Page 11 of Autumn Wishes and Pumpkin Kisses

“We’re okay with him,” I interject. “We were actually just discussing football.”

Silas asks, “What’s football?” Rocker explains the game to him. Silas’ eyes light up with curiosity. Afterwards, Rocker tells him that he’s going to be coaching the little league team and he should join. Teaganne’s eyes nearly bug out of her head. “Oh!!!! Mom, can I? Please….” Silas begs.

I can see she’s still torn, but eventually she sighs and nods. “Yes, you can try out.”

Silas jumps out of the booth and runs to Teaganne wrapping his arms around her legs. “Thanks, mama!”

She looks at Rocker. “Don’t let him get hurt.”

“I won’t,” Rocker assures her.

“We won’t,” I add. “I’m going to be Rocker’s assistant coach. We’ll keep a close eye on him.” Teaganne blushes and thanks both of us before she turns to collect Seraphina who hasn’t left Warbee’s side. Silas climbs back into the booth.

Rocker studies me. “I guess I got my answer.”

“Obviously,” I tease.

“That wasn’t my only question, but you answered them all.” Rocker winks before getting up and joining Warbee and Teaganne. Silas hums beside me with every bite of donut he takes. I wish this was my life every day. I’m not even sure where that thought came from, but it feels more truthful than anything I’ve thought in a long time.

TEN

Teaganne

As I walk into the bakery, I prepare myself the best I can. Every time I walk into Bee’s Batter, Warbee’s bakery, it’s bittersweet. From the moment I met Warbee, all she wanted was to own this bakery. It had been her grandmother’s before, but in her will she left the building to Warbee. She did have a couple of requests. The first, was that Warbee would change the name and the second, was to take some of the money she had left Warbee and redo the bakery to her liking. I couldn't be prouder of Warbee and all the hard work she’s put into this place, but this was also the place that I spent most of my time once I moved to Blue Ridge. Warbee, Keefer and I could easily be found here, most days after school and on weekends. My feelings for Keefer developed under this very roof and sometimes it’s hard being inside of the bakery with so many memories attached.

It doesn’t help that Warbee didn’t change much on the inside. A part of her wasn’t ready so shortly have losing her grandmother. I also think it made Warbee feel like she was messing with her grandmother’s memory and legacy. I didn’t push the matter at the time but now as I enter you can feel the dated atmosphere. Regardless, Warbee is a staple of the Blue Ridge community and her business will succeed no matter the décor, but the designer in me yearns to fancy the place up a bit. Seraphina heads straight for Warbee and Silas disappears with her as soon as I open the door. The fresh autumn breeze outside mingles with the fall spices of the bakery on the inside. It’s one of the reasons why this is my favorite season.

Once the kids have food and things seem to calm down, I look at Warbee. There is a stress line, clearly visible between her eyes. Warbee has never been one to stress much. After going through everything she has...well, she sees things differently than most of us. “What’s going on?”

She flinches, almost as if I’ve slapped her, but she recovers quickly. “What do you mean?” she replies, a light laugh at the end of her question. Her voice is an octave too high, alerting me of the lie. She’s trying to play it off and she’s pretty damn good at it, but she’s my best friend and I know when something is wrong. I’ve known for the past few months something has been bothering her. Even over the phone I can tell.

“Don’t lie to me, Warbee Carter.” I wag my finger in her face. She sighs and pulls her glasses from her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her pumpkin orange t-shirt should clash with her fiery red hair, but it doesn’t. It only makes the small spattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose stand out even more against her fair skin tone.

She sighs. “We’ll talk about it later. I can’t do it right now, okay?”

I hate how defeated she suddenly looks. Warbee is always the silver lining type of person, so this bothers me on so many levels. Eventually, I nod my head because I know not to push her right now. “But later...we’re talking.”

Warbee nods in agreement. “I need to go check the goodies. I’ll be back out in a bit.”

After Warbee disappears into the kitchen, I go a little overboard ordering. Everything just looks and smells so good so I build two boxes of goodies for myself and the kids to enjoy later. For now, I grab my pumpkin latte and very berry muffin and head over to where Rocker and Keefer are sitting. If Warbee doesn’t want to talk right now that’s fine. I’m sure Rocker knows what’s going on since they live together. I walk over and nudge Rocker in the shoulder he chuckles. “Does princess Teaganne want to join us?” he asks, in a mock British accent that he seriously should leave at home and a dramatic flair by clutching a hand over his heart.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, so move.”

“Some things never change,” Keefer says quietly. I catch his blue eyes and for a moment my heart stops. He smirks at me and it’s a damn good thing my butt is hovering above the leather booth seat because my knees wobble at the sight of it.

Once I’m sitting, I give him my sweetest smile. “No, they don’t. However, something has definitely changed.” I look around the table and they both seem confused. Silas and Seraphina are bothhappily eating. The pit is still in my stomach, gnawing away after agreeing to let Silas try out for little league football. I’m not sure why I agreed, but then again Silas wants to try this, and I should let him. Being highly overprotective doesn’t guarantee he won’t get hurt. “What’s going on with Warbee? She seems down which is odd because we all know her and she’s a never ending ray of sunshine.”

Rocker sighs and scrubs his hands over his face. Keefer pulls his baseball cap off and runs his fingers through his chestnut brown hair. Finally, Rocker fills me in on everything going on with Fran and her restaurant the Sip and Smack. Apparently, Warbee is feeling the hurt at the bakery and her pride after losing the wedding cake project.

“First of all, who the hell names their place the Sip and Smack? That doesn’t even sound like a place I want to go near. It’s not appetizing at all,” I sigh. News like this I hate to hear. Warbee doesn’t deserve to have to worry about anything like this. I look around Bee’s Batter and an idea comes to me. “So, what are we doing to help her?”

Keefer smiles. It’s brief, but I catch it. “You’re so certain we’re going to help.”

“Of course, we are. First of all, it’s what we do. Second, it’s the right thing and third, it’s Warbee. I don’t think I need to say more than that.” I take a moment to really survey my surroundings. Warbee’s bakery really could use a refresh. It’s not in bad shape, but I think sometimes a refresh does things good. A few small tables sit around the space with all the walls holding glass containers of baked goods. Behind the counter are all kinds of crazy gadgets and brewers for coffee and tea. The walls are painted a mild yellow, with dark wood furniture. It’s cheerful and welcoming. Bright and colorful paintings hang around the walls. Instantly, the designer in me kicks into motion. “Has Warbee ever considered redoing the interior of the bakery?”

“What do you mean?” Rocker asks.

I shrug. “I mean, she took over this place right after her grandmother passed away, so none of us pushed her on changing things up too much. Maybe, it’s time. A lot of the time people will wander in just out of curiosity if something has been updated. They’ll try something and trust me once they try something Warbee creates they’ll keep coming back.”

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