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I sighed. “I’ll be back.”
He grunted something out that sounded like ‘I’ll be waiting’ but I didn’t turn around to make sure.
When I arrived at Baby Gaze moments later—and I do mean moments, it was right around the corner and down a street in a residential house that looked like a farmhouse—I blew out a breath of nerves.
Those nerves disappeared when a smiling, older woman with beautiful hair and a body to die for opened the door and said, “Come in!”
I quickly hurried up the path to the house, thinking it would be a great picture for a postcard.
Something in which I told her moments later when I arrived on the front porch to stand in front of her.
She laughed.
“When I bought this place, it was in disrepair.” She held the door open for me to precede her inside. “Lock and Downy really came through. Even Jonah.”
“Jonah?” I asked curiously.
“Jonah is Downy’s brother. Lock’s uncle.” She paused. “He works with him at the police department. He’s actually in the same unit as Lock.”
I nodded. “I understand. I haven’t heard much about the unit. But I saw what he was wearing this morning and…”
Memphis burst out laughing.
“You liked it,” she guessed. “I liked it, too. He looks adorable in it.”
Adorable wouldn’t have been the word I would’ve used.
She understood that too by reading the look on my face.
“I love that.” She smiled. “Come in, come in. Let me show you around.”
I walked with her through the rooms.
The first bedroom on the right was where the examinations would take place. The bedrooms in the back were empty but for some supplies. The one in the very back was where the kitchen and break room was.
“Was this the site of the original kitchen?” I wondered.
She nodded. “Yes.” She pointed to a wall. “We put that wall up, though. Separated the living room from the kitchen. We also added another bathroom using the laundry room.”
“That’s really cool,” I admitted. “I’m very unsavvy when it comes to home improvement. My dad and I worked on my mom’s she-shed…and let’s just say that it came out that I wasn’t all that helpful.”
She started to laugh.
“I wasn’t either, to be honest,” she said. “I tried. But there was just some manly connection that I couldn’t quite tap into when it came to helping. Every time I tried, I screwed something up. So I ended up being a cheerleader and the food go-getter.”
I touched the walls.
“Shiplap,” I said. “I love them.”
She beamed.
“They’re the original walls,” she gushed. “I had no idea they were under there, but I told my husband that I wanted shiplap walls after watching Chip and JoAnna Gaines do their remodeling. When we found these underneath the wallpaper, I was so freakin’ ecstatic.”
I could imagine.
She gestured for me to follow her.
“Most of the time, I’ll have this all paid for upfront. They book the appointment and pay online. All of it is done through the computer. It’s a very rare occurrence when they haven’t paid. And that’s only if they come in before the appointment to do it. I had a couple of no-shows that showed me that I didn’t want to be living that life. So I make them pay upfront…that way if they don’t show, it’s on their dime and not mine.”
I snorted.
“I tried to meet someone who ordered a cake last week,” I murmured. “Made the cake, showed up at the meeting spot, and was stood up.” I paused. “Thank God I made her pay for it beforehand. It had that whipped icing on it, and it was expensive. A full sheet of cake. When I charged her credit card anyway, she was furious. Tried to get the money taken back. PayPal sided with me and I got the cake and the money.” I paused again. “She left me a bad review on Facebook, though.”
Memphis snorted and walked to the desk.
“I knew that you made cakes. I’ve been hearing about them from Lock and his friends,” she revealed.
I blinked. “Ummm, yes. I do. I’m a one-man operation, though, so it takes me a bit longer than it would a professional.”
She waved that off.
“Have you ever done a gender reveal cake?” she wondered.
I remembered the one that I’d made for Johnny, a good friend of mine, and his wife, June.
“I have.” I smiled, remembering the memory. “I made one for my friends, Johnny and June.”
Her eyes went wide.
“They’re really named Johnny and June?” she asked. “I love that.”
I nodded. “Funny thing is, Johnny’s dad is named Sebastian Sue. Johnny’s lucky he didn’t get a name like that. Silas, his dad, is really into Johnny Cash.”
Her eyes lit up. “Now I know who you’re talking about. I didn’t realize the correlation until you said Sebastian’s name.” She paused. “Please tell me they named their child Johnny Cash or something.”
