The Baker's Man (21 page)

The EMTs immediately assisted Tessa, lifting her gently onto a stretcher. When they jostled her body, Tessa finally awoke. She called for Anna with a smoke-choked voice. The policemen approached and asked Anna to give details of what happened. She rested her hand on Tessa’s arm while she explained the events leading up to the fire. She and her two friends had decided to make cookies, and the oven had malfunctioned, creating a gas leak. Anna and Tessa made eye contact, and Tessa mouthed the words
thank you
. Mystic Water would never know what really happened inside Bea’s Bakery, and they would never know there had been a fourth body present in the fire.

They were lucky to be alive, the policemen and firemen agreed. The EMTs situated an oxygen mask over Tessa’s face. She blinked up at Anna as tears filled her eyes. “It’s going to be okay,” Anna assured her. “It’s going to be okay,” she said again to try and assure herself. Anna gave Tessa’s hand a squeeze as the EMTs pushed the stretcher into the ambulance.

An EMT began asking Lily questions and insisted she take a ride to the hospital so they could check her over. Lily refused. “I’m staying with Anna.”

Anna turned and looked at Lily, at the defiance she saw in her friend’s eyes. She walked over to the two EMTs speaking with Lily. “You should go. You need to make sure you’re okay. We breathed in a lot of smoke, and I’d feel better if I knew you and the peanut were okay,” Anna said.

Lily’s hand instinctively went to her stomach. “But what about you? Why don’t you ride with me, and we can get checked out together?”

Anna’s eyes drifted to the wreck of a building on Main Street. She rubbed the back of her head. “I should stay here. I need to make sure the police have everything they need. I should probably call someone. Insurance maybe. Of course all my paperwork was probably turned into kindling.”

Lily lay on the stretcher. “Promise me you’ll call the doctor in the morning? Wait, where are you going to stay? Do you want to go to my place? Jakob won’t care.”

Anna shook her head. “I’ll go to my parents’. Thanks, though.” Lily held out her pinky, and Anna almost smiled. She hooked her pinky around Lily’s. “I promise I’ll call the doctor in the morning.” Anna pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling as they pushed Lily’s stretcher inside the ambulance and closed the doors.

Anna hobbled up the wet street. Rivers of dirty water washed down the edges of the curbs and disappeared into the gutters. Anna bent down and lifted sopping wet papers. Underneath the soot and freezing water, Anna could faintly read the words of the contract for the bakery in Wildehaven Beach. The top edges were blackened and torn away. The contract hung limp in her hands, but she pressed it to her chest and squeezed her eyes closed.

She stood and inhaled a shaky breath, clenching her teeth to stop them from chattering. When she glanced around, she saw Eli in a crowd of people who’d gathered around the edges of the scene. Anna assumed they were late-night festivalgoers who had yet to make it home or who were lingering at the corner pub. She didn’t see Baron anywhere. The crowd parted as the ambulances pulled away. Anna knew she should call her parents, but she looked at the burned shell of the bakery and realized her cell phone was somewhere lost in the rubble. Without thinking, Anna walked over to Eli. She stopped in front of him. She wanted to ask him to hold her, but she didn’t have to. He pressed her against him as he enfolded her in his arms.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against his chest. “I’m so glad you came back.”

“Not as glad as I am,” he said, holding her tighter. He slid his hand down her hair and kissed the top of her head. His arms were streaked with soot.

“Everything is gone,” Anna said, finally allowing herself to fully cry, not caring that they stood in a group of people who were probably showering her with pity.

“It’s going to be okay,” Eli said as he stroked her hair, and Anna desperately wanted to believe him.

Time quickly slipped by as it tends to during a tragedy, with people moving in blurs of color without sound. Anna felt she and Eli were frozen at the center of the activity as everyone else whirred past like people on a carousel. She could have stood in his arms forever or at least until the shock wore off—which she felt might take forever just the same.

“Anna!” someone called. It was Evelyn.

Eli released his hold on her, and she turned to see her parents and Baron pushing through the crowd and around the emergency vehicles. Anna knew her mama must have been worried because she hadn’t taken the time to properly apply makeup or make sure her hair was perfect. However, Anna still thought she looked beautiful and was the exact person Anna wanted to see. Evelyn wrapped her in a hug so tight Anna could barely pull in a full breath. Evelyn stroked her back and pulled away just far enough to look at Anna’s face. Her daddy wrapped both women in his arms, kissing the side of Anna’s head. Then he pulled off his coat and wrapped it around Anna’s shoulders.

