The Bakery Sisters (58 page)

She sent D.C. to find the right size pans and had Jasper make sure the mixer was having a good and functioning day, then she smoothed out her recipe and went to work.

An hour later, she pulled the second batch of brownies from the oven and nearly moaned as she breathed in the rich, chocolate smell. She'd been telling herself that with brownies like this in her life, she didn't miss having a man. Of course, that had been before the hot, sexy, bone-melting kisses Matt had taunted her with. Now she had a bad feeling the brownies would come in second.

Matt. She didn't want to think about him, their evening together or the way it had ended. It made her sad and full of regret. Because on her dark nights she had always imagined what it would have been like if he'd believed her. If he'd at least waited to find out if the baby was his. They could have been married and had another child together. They could have been happy. They could have—

“Stop!” she whispered fiercely, hoping Jasper couldn't hear her. She didn't want to frighten the help on the first day. But she couldn't allow herself to get lost in what
hadn't
happened with Matt. She had plenty of reality to deal with.

She set the brownies on racks to cool. The first batch was at the right temperature to cut. She did it by hand, working slowly, carefully. D.C. helped put each cut brownie into an individual paper wrapper, then slid them onto a tray for the front case.

Jesse took one of the corner pieces and broke it in two, then handed part of the still-warm brownie to each of the guys.

“Damn,” Jasper said, then grimaced. “Ah, sorry. Darn, that's good, Jessie.”

She laughed. “Sid still has his no-swearing rule?”

“Yeah, and he gets real mad if he hears any.” D.C. licked his fingers. “Those are really good. They're the best thing in this place.”

“Good to know,” Nicole said as she walked around a rack and into their corner of the kitchen. “That's two votes in favor of what you're doing. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

But Nicole didn't look pleased. She studied the tray that would be taken up front. “Just one flavor?”

“Two. With and without walnuts. I thought I'd wait on the peanut butter ones for a week or so.”

“All right. We didn't discuss a price.”

“I have cost breakdowns,” Jesse said. She took off her plastic gloves and dug a folder out of her backpack. “One of my business classes required us to do a business plan, including coming up with the prototype of the product. That's what gave me the idea for the brownies. I had to guess on fixed costs and just assigned a value based on my Internet research.”

She handed Nicole the sheet with the information. “A dollar-fifty gives us a decent margin. If we add more flavors, we can charge more as the ingredients get more specialized and expensive.”

Nicole studied the paper. “You were thorough.”

Jesse started to say she got an A on the project but didn't. Nicole wasn't exactly enthusiastic about any of this. Better to give her time and let her see that the brownies were going to sell. It was the mature thing to do, even if she sometimes got tired of having to make the adult decision.

Jasper and D.C. motioned that they were leaving. Jesse nodded, a little surprised that even they picked up on Nicole's tension. Apparently it was obvious to people other than her.

“Do you want me to sign something?” Nicole asked. “A statement that if this doesn't work out I won't sell the brownies without your knowledge.”

Jesse forced herself not to react. Steal. Nicole meant steal. It was a not-so-subtle dig at Jesse for the chocolate cake incident from five years ago.

“I'm willing to trust you,” she said with a lightness she didn't feel. Obviously she'd been an idiot to think her sister would welcome her with open arms. Nicole was determined not to make this easy.

“We've already cleared a space in the main case,” Nicole said. “You can take the brownie trays up whenever you're ready. Maggie is putting up a sign about them and we'll be handing out samples.”

“Thanks.”

Nicole started to leave. Jesse called her back.

“I missed you,” she said. “It was hard being gone. Having Gabe on my own terrified me, but it also made me understand what you'd gone through, having your little sister to take care of. You were a kid yourself. You shouldn't have had the responsibility. I want you to know I appreciate all you did for me and all you had to put up with.”

Nicole's mouth twisted. For a second Jesse thought—hoped—they were going to have an honest moment of communication. Then Nicole shrugged.

“We all do what we have to do. I'll let you get back to your brownies.”

Then she was gone.

 

“Y
OU SURE ABOUT THIS
?” Jesse asked.

Wyatt, Claire's husband, dumped more containers of fat snap-together building blocks on the family room floor. “We're making a castle,” he said with a grin. “The castle is our favorite.”

Robby, Claire and Wyatt's four-year-old, and Mirabella, their two-year-old daughter, sank down next to Gabe, who was staring intently at the blocks and the possibilities they represented.

“He's great with the kids,” Claire said, as she led the way to the living room and the relative quiet and privacy there.

“I remember how he was with Amy,” Jesse said, wishing Wyatt's daughter had been around. But Amy, now a pretty, accomplished teenager, was off at camp for the summer. “I can't wait to see her.”

“You won't believe how much she's grown,” Claire said with a laugh. “She's beautiful and that's making Wyatt crazy. Boys are sniffing around all the time. So far she's not interested in dating, but it's just a matter of time until that changes. We're holding out for a couple more years of relative peace.”

“Good luck with that.” Jesse settled on the sofa and faced her sister. “You're doing well. I read about you in the paper.”

