Page 7 of Harmonizing with Little Heaven Leigh

She was shaking her head before he finished. “I’m supposed to be in the Littles’ Wing today, remember? I promised.”

He hesitated. “Are you sure?”

Heaven Leigh’s nod was decisive. “I think I need some Little time, Daddy. And it’s going to be fun today. We’re painting portraits, and I’ve been looking forward to it.”

Sometimes you had to balance one need with another, and Angel understood that.

Heaven was already sliding into the Little headspace, and lunch was filled with excited chatter about their future. He had to keep reminding her to put food in her mouth otherwise she wouldn’t have eaten anything.

Once she finally cleared her plate, he walked her to the Littles’ Wing and got her checked in before he went to the kitchen. Surprisingly, his small area felt less cramped. The noisy chaos of banging pans and shouting didn’t distract him nearly as much as usual either.

Just knowing that a move was planned and happening made everything feel easier. He knew it wouldn’t last, that there was a lot of work ahead of them, but for the moment… the stress was gone and he was ready to get some work done.

And to celebrate his good mood, he decided to make a treat for the Littles. A chocolate dessert was always welcomed at dinner, but he had the perfect idea for something quick and fun.

Heaven Leigh didn’t get to bake much, but when she was wired, she would occasionally take advantage of the quiet kitchen. When everything was shut down and all the staff were gone for the night, she had permission from Chef Connor to use the ovens, as long as she cleaned up after herself.

Angel’s Little girl was a professional, so leaving the space pristine went without saying. And she appreciated the chance to spread out in the large resort kitchen to work. It was rarely anything fancy; there wasn’t time for that. She was just happy to spend a few hours making plain cakes and cupcakes.

While it might not have done much to relieve the creative itch, the basic baking soothed her mind. A useful way to relax, that left them with baked goods wrapped up tight and stored in the deep freeze, ready to be decorated whenever.

Angel pulled out a few long trays of cupcakes and let them defrost while he began melting chocolate for the molds. He spent the morning making little animals in different flavors of chocolate. Heaven, when she joined him in the afternoon, happily whipped up a rainbow of frostings and placed one animal on each cupcake.

It might have been a simple dessert, but he loved the way they were able to combine their skills, and he was looking forward to real collaborations once they had their own kitchen.

CHAPTER3

The next few months were strange. Time seemed to speed by for a while, and then it would slow to a stop with each day dragging on. The completion of their shop was just around the corner, but also so far away it was almost unbearable, depending on her mood.

Despite that, construction was going smoothly. All of the fancy bakery and chocolate equipment had arrived on schedule and was being installed one piece at a time. That part had taken a little longer than expected, but not enough to throw things off.

The upcoming changes had spurred Heaven Leigh to finally do something about the old life she’d left behind. She used the three months to start wrapping up her history, so she could focus on a future with Angel.

She’d been content to simply exist at Rawhide and had ignored the outside world for longer than she should have. But then she’d always waffled when it came to emotional decisions.

The board of her company had been happy to run everything without her, in fact they probably preferred it. But there’d been an uproar when she scheduled a Zoom call to announce her intention to sell her shares. She held a controlling interest, and their places were not secure under new ownership. They tried to talk her out of it, but she was firm in her decision.

That part of her life was over. Working with Barbara had made her happy. Baking made her happy. Heading a national company was nothing but stress and it had never brought her joy.

She was ready to get back to the basics, back to the part she’d loved, before all of the fame and money had made it tense and exhausting. Offers came in, and she made it clear that a fast transition was more important to her than the dollar amount. She wanted everything done before their new shop was ready and, with some rushing, she managed to close a deal with time to spare.

The lawyers handled most of the work, but unfortunately, she’d needed to be there in person to sign the papers. She’d been dreading it, until her Daddy decided to go with her. They took a week to get everything done, and fit in as much fun as they could, despite the long list of tasks that needed to be completed.

Her things were now boxed up in storage. Her house was on the market, and the company had been folded under the umbrella of a larger corporation. They were going to keep the name of the chain, and hold on to the national contracts, but it would no longer be her problem.

The ungodly amount of money they’d paid her for the privilege of taking it off her hands, was… overwhelming for someone who’d been a homeless runaway. At some point she’d have to make some decisions about the fortune, but that could come later when she was settled. A large chunk would go to non-profits, she’d already decided on that. Barbara would be pleased at the thought, and Heaven liked the idea of paying things forward.

When they got back to the Ranch, the first thing they did was check on the construction progress. It looked like it was ready to open, though she knew there was still a lot to do inside. But if all went well, in two weeks the contractors would be finished, and then they could start decorating the interior.

They even had a sign ready to go above the door, though it was hidden away for now. It read “Angel’s Heavenly Bakery and Chocolate Shoppe,” which was the name they’d decided on long before they had any real plans to open a place of their own. Heaven still flinched over the name on bad days, but the rest of the time she loved it.

At least she had before they’d gone to settle her old life.

Selling her house and company had stirred up a lot of emotions, and there were a few bad days in a row, where she was tempted to break the sign and insist on a different name. Angel actually caught her with a hammer in hand, about to do just that, and he’d talked her down from the edge.

“Chiquita, if you don’t want that name, we can change it, absolutely. But what we’re not going to do is smash things because we’re upset. So let’s talk about this.” He already knew her story, but it helped to talk anyway.

Her issue with the word “heavenly” came from her childhood. Her parents, her father especially, had always insisted on saying her two names together as one word. At his tent revivals, he would call her up on stage and have her sing for the crowd. “Our daughter, Heaven Leigh will start us off with a hymn today,” he’d say.

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