You Belong With Me (12 page)

              Layla sat back frowning as she processed everything she’d heard. In her line of work the majority of the abuse and neglect stemmed from the male population. But occasionally, she’d come across women who just hadn’t been born with the mothering gene. And some of those cases had been the most tragic. Of course, if Ashley was dealing with depression, that had to be taken into consideration.

              “How has Stella dealt with not having a mother? What have you told her?” Layla asked, swirling her fork through a puddle of chocolate sauce.

              Michael swallowed, closing his eyes as if in pain. “I refuse to lie to my daughter, but at the same time I try and spare her from needless pain. I’ve told her that her mom made the choice to pursue a career and that right now she can’t be with us right.”

              Layla frowned. “But doesn’t that give her hope that someday her mom will come back to her?”

              Michael nodded. “Yes. And I hope that Ashley will come back someday and create a relationship with Stella. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but for Stella’s sake, I hope it does. I even considered moving back East to make it easier for Ashley to see Stella, but my parents talked me out of it. Stella needs routine and roots. I could follow her in the hopes that she’ll wake up someday and want the family she threw away, but then again, she might be so stressed out by the thought that we were there that she might just take off again.”

              Layla pushed her cheesecake away and leaned her elbows on the table as she studied Michael and his expressive blue eyes and sharp beautifully drawn face. How could anyone leave such a man and such a beautiful little girl?

              “And
you
? Do you hope that Ashley will wake up someday and come back to you?” she asked softly, bracing for whatever his answer would be.

              Michael sat forward and reached out a hand to grasp her arm. “
No
. Layla, I don’t want her to come back to me. She shattered my heart and my life. It took me a long time to heal but I’m getting there. No, I can’t go back. But I do want to move forward. Meeting you made me realize how much I want to move on. And I have to admit, seeing the way you act with Stella has given me hope that someday, Stella might have a mother. A
real
mother. Someone who will love her and be there for her.”

              Layla let out a shaky breath and looked down at Michael’s long strong hand on her arm. “I know someday Stella will appreciate everything you’ve done and sacrificed for her. You’re pretty amazing Michael,” she said looking directly into his eyes.

              Michael frowned. “So now that you know, will you . . . ,
do
you, want to be involved with me?” had asked quietly.

              Layla smiled slowly and nodded her head. “Well, if by being involved with you, you mean
dating
, then yes. On the condition that we move slow of course. As you know, I’ve had a hard time trusting or being open to men in the past. But there’s just something that’s very different about you.”

              Michael’s face relaxed into a large happy smile. “I’m fine with moving slow.”

              They spent the next hour talking about everything. They found out that they both loved the water, loved the Pacific Northwest and enjoyed traveling.

              As they walked out of the restaurant, Layla noticed Alex Foster sitting at the bar, turned around in his seat, staring at her. She frowned and turned away, but couldn’t help feeling a cold shiver run down her spine.

              Michael drove her straight home and must have taken the go slow clause seriously, because he kissed her very briefly before she walked into the house. She stood at the window and watched him drive away with a small smile on her mouth. She turned and walked toward her bedroom with a new and pleasant sensation rising through her chest. It almost felt like hope.

Chapter 11 – Blindsided

              The next day Layla woke up to gray skies and misty cool rain. She stood at her window and leaned on the sill as she tried to see through the mist to the water. She sighed, knowing that gray skies were part of the joy of living in Washington. It didn’t stop her from yearning for sunny clear days though. She slipped on a light cream sweater and skipped down the stairs to the kitchen.

              She blinked in surprise to see that Kit and Jane were already hard at work with Max standing behind them. She glanced at her watch and frowned. She was only a few minutes late.

              “Well, there’s Sleeping beauty. Grab an apron and get busy. You want to be a baker, you show up on time. No excuses,” Max said with a frown as she turned to look her up and down.

              Layla grimaced and grabbed one of the simple, white aprons from the drawer and put it on. “I need you to show us how to make sour dough bread today because Rob, the owner of the Iron Skillet, is coming by today at 11 to try
our
s. If he likes it, then we’ll be making the bread for his restaurant,” she said breezily.

