Page 3 of Where There's Smoke…
Now I wished I’d spent more time with my grandma before she left us. Honestly, I had a handful of regrets, but I pushed them to the back of my brain. I didn’t want to think about any of that right now. I just wanted to cry.
“Angel Savoie,” I hear someone call, and I turn my head to see a figure walking towards me. As they got closer, I realized that it was my cousin, Avery. I turn my eyes back to the sky and sigh as she stands over me. “Angel, I know you’re sad but please get your low-immune system having ass up off the ground.”
This gets a small chuckle out of me as my eyes connect with hers. She flashes me a warm smile as she reaches her hands out to me. I allow her to help me up to my feet. She towered over me by half a foot, yet she exuded nothing but warmth and love. She was my favorite cousin for a reason.
“You got a death wish or something?” She jokes as she guides me back toward the guest house. “You’re allergic to nature, yet you were sprawled out like you wanted the heavens to open up and take you now. There are snakes out in the grass and…well…the grass. Aren’t you allergic to grass?”
“No, Avery, I’m not allergic to grass,” I chuckled, shaking my head. “I’m just sensitive to it and pollen, but I’m wearing a sweater.”
“Well, you’re breaking out, so come take this Benadryl.”
She leads me into the guest house, and I sniffle, my sinuses now congested. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone and laid my ass in the middle of a damn flower field. I glanced at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, and sure enough, Avery was right. Small welts laced my neck and were slowly taking residence on my face. My face had begun to flush, and I was as red as a fire truck right now. I sighed.
Good job, Angel…
“Angel, I know you miss Granny, but you can’t do this shit again,” Avery nags as she pours two pills into my hand. I quickly toss them back and chase them with some water. “Chris and Orion have been looking for you for hours. I had to track your phone to find you because you weren’t answering. I know you’re grieving, but please don’t do this anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologize as I take a seat on the sofa. “It’s just…a lot.”
“And we are here for you. I know how close you were with Granny, but the only way we’re gonna get through this is if we go through it together,” she says softly. “We’re stronger together, remember?”
I smile as I nod at the saying that our grandma would always say. She was a peaceful person, a kind spirit. She believed that even in the toughest times, we’d always make it through as long as we had each other. I felt a surge of guilt as I thought about how I’d been essentially running away these last two years. I’d been so scared of moving to this town that I missed out on being here for my family like I should’ve been.
We spent another hour at the guest house before we finally headed back into town. Avey then followed me to my brother’s house and stayed over for lunch before she left to go meet her wife, Tyler. I spent the rest of the day relaxing with my brother Orion. I’d moved in with him while I had the apartment above the bakery renovated. It came with the space when we purchased the building for our grandma, but she never did anything with it, so I decided to make it my own space now that I'm here. It was a two-bedroom, two-bath space, but that was plenty of room for me and occasionally Kennedy when I was watching her.
Orion and Chris both worked for Savoie’s Vineyard & Winery, which was owned and operated by our aunt, uncle, and Avery. They oversaw deliveries and often spent weeks at a time on the road delivering to different restaurants in the southern states. Orion never took Kennedy with him because he wanted her to grow up in a stable environment instead of always having to be on the road. So, she stayed with me or our grandma. Since our grandma was now gone, I would be her sole guardian whenever he was away.
I sigh as I walk up to my room. I’ll be busy again starting next week, but honestly, I welcome it. I needed to get out of the house, and opening the bakery back up would be the perfect pastime. I’d quit my cruise job as soon as I got the news of my grandma’s passing. I got off at the earliest stop I could and immediately flew back home, so I was pretty much unemployed this last month. Now, things would be different.
April 13th, 2025
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to prepare for the day. I had a day of baking ahead of me, and I wanted to get to the bakery as early as possible. Although I wasn’t officially opening back up until tomorrow, I wanted to have a few things premade, mostly the desserts that had to stay chilled. For the first time in weeks, I was excited.
Baking was something I’d always loved, and I always found every opportunity to do so. I was slowly embracing being in this town, and although I was still a bit anxious about it, I could see myself enjoying beinghere. But I must admit, I still felt a little guilty that I hadn’t moved here with the rest of my family a couple of years ago.
“Everything happens the way it’s meant to, Angel,”I tell myself with a sigh.“It wasn’t time. Now it is.”
I nod to myself as I grab my bag before stuffing my phone, wallet, and notebook in it. I took that notebook everywhere I went because there was always downtime, and with downtime came time to workshop new recipes and flavor combinations I wanted to try. A recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes with vanilla bean icing was something I was toying with recently. I was thinking about adding a bit of orange zest or a splash of fresh orange juice to the batter. It sounded delicious, but I had to taste it to make sure.
I exit my room and trot down the stairs. I stopped by Orion’s room to let him know that I was heading out. He groaned a response, and I left the house not long after. The streets were quiet as I drove the 10 minutes to the bakery. My stomach growled, and suddenly I was craving a breakfast sandwich. There weren’t many fast-food restaurants here, but I knew one place that would be open.
As I pulled up toKiwi’s Coffee Cafe, I noticed that Maddox’s car was parked in the parking lot. He was always up this early, and I was thankful for that. So, I park and exit the vehicle before locking it and making my way inside the cafe. He looked up as I stepped over the threshold, and a bright smile graced his handsome face. I thought of him as a good friend of mine. Everyone in this town seemed to love him, and it wasn’t hard to see why. He was always kind and helpful to others. He made everyone feel welcome, whether he knew you or not.
“Good morning, Angel,” he greets with a smile. “You’re up early today. Must be heading down to the bakery.”
“Yep, got to keep things running smoothly,” I replied with a smile. “Oh, and good morning to you as well.”
“Would you like your usual?” he asks as he fills a cup with ice.
“Yes, please,” I nod, taking a seat on one of the stools by the counter. “I can’t believe I’ve been here long enough to have a usual.”
“Well, if it means anything, we’re glad to have you here,” he smiles as he proceeds to make my favorite drink. A chocolate horchata frappe with chocolate drizzle and whipped cream. Yeah, it was probably a lot of calories and sugar, but I only drank them once…or twice a week. “Your grandma and her bakery were one of the brightest parts of this town. We’re all gonna miss her, but I know that you are gonna do the bakery justice.”
“Thanks,” I say as he sets my drink in front of me.
A week ago, I would’ve broken down at the mere thought of anything related to my grandma, but I’ve been feeling better lately. I knew she was in a better place and that she was watching over me. Iknewthat I could do the bakery justice, like Maddox said. I had so many people in my corner supporting me, and I refused to let any of them down.
“And your breakfast,” he says after handing me the warmed sandwich. I thank him. “No problem at all, and it’s on the house. Just as long as you promise to make that amazing strawberry shortcake that you made last year. My customers have been asking for it for months.”
