Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Walking into Hailee’s Bakery always felt like walking into Willy Wonka’s factory. The sweet aromas could be smelled hundreds of feet before you even reached the store. The quite large and spacious location sat right on Lake Michigan’s coastline.
Something about walking into the shop and smelling the baked goods was so reassuring. It was a sign of perseverance of sorts. Mama and Dad waited years for the right location and finally got it.
“Is that pumpkin loaf I’m smelling?” I asked as I guided my way through the shop and landed in the kitchen, which looked like a culinary war zone. Flour and pots were everywhere. The countertops had been transformed into a decorating area with frosting, piping tools, and sugar cookies galore.
I sniffed the air. “And lemon bars!” I gleamed, walking over to my favorite dessert ever. As I reached down to grab one, Mama slapped my hand. “Don’t you dare, Hailee Rose. Those are for the festival.”
I pouted and took a seat on a barstool at the counter. “You didn’t make one extra pan of lemon bars?”
She narrowed her eyes toward me, took off her gloves, and walked into the pantry. When she reappeared, she came out with a tray of lemon bars and placed them right in front of me. “Only eat one if you haven’t had dinner yet. You’ll spoil your appetite.”
I grinned ear to ear and rubbed my hands together. “These are dinner.”
“Hailee, don’t you dare eat all that sugar and no real meal. Speaking of… you should go get yourself dinner. You didn’t need to come and help me. I’ve got this covered.”
I glanced around at the destruction of Mama’s house and smirked. “You do know you need all of this done by tomorrow, right?”
She placed her hands against her hips and sighed before wiping the back of her hand against her forehead. “I am a little overwhelmed. Your dad was helping, but you know he can’t bake to save his life. He burned two pans of cookies. I sent him to the office to do some admin work.”
“Well, let me underwhelm you and help.”
Relief washed over Mama’s dark-brown eyes as her shoulders dropped. “Great. You’re on sugar cookie duty. You are filling in the Oscar-shaped cookies, writing quotes on three dozen cookies, and then doing the edible stickers of Aiden’s face on three dozen.” She paused and wrinkled up her nose. “Are you okay doing this, sweetheart?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know…spending the next few hours plastering Aiden’s face on cookies.”
I smiled and shoved a lemon bar into my mouth. “Anything for an up-and-coming baking company,” I joked, trying to push off the thoughts of staring into the edible blue eyes of my first and only love.
Was it going to be awkward? Yes.
Was it going to be really awkward? Absolutely.
Would I do anything for my parents? One hundred percent. Even when it came down to sticking edible prints of Aiden onto her world-class cookies.
“It’s fine, Mama. It’s been years since Aiden and I were even a thing. He’s moved on. I’ve moved on. It’s nothing but ancient history.” Minus the random text message from a few months ago, but she didn’t have to know about that.
She walked over to me, kneeled a bit, and stared me in the eyes, searching for any truths I was hiding from her. Detective Penny Jones was on the case, searching for any reminisces of heartbreak that I still carried around with me about a relationship that ended years prior. Then she smiled, kissed my forehead, and thanked me for being the best daughter ever.
I reached down to grab another lemon bar, and she teasingly patted my hand again. “No more sweets until after dinner. I’ll order Chinese. Go tell your father food will be on the way soon.”
She walked out of the room to order food, and I shoved yet another piece of a lemon bar into my mouth. Then, I headed to the back office, where Dad seemed to live lately.
“Knock, knock. Hey, Dad.”
He looked up from his paperwork and smiled wide. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite daughter.”
“Your only one.”
“I’m pretty sure if I had more kids, they wouldn’t come close to comparing to you.”
I chuckled as I walked over to him and kissed his bald head. “Mama said to tell you she’s ordering Chinese.”
“Sounds good.” He sat back in his chair and studied my face. Detective Karl Jones was now on the case, searching for any off emotions I might’ve been hiding. “How are you, baby girl?”
“I’m good. I’m applying to a few more grad schools tomorrow and am about to help Mama with the baking.”
“You know dang well that’s not what I’m asking about.”
I sighed and leaned against his desk, crossing my arms. “I’m good, Daddy.”
“It would be okay if you weren’t. You don’t always have to be good, but you should always be true. Any feeling is warranted, especially when it comes to Aiden.”