“We really should do that sometime. I think it’s so cool how they visit the different bakeries and swap ideas for marketing and stuff.”
“You’re right,” Kelly said. “We’ll plan one together. Things around here are humming on all cylinders. We should be able to do some things now and again.”
“Perfect. See, that wasn’t so hard. An excuse and a girls’ trip for the future. I’m so ready.”
Kelly was relieved to have a plan. “I’m going to go ahead and make the cakes for the cafe and get that out of the way.” Main Street Cafe had been her first contract order after she’d made the down payment on this space. Sure, it was her folks’ place, but still it was a standing order, and that had helped pay the bills in those early days. No matter how busy she got, she’d never been late delivering on that order. And even though she sold those cakes right here in the bakery, too, people still opted to pay the per-slice price and have it at the cafe with their meals. People were just loyal like that around Bailey’s Fork.
“I’m going to go see what we need to restock the front case for the morning rush.” Sara went to the front, and Kelly headed to her kitchen in the bakery.
Standing at the stainless-steel counter, Kelly prepped the frosting for her seven-layer banana pudding cake. Seven had always been her lucky number so when it came to layers, she stuck with seven, and that had kind of become her signature. Good thing her lucky number hadn’t been something like fifteen.
She placed a cardboard circle on the spinner, then started stacking the super-thin layers of cake on it one at a time, adding a layer of banana frosting between each one until the cake was seven layers tall. The sides and topping were her Zen moment. She’d been doing these cakes for so long that sometimes she didn’t even remember frosting them. She added dollops of fluffy whipped frosting, which did double-duty as decoration and size indicators for the girls next door to slice, making sure no customer was short-changed. That had been Dad’s idea—a good one. She finished off the cake with good old-fashioned vanilla wafers.
Kelly then put together the chocolate and red velvet cakes, and she was done with her morning routine before it was even morning.
She moved all the finished cakes to the glass top cart to take them to the cafe. The antique cart was from the early 1900s. She and Dad had found it while they’d been at a restaurant auction in South Carolina a couple of years ago.
Her parents were always so supportive. She hated having to lie to them about the contest. They’d understand when they found out, but it still made her feel horrible. She’d tell them first thing in the morning.
She drove home, wondering what kind of crazy life warp she was in where Andrew showed back up, she was selected to be on a cooking show, and she was planning to lie to her parents.
What could possibly happen next?
Chapter Seventeen
When Kelly’s alarm went off, Gray was already snorting and shuffling around in the mudroom.
“Good morning,” she said over the Dutch door. Gray pranced on the terrazzo tile like a tap dancer that needed practice. She went inside and petted him on the nose. “Are you ready for a walk this morning?”
He spun around.
“Looks like a yes to me.” She grabbed his harness from next to the door.
He knew exactly what was going to happen next. He sat and waited patiently for her to put his black-and-white checkered harness on him. She straightened the hot-pink sequined bow tie around his neck, which had been a joke from her girlfriends who’d wanted her to make Gray the logo of her bakery. As much as she loved that pig, that wasn’t the look she was going for.
They’d also given her a blinged pooper-scooper, but the joke was on them, because she loved that pooper-scooper and didn’t mind carrying the flashy thing around. She led Gray out the front door. They walked around the neighborhood, tossing the newspapers closer to the house where little Johnny had gotten a sloppy arm and not made it past the sidewalk. Which was often.
A few of the neighbors would routinely greet them with a little snack for Gray. The manager at the local Krispy Kreme jogged this same route most mornings and almost always carried a glazed doughnut in his coat pocket for Gray. He loved those doughnuts.
“How are things going for you, Kelly?” Mrs. Fuller asked with a wave. “I’ve got some leftover popcorn for my little buddy. Hi, Gray!” She waddled over in her robe.
“Good morning.” Kelly stopped, and Gray plopped down next to her. Mrs. Fuller must’ve been watching Hallmark again last night. It seemed she could never finish a bag by herself on movie night.
Mrs. Fuller held the bag in front of his snout, and Gray happily attacked the popcorn.
“I’m glad you stopped me this morning. I was going to let you know that I’ll be going out of town next week. My friend Sara will be staying at the house.”
“I’m so glad you did,” Mrs. Fuller said. “I’d have been concerned seeing a strange car in your driveway.”
Kelly found that humorous. She was pretty sure what Mrs. Fuller would have been was excited. Excited to be the one to spread the rumor that she’d had an overnight guest. Yeah, that could’ve been awkward. “No worries. I’m going on a business trip. She’ll be watching Gray for me.”
“Well, you have a wonderful time. You work way too much. You deserve some down time.”
“Thank you, but speaking of work…I need to get to it.” Kelly patted her thigh. “Come on, Gray. Time to go inside
