Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) (22 page)

Chapter 33

Sterling peeked through his blinds. Misty’s bedroom light shined through her curtain. It was two o’clock in the morning and Misty was awake. Did the conversation they’d had almost a week ago bother her? Was that why she wasn’t asleep?

Well, he didn’t know why Misty was awake, but, he knew why he couldn’t sleep. The conversation he’d had with Louis burned in his mind like an over-baked cookie. He’d held Misty’s past against her and that was wrong. He’d been calm and cool towards her over the last couple of weeks, unsure if there was hope for them. Sure, she’d said she wasn’t interested in dating him, but, he had to believe that she was using that as an excuse to not get close to him. She didn’t want to trust him.

Misty had been let down too many times and she wanted to do everything on her own.

She was independent and determined. She was one of the most awesome women he’d ever met, but, he’d never told her that. He’d unfairly judged her because she had not lived a life that fit into his little box, just as Louis had pointed out.

After he’d accompanied Misty home from Nate’s funeral, he’d imagined her previous lifestyle.

Just the thought of her dating Ace, a sleazy drug dealer, made his temperature rise. Over the last few weeks, he’d thought about why Misty’s previous actions bothered him so much. He’d wondered if she’d had self-respect before she’d found Christ. It looked like she hadn’t. But, if she were raised in that sort of environment, it was possible that she found no fault in her actions.

Ace had seemed scary, and Misty obviously feared him. Ace had probably abused Misty, and Misty had let him do it. He recalled Misty’s mom, raising three daughters alone, her having drug problems when she was younger. If all Misty had been exposed to were her mom’s irrational actions, it was possible that she was used to seeing her mom being abused by men. Heck, maybe she’d noticed her sister’s actions, too.

Again, he recalled why Misty was in Miami in the first place.

She wanted to get her daughter away from her family, raise her in a Christian environment. Misty had made drastic changes in her life, a noble gesture, all for the sake of her daughter. He again recalled his judgmental attitude when she’d first shown up in Miami. He’d accused her of being a bad mother, just because she’d briefly left Jennifer behind in Lehigh Acres.

He winced, shame consuming his soul. He knew that Jesus didn’t like for people to judge others. In spite of his negative thoughts about Misty, he was still in love with her, and there didn’t seem to be anything he could do to make his love for her disappear. That’s why he’d been so miserable the last few weeks.

He swiped his tears away. “Lord, I’ve messed up, big time. I love Misty and I don’t know what to do.” He closed his eyes, continued staring at her bedroom light.
Tell her the truth. Apologize.

The words popped into his mind, clear and strong. If he told Misty how he felt, apologized, she might give him a chance. Was she even ready for a relationship yet? Well, he wouldn’t know if he didn’t ask her. He sighed. With a start, he realized that he’d never asked Misty how she came to find Christ, how she’d made the positive changes in her life. There was so much he didn’t know about her, but, he was anxious to learn.

His life was such a mess. Well, the least he could do was let Misty know how wrong he’d been. He dialed her phone number.

“Hello.” Her soft, sleepy voice carried over the wire. He continued staring out the window.

“Misty. I thought you were awake. Your light is on.”

“I was reading my Bible earlier and fell asleep with the light on.”

“I’ll let you go back to sleep then.” He didn’t want to keep her up. They could always talk later.

“No, that’s okay. Why’d you call?”

“I was worried about you. I saw your light on and thought that something was wrong.”

In her cute, sleepy voice, she told him about getting the interview for the scholarship the next day. “Please pray that Jennifer gets that scholarship.”

“I will.” He’d do that for her. There was a ton of stuff he wanted to say but now wasn’t the time. He’d talk to her later, when she wasn’t half asleep. He figured he could at least rectify some of his mistake right now, though. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk the last couple of weeks. It was wrong of me to act that way.”

When his apology was met with silence, he figured she wasn’t going to accept it. Well, maybe he needed to apologize again when she wasn’t half asleep.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Have you been avoiding me at church? I saw you sitting up on the balcony the last couple of Sundays. Why would you sit up there?”

“No, I wasn’t avoiding you.” He paused and gathered his thoughts. “I sit up there sometimes when I’m upset about something, when I don’t feel like socializing with anybody. I get to church right before it starts and then I leave once most people have cleared out.”

