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One
Baking is my therapy.
I can hear my phone ringing and look down to see my momma calling me, making me smile. She always calls me in the mornings to wish me a good day. Not a day goes by where I don’t miss seeing her smiling face, but I wanted to be on my own. To live my own life, and she understood that as much as it pained her to let me go. My small town where I grew up in didn’t have a need for another baker, so after I finished school, I went in search of one until I landed in another town two hours away, finding my forever place at the Naughty Beans Cafe. The only reason I stopped in this town was because I desperately needed a coffee, and that's where I landed and stayed. I saw the help wanted ad in the window, and once I went inside, it felt like I had found my forever place. The atmosphere was so inviting; it was just the place I was looking for. So I asked the girl at the front what they were hiring for, and it turned out she was the baker for the cafe. One thing led to another, and I walked out of there with a full-time baking job. Isabella got me to bake some samples for her, and she loved everything I did. Baking is when I'm most in my element. Everything around me fades, and it’s just me and my ingredients.
It's been a few months since then, and I love my job and the people I work with. Isabella, Rhylie, Faith, and Skylar have welcomed me with open arms, and I finally feel that I belong and now have friends for life. It didn’t take me long to catch on to how Isabella likes to run the kitchen or the recipes she wants to use. She now lets me use some of mine, and we have incorporated some of them, and they seem to have taken off. I also help her with her side businesses when she needs it. I’ve always wanted to be a baker. Helping my momma in the kitchen at a young age is one of my favorite memories I have. Getting to stand on the stool helping her mix everything together; even back then, everything had to be perfect. We would laugh, sing and just have a great time. Even when we get together now, we still find ourselves in the kitchen baking up a storm.
My mom is my best friend, and we did everything together. She has been my rock throughout my life, and I don’t know what I would do without her. She always tells me to go after what I want in life, to always stand up for what I believe in. To see the light in such a dark world that there are good people out there that I just have to search for them. High school wasn’t a picnic for me. I got made fun of daily at school being called the fat girl. And when I would go home crying, Momma taught me those that make fun of me don’t matter that they more than likely find fault in themselves, so they lash out at people. She made me see there was nothing wrong with how I looked, to love me for me, and one day, someone will come along and love all of me, just the way I am. I never got to meet my dad as he died before I was even born, but momma made sure I knew what an amazing man he was. Most of my features take after him, yet my height is all her or the lack of one. I just barely hit 5 feet, and that's with shoes on. I have long dark black hair that reaches the middle of my back, crystal clear blue eyes, and enough curves to fill out a size 16, and I'm a virgin at 25. It's not like I'm holding on to it for marriage; I just haven’t found someone who lights my body on fire. I want to feel butterflies whenever that person looks at me like I'm the only one in the room, and all they can see and feel is me. Having that all-consuming passion that I know is out there. My friends have it, and I just won't settle for less until I find it. Well, I hadn’t found that until Walker Cruz walked into the cafe to pick up the coffee and sweets order that Rhylie’s husband Lucas puts in daily. He works for Blackwood Customs across the street, and he makes me think things I shouldn’t.
The first day he walked in, I couldn’t utter a word. All I could do was look at him. Man, oh man, did he make my blood boil. Butterflies have taken up permanent residence in my stomach ever since that day. I can’t even form a complete sentence around him; the girls think it is cute, me not so much. Walker is well over 6 foot 4, short dark hair that's shaved on the sides but a little longer on top, dark brown eyes that almost look black. He's just all dark and delicious all over. He has me drooling any time he comes in. It’s the reason I stay hidden when I see him walking across the street. I am way too shy to have the courage to even talk to him. He tried a few times, and all that came out was a squeak. I was so embarrassed I ran back into the kitchen and hid for the rest of the day.
When I venture out to the front, and he comes in, I'm one big blush right down to my toes anytime he looks at me. When he says my name, his voice makes shivers race up and down my spine; it is that sinful. The way he looks at me makes me think he feels something as well, but maybe that's just a dream on my part. I realized my phone had stopped ringing, only to start up again with another call from my mom. I spaced out so much that I missed her first call. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I answer.
“Hi, momma. How are you doing?”
“I’m good, baby girl, just getting ready for my shift at the hospital. So, have you talked to him yet?” I groan at my mom's laugh. She knows of my crush on Walker and asks me daily if I've talked to him yet.
