Page 48 of Off-Limits Love
“Just talking,” Sam said. “Trying to settle up a few things before I go so batty, I don’t have my head to do things properly.”
Mak sucked in a breath, and Finn saw her blink hard to push back the tears glittering in her eyes.
She glanced at Finn, and he willed strength in her direction. For the first time, he appreciated the fact his parents’ passing had been quick. His father had died instantly in the crash, and his mother bled out in a matter of agonizingly long, yet short minutes. He’d never considered his parents’ deaths a blessing, but in that sense, it was.
Mak would need all the support and handholding she could get. To see Sam diminish day by day… His heart broke for all of them. And her desire to be friends made even more sense because of everything she was going through and faced.
“Sit with us.”
Hiss’s sounded slurred a bit, but he managed to speak more than one word around her for a change, a fact Sam beamed about like a proud papa.
Finn started to stand and offer her his chair when Mak walked over to an Emi-sized kid chair and sat in it. A low chuckle left him, surprising all of them by the looks he received, but he couldn’t help it. Mak fit just as well as he imagined Emi would, and the sight was cute as could be and a distraction from the heaviness of the conversation.
Mak sniffed. “Laugh all you want. Being small has its advantages.”
His grin widened, and a full-blown laugh emerged, scoring a blush to her pretty cheeks.
“My little Itty-Bitties,” Sam added, a smile in his gruff voice. “Speaking of which. Have you told Finn your plans for your bakery?”
To Finn, Sam said, “She talked to the owner of London’s Lattes and has been checking into getting a home-baking license so she can sell her cakes. London’s interested in buying from her.”
“Mightbe interested,” Mak corrected. “She said to check into it. I’m going to take her some samples and hope she wants to buy from me if I get approval.”
“That’s a start,” Sam said. “I know that girl’s parents. Good people. If London made the offer, she means it. Her parents might have you make stuff for the pier house too. Lord knows those fishermen get hungry out on the pier all day.”
“He’s r-right.” Finn managed a nod at her, thrilled that she had some good news in her life and something to look forward to.
If she got a license to sell her baked goods, he’d make sure Alec carried them at the convenience store, and he could also include her name as a recommendation for anyone renting the party venue.
Maybe she’d want to set up to sell at the market? He’d include her in his spot if needed so she could avoid paying the setup fee. The kids would love a treat while waiting in line to pet whatever animal they took to show in order to promote the farm.
Mak’s cheeks warmed with color, and she fidgeted a bit on the chair. “I have to say, it would be a dream come true. I’d love to own my own bakery. Especially if it meant I could work my schedule around Emi’s school. It would be such a relief.”
Yeah, when he talked to his brothers, he wanted to make sure the offer they made Sam was a good one. “Have y-you looked at…b-business grants?”
“I’m not familiar, no,” Mak said with a shake of her head.
“Didn’t think of that. You wouldn’t have to pay back a grant,” Sam added as he glanced at Finn. “That means money would go a lot further, wouldn’t it?”
Finn dipped his head in a nod, and he saw the man’s mind cycling through this new bit of information.
“Mak, you gotta check into that. It would make me rest easy to know you’ve got a good start on a business and a livelihood before I pass.”
“Sophia…c-can help.” He hated the pauses and stutter in his speech, but slowing down meant not stuttering as badly. He’d take it as a win.
Mak’s eyebrows furrowed. “Sophia from the birthday party? Dawson’s wife, right?”
“That’s part…of what she d-does,” he said carefully. “Especially…f-female…owned b-businesses.”
A sparkle of hope appeared in Mak’s gorgeous gaze at his words.
“The Itty-Bitty Bakery.” Sam grinned. “You said if you ever did it, you’d name it that.”
“I did,” Mak said, smiling at him. “You’ve called me that my whole life and inspired the bite-size goodies I bake.”
Sam rubbed a hand over his chest, over his heart. “I don’t pray often enough, but I pray right now I’m here to see it happen.”
The man’s words rang with hope and yearning. And like it or not, Finn frowned when he thought of Sam’s old, dated kitchen inside the house.