“But, you did it right after you found out about Ace.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

She was silent again. He figured she may have fallen asleep again. “Does this mean we’re friends again?”

“Yes, we’re friends.” He wanted to be more than friends, but, he’d shelve that conversation for another day. “Bye.”

“Bye.” He continued studying her window until the bedroom light had been turned off.

*

Still thinking about last night’s conversation with Sterling, Misty approached Sarah Wilkins’ front door. Sarah Wilkins was the head of the scholarship foundation. She stopped, closed her eyes. She needed to concentrate and calm down.

Last night, Sterling had said he’d pray for her, and she could only hope that he had. Adrian had said she’d pray for her too. Misty had prayed until she’d fallen asleep, right after she’d spoken to Sterling. He’d actually apologized. When the words tumbled from his lips, she’d felt some relief. She honestly didn’t know if they’d ever have a relationship beyond friendship, and if they didn’t, then that was okay.

Well, it wasn’t okay, but, it’d have to be.

She wanted to be more than friends, and she’d almost told him that last night.

But, for some reason, she just didn’t have the courage to tell him that. Besides, now that they were friends again, and he knew all about her past, he might not want to date her anymore. He probably just wanted to be friends with her for now.

She took a deep breath and finally knocked on the massive door. The nice, polished expensive-looking wood gleamed in the late afternoon sun. The frosted windows gave the entrance a charming appeal.

Jennifer studied their surroundings. “Mommy, look at that!” She raised her dark eyebrows and pointed to the massive fountain in the middle of the yard. Water squirted toward the sky and a few birds fluttered in the liquid, enjoying a late afternoon bath.

She smiled at her daughter. “Yes, that’s pretty.”

Flowers bloomed in the yard, so many flowers. Roses, marigolds, violets and wildflowers …all of the plants created one big symphony of color. “Mommy, look at those flowers.”

“Yes, they’re so pretty.” A butterfly fluttered by. Butterflies…her stomach felt like it was exploding with butterflies and she needed to calm herself down. Jennifer looked so cute in her pink dress and matching pink hat. She also wore sandals on her small feet. Hopefully, they’d make a good impression on Ms. Wilkins.

Her daughter dropped her hand. “Mommy, your hand is wet.”

Sweaty palms, nervous stomach, all of these were symptoms of a nervous mom trying to get her daughter the scholarship that she deserved. The previous week, she’d driven over to Juliette’s again. It’d been a Saturday afternoon and the school had been deserted. “See, Jennifer,” she’d said. “That’s where you might be going to school next year.” Jennifer had not seemed impressed. Misty had again tried to get her enthusiastic about the school, but Jennifer merely shrugged Misty’s comments away, focusing on her book. Misty figured her daughter recalled being sick on her last visit and didn’t want to go inside the school again.

“Yes?” A tall butler opened the door, dressed in black and white. He gave Misty a cool, frosty look.

Well, looked like he wasn’t expecting her, which was not a good sign after all. “I’m Misty Rae Stewart and this is my daughter Jennifer. We’re here to see Ms. Wilkins. We have a two o’clock appointment.”

His frosty look melted like ice cream on a hot summer day. “Well, of course. Come right in.” He showed them into an elaborate sitting room. African prints hung on the gold-colored walls. A fancy couch and a chair rested in the middle of the room. She supposed she should remain standing until Ms. Wilkins came into the room. The butler returned minutes later. “Go ahead and have a seat. Ms. Wilkins will be here shortly. Would you like some refreshment?”

Refreshment? Misty doubted she could keep any food down, her stomach was so nervous. “Could I get a glass of ginger ale, please?”

He nodded. “Of course.” He glanced at Jennifer. Her daughter had gone over to the window, again staring at the pretty flowers in the front yard. She didn’t realize Jennifer enjoyed flowers so much. Perhaps she should get some to plant in Adrian’s front yard. Jennifer could help her. She was sure her daughter would enjoy that. “What about the child?”

“Oh, she’s fine.” Besides, this room looked so elaborate, she didn’t want Jennifer dropping crumbs on the floor. The butler left the room. “Come here, Jennifer. Let’s sit down here and wait.” Misty pointed to the couch. Jennifer reluctantly left the window, joined her mother on the couch.

