Page 3 of Baking Spirits Bright

"No, no, they weren't. Your dreams were bigger than this town was prepared for, Lyla. Sugar Creek is small. We both knew that."

We did, but I'd still thought that it would be big enough to support two bakeries. Especially during the winter when skiers descend on Sugar Creek. We're not far from Vail, and there are a bunch of locals who choose to purchase that way, but I was wrong. "You know what?" The words push out past my tight throat. “I don’t believe I’m going to open today. Instead, I’m going to beg Lincoln for a job.”

The mere thought makes me sick to my stomach. Before he’d started using my last name as a marketing tactic, I’d looked up to him and aspired to be like him when I went off on my own. Instead, he’d become someone I didn’t recognize. I'd rather work at the grocery store then to go see him tomorrow, but I have to eat.

"I wish there was something I could do," she blows out a breath. "Tommy doesn't work in the food industry, though."

"Thanks for at least saying it. Others wouldn't be that nice, Kay."

"They don't know you the way I do. If you need to go home, then do it. Let me open the store today. I'll sell what we have left, and you can wallow in whatever you need to."

There's a part of me that argues. It says I need to be here, to see this through. Even if watching the downfall will kill a portion of my show, I need to do it. But there's another part of me, the sensitive one, that put everything she had into this business, that says don't do this. Let it go, do it with grace, however that looks, and start tomorrow fresh. "Okay." I wipe away the tears. "I'm gonna go home."

She escorts me out the back door, even putting me in my car, and watching as I drive off. I feel as if I'm leaving for college, and she's my mom seeing me off. But as I turn onto the road behind the bakery that will take me in the direction I need to go for my apartment, the tears fall in earnest. The doom of failure washes over me, and I'm scared I'll never become what I've envisioned. All those hopes and dreams? They feel like they're never going to come true, and I wonder why I even bothered.

When I get to my apartment, I trudge up the stairs and open the door. I'm heading to my couch, and as I do, I take off my clothes and then snuggle under my heated blanket, waiting for sleep to come. I'm not sure if it will, but it's all I can hope for.

CHAPTER TWO

Lincoln

"What do you think, boss? Awesome, right?"

It's one of the worst cookie decorating jobs I've ever seen. Since Lyla left, I've been through five decorators, and none of them has even the slightest bit of talent compared to her. "It great, but I think you should keep practicing." There's no way I'm putting that out so anyone else can see it. It's my reputation on the line.

"Morning, Lincoln." It's my manager, Erin. "Did you hear the news?"

"There's a snowstorm coming? Not exactly news for this time of year."

"No, not that. Today is the last day for Holly Jolly Bakery. They're closing their doors for good at the end of business today."

My ears perk up, and my heart speeds up. This means Lyla's not going to have a business after today. "How do you know?" I ask, hoping this isn't one of those situations where it's a rumor, and I'm making plans for nothing.

"Drove by there, and stopped in," she winces. "I love their cake donuts. I can't help it."

"You're forgiven. Just tell me what you know."

"Kayla, who typically works the counter, said they're closing. They didn't even have an entirely stocked case. It's painfully obvious they were trying to get rid of what they had left."

No one wants this for another business owner, and competition is good. I hate this for Lyla, but I'm wondering if she would come back to Sugar and Spice. People ask for her every day. They loved the way she decorated cookies, cakes, and everything in between. We've had growing pains since she left, but we've done our best. We worked better together, and I've been trying to think of ways to get her back. "That sucks," I say out loud, but inside? My stomach is jumping. This is an opportunity, one I'd be smart to not let slip through my fingers.

Today, when I leave for lunch, I know exactly where I'm headed.

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"She's not here." Kayla says for the third time. "I sent her home so that she wouldn't have to watch her life's work end."

She says this like I should be the one who's responsible for said ending. "I was hoping to talk to her."

"So you could throw it in her face that she wasn't able to make it without you?" Her hand is on her hip, and it's jutting out with the same amount of attitude that she's giving me.

"No, I don't want to throw it in her face. That's a shitty thing to do. I can't even imagine how she's feeling right now. I don't know what I would do if I lost my bakery." Those words are the truth. My entire life has been dedicated to this.

The sound of laughter fills my ears. She tilts her head back, wiping at her eyes. "Oh my God, Lincoln. Are you kidding me? You want to offer her a job?"

"That's what I said. If you'd let me explain..." I try to continue talking to her. I'm getting frustrated. I came here wanting to make amends with her, but Kayla is blocking me.

The lobby of the bakery is empty. She glances around before coming out from behind the counter and getting up in my face. "This is going to break her. Not yet, because I don't think it's sunken in that she's losing her dream. Everything she's worked for since the morning she left your employment is gone. I'm sure you don't realize how hard this is for her. I'm going to tell you shit I shouldn't, but I'm going to do it because I feel as if you need to know."

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