“You know the answer to that, momma. I can’t string two words together when he’s around.”
“I just want to see you happy, Kennedy. But I will leave it for now. I have a feeling everything will work out how you want it.”
“How do you know that?” I don’t want to get my hopes up, but momma has never steered me wrong before.
“Momma's always know. Now I'll let you go because I know you have to get ready for work. I love you, baby girl, and I will message you tomorrow.”
“I love you, momma. Give my love to dad.”
I hang up the phone, feeling better after talking to her. She always knows what to say to get me to stop doubting myself. I look at the clock and see I have to leave in 10 minutes if I don’t want to be late. Isabella has to leave early today, so it leaves most of the baking up to me, and it’s going to be a long one for me with so many orders. It’s a good thing I have tomorrow off. I can now catch up on all my shows. Draining the last of my coffee, I slip on my shoes, grab my hoodie, and head out the door. I absolutely love the house that I got. It has more room than I really need, but I got it for nothing as it’s James' old house since he used to live here but stayed with mom as soon as he saw her. When I told them where I was and I was staying, he told me he had the perfect place for me. They both drove down and showed it to me, and I fell in love with it.
It has four bedrooms, with an office, a chef's kitchen which I fell in love with as a baker. A massive kitchen is a must. It’s decorated how I would have done a house; it’s peaceful for me. I love just sitting by the fire on bitter days and reading. Plus, it has top-notch security, so it gives mom peace of mind that I'm out here on my own. When he showed us the house and offered it to me, I couldn’t stop crying or hugging him. He has been such a huge support system I didn’t even know I was missing. It took mom a long time before she let anyone in her life after my dad died, and she’s now happily married to a man that worships the ground she walks on.
Locking the front door, I get into my car and start it up. I listen for that god-awful noise it's been making, and I know I'm going to have to take it in to get fixed soon. I pull out of the driveway and make the 20-minute drive to work, hoping the car makes it that long. Thanking the car gods for getting me safely to work I pull into the cafe’s driveway, shut the car off, grab my bag on the seat, and as soon as I step out, shivers race up and down my spine, and I don’t even have to turn around to know that Walker is across the street watching me like he always does. I will myself not to turn around, but I lose that battle and can't help myself. I turn my head slowly to look at him, and he has an intense look on his face as he gives me a chin lift while sending me a lopsided smirk, as if he knows what he does to me. God, he is so hot. My face goes beet red, and my heart races as if it is trying to race right to him, as if it already knows that it belongs to him and only him. I give him a little awkward wave over my shoulder and run inside the cafe. I lean against the cafe door and close my eyes, willing my heart to slow down. Maybe one day I can act normal around him.
After bowling out a breath, I open my eyes to see a smirking Rhylie, Faith, Skylar, and Isabella looking at me. Pushing off the door, I walk towards them, knowing my face resembles a tomato right now.
“Let me guess, Walker was outside again?” Isabella asks with humor in her voice. They all know how I feel since I let it slip one girl's day while drinking together. I think everyone at this point knows how I feel about him, except Walker.
I can feel my face go all red again as I go make myself a coffee before I have to start the baking orders. “Is it that obvious?” I groan out.
“Yes.” They all say, making me laugh.
“I'm not sure who is worse, you or Skylar, when Damon used to come in at first. I think you might be tied.” Rhylie laughs, making me shake my head.
“I wasn’t that bad,” Skylar says while pouting.
“Yes, you were.” They say, making us all laugh.
Skylar rolls her eyes at them while smiling. “Whatever. There's nothing wrong with being a little shy. Walker is one of the good ones, trust us, and the way he looks at you is the same way Damon looks at me. Let him chase you for a bit, but once he catches you, that’s one adventure you're never going to want to end.”
I so want to believe her. “Do you really think so?” I whisper out.
“We all see it, Kennedy, and I think he's done chasing. Just hold on, honey, because your life is about to change.” Faith says, giving me more hope than I've ever felt.
Looking each of them in the eye, I see what they are all saying to me is the truth. Pulling my shoulders back and giving them a big smile. I want what they all have, and there’s only one man who I want that with. “I can’t wait.”
Two
Homemade with love. In other words, I licked the spoon and kept using it.
