Page 61 of The Baking Games

I feel like maybe it's possible. Maybe I'm more talented than I think. After all, Rhett told me so this morning. I never thought I would hear him say that. He was pretty horrible during pastry chef school. Not usually directly at me, but he was still ornery or a curmudgeon, as my grandmother would've called him. He was not friendly. He was not nice. He didn't want to befriend anyone, so he put off that vibe. But here, he seems so different, almost like a nice guy, like a sheep in wolf's clothing instead of the other way around.

"Good morning, everyone," Dan says. His voice is far too loud for the hour. Actually, it’s far too loud for most hours. I think Dan needs a volume adjustment. As I listen to him, I realize he reminds me of those cheesy game show hosts from the 70s that I’ve seen in old clips.

It's just after 8:00 AM and I'm wondering what they've got up their sleeves that we have to do at this ungodly hour. I like to ease into my mornings, have a cup of coffee, make a nice breakfast, and maybe read a little bit before I get on with my day. Of course, when I'm back at home, that doesn't happen. I'm standing in the bakery at 4:00 AM, wishing that I was a self-made millionaire, but instead, I'm making birthday cakes for annoying six-year-olds.

But here, I can kind of do what I want most of the time, except until yesterday when I became chained to Rhett. He goes along with what I want to do for the most part.

“As you probably imagined, today is another public service day. We will be going to a local beach and cleaning it up.”

Oh, great. Cleaning? I hate cleaning. If I could buy one thing with money, it would be a housekeeper or a cleaning crew that could come in just once a week. I would even take it once every two weeks. I hate cleaning. Sadie does most of it.

"Yay, that sounds fun,” I say dryly under my breath.

Rhett chuckles. "I'm sure it'll be nice to leave this house. Don't you like the beach?"

“I have no idea. I’ve never been.”

"You've never been on the beach?" Rhett says to me, staring like I've just landed from some other planet.

"No, not everyone has been to the beach, Rhett."

"I guess I just thought..." He stops himself and says nothing else.

"It's okay. I just didn't have the kind of upbringing where my mom would take me to the beach."

"I'm sorry,” he says. I'm not sure if he's sorry that I've never been to the beach or that he said anything at all. "Well, I'm glad I get to be there when you see it for the first time."

The way he says it is very intimate. Strange. Is this part of the hippopotamus plan? That's what I've decided to call it. The hippopotamus plan. It sounds like a great book title. It would be confusing but cool.

They usher us into the van, and off we go. I don't know this area at all, so I have no idea what beach we're heading to or how far away it is. But we’re pulling into a nondescript parking lot within about thirty minutes.

Palm trees and dunes are right by the parking lot, so I can't see the ocean yet. We get out, and I can immediately hear it. The sound is so soothing. Of course, I've heard ocean sounds on YouTube or meditation audio, but it's different in person. I can taste the salty air. I can feel a different breeze on my face than I've ever felt before. It's already warm even at this early hour.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Yep."

We walk down a pathway, which turns into a small wooden bridge at the end. As I get to the top of the bridge, I stop in my tracks. Thankfully, we're at the end of the line of contestants, and they're all walking further out onto the sand. But I can't move. I've never seen anything like this.

The ocean.

It's beautiful.

It's massive.

There's nothing on the other side for as far as the eye can see. I think I see a little shrimp boat, or maybe that's a barge of some kind. I can't tell because it's so far away.

I hear children laughing at one end of the beach. I see houses dotting the sand all the way down.

"Wow,” I breathe out. I can't form any other words. Seeing the ocean on video just didn't do it justice.

"It's pretty amazing, huh?"

"I'm sure you see it all the time. You're on yachts."

He smiles slightly and nods his head. "Yeah. I've seen a lot of beaches and beautiful places. But I must say, witnessing you seeing it for the first time is one of my favorites."

Who is this man? Why is he acting this way? It has to be part of the plan. This can't be the real Rhett. I didn't miss this the whole time I knew him.

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