Oh, thank God. He was throwing me a bone, and I was going to grab it and hold on for dear life.
I turned my chair a bit so I could look at him without straining my neck. “Oh, that’s right! Let me explain.”
He held up a finger, grabbed a piece of firewood off a pile by the deck, and added it to the fire before sitting back down. “Okay, ready.”
“Every year we have the Lake Pendle Strawberry Fest. It started small but grew into this big event every year. It’s kind of like a county fair now.”
“I’m familiar,” he said, nodding along.
“Okay, so there’s an event every year called the cupcake bake-off. No rule says professionals can’t enter, so every year, Haylee and Brady team up to bake the best cupcake. The only caveat is, you have to incorporate strawberries into your recipe.”
“I have to say that the berry sinful was berry good.”
I chuckled and winked, wishing I wasn’t flirting with him as much as I was, but also not able to make myself stop. “I think it’s the best one they’ve ever come up with, to be honest. That filled strawberry on the top...” I rubbed my belly and licked my lips with vigor. “Anyway, as you know, Berry Sinful won, but she beat out a woman named Darla McFinkle. Haylee and Darla have had a hate-hate relationship for their entire lives. Darla was extremely vocal about her hatred for Haylee, but my bestie was smart enough to just stay out of her way as much as possible.”
“Which, from what I’m hearing, wasn’t easy. What was her beef with Haylee?”
“No one knows. It was just hate at first sight for Darla. As for trying to avoid Darla, that was like trying to nail down Jell-O. She hated that Haylee was successful, and she was angry that The Fluffy Cupcake won the competition every year. Darla argued that professionals shouldn’t be allowed to compete.”
He made the so-so hand. “I guess I kind of agree. It feels like an unfair advantage to me.”
“And Haylee agrees, too. The problem was, everyone kind of expected her to participate, you know?” He nodded, and I sighed, wishing this story had a better ending than it did. “Hay-Hay decided it was going to be our last year to compete, but she had committed to the competition already, so she showed up and baked. When Darla got second place, to say she wasn’t happy was an understatement. She said some nasty things to Haylee and Brady at the competition about Haylee’s body and how she didn’t deserve to be dating Brady.”
Bishop grimaced and shook his head. “Darla sounds like a prime example of a bully.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, nodding with exaggeration. “Darla has been a thorn in our side for our entire lives. You could never prove that she was a bully, though. She had all of the adults snowed. They believed she was wonderful, and everyone else was the problem.”
“As is typical with bullies.”
“I suppose you have plenty of experience with them as a teacher.”
He laughed, but it was mirthless. “And as a father. More than I care to admit. Anyway, continue.”
“Every time you mention being a father, I do a doubletake. I have to remind myself that you’re not old, and you’re extremely hot to boot.” This time his laughter was filled with humor. I buried my head in my hand out of embarrassment. “Cripes, you can’t trust me with alcohol.”
“No, I think the exact opposite is true. You hold too much back when you’re sober. A little bit of alcohol helps you loosen up and stop being so afraid of saying something you think the other person doesn’t want to hear.”
“That’s not untrue. I’ve always been that way. I tend only to speak when I know what I’m going to say. I’m sure the reasons are obvious to you now.”
He shrugged with a grin on his face. “I don’t mind that you think I’m hot and not the least bit old. You’re way ahead of the curve with most women.”
“But you aren’t old. You’re only a few years older than I am. You just had kids when you were young. We can look at it that way.”
“It was more like a once and done kind of thing.”
“Wait, you don’t want more kids?”
He waved his hand in the air. “I do. What I meant was, I made a mistake once, and I wasn’t going to make it again. The next time I have a baby, if I ever do, it will be planned and what we both want. I will never put another woman in the position of having to decide between their future or a child’s future ever again.”
I sat there, nodding as I thought about what he said. “You’re right. I’m sure Athena’s mom felt that way to a degree.”
“Her name is Sam. She’s one of the strongest women I know. She grew up to be a social worker and is married to a super nice guy named Ken. He had as much to do with Athena being the kind of woman she is as I did.”
“Sam got her happily ever after, but you’re still waiting.”
“I guess you could say that. What happened with Darla and Haylee?”
I threw my hands up excitedly. “Oh, right, sorry! Anyway, no one knew that Haylee had left the recording app open on her phone after the judge got done announcing the winner, so every cruel and disgusting thing Darla said to Haylee was recorded. When Haylee found the recording the next day, she took it to the festival committee to let them listen. She wasn’t doing it to be vindictive, though.”
“What did it matter? If Darla didn’t win the cupcake bake-off?”
“She didn’t win that, but she did win Strawberry Fest
