lori said stiffly, as she stepped out of the kitchen and joined them in the living room. She glared at Kristine with accusing eyes. “I guess you flirted with him and gave him a glimpse of that tiny little body of yours and he took the bait.”
Kristine’s jaw dropped. How could Lori suggest such a thing? She’d made no overtures to Joe. In fact, she’d initially avoided him like the plague.
If it was bad enough Lori was making accusations, it was blisteringly painful for her mother to do so. Kristine had taken full responsibility for running the bakery and the home, without help from either of them. She’d tried so hard to assure everyone’s needs were met. Lori, on the other hand, came and went as she pleased, without any regard for the bakery or her mother’s mental state. She seemed unconcerned about the toll it was taking on Kristine to work around the clock attempting to keep them afloat.
And this is how she was rewarded for her efforts? With false and unkind accusations from the two people closest to her.
Tears sprang to her eyes. She turned to her mother. “I can’t even fathom either of you talking to me like this—especially you, Mom. And I did not use my feminine wiles on Joe. As Lori has pointed out so often in the past, I don’t have any.”
“Oh, come on,” Lori scoffed. “You know you’re beautiful.”
Kristine froze in place. “What did you say?”
“You heard her,” her mother said, seeming determined to back up her oldest daughter.
Kristine took a deep breath. Did Lori really think she was beautiful? Her feelings and emotions were incredibly conflicted right now. She couldn’t recall her sister ever complimenting her before, though this was definitely a backhanded version.
“I’m going upstairs,” she said, forcing back tears as she started for the stairway. She brought herself to an abrupt stop and turned around, eyes flashing now. “Mom, is it so difficult for you to consider that maybe Joe actually likes me—that he came into the bakery to see me?”
“Why would he?” Lori said dismissively. “You were just a child when he and I dated. And it’s not as if you’ve spent time together in the intervening years prior to his return.” She gave a callous laugh. “If he likes you, as you say, then it’s a recent development of your own making.”
She ignored her sister—their relationship had been strained for some time—but her mother… “Mom,” she said, her eyes pleading. “You know I would never, ever do what Lori is suggesting. I do have morals…”
Her mother sighed. “Kristine, I know that Joe cared deeply for Lori once. It doesn’t make sense that he’s suddenly interested in you. He’s been home—what?—all of a week or so?”
Lori gasped. “Wait a minute, Mom. He’s been here much longer than that. Somebody told me he built his house. Constructing a home doesn’t happen overnight.” Her eyes narrowed with contempt. “Kristine, you’ve been sneaking around with Joe! Behind my back!”
“Is this true, Kristine?” her mother asked.
“No! I didn’t sneak around with anyone,” she cried. “And I don’t know when Joe arrived in town. All I know is that he came into the bakery and…”
“He’s suddenly into you,” Lori interrupted, shaking her head. “It doesn’t happen that fast,” she said, scowling.
Kristine felt as if her world had been turned upside down. She hadn’t felt so lost and sad since her father’s passing. Having her sister turn on her was a fairly regular event, but her mother…
How could her mom side with Lori? It was ludicrous to think she had somehow manipulated Joe into developing feelings for her over her sister. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she spun toward Lori.
“You have a boyfriend! One you’ve said is near to proposing to you.”
“I like Joe better,” she said, sounding like a petulant little child.
“Wha—” She stared at her sister, stunned. “You’ve been dating Chad for months. You’re going to toss him aside for Joe?”
“Well, I was, until you worked your magic on Joe.”
“My magic?” She directed her attention to her mother. “Mom? Really? You’re going to let her get away with this? Don’t you have any regard for poor Chad, who this very moment is under the misimpression his girlfriend cares about him?”
“Kristine,” her mother said in a frustrated tone. “Joe was Lori’s first love. She’s pined for him for years. The heart wants what the heart wants.”
Kristine threw her hands in the air. “I can’t do this anymore.” She turned toward her sister, eyes flashing with fury. “You know what? I’m taking tomorrow off. It’s time you put in a long day at the bakery. Lord knows, you enjoy the perks without the pain.”
