quiet. I was still somewhat of a novelty in town, especially to the little kids who weren’t accustomed to seeing one of their favorite baseball players walking down Main Street like it was no big deal.
Thankfully, to Johanna, I was still the lanky ten-year-old with crooked teeth whose body hadn’t caught up with his height yet.
“Good morning, Sebastian!” she sang, turning a knob on the coffee machine so it sputtered out water and hissed. “How are we today?”
I grinned at her. “I’m good, Johanna. How are you?”
“Can’t complain, can’t complain!” She turned the knob back and set the coffee on a plate, her blonde bun bobbing as she handed the coffee to the customer with a smile. “What can we get for you today?”
“What do you have that I can eat my body weight of?”
“I don’t have two hundred pounds of croissants and cheesecake, if that’s what you’re asking.” She wiped her hands on her apron and crossed to the pastry cabinet. “Felicity! Are you done with that bread yet?”
There was fresh bread?
Yum.
Felicity, Johanna’s adopted daughter, poked her head in from the kitchen and frowned, her dark eyebrows pinching in at the center of her forehead. “Mom! I brought it out ten minutes ago!”
Johanna turned and looked at the shelving behind her and let out a booming laugh. “I didn’t even notice.”
“Story of my lie.” Felicity met my gaze and beamed, her entire face lighting up. Her dark braids were tipped with blue, and it looked amazing against her dark skin. “Seb! Morning!”
“Morning, Felicity. So you made the bread?”
She nodded, blushing hard. “The bakery is shut this week for some renovations, so I’m baking some for Mom and selling it here.”
“I might buy it,” Johanna stage-whispered, winking at me as she set a load of Felicity’s bread down. “It’s up for sale you know.”
“Mom!” Felicity hissed. “I told you, I want to save up to buy it.”
“And you can,” she replied without batting an eyelid. “From me. It won’t be for sale forever, and you’ve worked hard on your bakery skills. You can buy it at market price in a few years when you’re ready.”
My lips twitched. I’d always loved that about Johanna and her husband, Darian. They’d adopted Felicity and her brother, Xander, when they were five and three respectively. Ever since then, they’d worked to teach them the value of hard work and give them the life their parents hadn’t been able to.
Hadn’t wanted to.
I had no doubt that Johanna was telling the truth—that she’d buy the bakery for her daughter and make her earn it fair and square.
“I didn’t know it was up for sale,” I remarked, eyeing the pastries in the cabinet.
Johanna nodded. “It’s the worst kept secret in White Peak. Alison and Martin are ready to retire, and I asked them if they were going to rent or sell. They said sell, and I’m happy with the price they want.” She shrugged and grabbed a takeout coffee mug for me.
“Mom!” Felicity protested. “You can’t buy me a business!”
“Oh, child.” She shook her head. “I’m not buying you a business. I’m buying me a business, hiring you to run it, and you can buy it when you want it. If you want it. At market price,” she finished gleefully. “Now, Sebastian, what can I get for you?”
Felicity groaned and disappeared back to the kitchen.
“All of it,” I answered honestly. “But I ran here and can’t run with cheesecake. My coach will be happy to hear that.”
Johanna belly laughed. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ll bring you a slice over, and I won’t tell your coach if you won’t.”
“You’re a woman after my heart, Johanna. Are you sure I can’t convince you to leave Darian for me?”
Another huge laugh that lit up the entire café. “Sit your butt down, boy, and stop flirting. I’m older than your mother.”
I held up my hands in defeat and backed away to a table, chuckling to myself as I took a seat at one of the many vacant tables. It was still early, and since it was Sunday, I didn’t expect her to get too busy until lunchtime.
Which suited me just fine.
My table was in the corner, furthest away from the door. It was the perfect place for people watching. I did just that as I waited for Johanna to bring me a coffee and a slice of cheesecake which was, apparently, my breakfast.
I’d had worse days.
I leaned back, making myself comfortable, and unzipped my sweater to take it off. The