Page 32 of Home Changes
As soon as Kayla stepped out to open her store, Allison scribbled the machine’s name down on a slip of paper. She’d give it to Alex later when she dropped by Gen’s diner at lunch. He might not be able to afford the top model, but he did love to spoil his wife.
She had just finished arranging her last batch of golden, buttery croissants when the bell above the front door jingled.
Allison looked up and smiled. “Hey, Amanda.”
Amanda Marshall breezed in, her smile as wide and warm as the South Dakota prairie sky. Her long braid swung over her shoulder as she stepped inside.
“Hi, Allison! Do you have my order ready?”
“I sure do,” Allison said, heading into the walk-in cooler.
She returned with a large light purple box filled with freshly baked bread bowls, the yeasty scent filling the room.
Amanda accepted the box with gratitude. “Thank you so much. And while I’m here, can I get a couple of your strawberry pies? If you have them in stock?”
“I actually have three in the walk-in. I was planning to bake blueberry tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll take all three,” Amanda said cheerfully. “Jewel and Zane are coming out with the twins before school starts.”
Allison tilted her head. “Wait. School already started, didn’t it?”
Amanda smiled. “Oh, the twins are homeschooled. They do their coursework in Denver during the year, part of a co-op there. They’re both ahead of their grade levels. One excels in math, the other in science. And they spend summers back home.”
“Where’s home?” Allison asked.
Amanda waved her hand vaguely. “Back in the Carolinas.”
Allison caught the subtle signal that said,Don’t push. So, she didn’t. “I’ll pop back and grab those pies for you. Be right back,” Allison said with a smile as she turned toward the walk-in cooler.
She stepped inside and pulled out two strawberry pies, placing them gently on the prep table before returning for the last one. As she secured the lidsand made sure each box was wrapped with care, the bell above the door chimed.
Frank Marshall stepped into the bakery, the light behind him casting long shadows across the polished floor.
Allison grinned. “I see you’ve got your weekly stash of taffy,” she teased, nodding toward the small brown paper bag in his hand.
Amanda laughed, brushing her fingers across her husband’s sleeve. “Please don’t let your mom ever run out of that. I found a source for some high-protein taffy, but this man refuses to eat it.”
Frank lifted the bag as if defending a long-held tradition. “Ain’t nothing wrong with this taffy. Been eating it all my life. Probably gonna eat it till the day I die.”
Amanda’s hand slid around his back. “Well, that won’t be for a long, long time. Do you understand me?”
Frank looked down at her, smiling softly. “Yes, dear.” He bent and kissed her forehead, the kind of small, familiar gesture that spoke of years of devotion.
Allison moved the pie boxes toward the counter and lined them up neatly. “I’ll just put it on your bill,” she said as she rang them up.
“Thank you so much,” Amanda said warmly. “You’re gonna have to help me with these,” she added, glancing at her husband.
“I will,” Frank replied, shifting the weight of the boxes as he accepted them from Amanda. “But I’ve got a question first.”
Allison looked up, her hand pausing over the register. “What can I help you with?”
Frank tilted his head toward the front window, and when she looked in that direction, she saw Delbert sitting outside the general store, watching Main Street with the same focus he gave every slow-moving vehicle that dared to roll through town.
“Where’s Chester?” Frank said. “Is he still coming down here every day?”
Allison glanced at the clock and then out the front window and nodded. “Oh, he should be here any minute.”
And just like that, Seth’s truck pulled down Main Street, easing in from the highway. She caught sight of the dusty hood and the big black German Shepherd sitting alert in the passenger seat.
