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It’s still hard, but I now know that it’ll get better.
Besides, I have Nathan and he’s amazing. He makes everything so much easier.
“Morning.” Elle beams, giving me a wave. Tiffany slides a coffee my way and I snatch it from the counter as I make my way to the kitchen.
“Hey guys,” I say, shrugging off my jacket. “What have we got on the menu today?”
Elle hands me a list as I sip my amazing coffee. I can detect the taste of gingerbread.
“Valentine has just gone to the supermarket. Those idiots with the van forgot the chocolate chips.” Tiffany sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “And last week it was the caster sugar. I swear, we should go with a different company.”
“And the week before it was the cinnamon,” I point out, shaking my head with annoyance. “They’re the best quality though. It’s just unfortunate their staff are morons. I’ll get started on these.”
Tiffany nods and hands me my clean apron. I pull it on and get to work. I no longer get absolutely covered in ingredients, which is fortunate. I’m so sick of washing flour from my hair and jam from my skin.
By the time Valentine returns, we have a shop full of orders for the next day.
She returns with something I’m not sure was on her shopping list and immediately hands it to me.
I stare at the large brown envelope with fury boiling the blood in my veins. In the calmest voice I can muster, I ask Valentine where she got it.
“It was in with the post.” She must see the anger I’m trying to hide. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. If you get anymore, let me know.” I shove it in the bin when her back is turned and bury it under the cakes from the day before yesterday that are nowhere near fresh enough to sell anymore.
“Okay. Can you stay until five today?”
It’s only an extra hour I suppose. “Sure, no problem. Can I just make a quick call?”
She waves me away and I quickly race out of the bakery. The phone rings three times before he answers. I hear the sound of his car engine and the hum of wheels on the road as he drives. “Nathan… he’s not trying to threaten you anymore.”
“What?” Nathan asks, sounding worried and slightly perplexed.
“Your father sent one of those envelopes to my workplace today.”
He goes silent for a moment. I hear his breathing come to a stop and immediately panic.
“Don’t freak out. I didn’t read it. I buried it in the bin under a lot of two day old cakes.”
A long hiss sounds into the speaker. “I have to go.”
“Nath…”
“I have to go.” The line goes dead and I curse loudly. Looking up at the clear sky, I pray that Nathan doesn’t do anything stupid. He’s already a third of the way to London by now.
His dad lives in London!
Crap.
I try to call him back, but it goes through to voicemail. There’s not much I can do from here, other than finish work and pray a million more times. I should go after him, but not only can I not let Valentine down, I also don’t have any way to get there.
Please, please, don’t do something stupid. He’s not worth it.
Gah, I wish he’d just tell me.
Racing back inside, I try to keep myself as busy as possible so the day goes faster. I wait and wait for his call, text, email… anything would be nice at this point. I’m practically shaking with nervousness and worry. What’s going on?
I call him during every break. I usually take five minutes at the end of every hour. Instead of sitting, I pace while listening to the ring tone going unanswered. This is driving me crazy.
“What’s wrong?” Tiffany asks as I check the clock for the umpteenth time.
“Nathan’s not answering.” I check the clock again.
“Is he okay?”
“That’s the million dollar question.”
We listen to Valentine humming as she works in her part of the kitchen. Tiffany’s eyes linger on the doorway. “Why don’t you ask her if you can leave now?”
I want to; I’m tempted… “I promised I’d stay an extra hour.”
“It’s worth asking.”
She’s right. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. But I know Valentine won’t go for it and it’s not fair on her if I ditch work on such short notice. Sigh.
“It’s fine; he’ll be okay. Besides, I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for him.”
“True.” She rests her hand on my shoulder. “You can talk to me. You know that right?”
I nod, giving her a small smile. “The same can be said to you too.”
“We should do something fun this weekend, take the kids on a playdate,” she suggests.
“That actually sounds like a really good idea, although Dillan can’t exactly play yet.” My phone rings, causing me to drop the rolling pin with a loud clatter. I quickly press it to my ear. “Hello?”
