Best of My Love (Fool's Gold) (14 page)

“Apparently.”

All humor aside, he had a point. Starr needed to learn to drive. It was a rite of passage for every kid in America, plus it would be a big help at home. Destiny was already overwhelmed. Shelby could understand that. Hearing her to-do list had been shocking. Wasn’t it enough to have a new baby, a new husband and a half sister in the house? But there was everything else.

“It’s really hard when you’re a better person than me,” she grumbled. “Fine. We’ll talk to Kipling about the whole driving thing.”

“I am pretty amazing,” Aidan said with a grin. “You’re very lucky to have me.”

“All I hear is buzzing,” she told him.

He laughed.

The happy sound drifted across the mountains. She sipped her water and let herself enjoy the moment. A couple of problems solved, and a few more waiting in the wings. Wasn’t that always the way?

“Ready to talk about it?” he asked quietly.

She knew what he meant. The “it” in question was Amber and the bakery. “Sure.” Not that she knew what to say.

“You kind of have to go first,” he told her. “I can guess, but I’ll probably get it wrong.”

She looked at him and smiled. “You’re saying the W word. Won’t you be drummed out of your gender?”

“Not if you don’t tell on me.” He touched her face, then lowered his hand to the ground. “What are you thinking?”

She was thinking that it felt nice to be with him. That she’d puked up her guts and he was still right there. She was thinking he was a great guy and she’d done well when she’d chosen him. She was thinking she didn’t want the friendship to be over in six months. Oh, sure, they’d still be friendly, but it would be different. He would be dating and she knew that would change everything. They wouldn’t have organized time together, like now, and she would miss him.

There were other thoughts, too. Swirling images of their kiss and how that kiss had made her feel. She’d known he was right to pull away. That getting involved on a physical level would change everything. But... How was she supposed to forget? How was she supposed to let it go? It wasn’t the wanting that haunted her, it was the rightness of it all.

Which was nothing but a distraction. A
handsome
distraction, but a distraction all the same.

“I don’t know what to do about the bakery,” she admitted. “I know what I want. But is that what makes sense? I’m still in shock, of course. I didn’t see this coming. I knew Amber was pregnant, but it never occurred to me she would walk away from her business.”

“You want to buy her out.”

Not a question, she thought. A statement. But then, guessing that was hardly a challenge. Aidan knew her.

“There’s so much that could be done there. Ways to expand the business. But Amber’s the one with all the experience. Maybe there’s a really good reason she didn’t do all this before. Maybe my ideas are stupid and if I implement them, the business will completely fail.”

His dark eyes were gentle. “Do you really believe that?”

“Sometimes. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to do. I’m excited and scared and confused, all at the same time.”

“Let’s look at this another way,” he said. “What
don’t
you want?”

Talk about the right question at the right time. She drew in a breath. “I don’t want to be stuck.” She smiled at him. “Which I believe I get from you. I don’t want to be stuck somewhere that makes me unhappy. I’m not saying I don’t want to work for someone else. That might be okay, depending on who it was. I don’t know. I love my job, but sometimes I feel too contained. I have all these ideas and maybe some of them are crazy, but some of them are really good. I want the chance to experiment, to try new things. I want a fleet of food carts at every festival and my cookies shipped across the country. I want to be synonymous with happy good times. Okay, not me. The business.”

“Breathe,” he told her. “You can’t make any of it happen if you don’t breathe.”

She did as he suggested, then took another sip of water. “What are you thinking?”

She had to ask, because she couldn’t tell just by looking at him. But she knew whatever he was thinking, it was kind and supportive. She wasn’t afraid of what he would say. Even if he told her he thought buying the business was a mistake, she would know he meant well. That he only wanted the best for her.

She would have to remember this feeling. When their six months were over and she went looking for a man to fall in love with, she wanted to feel just like this when she was with him. Safe and cared for. And she wanted to make him feel the same way.

“I think you should buy the business.”

That was a lot more blunt than she’d been expecting. “How can you say that? What do I know about running a business? What if I do everything wrong? What if everyone quits and no one ever buys another cookie from me again? I’ll die broke and alone and humiliated.”

“That’s the positive spirit we all admire.”

She glared at him. “Is this you being funny? This isn’t funny. This is very serious.”

Aidan didn’t look the least bit impressed by her outburst. He stretched out his legs in front of him and smiled. “Did I mention breathing? That’s rule number one. After that, everything else is easy.”

