Page 13 of Only Ever You
“Yes,” I replied, even though it had to be obvious I’d just been crying. “I really am,” I insisted when Janet tipped her head to the side, her brow crinkling with worry.
“Luna is okay,” Josie said. “Well, maybe not right this second, but she will be.”
A laugh sputtered up. Janet quickly put down the dish tray before walking over to give me a big hug. “You will be okay,” she announced.
“I know.” And, I did know. The reservoir of strength from my friends buoyed me. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of all the hugs around here.
Janet smiled softly. “Good. Can you stay and make more donuts?” she repeated.
“Absolutely.”
Josie squeezed my shoulder as she wrapped an apron around her waist. “You bake. I gotta get out front. It sounds nuts out there.”
“One of those tour buses is here,” Janet tossed over her shoulder as she hurried out of the kitchen.
I settled into making another batch of dough for donuts. I loved it here. My grandmother had suggested asking Janet about baking here. My original plan had been to just use the kitchen, but then Janet wanted to sell the donuts. I was making enough from the donuts that it would keep me afloat financially while I tried to figure out my next steps.
Janet returned to the kitchen and began prepping the other items she baked for the café. With Janet and my grandmother old friends, she knew my story and me pretty well.
She glanced up at one point as we worked. “I hope you’ll be more open with your friends.”
When I lifted my focus to her, the warmth in her gaze made my heart squeeze. “I’m trying,” I said.
Her smile was soft. “I know you are. I’m really glad you’re here.”
“I am too.” I swallowed through the emotion tightening in my throat. It meant so much to have a place to stay, to feel like I could belong somewhere instead of feeling adrift in a traveling life.
“I have an idea,” she said a moment later.
“Well, I love hearing your ideas, Janet,” I said lightly.
“What if you took over all of the baking here?”
My gaze whipped up to hers. My surprise must’ve shown because she chuckled. “I’m not that young, and I love it here, but I need a plan.”
“What do you mean?” Worry spun through me.
“Oh, I’m healthy, Luna, don’t you worry about that. But I’m not getting any younger, and I’m close to seven decades. It’s coming faster than I would like. I hope to live for a whole century, which wouldn’t be crazy because my mom got close to that. But—” She took a quick breath. “I don’t have any children. I think of many people in town as my honorary children, but you have a special place in my heart. What if I stay on and “manage”—” She used air quotes for that. “And eventually you take over the whole thing. I promise you it’s profitable.”
Flummoxed, I stared at her, my mouth dropping open. For entirely different reasons than earlier, tears stung my eyes again. “What are you even talking about?”
“I’m talking about giving you this café,” she said firmly. “Not right away. You do your donuts and take over the baking, but in the long run, I would give this place to you. We’re talking some years down the road. As long as I stay healthy, I still want to work. But I’m not territorial. You can change it to fit with your donuts. I think those alone could be a whole business. Jasminerents the space in the back for her pottery studio, but there’s room in the garage behind us that you could update for a bigger baking kitchen if you ever wanted.”
“I didn’t even know that was part of this,” I said slowly, envisioning the square steel garage back there.
Janet nodded. “I own it. It came with the property. They used to use it for storage for the fire station, and I would rent it to them, but they don’t need it anymore ever since they expanded the new station. I was thinking, while I’m still in charge here, you could get that up and running for your bakery.”
I couldn’t really absorb all of this. “Um, I could pay rent,” I said.
“Luna, I don’t need the rent. I own all of this free and clear. This café is really profitable, in part because I don’t have to worry about overhead except for paying staff and utilities. That’s why I pay everybody well. Restaurants either fail or they do amazing. I’ve lucked out here, maybe because I kept it simple. That’s my best advice to you. If you want this place, when you’re ready, just keep it simple.”
Overcome with emotion, all I could do was gape at her. I’d known Janet my whole life, but I didn’t get to see her much because we didn’t come back often after my parents started traveling. Whenever we came back to visit, I was pretty sure my mom got an earful from my grandma, so they only came on the holidays.
I was silent long enough that Janet’s brow furrowed. “Luna, you don’t have to do this. I just?—”
“Oh, I definitely want to do this, but I don’t want to take anything from you. At all.”
Janet smiled softly. “I love it here. This place is part of me, but I’ve thought long and hard about this. I’ve known for a while that I need some kind of plan. When you finally came home, I knew you were the plan. Your grandma is one of my best friends,and I love her to pieces. She has worried and worried and worried about you. When I told her I’ve been thinking about this, she thought it might be a great idea. She told me you don’t want to leave Willow Brook again.”
