Page 5 of Grumpy Baker

By the time she gets to me, I have to race out of the house before she decides to piss my neighbors off by honking in an obnoxious rhythm. Madison lets her hand hover above the horn, teasing mewith impending chaos to force me to trot faster than I already am.

"You're such a dick," I laugh as I plop into the passenger seat.

"Speaking of dick, whose was it that made you forget about your car at the bar?" she asks with a giggle.

"I helped Dean after his bartender quit in the middle of his shift. He drove me home."

"That's it? He just drove you home? You guys have been beating around that bush—definitely not beating around your bush—for years now." She does an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

"Don't be gross." I scoff and sing my next words playfully. "Stay out of my business, Mad Maddie."

She replies in a similar sing-song way. "I would stay out of your business if it didn't require me pushing my morning meeting back."

"I didn't tell you to wake me up at the crack of dawn, worried about why my car is parked in front of a bar."

She huffs and grins. "Considering you've been parking at this bar more than a few days a week, I'm right to be curious or even concerned. You're lucky Dad didn't see it. But this little ride also gets me breakfast. I want pancakes and?—"

I cut her off, finishing her usual order. "Scrambled eggs, extra cheesy, and an extra large coffee with two shots of espresso."

"Yes, yes, yes. Finally, someone who gets it right every time. I'm sure Dean would get your order right every time if you let him."

Shaking my head, my gaze shifts out the window. "Dean wants all or nothing."

"And why is that so bad? He's always been there for us, for you especially. I mean, you were a mess a few months ago. I know we were all mad that you forgot about our anniversary dinner for Mom, but you also dropped out of grad school to help our family when she got sick. It sucks that the burden fell on you. We forget how much her loss takes a toll on all of us."

I sigh. "Well, Dad was a mess. It was the right thing to do back then. Finishing grad school just didn't seem important anymore. Five years later, it's still not that important. I've been able to run my business with some degree of success, but these loans are killing me right now because it's so slow."

She lets out a soft exhale. "That's why it's only right that we try to help you after what you gave up for us. So listen to me now when I say, do something for yourself. Dean makes you happy. I know everything isn't perfect, but you should take a chance with him. Even if it's to distract you from work or inspire you to try something new to drum up more clients."

"Why are you sounding so reasonable this early in the morning? I like Dean a lot, but he is so quiet and grumpy, and I'm not. He's so considerate and has his life together, and I'm a fucking mess."

Maddie reaches over the center gear shift to tap my hand as she parks behind my car in front of the bar. In the brightness of the morning, there's a peaceful glow shining on the locked doors and shuttered windows.

I'm ready to get out when Maddie's voice pulls me out of my thoughts. She says, "You're not a mess. You've had a shitty eighteen months, and that's life. You've always told me not to let one setback set me all the way back."

"Maddie, it feels like everything is snowballing. These bills and loans are catching up to me. I can't thank you enough for helping me out, but it's not right for my younger sister to continually come to my financial rescue."

She smiles and inhales deeply with a side glance at me. "Don't mention it. We're family. Mom died your first year of grad school, and you took on everything for us. The least I can do is help you out whenever I can. And my help to you this morning, outside of dropping you off, is to tell you to date Dean. You've been crushing on him for as long as he's been making googly eyes at you."

"God, you're being extra weird this morning."

We laugh together while I try to bury the anxiety over upcoming bills that need to be paid.

She ignores me, playing her classic role as the middle child extremely well, saying, "I have some work for you once I get this house staged. I'll need some brochures and a social media campaign. You can come take a look at the place when you get a chance."

"Thanks, Maddie," I tell her as we both get out of her car.

She tips her face upward, inhaling deeply. "What is that delightful smell? Forget the pancakes. What's baking over there? That's Dean's bakery, too; why not plug him in with Rye and get some bakery ice cream collab working?"

"One thing at a time, Maddie. What you smell is a pecan streusel coffee cake muffin and probably snickerdoodle cookies that will be used to make ice cream sandwiches. On second thought, we should get Rye in on this. I was deliriously tired last night."

Maddie turns her gaze toward me. "How do you know what's on the menu?"

"Because after I helped Dean close the bar, I helped him prep the bakery, which is why my car is still here. He's probably in there right now."

Maddie doesn't let me get another word out before dragging me into the bakery, where I see the assistant baker desperately trying to man the counter as customers pile up. I skip the line to the aggravation of everyone waiting but step behind the glass display case.

It takes some convincing, but after giving her details of what's about to burn in those ovens, she lets me help. Maddie hangs back to watch in amazement as I manage the crowd and get customers out the door.

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