“What do you know about breathing? You have a successful business. It’s easy for you to say what I should and shouldn’t do. You’re not the one who’s going to fail.”

“Neither are you. You want this, Shelby. You’ve wanted it for a long time. You talk about being stuck. Well, you were stuck with Amber. You wanted to fly and she never wanted to get off the ground. I’m not saying you were right and she was wrong. We won’t know that for a while. But this is your chance. Run with that. Not that many people get the opportunity to go for their dream. This is your moment. Grab it with both hands.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it. What was she supposed to say to that? If this was her dream, then she was a fool to let the chance get away from her.

“I’m scared,” she admitted. “Really scared.”

“All the more reason to go for it.”

Was he right? Or maybe that wasn’t the correct question. Maybe the real question was, how would she feel if she never even tried?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

S
HELBY
HAD
NEVER
considered herself an overly emotional person. She’d been through a lot in her life and she’d had to deal with some horrible situations. Because of that, she’d spent time in therapy. She was pretty confident that she understood how her psyche worked. She watched people, tried to understand them and respond appropriately. She almost never sat in a business meeting fighting the urge to cry.

Yet here she was blinking rapidly, hoping she didn’t look as upset as she felt. No, not upset. Touched. Grateful. She’d come to Fool’s Gold with nothing. She’d been accepted, taken in and welcomed in every way possible. Even if she tried to forget, she was reminded over and over again.

“Business valuation is both simple and complicated,” Sam Ridge was saying. “There are the tangibles. The value of the equipment, the value of the inventory. As this is the bakery, I’m assuming most of your inventory is disposable.” The former NFL Super Bowl–winning kicker smiled. “I’m thinking brownies rather than cars.”

“You’re right,” Shelby said. “We don’t have very many cars to sell.”

“So no real inventory other than ingredients. There is an income stream—how much is made each week, each month. From that you subtract what you pay out. The cost of flour, sugar and butter. Employee wages. Insurance, rent. Now’s where it gets tricky. Everything has to be given a value. The mailing list for out-of-town customers. The recipes, the logo, the goodwill the bakery has established. The reputation is worth something. The question is how do you put a price on that?”

Patience Garrett wrinkled her nose. “No offense, Sam, but you’re scaring me and I already own Brew-haha. I can’t imagine what you’re doing to poor Shelby.”

Sam looked surprised. “I’m giving her advice. I thought that’s why we were here.”

“There’s a difference between advice and torture.” Patience patted his arm. “You’re such a guy. Luckily, Shelby and I happen to like that in a person.” Patience turned to her. “Shelby, are you doing okay?”

Shelby nodded, mostly because it was too hard to speak. Her throat was tight and her eyes were burning. Now if she gave in to the tears, the symptoms would go away. But then she would embarrass the very nice people who had come to help her. And that help, that very unexpected help, was the reason for the tears.

Apparently she wasn’t the only one Amber had told about selling the bakery. Word had spread everywhere. In the past couple of days Shelby had received lots of unsolicited advice on what to do. The consensus was very clear. Everyone wanted her to buy Ambrosia Bakery.

When Patience had called to ask her to stop by, Shelby hadn’t known what to expect. The fact that Sam Ridge was also at the meeting had surprised her. Then Patience had poured her a cup of coffee and Sam had started talking. Unlike the other people who had come by the bakery to offer their opinions, Sam and Patience had actual, practical advice. Twenty minutes into his explanation on business valuation, her head was spinning but she was also feeling more confident. At least now she knew what to ask.

“Amber will be really fair,” Patience said. “I’ve known her my whole life. She’s very sweet.”

“This is business.” Sam sounded firm. “You don’t mess around with business. Get everything in writing. Do you have an attorney?”

“I need a lawyer?” Shelby hadn’t thought of that. There were a lot of things she hadn’t thought of. Doubts crept in, but she pushed them away. Aidan was right. This was her chance to follow her dream. “I guess I’m going to need an accountant, too.”

“I can recommend both,” Sam told her. “You’re going to need a loan to buy the business. There are several ways to structure that. The loan officer can go over those terms with you, but I can give you a basic rundown now.”