“I’m so thankful you’re okay,” Evelyn said. “When Baron called, my heart nearly stopped. Your dad drove like a maniac to get us here. It’s a miracle
we’re
okay.” Evelyn wiped at Anna’s dirty cheeks.

Anna looked at Baron with his hands shoved in his pockets and his burned shirt. “I called them,” Baron said. “I thought you’d want me to.”

Anna nodded and her eyes filled with tears. “Thank you,” she said, and she meant it one hundred percent. Baron had finally thought about what
she
needed. And she needed her parents more than anyone else at that moment. She wanted to nestle into the comfort they offered and lose herself. She wanted someone to tell her how to fix this terrible mess, but more than that, she wanted to lie down, close her eyes, and drift away long enough to ease the pounding in her head and the ache in her chest.

Anna heard her daddy thanking Baron and Eli. She was pretty sure she heard his voice flood with emotion while he talked to them. She heard the police officers say they would call her if they needed anything else, and they were very sorry. The firemen told her she would have to wait a day before returning to the site because the rubble would likely still be smoldering from the heat of the fire even though it was freezing outside. The gas company was already working to fix the leak and prevent any of the other buildings from the possibility of catching fire, but the area was roped off for safety.

Anna walked toward Eli and slipped her fingers around his palm. “Do you—do you want to come home with us?” she asked, tearing up again. “You’ll need a place to stay.”

Eli shook his head. “Jakob is going to pick me up. He said I could stay with them for as long as I needed. You go on with your parents. I’ll be okay.”

Anna squeezed his hand. “You sure?”

“Promise,” he said, pulling her into one final hug.

Anna vaguely recalled being bundled into her parents’ SUV and leaning her head against the window as they drove away into the darkness. When Anna hobbled through the front door of her parents’ house, she breathed in the familiar scents of home—her daddy’s soap, the lingering aromas of sweet tea and pound cake, the fresh tiger lilies her mama always kept in a vase on the entry table. She plopped onto the couch while her daddy inspected her feet. She dozed off while he rubbed some sort of tingly cream on her skin, and she drowsily thanked him.

Anna leaned against Evelyn as they walked up the hallway to her bedroom, which looked exactly the same as it did when she was a kid. The pink and white striped walls and overstuffed duvet welcomed Anna. Her favorite childhood books adorned a white bookshelf, and the lacy curtains shivered when the heat kicked on. Evelyn folded down the duvet, and Anna lowered herself to the edge while her mama rummaged through the dresser for clean clothes.

“Here,” Evelyn said, handing Anna a worn-out, oversize T-shirt with hearts and moons on it. “This should still fit. I’ll get a glass of water and some pain reliever while you change.”

Anna pressed the soft fabric of the T-shirt to her cheek. It smelled like home, like years of running up and down the hallways with bare feet, like laughing and painting fingernails with Lily and Tessa on Friday nights. Anna draped her ruined pajamas over the back of the desk chair and slipped on the clean shirt. She crawled beneath the covers and eased her head onto the fluffy pillow.

Evelyn returned with water and medicine. Anna took both willingly and sighed as she lay down again. Evelyn opened the closet doors and searched for something before closing the doors. She offered a battered, one-eyed teddy bear to Anna.

“Buster?” Anna asked, and her voice cracked. She pressed her beloved childhood bear to her chest, wrapping her arms around him so tightly she almost wanted to apologize for crushing him. “I can’t believe you kept him. You always complained about how dirty he was.”

Evelyn pushed the hair from Anna’s face, and tears sparkled in her eyes. “I’m not a complete monster,” she said with a gentle smile. “I would never throw away Buster. You went on some grand adventures together. But that’s probably why he’s the dirtiest thing I’ve ever seen and also why he’s been banished to the closet for all time.” Evelyn leaned down and kissed Anna’s forehead. “Get some rest.” She switched off the bedside lamp. “We don’t have to figure anything out tonight. Your dad and I will help you sort through everything. You won’t have to do it all by yourself, okay?”

