The Inn At Seagrove - Rachel Hanna Page 0,27

at the picture. Who just said that? It couldn't be. It was impossible. She had to be imagining things.

But no. She turned around slowly to see her mother standing there, her hair pulled up in a bun, wearing a hand embroidered apron that she knew for a fact belonged to her grandmother.

“Mother, what on earth are you doing here? You got a job at the bakery?" Janine asked, her eyes wide.

SuAnn laughed and waved her hand in the air. "Of course not. I own the place!"

Meg, Colleen, Janine and Julie all just stood there, staring like they were looking at an alien. SuAnn had a big grin on her face, obviously waiting for them to be excited. Excitement wasn't one of the words Julie would use to describe the scene.

“Grandma, you bought a bakery?" Colleen stammered.

"I didn't buy a bakery, sweetheart. I made one. I rented the space and created my own business!"

"Wait. Does that mean… You're living here now?" Janine said, the words slowly coming out of her mouth one at a time, as if each one was getting stuck on her lips.

"Of course it does. I couldn't very well live hours away and run this bakery every day."

"But… Why didn't you tell us…" Julie said. She couldn't seem to formulate actual sentences.

Just then, more customers came through the door, and SuAnn seemed to be the only person working. It would be just like her mother to think she could do everything and not hire any employees.

"Hold that thought! I've got some more paying customers coming in," SuAnn said, trotting back over behind the counter. “Welcome to Hotcakes!”

The four women moved over against the wall and huddled up like they were in a football game.

"I can't believe this. I really, truly can't believe this. What on earth is happening?" Julie said, mumbling in a monotone voice like she was losing her mind.

"What about Buddy? " Meg asked.

"I don't know, honey, but your grandmother is up to something for sure. She doesn't even like to work, much less run her own business. I don't know why she's here."

"Oh Lord. You don't think she wants to live with us, do you?" Janine asked, biting her fingernails.

"Well she can't live with me. My apartment is too small," Meg said, obviously trying to take herself out of the running.

"Well there's no room at the house," Colleen said.

"Sorry about that. Business has been booming today!" SuAnn said, once the store had cleared out again.

Julie sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly, determined to get some information this time. "Mom, why in the world did you do this without telling any of us?"

SuAnn sat down in one of the chairs, propping her feet up on the one across from her. "Because if I told you, I knew you'd try to talk me out of it. But, I needed a new start."

"What do you mean by a new start?" Julie asked, slowly sitting down in another chair.

"Well, you see, I'm not getting any younger. I wanted something fun and exciting, and this place wasn't so bad when I visited over Christmas. So, I decided what better place to open my own bakery and sell your grandmother's pound cake? I mean, we sell other things also. Everything except that nasty peach cobbler. Yuck.“

"But, you could've opened a bakery up in the mountains where you live. Where your husband lives also…" Janine said.

"He's not my husband anymore," she said, looking down at her hands resting on her lap.

"What?" Julie said, her mouth hanging open. If there was one thing she knew about Buddy, it was that he worshiped her mother. Or at least that's the way it seemed from the outside.

"Buddy was too… boring… for me. He never wanted to do anything fun. The man hardly ever spoke."

"And yet you stayed married to him for many years," Colleen interjected.

"I know, right? I wasted so many years of my time. But the truth is, my whole family is here. I never get to see you girls, and now there's a new baby."

"Thanks a lot, Meg," Colleen murmured in her sister’s ear.

"Shut up," Meg whispered back.

"I wanted to be with my family. I'm not getting any younger, and these are my golden years. All of my friends have their families around, and my family just ran off to some godforsaken little coastal town. This might not be my cup of tea, but I moved here so I could make the best of it."

"So you actually moved? Like,