Page 21 of Broken Pieces
Chapter Ten
Raelynn
“You have just been a busy bee, ain’t you?” Ivy asks me as she cuts herself a slice of quiche.
“That was for the guests, you know.”
“Sure was. And I sure as hell don’t live here, so that makes me a guest.”
I cross my arms over my chest and roll my eyes, “You know what I meant.”
“And I know that was breakfast this morning. Meanin’ the leftovers are for you and the Andersons.” I roll my eyes again because she is right, but you need to try and make her feel like she’s wrong every now and then or else we all would be living in a certain type of hell.
I pull three large paper shopping bags off the counter and set them in front of Ivy. “There are twenty-four muffins; blueberry, pumpkin, lemon raspberry, and chocolate chip. Twelve raspberry scones, twelve chocolate croissants, and eight cheese danishes.” I turn around toward the freezer and pull out a cooler that I set next to the bags. “And of course, six pies; cherry, peach, and apple.”
“You are my savior,” Ivy mumbles through a mouth full of quiche. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You could always tell my brother I need a car and then I could just bake everything and drive it to the diner daily.”
“I would rather jump into a vat of hot oil than ask Easton. He would go on and on for thirty minutes explaining how irresponsible you are. And that just ain’t how I want to spend my day. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“Although I like the way you think. Maybe Brooks would do it?”
“Unlikely.”
“Well, ain’t he still driving back and forth between here and his dad’s?” Ivy asks as I begin grabbing things out of the refrigerator to make welcome treats for the guests arriving in a few hours.
“Summer didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Don’t tell Easton.”
“Oh boy this oughta be good.”
“Brooks’ dad finally hired a foreman for his ranch, so Brooks is now the permanent foreman here.” I start pouring flour into a bowl to avoid eye contact with her.
“Get outta town! How long has this been going on?” she asks as she cuts herself another slice of quiche.
“A few days after I moved in. But don’t worry. He is sleeping in the guest house.”
“Why would I be worried about that?”
“Easton and Tacoma both warned me to stay away from him.”
“Oh, he’s harmless. He might come off like an asshole and a badass, but that boy is just a nerd who spends too much time at the gym.”
I throw butter and sugar into the stand mixer. “Don’t tell Easton though. I really like it here. And not because of Brooks.”
It was the truth. I had been here for a little over a week and I loved the serenity this land brought. It was easy to forget about all the problems I had in the past when I finally felt like I was starting over. Summer has let me make breakfast for the guests and it’s nice to have conversations with strangers that don’t know a thing about your past. Between that and baking for the diner, my time is pretty taken up. I think that the more time I spend here, the more I will be able to put the past behind me. Forget about Logan and the abuse I went through, maybe even put to rest the guilt I have over Tyler.
“Well my favorite pastry chef, I should probably get these to the diner before the lunch rush comes in. Oh, and if you have time, can you make this quiche for me too? It’s so good.”
“Don’t push your luck.”
Ivy walks around the island and gives me a hug. “Don’t work too hard. I’ll email you tomorrow what I sell through so one of us can pick an order up in three days.”