He spent five minutes going over amortization and balloon payments. Shelby’s head started to hurt. She was good at designing cookies and coming up with new brownie recipes. Not talking about finance. How much was the bakery going to cost? She had a small savings account, but she was beginning to see it wasn’t even going to be close to enough.

Patience reached across the table and put her hands on top of Shelby’s. “Don’t freak out,” she instructed. “I know this is overwhelming.” She smiled at Sam. “No offense, but you’re way too thorough.”

“I’m just trying to help.”

“You are,” Shelby assured him. “I really appreciate this. You’ve given me so much to think about.”

Patience’s expression was sympathetic. “But?”

Shelby drew in a breath. “It’s a lot,” she admitted.

Patience drew back her hands and smiled. “Here’s what I can tell you. I had dreamed about opening my own business for a long time. But there was no way it was ever going to happen. I didn’t have the money or the experience. When I got the chance, I was so excited. And I was scared. It was a risk. I knew that. I could have just put my inheritance in the bank and gone on with my life. But I knew I would regret that always. I had to choose between playing it safe and following my dream. Now, a couple of years later, I’m so grateful for the decision I made. Only you know what’s right for you, Shelby. I’m just reminding you that the chance to follow your dream doesn’t happen very often.”

“So I’m here to offer the scary advice while you get to be the motivational one?” Sam asked.

“Pretty much.” Patience’s voice was cheerful.

“I’m not even surprised.” But Sam was smiling as he spoke.

“I really appreciate this,” Shelby told them. “Not just your time, but your words. A lot of people have been telling me to just go for it, but you two offered me practical steps. That means a lot. There’s so much to think about.”

“You’ll get there,” Patience assured her. “Just listen to your heart. We can all give advice, but you’re the one who has to decide what’s right for you. No one else.” She grinned. “I’m so glad Aidan called. This has been fun.”

“I agree.” Sam winked at her. “We could take our act on the road.”

Shelby blinked. “Aidan phoned you and asked you to talk to me?”

“Uh-huh.” Patience sighed. “You two are such a great couple. He’s worried about you. I love that in a man. I never thought I’d see that player brought to his knees, but here he is, acting like a man in love.”

Shelby didn’t know what to deal with first. “We’re just friends.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Sam asked, as he rose. “Let me know if you have any more questions.” He handed her his card. “You can stop by the office or set up a meeting. Whatever works for you. In the meantime, I’ll get you those names.”

“Thank you.”

He left. Shelby hugged Patience and thanked her, then walked out onto the street.

She was no longer fighting tears, but did still have a spinning head. Aidan had taken the time to get his friends to help her. Talk about supportive. And unexpected. Not that he wasn’t a great guy, but still. This was above and beyond.

Patience was wrong. They weren’t in love. They were friends and today that seemed so much more important.

* * *

H
AVING
SURVIVED
D
ESTINY
’
S
DELIVERY
—albeit from a distance—Aidan considered himself an old hand at the giving-birth thing. So when he heard that Isabel Hendrix had gone into premature labor, he knew supplies would be required. Which was why he swung by the bakery instead of Shelby’s house. She’d said that Isabel would want pretzel bread and he knew better than to ask why.

He barely had time to stop his truck before she raced out of the bakery. She had two tote bags with her. One was filled with loaves of bread, the other had boxes of cookies.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” she said with a smile. “You didn’t have to. I could have done this myself.”

“And miss out on all the fun? No way. Plus this probably gets me out of a girl thing later.”

Shelby put the bags in the backseat, then climbed up beside him and fastened her seat belt. “You can pretend all you want. I know you like the girl things.”

Aidan knew what she meant. But at the mention of “girl things” all he could think about were the differences between men and women. More physical than emotional. How much he liked those differences...and missed them.

For the greater good, he reminded himself as he drove to the hospital.

“Like them or not, it’s always good to have a rain check in my back pocket.”

“I’ll give you as many as you want,” she said. She shifted in her seat until she was angled toward him. “I can’t believe what you did for me. No, I take that back. I totally believe it.”

Her voice was earnest, her body language intense. As if she wanted to make sure he understood what she was saying.

“What are we talking about?” he asked cautiously.

“You having Patience and Sam talk to me. It was scary and wonderful at the same time. They had so much information.” She straightened in her seat. “Hey, wait a minute. You have a small business. Why didn’t you tell me all this yourself? You must know everything there is about running a business.”

