Garrett closes the door to his red truck, swiping his hand through his dark hair, and starts to walk toward the front door of Sugarland. With each step he takes, my world shifts a little more.
What must he think of me?
Because of me, he now has a record.
The bell above the door chimes and never have I heard it so loudly. The ringing echoes over the bakery and I hold my breath from the fear that races through me.
“Morning,” he says, not sure if it's meant for me or Casey. But she is the first to respond, because I can’t seem to get my mouth to work.
“Good morning to you too,” her voice much higher than normal and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “You stop by for something sweet?”
I glance up and find him smiling, flashing those sexy little dimples of his.
“Actually I was hoping that I could talk to Kyra for a minute.”
If it was possible to swallow my own tongue I think I would right here and now.
“Oh,” Casey says, turning her attention to me. “Well, I think I’ll step into the back and see if Gran needs any help.”
She is so obvious it's achingly embarrassing.
I remain where I am, still not saying a single word.
He waits until the swinging door stops before he says his first words to me. “How are you?”
I take a deep breath, praying that I can get through this conversation without puking or passing out. I’m pretty sure that no matter how hard I try I won’t escape it without sounding like a complete idiot so there is no hope for that.
“That’s the question I should be asking you.”
He sits down in one of the stools opposite me and places his elbows on the counter. “I’m good,” he assures me with a killer smile. “It was nothing.”
“You got arrested because you stood up for me, that’s not nothing.”
I’ve never felt my heart beat so fast.
“No woman deserves to be treated the way he was treating you.” There is no hesitation in his voice, no thinking it through, or weighing his words. There is nothing that gives me the idea that he doesn’t believe everything he is saying without a doubt.
“I don’t regret what I did, Kyra.”
I nod, because honestly what am I supposed to say?
“I can’t believe I ever thought you’d date a guy like that.” He shakes his head and I focus on his strong jawline and his handsome smile. Then his words register.
“Wait, what?”
He chuckles, “I overheard Phil talking one day about the two of you and the time you’d spent together, and I guess I—,”
“I’ve never dated Phil,” I interrupt him.
“I know that now.” His chest rises and falls as he takes in a deep breath. “I just wish I knew it back then too. Had I known, things could have—,”
“Well if it isn’t Garrett Tennison,” Gran hollers out as she steps out of the kitchen. “Now you get over here right now, I need to give you a hug.”
Garrett’s eyes widen and it's comical how fearful he looks. I lift my hand to cover my mouth just as Gran grabs hold of him and pulls him toward her. He practically falls off the chair and she holds onto him like she is attempting to squeeze the life right out of his body.
“I want to hear all about how good it felt when your fist connected with that sorry son of a bitches cheek.”
Garrett’s green eyes relax as he looks over at me as she releases him, and I offer a shrug. That’s Gran for ya, she wastes no time getting right to the heart of her curiosities. “Though I do wish your brother wouldn’t have stopped you, because that pathetic weasel shouldn’t have been able to walk away, I do love that you came out unscathed though.”
Gran doesn’t give Garrett the chance to get a word in and I know for now the conversation we were having has come to an end.
“Do you know how to make red velvet cupcakes, Garrett?”
“No ma’am,” he shakes his head.
“There will be none of this ma’am stuff, you call me Gran. Now let’s go find you an apron.” Gripping his arm she drags him off toward the kitchen and he looks back over his shoulder as if in search of some help.
I have to admit seeing Garrett in the kitchen needing some dough might be a treat, so he’d get no help from me.
CHAPTER
SIX
Garrett
“I think I’ll have you sift the flour.” Lily Mae says rounding the large island in the middle of the kitchen. It's covered with pans and rolling pins, measuring cups and some oversized contraption that looks like a bigger version of my mother’s mixer. “Do you know what sifting is?”
“Not a clue,” I laugh wondering how on earth I got where I am right now.
The swinging door squeaks, and I glance away from Lily Mae just in time to see Kyra enter the kitchen. She wears a red Apron with the words Sugarland Bakery stitched on the front. As she turns away from me I glance down and take in her form fitting pants. Lost in the vision I jump in surprise when Lily whispers near my ear.
“This would be so much easier to teach you if you’d focus instead of eyeing up my granddaughter's ass.”
I shift uncomfortably on my feet and of course she laughs like she didn’t call me out, loud and clear in front of Kyra.
“No worries, you get one freebie since you rescued her last night.”
She starts to whistle, and I want nothing more than to flee the scene. Taking a chance I peek back over my shoulder and find Kyra pretty much doing the same thing, with a smile on her face. It’s contagious, these women and their happiness. I too can’t help but to smile as I focus back on the task, as Lily attempts to teach me. There is no worry, no irritation that I’m not getting it right and making a mess.
“Kyra, sweetheart,” Lily hollers out as she brushes off her hands. “Can you take over?”
Both Kyra and I look at her and then each other. Her cheeks redden as she steps up to my opposite side. “This man can sift like a master, but he’s not the greatest at the mixer.”
I chuckle, and notice how Kyra is watching me. She looks at me with a grin that does something to me, and I take in a deep breath to calm myself.
“Sure Gran,” Kyra says in a low whisper that I’m not even sure her gran can hear. Only it doesn’t seem to matter as Lily Mae hurries off leaving Kyra and me alone.
“She’s full of energy,” I say, trying to break the silence that settles over the kitchen.
“You’ve only seen a small tidbit of it.” She shrugs and I can’t help my grin from widening. This version of her is so much different that the withdrawn and angry girl on that first day I met her. “There is never a dull moment with Lily Mae, that is for sure.”
“Did you always want to work at the bakery?”
“When I was younger I wanted to be a ballerina,” Kyra doesn’t look over at me, only continues to mix the ingredients without looking at a recipe. You can tell she’s done this very thing a million times over. “Then when I turned ten I wanted to be a DJ,” I chuckle and it's then she looks over at me. “I went through a strange punk rock phase. It was not my finest hour, walking around wearing a set of headphones yet they weren’t even plugged into any device. I pretend that year didn’t exist now.”