Ashley spoke softly. "Don't sell yourself short. You did a great job, Xavier. Your mom would be proud of you."
The sounds from the audience seemed so far away. He shifted closer to her. "I'm sorry about earlier."
"Me too."
A soft aww came from the audience, followed by the host's voice announcing the round's final minute.
As soon as the buzzer rang, Tyson invaded their station. He returned the rolling pin to Ashley and then he grabbed Xavier and lowered his voice. "Dude. I'm gonna kill him, or he's gonna kill me. He's so smug, I'm tempted to sabotage my own team."
"You can't do that."
"I know, I know. But it's a nice visualization."
He didn't mind being there for Tyson while he vented, but he wanted to talk to Ashley.
Tyson stayed until the judges came by to taste the pies. And while the judges deliberated, the producer pulled the bakers into a Q & A with the audience.
Finally the host returned with the results.
"Folks, we are pleased to announce the three teams continuing on to Round Three. They are... Team Sweet Treats and wide receiver Dion Davis." A smattering of applause followed. "...Team Blackstone's Bakery and quarterback Tyson Williams..." More applause echoed through the room. Tyson grinned and waved at the crowd.
Xavier held tight to Ashley's hand, needles of nerves pricking his stomach. Beside him, Ashley's breath hitched as the host raised the microphone to his lips. "And our final team to continue is... Team Bliss Bakery."
Relief flowed over him like a wave. Xavier slowly and deeply exhaled. He looked at Ashley, but her concentration remained focused on the host. "Thank you to all of our teams for participating. Audience, we hope to see all of you back here on Sunday evening for the final round of our competition!"
She finally met his gaze. Her anxious expression not at all matching the joyous excitement of the prior round's win. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. Remember, we have to be here early because they want to do interviews again."
No exclamation over their victory, no squeal of excitement, no happy clasping hug. He shook his head, baffled by her lack of response. "We just found out we're in the finals. Aren't you happy?"
Ashley grabbed her bag and gripped her keys in her hand. "Of course I am."
His concern grew. Something was wrong. More than just her earlier frustration with him. "Ash..."
"I have to go."
Everson entered their station, with Gary in tow. "Congratulations, guys. How does it feel to be advancing to the final round? Ashley?"
Her skin looked pale under the bright lights. She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled. "I'm thrilled. In fact, I'm heading to the bakery right now to get in a little more practice."
Xavier planted himself in her path. "Good idea. I'll join you."
A large hand clapped him on the shoulder. Everson thrust the microphone in Xavier's face. "Can you tell us what was going on during that rolling pin tug-o-war?"
Possible fabrications and veiled truths whirled in his thoughts. "We like to keep team issues within the team, but I can say that we both really wanted to roll out that damned pie crust."
When he turned toward Ashley, only an empty space remained.
Damn it.
She was short enough to get by without him noticing. He wrapped up the interview with lightning speed, all the while, searching the crowd. Had Ashley even remembered that Katie was in the audience? Moving fast, he pushed through the crowd until he reached Katie's side. "Got a minute?"
"Congratulations on reaching the final. Where did my sister go?"
"That's a good question. She was in a weird mood all day."
"Yeah, I, and probably all of the viewing audience, saw that." Katie bit her lip. "She's such a... I don't even know what... sometimes. It's like she thinks she needs to be a rock and isn't ever allowed to fall apart. Or she keeps everything all bottled up even when she's breaking inside."
His gaze darted to the door she'd likely exited. "Has something happened that could make her fall apart?"
Katie's sigh drew his attention back. "Obviously. Look, I could see that you guys weren't getting along today. Since my sister is always going out of her way to help me, I'm going to return the favor. And if she gets angry, well, I'll be heading back to Chicago soon."
"What's going on?"
"Can you give me a lift home? I'll tell you during the drive."
As soon as they climbed into the car, Katie started talking. "Ashley just sent me a text. She's going for a drive to clear her head. She was so worked up today, she forgot I was there. So, anyway... Ashley's the best. Whatever happened between you guys, you have to know that. She's gone above and beyond for me. But I worry about her because she's under so much pressure to win the competition."
He drove through the parking garage and carefully pulled onto the street. "What pressure? What do you mean?"
"There isn't any other way to keep Bliss." Her matter-of-fact statement caught him off guard.
Confused, he paused too long at a stop sign. "The bakery isn't doing okay?"
"We're deep in the red. It's because of what happened with my mom, and then with Blackstone's Bakery." Her solemn, direct gaze added depths of maturity to her youthful features. "Ashley put her life on hold to care for our mom. Being a caregiver is exhausting, but Ash never complained. My mom was adamant that I stay in school, but I flew home as much as I could, especially when we knew that Mom wouldn't be getting better."
"I'm so sorry about your mom."
"Thank you. The bakery probably would've been okay once we got back on track, but then Blackstone's moved in one block away. They have great branding and great marketing reach. Being on that reality show really elevated them. And we can't compete with the budget they have for TV and radio commercials