“Kristine…” her mother said. “Now, be reasonable…”
“Mom, I firmly believe at this moment that I’m the only reasonable one in this family. And I realized something else…”
“What?”
“You don’t like me very much.”
“How can you say that?” she said, seemingly hurt by the remark.
“Think about the things you said to me tonight. You’ll figure it out.” With that, she spun on her heel and hurried up the stairs to her room. When she threw open the door and glanced around, the room suddenly felt unfamiliar—as if she hadn’t slept in that very bed her entire life. She glanced around her. Nothing here really belonged to her. This was her childhood bedroom and contained childish things.
She dropped onto the bed and reached for a Teddy bear she’d had since she was three. She pulled it to her chest, and then thrust it away from her. Joe had asked her earlier what she was doing to compel her life to move in the direction she wanted it to go. Maybe it was time to sell the business. Maybe it was time for her to leave Cooper Glenn behind. Thanks to her mother and sister, she felt like a foreigner in her own town, not to mention her childhood home.
Chapter Ten
Kristine woke early, her internal time clock having been set years before. She glanced around her room. She felt sluggish and some memory danced around the fringes of her mind. She sat up and flung her legs over the side of the bed. She needed to get dressed and ready for the day.
Wait!
She suddenly recalled the evening before, in which her mother and sister had ambushed her when she’d arrived home from her date with Joe. They had accused her of awful things. Her heart twisted as she remembered each painful detail of the heated conversation.
She had told them she wasn’t going into work today. She felt conflicted about that now. If she didn’t go in, would Lori actually buck up and take her place? And if she did, could she actually be counted on to keep the case filled with baked goods for their customers?
Minnie wouldn’t be happy to walk in and find Lori waiting. The two had never gotten along. Despite the age difference, Lori had never treated her with the respect she should have afforded all her elders. Instead, when forced to work at Branton’s, she had made the experience miserable for all involved. Her efforts there were half-hearted at best, as she frowned and pouted and generally complained the whole time while she was there.
Kristine wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked herself, as she conside
red the pros and cons of following through with her threat. Finally, she decided she wasn’t going in to work. It was time Lori had a wakeup call, literally. However, she wasn’t going to give it to her. If her sister hadn’t set her own alarm, in order to get up in time to open the business this morning, then she would have to accept the consequences.
As she lay back down in bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, Kristine knew full well who would suffer the consequences of Lori’s lack of motivation. And if Lori actually went into the bakery, Kristine knew she would be the one to clean up the mess she would inevitably leave behind. But it was a chance she had to take. It was time her sister experienced some tough love.
She rolled over on her side and closed her eyes. Willing sleep to come, she lay quietly, struggling to think happy thoughts. Joe immediately came to mind. He had told her the evening before that he wanted to get to know her better—that he had feelings for her.
She too cared about him, but she suddenly wondered, should she pursue a relationship with him? Could she? Her mother and sister believed she’d crossed some sort of loyalty line and had betrayed Lori. But then, it had been years since Lori and Joe had dated and Lori was currently involved with someone else.
Had she broken a sisterly dating code? She honestly didn’t know. Maybe she had.
She forced away the disturbing thoughts, now yearning for sleep. The truth was, she needed it. Her body ached for it. If only she could sleep…
Finally, she began to drift off, when she was startled awake by her door being flung open. “Kristine! Get up!” her mother cried. “You’ve overslept. Minnie just called and…”
“I’m not going to work today,” she said groggily. “Remember. I told you last night. It’s Lori’s turn.”
“She’s sleeping!” Ruth cried.
“Wake her up.” She rolled over, away from her mother’s alarmed face. Obviously, her mother hadn’t taken her seriously when she said she was taking the day off today.
“But you know Lori…” Her mother’s words trailed off. The unspoken part of her remark spoke volumes.
The Icing on the Cake Page 8