Broken River - Ruby Shae Page 0,9

could get sandwiches in the main house whenever she wanted to, but she didn’t want to impose on Liam’s family too often, so she decided she would only join his siblings when he did, and she knew that didn’t happen frequently.

She placed the prepared cookie sheet into the oven, and started filling up the second pan with rolled balls.

She knew her life here with Liam would be lonely most of the time, but in reality, it wasn’t that different from her life in the city. She had work acquaintances that she would miss, but other than that, she didn’t really have any friends. In fact, she had always been one to spend most of her time alone, and she liked it that way.

Baking had always been her favorite way to pass the time, and even when she was still working, her time off had usually been creating something yummy in the oven...which she preferred to do alone anyway. There was something soothing about mixing ingredients and creating something delicious from the heart.

The only problem she had now, was that she had no coworkers to share all of her treats with, and she definitely couldn’t eat everything by herself. The cookies she was making today were actually for Liam—he had mentioned liking chocolate chip cookies in passing—and she could share some with his family, but she didn’t want to become annoying by forcing them to eat her fresh baked goods every day.

She would have to find a place where she could donate—or sell—them.

The Farmer’s Market would be a great place to earn a little bit of money back, and get honest feedback on new recipes, but the warmer weather in this area wasn’t good for baked goods at events that were outside.

The timer dinged, and she pulled the cookies out of the oven, but frowned at the pathetic looking discs on the pan. Half of her cookies were undercooked, but the other half were so dark that if she had left them in for two more minutes, they would have burned. She checked the temperature, and put the other pan in so it could bake, but she already knew the problem.

The oven portion of Liam’s range was broken.

Tears filled her eyes, and though she tried to blink them away, a few got loose and rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, but her blurry vision remained as she covered the mixing bowl with cling wrap, and put the remaining dough in the fridge. She wasn’t sure why she was saving it when it was clear that she wouldn’t be able to bake anything in Liam’s house, but she didn’t feel right throwing it away, yet.

As she waited for the second batch of cookies to be done, she quickly put away all of her ingredients and wiped the counter clean. The sink was full of dishes, but they would have to wait until later because she didn’t have the energy to wash them right now.

The timer for the second batch of cookies went off, and when she opened the oven, more tears filled her eyes. This time, some of the cookies were still in their round, ball shape, while some of the others had blackened on the edges.

She desperately wanted to throw the pan across the room, or hit something, but she knew either action would only cause her more work—or pain—so she set the pan on top of the stove, next to the other failed batch, turned off the defective oven, and left the cabin.

She stomped around the roundabout, letting her frustration dictate the weight of her steps, but she soon ran out of steam and plopped down into the sole chair sitting by the fire pit. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and buried her face in her sleeves.

She knew it wasn’t the end of the world—ovens could be fixed or replaced—but how long would she have to wait before she could bake something again? She was used to baking on a daily basis, and even though the problem would probably be fixed soon, after everything she’d been through, the defective oven felt like a betrayal from the universe.

She closed her eyes, and let the tears fall.

Liam climbed down from the ladder, and silently swore as his younger brother lumbered toward him in bear form. He had just been caught cleaning out the rain gutters on one of their more secluded cabins, and considering he’d just performed