AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, it gets tons of natural light. Emma loved the sunshine, and a few years ago, she paid to have all of the windows on the back part of the house widened to let more in. So you’ll get amazing south sun throughout almost the entire home.”
“Perfect.” He nodded, sounding excited.
“That’s all I have about the house until tomorrow, unfortunately,” she explained, taking the final sip of her hot chocolate. She glanced over to Zach’s mug and noted that his was empty as well.
“Then I’d better get going. Louise told me about the Warm and Bright Hotel, so I’ll head that way for the night.” Zach stood, passing his empty mug over to Colette when she held her hand out for it.
She walked him toward the door, setting the mugs down on the kitchen island as they passed by. Zach put his coat back on, then stepped out into the snow before turning to face her once more.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” he asked.
“See you tomorrow,” Colette confirmed as she gave him a quick smile, and he turned and strode across the snowy lawn back toward his car.
Colette closed the door behind him and then walked into the kitchen. Grabbing the mugs off the island, she took them to the sink and began to rinse them. She heard his car door shut with a snap, followed by the crunch of Zach’s tires driving over the snow as he left her driveway. As he drove away, all the weight of the emotions warring inside her started to descend.
She hadn’t expected Emma’s house to be rented so quickly, and if she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to see someone else living there. Colette knew that she needed to do it, knew that she couldn’t allow the house to remain empty and that she would need to rent it eventually. But when she closed her eyes and tried to imagine someone who wasn’t Emma residing within those walls, she couldn’t make the image come.
Blowing out a breath, she cast a glance around her kitchen.
“I know just what will help,” she said to herself.
Pulling open the pantry, she rifled through it until she found all of the ingredients for one of her favorite comfort meals. She got to work cooking, and when she was done, Colette piled a heaping serving of spaghetti and meatballs into a bowl, then walked to her living room. She turned on the television and quickly pulled up the show she was looking for.
As the opening of an old season ofThe Bachelorstarted to play, she cuddled under Emma’s old blanket and began to eat. The familiar food and show helped wash some of her nervous energy away, and as the evening faded and the moon began to rise, she found herself accepting—and even getting a bit excited about—what was to come.
CHAPTERSIX
Sarah Langston stood in front of the large, industrial oven with her hands on her hips as the smell of pumpkin and gingerbread floated around her. She blew a tendril of blonde hair that had escaped from her ponytail out of her eyes as she counted down the final seconds until the scones she was working on would be done.
The door to the kitchen opened, and her boyfriend, William Parks, popped his head through the doors. They had been together for over a year now, but it still didn’t stop Sarah from getting a small thrill every time she saw him. His close cropped light brown hair, his bright blue eyes, and his dimpled chin gave him a handsome, boyish appearance, and that was only enhanced by the smile he now wore.
“How are the scones coming along?” he asked.
“Almost ready.”
“They smell delicious.” He sniffed the air appreciatively, and she rewarded him with a bright smile.
Just then, the timer began beeping, announcing that the scones were due to come out of the oven. Sarah slipped on her mitt and pulled down the door, and a blast of heat and pumpkin scented goodness rushed out at her as she reached forward and grabbed the tray.
“Oh, also,” William said to Sarah’s back, “the breakfast rush is over. I need to run to the store to grab some more eggnog. The new eggnog lattes have been a huge hit.”
“That’s great!” Sarah beamed as she walked through the kitchen toward the display case.
She grabbed a pair of tongs from the counter and began placing the warm scones one by one on a tray within the glass case that spanned the front of the bakery.
“While I’m gone, there’s an invoice in the back that I want you to take a look at. Once you’re done with the scones, could you go grab it for me?”
“I sure can, love.”
“Thanks. You can’t miss it. There’s a sticky note with your name on it on the top of it.”
William walked over and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before turning and striding toward the hallway that led to the rear exit. After Sarah finished loading the last of the scones into the display case, she stood for just a second to glance around the now empty bakery and appreciate it.
When Sweet Thing Bakery had first opened, it had been run by Sarah, her sister, Michelle, and their parents. They had worked tirelessly to turn it into the go-to bakery in Snowy Pine Ridge, and they had succeeded. But when Sarah’s parents had decided to move to Arizona in search of warmer weather, and Michelle had married an Olympic skier who whisked her away all over the world, Sarah had taken over owning and operating the shop.
She adored baking, and at first, she had enjoyed running the business aspects as well. But her lack of organizational skills had caught up with her, as had her lack of a budget. That was where William had come in to save the day. He and Michelle had actually dated throughout high school, but Sarah had always had a secret crush on him. When he had returned to Snowy Pine Ridge years later, sparks had flown between him and Sarah, and they’d struck up a relationship. They had been together ever since.
Some days, Sarah still found it hard to believe her luck and that Michelle had not only given her and Will her blessing but had been ecstatic to hear the news. William had come into Sarah’s life, helped her organize the bakery’s budget, and had helped her develop a full menu of café drinks to offer, some of which had become their best sellers. She owed a lot to William, and Sarah knew that there would never be a time when she wouldn’t be grateful for all he had brought into her life.