Anna had no doubt her take-charge mama would help her until the world was right again. She was almost tempted to inform Evelyn she also had a broken heart, and if she could find a cure, it would be wonderful. “Thanks, Mama,” Anna said, swallowing down her tears. “I love you.”

“I love you. Very much,” Evelyn said and closed the door.

16
Sugar Cookies

Anna rolled over and inhaled deeply. The room smelled like chocolate chip cookies and her daddy’s breakfast coffee blend. Her mind registered that it was Sunday, and she couldn’t understand why Eli would be awake and baking on a Sunday morning when the bakery was closed. The room was brighter than it should be against her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes and stared at pink and white striped walls.
Why am I at my parents’ house?

Then she remembered. Anna sat up, and the bed sheets pooled at her waist. The back of her head ached and felt bruised to the touch. Buster lay beside her, so she picked him up and gave him a squeeze. The bakery was gone. Her apartment was gone. When she inhaled, she smelled fire and burnt sugar. There were folded, clean clothes at the foot of her bed. She tossed back the duvet and swung her legs over the side. She placed her feet gently onto the floor. They were still sore, but the medicine her daddy applied had definitely made a difference.

Anna needed a shower. Her hair stank of smoke and ashes. She grabbed the clothes and made her way to the bathroom she’d used growing up. The countertop and cabinets had been redone in granite and walnut after she’d left home, but the wallpaper was still the same pattern of pink and pale green flowers. Toiletries had been placed on the counter, along with a brand-new toothbrush. Her mama had bought her favorite shampoo, conditioner, and soap. There was also a bottle of fuchsia nail polish that made Anna smile. Her mama would never give up trying to mold her into a girly girl.

After a hot shower, Anna dried her hair and tugged on the new jeans and long-sleeve emerald green shirt she found on her bed. The house still smelled like baked goods, and Anna panicked at the idea of her mama baking because she could turn brownies into bricks. The television in the living room was on a news channel, and the clock on the microwave said it was just past one in the afternoon. The kitchen remodel had drastically altered the kitchen from Anna’s childhood memories, but that wasn’t what surprised her the most. The countertops and kitchen table were covered in baked goods. Some were sheltered by plastic wrap. Others were cuddled beneath plastic containers. A few sat atop colorful, ceramic cake plates. There was no way her mama could have baked so much in such a short amount of time. Anna walked to the oven and placed her hands against it.
Cold
.

Evelyn walked through the doorway that connected the living room to the sun porch. “Good morning—or afternoon, I should say,” she said with a smile. “I knew those clothes would fit. That color suits you.”

Anna combed her fingers through her hair. “Thanks for the bathroom stuff. And for the clothes.”

“Tessa and Lily called this morning to check on you. They’re both resting at home,” Evelyn said. “I told them you were still sleeping, and they thought I was joking. Lily’s exact words were, ‘Her body hasn’t seen a bed after eight a.m. in at least three years.’” Evelyn smiled. “Your dad made me sneak in and check that you were still breathing like he used to make me do when you were a baby.”

Anna felt relief that Lily and Tessa were both home and doing okay. “Mama, where did all this food come from?”

Evelyn lifted a plastic container and gave it a shake. Cookies rattled around inside. “Your dad has eaten most of these. They
were
good. Not as good as yours, but close enough. These sugar cookies came from Mrs. Rogers.” She pointed as she moved around the room. “The angel food cake is from Lottie down the street. Mr. Dixon dropped off the walnut brownies. Dr. Pitts brought the snickerdoodles. Tracey from the bank made the blackberry cobbler.” And she continued until she’d itemized every treat.

“But why?” Anna asked.

Evelyn crossed the kitchen to her daughter. “Because they want to let you know how sorry they are to hear about what happened.”

Anna’s throat tightened. “It’s not like somebody died.” She reached out and brushed her fingers against a plate full of oatmeal cookies. They warmed her fingertips.

“To them, it’s like a death. They loved that bakery, and they love you. This is their way of letting you know how special what you did was to them and how special
you
are.” Anna’s eyes watered. “Now, don’t start crying again,” Evelyn said, but her voice was gentle. “You’ll make your eyes all red and puffy, and it’ll completely clash with your skin tone.” Evelyn pulled Anna into a hug. “How about some lunch? I have low-fat turkey on multi-grain bread. I’ll even add cheese if you want it.”