Claire dismissed the compliment with a flick of her wrist. “I'm performing less and less each year. I take tours when it interests me and when the scheduling works out, but with three kids, it's hard. I just don't have the drive anymore.” She glanced at the gleaming baby grand piano in the corner. “I'll always have music in my life, but not in the same way. Oh, I'm teaching Eric and Robby together once a week. If you'd like Gabe to join them, I'd be happy to have him.”

“Sure,” Jesse said. “What mother doesn't want her child taught by the famous Claire Keyes?”

Claire laughed. “Don't expect much. We play more than we learn, but I want them to appreciate music and find it thrilling, not be a grind. If they're interested, they can work on scales and technique later.”

“You're the expert. Just tell me when and I'll have him here.” She paused. “Assuming it's all right with Nicole.”

“Jesse, don't.”

“Don't what? Be realistic? Admit it.” Jesse kicked off her sandals and tucked her feet under her. “She doesn't want me to be successful, Claire. She's sorry I'm back.”

“She's not sorry. She's dealing with a lot. Remember—we didn't give her any warning.”

Which had been Jesse's request—that Claire not tell Nicole she was coming back. “Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe I should have let you tell her. Not that I think it would have made any difference. She's still angry with me about something that didn't happen.” Exactly like Matt. He was furious about the past he remembered, not the one that had happened.

“She'll get over it,” Claire said soothingly. “Give it time.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really. She'll come around.”

Jesse wasn't so sure. “It's unfair. I kept telling her before and she didn't believe me. Now it's five years later and she's still pissed.”

“You didn't try very hard,” Claire pointed out.

Jesse stared at her. “Excuse me?”

“You weren't very convincing back then. You kept saying nothing happened.”

“Nothing did.” Jesse couldn't believe it. She was being judged on the way she'd tried to defend herself?

“We thought you meant Nicole shouldn't be angry because you and Drew hadn't actually gotten far enough along to have sex.”

“What?” Jesse couldn't believe it. “I meant nothing happened as in nothing happened. Not, gee, we were interrupted and I'm really bummed about it.”

Why would they have thought otherwise? Why would—

She rubbed her temple. Nicole would have assumed the worst because she was used to her baby sister being a disaster. Because the worst was easier to believe.

“All this over words,” she murmured. Lives changed forever, chances lost because of semantics?

“Words matter,” Claire said. “Nicole was devastated. I'm not sure she would have listened to anything you had to say.”

Claire was right, Jesse thought. But at least if she'd made her sister understand what she'd meant, they might be getting along better now.

“Nothing happened,” Jesse repeated. “Drew and I were never involved, never had sex, never wanted to have sex.” She paused. “Okay, he did, that last night, but I have no idea where that came from. I was in love with Matt and I was completely faithful to him. Drew was a friend, nothing more. Is that clear enough?”

Claire touched her hand. “I totally and completely believe you.”

“Great. When you get a chance, pass it on to Nicole.”

“Give her time. She'll come around.”

Jesse nodded. It wasn't like she had much choice.

Claire smiled. “You've changed. You're a grown-up.”

“A hard-won victory.”

“An impressive victory.”

“I have so much I want to do,” Jesse told her. “So many things I want to achieve. Coming back here is just the beginning. Reconciling with Nicole is a part of that, but ultimately the decision is hers.”

“I agree. So do what you can and then try to let it go.”

“That doesn't seem possible.” Let it go as in not care? “I appreciate that you stayed in touch with me.”

“I didn't have the same emotional energy about you that Nicole did,” Claire said.

Because they hadn't grown up together. They were still practically strangers who just happened to be sisters.

“I'll get through it,” Jesse said, knowing one way or the other she would. “I'm strong. I think I was always strong, I just didn't know it then.”

“You know now,” Claire said. “Isn't that what matters?”

 

J
ESSE SAT IN HER CAR
and pulled out her cell phone. She pushed the button to dial a familiar number, then smiled when she heard the slow, low, “Hello?”

“Hi, Bill.”

“Hey, Jess. How you doing?”

“Okay. Good. Sort of.”

He chuckled. “Still trying to decide.”

“Oh, yeah. Nothing is like I thought.”

“Better or worse?”

“Both.”

“That happens.”

She gave him a brief rundown of her time in Seattle. “I'm going to be staying six months and working at the bakery. I wanted to let you know so you could replace me.”

“I'll never be able to replace you but I'll hire someone to take your place.”

She laughed. “You're a charmer.”

“That's what my mama said.”

“She was right. And how sad it is that all your charm goes to waste.”

“You appreciate it.”

“You know what I mean,” she said, the argument familiar. “Come on, Bill. It's been six years since Ellie died. You need to think about dating, finding someone. You should be happy.”

“I tell you the same thing.”

“The circumstances are different.” The person
she
couldn't forget was still alive.

“Not that different, little girl. Now get off me.”

“For now.”

“I'm going to come visit you. I miss you and Gabe more than I want to admit.”

“We'd love to see you.” She gave him Paula's address and phone number.

“I'll be by in the next few weeks.”

“Good.”

“Now go find yourself someone,” he instructed.

“I'm hanging up on you, Bill,” she said.

He laughed and said goodbye.

She pressed the end button on her phone and thought about what he'd said. That she should find someone.

Maybe that was possible in the future, but not now. Not until she'd resolved everything with Matt. She had to get some kind of closure, make sure she wasn't still in love with him. Only then could she put the past behind her and look into the future.