“While I enjoy you thinking of me as a god, the truth is I know what I need to know to make
my
company work. Not what you need to know. I figured talking to someone with a financial background, like Sam, would be helpful. And I knew Patience had been through something similar. You could bond over your joint experience.”

“Is that sarcasm? Women don’t automatically bond over every little thing.”

“You kinda do.”

She sighed. “Fine. Maybe. Regardless, thank you. And I owe you. You’re really a good friend.”

Her compliment warmed him. Not that he needed much warming when she was around. Still, he appreciated the sentiment. “You’re a good friend, too. So did they help?”

“Patience gave me a lot of moral support. Sam was more practical. I have a very long and growing to-do list. There’s a bunch of people I need to talk to. A lawyer, a banker. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to a banker. Oh, I take that back. I started to take out a loan to buy into the bakery. It was a brief conversation. And a little scary. I guess a lawyer’s going to be even worse.”

“They’re not my favorite people, but they’re very necessary. At least that’s what I tell myself.”

They pulled into the hospital parking lot and found a space near the door. Aidan carried the bags inside. He and Shelby got on the elevator. “I can’t believe this our second pregnancy visit in such a short period of time,” she said.

“We are a town of breeders.”

She laughed. “That must’ve made you nervous, with all your lady friends.”

“Not me. I’m a big believer in protection. Easier for both of us.”

One corner of her mouth turned up. Her eyes began to sparkle and he knew he was in trouble.

“Whatever you’re thinking,” he warned her, “don’t say it out loud.”

The doors to the elevator opened on to the maternity floor. She smiled sweetly and said, “The condom companies must’ve really loved you. Did you get a Christmas card every year?”

“Funny,” he grumbled. “Very funny.”

Finding Isabel’s room turned out not to be a problem. It was easy to spot from all the people milling about outside in the hallway. Aidan would guess that a good percentage of her family, not to mention her husband’s, had already arrived.

Madeline saw them and waved them over. “She’s doing great,” Isabel’s business partner said. “She had a C-section, of course. It was triplets. Three girls! They’re all above three pounds, which is fantastic. The big issue with triplets is low weight at birth. It sets them up for all kinds of problems.”

Shelby hugged her friend. “Someone’s been on the internet.”

Madeline laughed. “I wanted to appear knowledgeable. I figured people would be asking questions. Hey, Aidan.”

“Maddie.”

Madeline wrinkled her nose at the nickname. “One of the disadvantages of living somewhere your whole life is the person who can always make you feel like you’re six years old.”

“You loved it then and you love it now.”

She grinned. “Shelby, honey, when all this settles, remind me to tell you about the time Aidan got very powerful glue on his hands and then had to pee.”

He groaned. “You wouldn’t.”

Madeline smiled. “I would and I will. Now come see the beautiful mother.”

The crowd made room for them as they walked into the hospital room. Aidan didn’t know if all maternity rooms were singles, but with the number of people visiting Isabel he doubted the hospital would’ve had a choice either way. Her parents were there, along with her husband’s impressive family. Ford was one of six children and his three sisters were also triplets. Denise, Ford’s mom, had her boyfriend, Max, along. Aidan winced as he thought the B word in association with a woman well into her fifties. But Denise and Max weren’t married and he didn’t know what else to call the man.
Life partner
just seemed so weird.

Shelby rushed to her friend’s side and they embraced. Aidan sidled over to where the men were standing. Ford looked a little shell-shocked.

“How you holding up?” Aidan asked him.

“I’m not,” Ford admitted. “I’ve seen combat. I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff. Nothing prepared me to watch a doctor slice open my wife’s stomach like a watermelon and pull babies out. They should warn you.”

Aidan didn’t know if he should laugh, offer a hug or run for the hills. The latter seem to make the most sense but he told himself to suck it up. He only had to hear about it; Ford had had to live it.

“I mean I knew it was triplets,” Ford continued, shaking his head. “I saw an ultrasound. The doctor was very clear. But jeez, when they pulled out one baby after the other and they were so damn small.” He stared at Aidan. “I’m talking
small
. What are we supposed to do with them?”

Aidan was saved from answering when Shelby waved him over. She showed Isabel the pretzel bread and the new mother promptly burst into tears. The hormone bath continued as the other women rushed into see what was wrong. He busied himself setting out the boxes of cookies, then slowly, very slowly, backed into the hall. He figured Shelby would know where to find him.