Page 12 of Forbidden to Fall

“You’re welcome.” I could’ve sworn there was a smile in his voice.

The door shut.

I pulled in a big breath, already starting to doubt what had just happened. When I took a step to grab my phone, though, my knees very selflessly reminded me of the trauma I’d caused them.

I finished my inventory, then walked the key back up to the house.

The boots at the door caught my eye again. With the benefit of hindsight, I realized how large they were. May Carver would’ve drowned in them. Those belonged to James.

Maybe that was why May had been crying earlier—she’d seen her son. Whether those had been happy tears or more complicated ones, I didn’t know.

I paused at the door, wondering if I should just leave the key under the mat. I could even set it on top, knock, and run.

That was normal, right? Not weird. Not childish.

I shut my eyes, let out a breath, and rapped on the door.

I heard voices and footsteps, followed by a bit of back-and-forth. One set of footsteps faded, then the door opened, revealing May. Maybe the red-rimmed eyes I’d noticed earlier had been because of James? Whether happy tears or sad tears, I still didn’t know.

She smiled and opened the screen door wider.

“Just came to return the key.” I handed it to her.

“Thank you, darlin’. Did everythin’ go okay in the kitchen?” She looked concerned.

Of course James had told her. Hey, I found a Stevenson hiding in our sugar shack kitchen cupboard wasn’t the type of thing you forgot to mention.

“Um…yeah,” I said. “I saw James.” I said it like it was an interesting bit of trivia instead of an event that still had me discombobulated.

“He mentioned that. I would’ve said somethin’, but I didn’t think you’d see him, sugar. I thought he was at the stables with Archer, and I figured you’d rather not…” She didn’t finish the thought.

“That’s okay, Mrs. Carver. He helped me out of a tight spot.”

Her brows went up. “Did he?”

Dang it. Apparently, he hadn’t told her my humiliating story, which was unexpectedly chivalrous of him. Too bad I told on myself.

“I kind of got stuck in a cupboard…” My cheeks flamed. Next time I considered a really stupid decision, I’d make sure to think about how it would feel to state the choice aloud to an audience later.

“Oh, Sadie.” She reached for my forearm. “I’m so sorry!”

“It was totally my fault. Really dumb choice. But I did finish my inventory. I plan to make a run to the store today. I can get the kitchen cleaned up tomorrow and hopefully get started with some potential recipes the next day.”

I planned to try a recipe a day for the first few days. I only needed two or three products. In some ways, that felt easy. I baked every single day. I could whip up a batch of maple cinnamon sticky buns in my sleep.

But that didn’t necessarily mean I had what it took to create new products—something different but every bit as delicious as what we made at Keller’s.

May and Wade had loved the maple cream puffs, but May was just nice, and Wade? He ate school lunch most days, so his standards weren’t particularly high.

“That sounds wonderful.” May’s smile turned stern. “You’ll keep close track of everythin’ you buy, right? If we’re goin’ into business together, I won’t stand for you takin’ on even a cent more of the costs than half, you hear me? We do this fair and square, or not at all.”

I smiled. “I hear you, Mrs. Carver. I’ll keep my receipts—but I’ll also be keeping close track of everything I use from your product stores.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “Sure.”

I laughed softly. “I’ll be back tomorrow for the key—probably around noon, once I’m finished at the bakery.”

“I’d give it to you to keep, but if I hold on to it, you have to come see me.” She winked.