said as he stood up and quickly kissed her on the head.
“I won’t,” she called, still fighting off the urge to just peek into the one of the windows.
As she watched her husband walk out the door, she felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the gift of their marriage. When Michael had destroyed their relationship, she’d been at her lowest, thinking second chances didn’t happen for most people. Now, here she was living a life she could’ve never dreamed of because it was so beyond anything she would have imagined for herself. It just went to show that sometimes God’s plans were so much bigger than a human’s brain could even comprehend.
Chapter Nine
SuAnn’s favorite time of the day had always been morning. She loved getting to the bakery early and beginning her work to create the best pound cakes the town had ever known.
Still, her heart was heavy this morning after the discussion that she had with Nick. She had no idea where they stood, and that was making her feel very uneasy. In fact, she hadn’t talked to him since the day before, and she worried that he had already left town. Maybe he decided being with her wasn’t worth it, after all.
“Good morning,” Darcy said as she walked through the back door.
“Good morning. If you don’t mind cutting up the cakes I set aside for the festival, that would be great. We’re going to be handing out samples.”
“No problem. How was the cookie party yesterday?”
SuAnn stirred the ingredients for her favorite gingerbread pound cake in a large stainless steel bowl. “It was fun. My new grandson had a great time at the fire station tour.”
Darcy nodded. “You seem a little down today. Is everything okay?”
“Oh, it’s fine. Just pesky life stuff.”
Darcy reached for the large serrated bread knife and put one of the pound cakes on the cutting board in front of her. “It sounds more like it might be relationship stuff?”
“I don’t have a relationship,” SuAnn said, continuing to stir.
“I thought things were going pretty well with you and that Nick fellow that came searching for you?”
“So did I.”
Just as she was sure that Darcy was going to stick her nose into her business, the door opened, the loud bell announcing the arrival of a customer. SuAnn took that as an opportunity to go into the back room and let Darcy take the lead. She could hear her out there, chatting up their regular customers, ringing up their orders and pouring their coffee. This morning, she just didn’t feel like doing any of it.
This was the perk of owning her own business. She could decide on when she worked, how late she worked, and what she did when she got to work. But she would leave each day feeling proud of her accomplishments.
For most of her life, she had been a caretaker. Being a mother and a wife for so many years, she never had a lot of time for herself. All of her dreams had gotten pushed to the back burner a long time ago. That was why the bakery meant so much to her.
It was the first thing she had built from the ground up, all by herself. Its success or failure depended completely on her. All the responsibilities rested on her shoulders, and she liked that. If she was honest with herself, she wanted other people to admire her accomplishments because that had never happened before.
Although she had loved being a mother, this was a time in her life that she felt belonged to her. She wanted to see what she could accomplish, and that’s why Nick wanting her to leave Seagrove when she had just gotten started with her business made her feel so upset. It was like she was having to choose between the two great dreams of her life - owning a successful business and having a relationship with the person she believed to be her soulmate.
“Darcy?”
“Yeah?” Darcy said, after finishing up with the last customer that had come during the morning rush.
“I know it’s highly irregular for me to do this, but do you mind if I leave you here alone for a little while? I just want to take a walk and clear my head.”
“Of course. You’re the boss anyway,” she said in her normal blunt style.
“Very true,” SuAnn said, reaching for her cardigan sweater on the hook where she hung it next to her apron. “I’ll be back soon.”
As she walked out onto the town square, she