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I couldn’t help but feel like I was losing my wife all over again, and I refused to let that happen.
“Don’t you all have work to do?” Since they were so comfortable in my office, I decided to leave to clear my head.
To plan what came next.
Apology first. Seduction second.
Megan
I wasn’t sure that this was the best course of action, showing up unannounced, but after four hours of nonstop therapy baking, I still wasn’t settled. And on top of being unsettled, I was angry and frustrated. Mostly at myself, for assuming that Casey was as wonderful as he seemed.
Joke’s on you, Megan.
But I was here, and I hoped that if I couldn’t find an ally, maybe I could find some useful advice. So, I sucked in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and pressed on the bronze and teal doorbell. My heart banged against my chest so loudly that I barely heard the twist of the lock as the door opened slowly.
“Oh my god! Megan, you’re here! Oh, sweetheart, come on inside.” Jen Jackson, my mother-in-law, pulled me into a warm hug and nearly squeezed the breath out of me. “I’m so happy to see you, Megan.”
She didn’t need to say the words, I could see it in her face and in the way she wrapped her arms around me. I didn’t know this woman, other than photos and fragments of memory, but she felt familiar. She felt like home. I automatically kicked off my shoes at the door and followed her into the kitchen.
“This place feels… I don’t know.”
Jen laughed. “Well, it should feel pretty familiar, you spent more time here than you did at your home.”
“Why?” Now that I gave it some attention, I realized my list of visitors should be longer by two.
“Because your mother worked two jobs and we were happy to have you here. You and Casey were in each other’s pockets since second grade, so it was no hardship having you around. The daughter I never had, but finally got through marriage.” Jen stared at me, her smile growing with every passing second. “Now tell me, Megan, what brings you by?”
It was now or never. I flashed a nervous smile and told her about my ideas for the bakery. “It looks like I’ve been working on these ideas for a while and they seem sound, but Casey was upset about it. I don’t know how to defend why I didn’t tell him because I don’t know.” It was frustrating as hell, and I wasn’t looking forward to seeing him tonight. “I’m sorry, is this weird or inappropriate?”
“No,” she insisted, “it’s nothing of the sort. You don’t have to defend yourself or your ideas, Megan. Sweet Treats is yours, honey, to do with as you please.”
I blinked at her words. “Because I’ve worked there for so long?”
“No, honey. Grandma Jackson, Bob’s mother and Casey’s grandmother, left it to you because no one in the family loves baking as much as you do. It was as clear as day from the moment you set foot in there at twelve years old.” She shook her head, a wistful expression on her face. “You made these little cake balls, and she went nutty for them. I swear she went right to the family lawyers and changed the will that day.”
“No way. Really?”
“Oh, yeah. The place is yours to do what you want, Megan. You don’t need Casey’s permission or his blessing.”
“Yes, but what about—”
Jen aimed a wooden spoon coated in tomato sauce at me. “Does he ask your advice for his surgeries or post-op treatment plans?”
I blinked. “No. I’m not a doctor.”
“And Casey, bless his heart, isn’t a baker or a businessman. You are both, so it’s time for you to start acting like it. Again.”
I nodded and let Jen’s words sink in, let them boost me up until I was as convinced as she was that I could do this. “Okay, but why didn’t I tell him about it? Isn’t that something I’d share with my husband?”
Jen sighed and turned back to the stove, a move designed to put some distance between me and whatever she would say next. “You really want to know?”
“Is it bad? Were we headed for divorce before I got hurt?” Maybe this was all just a burden to him, and the bakery was the final straw.
“No, nothing like that. Casey said you two had been disconnected before the accident. You were working opposing shifts and only saw each other in passing for the past couple months.” She turned with a sympathetic expression. “My guess is that you wanted to enjoy your limited time together instead of talk about work, but I have a feeling it wasn’t just that.”
Jen’s eyes pierced me, searching for an answer I wished I had as much as she did. “Maybe, but what would it be?” Did he have a problem with having a wife who worked? “Would he prefer that I was at home all day?”
