Page 2 of Sebastian

Forty-five minutes later, while steam billowed from her bowl, Emma sat snuggled on her couch and watched the wind blow through the trees on the sleepy street. It smelled just like how her mom would make it, on cold, snow-filled winter days back in Michigan. Tears stung at the back of her eyes, as they always did when she thought of her mom. It wasn’t fair to go through life without her, and now, at twenty-six, Emma was forgetting the little things that always made her feel so close to her mom. Thankfully, she’d always have her recipes.

Her mother had been sick for years, fighting a disease that slowly took over her body and ultimately killed her. As a kid, Emma never once wondered how her mother and step-father afforded the treatments that gave her mom a few extra years, but she should have. Near the end, only her step-father worked, a simple blue collar job that wasn’t lucrative and didn’t have good health benefits. If only she had questioned things, maybe she would have left before that night. Maybe she could have gotten away before…

Emma shrugged off the chill that swept through her body. There was no sense thinking about those dark days, right after her mother’s passing. She’d been on edge since hearing the news that someone who had been in Bell Ridge was linked to the Santoro crime family. But that was months ago. Emma needed to stop being so anxious. Nothing was going to come from that one random connection. She was safe in Bell Ridge.

Two

“What are you doing?” Emma asked her overbearing best friend. Sure, Daisy Porter was as sweet as they come, but no one dared get in her way when she was determined to do something, especially now that she was pregnant. It was a gamble which Daisy would show up on any given day. Maybe hell on wheels, maybe a sentimental squish. Apparently, she’d settled on full-throttle that morning.

“Something you should have done months ago when this article was written. You need to display this. Be proud of how far you’ve come.”

“Daisy, it’s a small fluff piece in a town paper that only five people read. No one is going to care that my business was featured in it.”

“Not no one. I care. And as your best friend, my word is law when it comes to things like this. Besides, don’t you want your niece or nephew to grow up knowing they can accomplish anything, just like their kick ass Aunt Emma?”

“That’s a real low blow using that precious bun in your oven to get me to agree to this.”

“Did it work?”

“Of course it did. Display away, oh best friend of mine. Then get your butt in a booth so I can feed you some pie, which I know is the real reason you are here, don’t try to fool me.”

Emma sighed, laughing as Daisy struggled to get the picture to hang even on the wall above the cash register.

The bell chimed over the door and Emma silently groaned. She watched as Alan Freemont walked towards the counter, and braced herself for his flirting. It’s not that Alan wasn’t a good looking guy, he just wasn’t Emma’s type. And he also proved, time after time, to not be the type who takes the word no seriously.

“Well hey there, sexy. You got any of them home made blueberry muffins this morning?”

“Alan, what have I told you about calling me that?”

“I know you like our little flirtatious battles, Em. It’s certainly my favorite part of the day.”

No. No, she did not like their interactions and actually dreaded the five minutes he spent in her shop between ordering and heading to work at the local hardware store.

“While I’m happy to get you that blueberry muffin, I’m sorry to say that my interest in you ends there.”

“I like a challenge, baby. Surely you know that by now.” He reached across the counter and ran his finger down her arm. She jolted back and walked to the far end of the display case, where the blueberry muffins were. Grabbing the one closest to her, she placed it in a to-go box and walked back to the counter.

“And I like men who understand the meaning of the word no, Alan.” He laughed, and the sound made Emma’s skin crawl. “One of these days, Em, you’ll cave. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I won’t, I promise you. Here’s your change. Goodbye, Alan.” She forcefully shoved the cash across the counter and he smiled as he put the money in his pocket. “Oh, and Alan, if you don’t stop, I’ll ban you from being served here and have Hank come drop by.”

His free hand flew up towards his face. “Yeah, Em, sure. I’ll cool it, okay?”

Emma didn’t respond. They’d been over this a million times before, and he didn’t stop. She wasn’t someone who wanted to refuse service to anyone, but he was starting to make her feel uncomfortable, and she’d hate for him to do that to anyone else in her bakery.

“What a creep.” Daisy walked over to the register. “You okay?”

“Yeah, he just refuses to accept that I’m not interested in him. Ever since it got out that Steve and I broke up, it’s like relentless with him.”

“You want me to talk to Hank? I’m sure he’d be happy to set him straight.”

Daisy’s husband, Hank Porter, was the Clarence County Sheriff. He was fiercely protective of his community, and even more protective of his wife. Emma loved to tease Daisy about it.

“Oh, I know he would. But something in my gut is screaming to just deal with the five or ten minutes a day he’s in here and then let it go.”

“Okay,” Daisy reached across and grabbed Emma’s hand. “But you know Hank will always step in if you aren’t feeling safe. You don’t have to handle it on your own.”

“And let your man’s hero complex get even bigger? That’s a big ask, Daisy.” They both laughed. As much as Emma loved to tease Hank about his protectiveness as sheriff, she was grateful that she could count on him.

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