Home to Laura by Mary Sullivan

Author:Mary Sullivan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-02-22T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

NICK WALKED INTO Sweet Temptations on Tuesday morning, wishing like hell there was another bakery in town.

The professor and the elders had painstakingly researched migratory routes and had determined the house was clear. Nick could build.

They were breaking ground tomorrow morning and, to celebrate, he wanted to arrange to have coffee and goodies delivered for the entire crew.

The shop was busy, as usual, so he joined the lineup. Might as well get a coffee and a treat for himself while he was here.

Roy Orbison’s “Crying” finished up just as he stepped inside and Neil Young’s “Helpless” started.

The lineup was ten deep and the service slow. Tilly was training a new girl who was apparently getting some of the orders wrong.

Laura should have been on the counter helping as he’d seen her do before. Where was she? Things moved along quickly when she served.

She was smart to consider expansion, but she would be stepping into a new level of service. She would need a full staff, maybe even waitresses.

Nick’s blood started to burble like the engine of a fine car. He loved business, every type and every aspect of it. The fundamentals were the same no matter how small or large the business.

While he waited, another song came on that he didn’t know. It sounded like k.d. lang singing something about a heart caving in and willpower being gone.

What was with all the sad music? Might as well take an IV, fill it with tears and mainline it.

When he finally got to the front of the line, he demanded, “What’s going on with the music?”

Tilly looked glum. “Ask the boss.”

“The place is packed. Why isn’t she out front helping?”

“Ask her.”

“I need to discuss catering. I’m going to head back. Okay?”

Tilly nodded and served the next customer, ignoring him when he stepped around the counter and into the back. He couldn’t help but contrast the atmosphere to that of a couple of months ago.

In the kitchen, he saw a layer cake on the floor, upside down, where it had landed with a big splat. Icing covered the floor.

He called, “Laura?”

“Back here.” She sounded as if she had a cold.

He found her in a small office with her head in her hands. When she looked up, he could tell she’d been crying.

“Oh, crap, it’s you,” she said. “Why do you always catch me in my worst moments? I do laugh. I do have fun. I am eminently capable and efficient.”

“Did something happen to the baby?” A spark inside of him tugged at his heartstrings. For Laura’s sake, he didn’t want her to lose this baby, and wasn’t that a weird revelation when he didn’t want the baby to exist at all, when it scared the bejesus out of him. “Or is the problem that cake on the floor in the kitchen?”

“The baby’s fine. The problem is the cake. I dropped it.”

“I noticed. It’s not the end of the world.”

“It is when I’m too tired to make another one.”

“Was it a special order?”

Her tired nod was a barely perceptible movement.

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