              Kit and Jane turned and stared at her in surprise. Max smiled and nodded her head. “Belinda always made Rob’s bread for him. He’s a stickler for taste and texture though. Let’s get a batch of sour dough going and we’ll do some focaccia too.”

              Layla moved to follow Max, but Kit grabbed her arm. Hard. “Hey!” Layla said, rubbing her arm.

              Kit frowned at her. “Look, I’m going to take off at around 10:30. I don’t want to be here when he shows up,” she said quietly so no one else could hear her.

              Layla ignored Max’s wave and looked in concern at her sister. Kit wasn’t a drama queen and she’d been born knowing how to handle men. Something wasn’t right.

              “Why Kit? What’s going on with Rob? You’ve only met the guy once.”

              Kit shrugged and ran a hand over her forehead. “I don’t know Layla, I just don’t want to be here when he shows up. That’s it. Nothing else,” she said with a nonchalant shrug.

              Layla frowned but nodded her head. “Okay then,” she said and followed Max.

              They spent the morning learning how to make bread, sour dough starter and how to deal with delivery men. By 10:30 Layla was tired and decided to grab a diet Coke. She threw one to Jane and got ready to toss Kit one when she saw her sister grab her purse off a chair and slip it over her shoulder.

              “Kit, come on. What is this all about?” Layla asked softly. Jane walked over and stared between her two sisters.

              “Oh, is this about your dream Kit?” Jane asked, her eyes wide.

              Kit glared at Jane and then shut her eyes with a shake. “Dang you’re a blabber mouth,” she muttered under her breath.

              Layla raised an eyebrow and smiled, but kept silent. Kit glanced at Max who was at the other end of the kitchen talking on her cell as she munched on a croissant.

              “Okay,
yes
. It’s so stupid I can’t even believe it. But yeah, I had a dream about Rob. And I just don’t want to be here is all,” she said, glaring at Jane and daring her to say one more word.

              Jane looked at her in confusion and tilted her head. “Just because you dreamed he was kissing you doesn’t mean he
knows
you had that dream. Heck if I had a dream like that, I’d want to be checking the guy out and letting him know I’m available to go dancing,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

              Kit growled low in her throat as she stepped closer to Jane. “You know I can still take you Jane. You’re still the baby of the family and I have no problem holding you down and shoving Crisco in your mouth,” she said, flexing her hands.

              Layla laughed and stepped out of the way as Jane stuck her tongue out before turning and leaping away. Kit jumped and landed on Jane’s back as the younger sister took off. Jane was fast, but Kit was faster. Layla winced as the two sisters fell to the ground, with Jane squealing and laughing as Kit grabbed her hands and forced them to the sides of her face.

              “Max! Hand me the Crisco!” Kit ordered, yelling over her shoulder.

              Max put her cell phone in her pocket and sauntered over to the two women on the ground. “Honey, I am not getting in the middle of a cat fight. Do I look stupid?”

              Kit flipped her head, trying to get her hair out of her face as Jane twisted her body and tried to unseat her. Layla covered her mouth, giggling at a sight she hadn’t seen in over ten years.

              “Layla, if you don’t grab me the Crisco can, you’ll be next,” Kit warned, sending a venomous look over her shoulder.

              Layla sneered at Kit. “I’ve faced down dead beat dads. You don’t scare me,” she said but glanced at the Crisco can and bit her lip.
Should she?

              “Do you mind if I film this?”

              Layla, Max, Kit and Jane all turned around with horrified expressions on their faces. Kit jumped off Jane so fast if looked as if she was pulled up. Jane scrambled to her feet, blushing beet red while Layla and Max laughed with glee at the two sister’s embarrassment.

              Rob Downing stood in the doorway, leaning with his shoulder as he grinned at the women. “I am so glad I came down early. To think I might have missed this,” he said pushing away from the doorway and walking toward the women.

