Jane’s good-natured barb hit home. “I guess I was wrong about him. I feel terrible.”
“Don’t worry,” Maxi said. “It’s easy to misconstrue things when it involves things close to our hearts. Like my relationship with James.”
Claire glanced up at her friend. She thought she’d sensed something wrong between them earlier but had been so wrapped up in her own problems she hadn’t been paying attention. “Is something wrong?”
Maxi smiled. “No. Well, things aredifferentsince the kids left. But I misconstrued that as James losing interest in our marriage and in me. It turns out we just need to adjust.”
“That makes sense. It’s a big adjustment going from a houseful to nothing,” Jane said.
“Yes, and I didn’t have a lot to occupy my time, so I overanalyzed everything. I was too close to the situation. But everything is good now, and I’m even going to start drawing again. James suggested it, actually.”
“That’s wonderful,” Jane said.
Claire agreed, even though she still saw a shadow of doubt in Maxi’s eyes.
“I guess I’ve done the same thing with Mom,” Jane said. “I couldn’t look at it objectively because I’m too close to it.”
“And now you can?” Claire asked.
Jane shrugged. “A little bit more. It’s still gut-wrenching, but I think I know what the right decision is.”
“I suppose that I have been blowing things out of proportion. Sandcastles is my baby, so it’s hard not to get emotional. Maybe it really was a blessing that the pipes burst. I would have had to close the bakery to fix them anyway. I would have had to take out a loan to cover the repairs and backfill money lost from not being open with my savings. Maybe now I’ll be able to keep my savings if insurance pays for it.” Claire smiled at her two friends. “I’m sorry if I acted kind of crazy about Bradford Breads.”
Maxi put her hand on Claire’s shoulder. “No need to apologize. Sometimes you just have to take a step back from the situation.”
“Speaking of which.” Claire pushed back from the vanity and grabbed the outfit Jane had laid out. “We better get going. I have a cupcake sale to run.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Claire had never seen so many people packed into one small shop. Despite the locals and tourists descending on the new bakery in droves, Rob had found the time to move the tables from in front of Claire’s store and arrange them on the sidewalk in front of his. The interior of the store was dedicated not to sitting space but to cupcakes and bread.
The men and women stepping into the store were immediately drawn to the cupcakes, which now sat on freshly washed tiers. A sign in front of the table read “Sandcastles.” The sign was a surprise. When in the world had Rob had time to make that?
Maxi stood next to the cash register, ringing up orders and recording every sale in a little notebook to keep track of cupcake revenue. Jane had rushed back home but promised to bring Addie later on.
Claire’s face hurt from smiling at everyone through endless explanations of why she wasn’t across the street. The notice Hailey had put on the sandwich board had done its job of directing customers in here. Hailey was kept busy helping customers with both bread and cupcake purchases, and it appeared she and Rob had quickly formed a bond of some sort.
The bell over the door tinkled, as it did constantly throughout the day. It was approaching noon, and Claire would have been out of cupcakes soon, but she’d snuck into Rob’s bakery kitchen and scrounged together a new batch. As soon as they cooled, she would send Hailey in to frost them and bring them out to sell.
Two old men entered the store, looking bewildered at the mass of people moving from shelf to shelf and plucking it clean of bread. They scanned the interior until they spotted her brightly colored table. Then, with matching smiles, Harry and Bert made their way over to her.
“Looks like we’re almost too late!” Bert exclaimed.
“I have more cupcakes in the back,” she assured them, her smile genuine. “The new flavors are going fast, though. You’d better grab some while you can.”
Harry adjusted his glasses and leaned in. “What flavors do you have, now?”
Claire launched into the spiel she had memorized by this time. Lemon raspberry, chocolate mocha, cookies and cream, red velvet, and of course, the traditional chocolate and vanilla. Harry and Bert both asked for a box containing one of each. Claire obliged.
As she gently slipped the cupcakes into the rectangular boxes, she said, “I’m afraid your regular table isn’t available this morning. I would have saved it for you if I could.”
“Why is the store closed?” Bert asked.
Claire stifled a sigh. It was a question she’d fielded endlessly that morning. Fortunately, her back was turned, and they wouldn’t see the slip in her smile. She took a deep breath, pasted it back on, and turned, offering them each their boxes.
“I had an incident at the store with the pipes. Until Ralph replaces them, I’ll be closed. But Rob Bradford was kind enough to lend me this table so no one will miss out on the cupcake sale today.”
“That’s a stand-up guy,” Bert replied with a nod.