              Kit glared at Rob and put her hands on her waist. “Exactly how long have you been standing there?” she demanded.             

              Rob glanced at all of the sisters before looking back at Kit. “Well, I heard something about a dream and kissing, but that’s all I heard before you tackled your sister. Who were you dreaming about?” he asked curiously.

              Kit looked so horrified that Layla took pity on her and came to stand between Rob and her sister.

              “Rob, why don’t we let Kit and Jane finish cleaning up the kitchen while you try a few samples of the bread we made this morning?”

              Rob looked like he wanted to argue but smiled and followed Layla to the other side of the kitchen.

              Layla glanced over her shoulder at Kit and Jane, but Jane was the only one there. Kit had disappeared. Jane shrugged her shoulders and winced. Kit had a huge temper and once ignited, it was hard to put out. That multiplied with mortification at being seen wrestling with her sister on the kitchen floor and there was no telling how long it would take Kit to calm down.

              Max sliced Rob some sour dough and focaccia, putting them on a plate and sliding it across the counter to him. Jane gave up pretending to clean and wandered over, as all three women stood and stared somberly as Rob closed his eyes and ate the entire slice of sour dough. He then did the same thing with the focaccia. When he finally opened his eyes, he wasn’t smiling as he looked at Max.

              “You made this bread Max,” he said, wiping his mouth. “It tastes the same.”

              Max frowned at Rob and crossed her arms over her ample chest. Today she was wearing a vintage Metallica t-shirt. “Well, of course I made it. I’m teaching the girls so they can do it on their own. You can’t expect them to just
know
how to make sour dough bread. It’s the same recipe Rob. When they make it on their own, you won’t be able to tell the difference.”

              Rob whisked some crumbs off his shirt and glanced at his watch. “Next time I come by, I want to taste bread
they’ve
made.”

              Layla, Jane and Max stared at Rob Downing’s back as he disappeared out the door. All three women were left frowning darkly.

              “
Crap
,” Layla said closing her eyes.

              Jane sighed and untied her apron. “There’s always tomorrow. But he’s right. Max will be leaving soon. We need to start doing all of it on our own. Come over here Layla, I want to show you something I’ve been working on,” Jane said and walked over to a large white binder on the counter.

              Layla and Max followed her, watching as she flipped open the binder and pointed to a large graphic. “Three sisters, three areas. My specialty is going to be cupcakes and cookies. On the side I’ll be doing the books. Kit is going to be in charge of decorating the wedding cakes and bread. She’s so artistic I know she’ll love it. There’s a two week class up in Seattle starting on the 5
. It’s expensive, but I want her to go. It’ll get her comfortable with working with fondant and open her eyes to the artistic possibilities of her new field. She’ll do that and whatever else we need her to do. I don’t think she’ll be busy at first, but when people see what she can do, I bet you anything she’ll be so busy with cake orders she’ll need an assistant,” Jane said, her eyes bright with excitement.

              Max pursed her lips. “We always got requests for wedding cakes, but me and Belinda always turned them down. Most people go to Tacoma to get their cakes. It could be big,” she admitted.

              Jane smiled and nodded her head. Layla held up her hand, still frowning. “And me Jane? What have you planned for me?”

              Jane winced and looked at her feet. “You get to deal with all the delivery guys and ordering all of our supplies. No one will boss you around and you’re not intimidated by anyone.”

              Max grinned and leaned her hip against the counter. “That’s for dang sure. Those brass knuckles you keep handy in your mouth will get a lot of use. They won’t know what hit them,” she said with a slight cackle.

              Layla tried not to smile as she shook her head. “
Aaaanndd?
” she prompted.

              Jane bit her lip. “I think you should be over desserts and pastries including croissants,” she said and closed her eyes as if she were expecting an argument.

              Max made a humming sound as she looked Layla up and down. “That’s actually not a bad idea. Kit can be meticulous when she wants to be, but you have a patient soft touch. Your macaroons were delicious yesterday.”