“My, my, my, what a pretty dress.” Misty glanced toward the door. A petite elderly lady made her way into the room, pushing a walker. She gave Jennifer a warm smile before seating herself on the couch.

“Jennifer, say thank you.” Whew, good thing she’d taken time to make sure Jennifer had a nice dress. She’d gotten the expensive designer dress from the thrift store for a steal.

“Thank you,” Jennifer whispered.

“I’m Sarah Wilkins.” She offered her wrinkled hand.

“I’m Misty Rae Stewart and this is my daughter Jennifer.”

“Hi,” Jennifer said softly.

“Hello dear.”

The butler returned with the ginger ale over ice. Misty wanted to drink, but, her hands were shaking. She couldn’t recall ever being so nervous in her entire life. She swallowed, willed her hand to stop shaking. She finally lifted the glass and took a tiny sip, just enough to wet her dry, parched throat. Ms. Wilkins nodded to her butler. “That will be all. I’ll ring for you if I need anything.” The butler took his exit, closing the heavy doors behind him.

Misty tried to think of something to say. “What a nice home you have.”

“Yes, it serves me well.”

Misty managed to take another sip of ginger ale.

“Ms. Stewart.”

“Please, call me Misty.”

She nodded. “Misty. Let’s get right down to business. I mainly want to hear about your experiences of working in a soup kitchen.” She paused, her dark eyes twinkling. “I just want you to know that the man you work with, Sterling Richards, gave you a glowing letter of recommendation. I haven’t read such a beautiful letter in years.”

Really? In years? Even though Sterling had not supported her decision for Jennifer’s preschool, he’d still helped her to pursue her dream. She’d never thanked him for writing the letter. It’d been touching for him to tell of her fear of cooking, and how she’d overcome that to work in the soup kitchen and feed others. “Well, I became interested in working in the soup kitchen because I used to eat in soup kitchens when I was a child.”

The old woman nodded, gesturing for Misty to go on. While she told of her childhood, and then her experience of volunteering in the soup kitchens in Lehigh Acres and Miami, she could sense the approval in Ms. Wilkins dark eyes.

“So, serving others in the soup kitchen is something you’ll probably continue to do if you are able?”

She nodded. Once she’d started talking about her childhood and her history of eating and working in the soup kitchens, she found that her hands no longer shook. Her voice had become stronger. She took another sip of ginger ale. Mrs. Wilkins eyes twinkled as if she were hiding a huge secret. Misty returned Mrs. Wilkins grin. Yes, maybe there was hope in their gleaning this scholarship after all.

Chapter 34

Adrian sat at the kitchen table, sipped a cup of tea. “So, how did the interview go?” Misty had volunteered to make dinner that night, hamburgers. Latisha was also supposed to drop by later. She formed the meat into patties and put the skillet on to heat. She was glad they’d gotten chips during their last visit to the grocery store. Hamburgers always tasted good with potato chips.

“The interview was fabulous. I feel so much better. I think there’s a good chance that Jennifer might get that scholarship.”

“That’s good. I can understand why you’re in a good mood. Tell me all about it.”

While Misty fried the meat, she told Adrian all about her interview. “I could tell she was really impressed. And Adrian, she was so nice and hospitable.”

“Well, I hope you get this scholarship. I know how much it means to you.’

She placed the patties in the hot skillet. The delightful sizzle was comforting. So nice to be able to cook stuff now, even though she just focused on simple foods. “Well, not everybody feels like that.”

“By everybody, I’m assuming you mean Sterling.”

“Yes.” As she cooked the burgers, she finally told Adrian what Sterling had said during their last two conversations. “I was glad that he finally talked to me. He said he’d pray for me last night and I appreciated that.” She flipped a burger. “Adrian, I really miss him. I miss how close we used to be.” She took a deep breath. “But, it was wrong of him to judge me when he found out about my past. But, I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about when he questions my reasons for getting Jennifer into Juliette’s.”

“Misty, I know you probably don’t want to hear this but I do think Sterling has a point. You do feel that getting Jennifer into that school is proof that you’re as good as those rich people.” Oh no, not again. “You just haven’t admitted that to yourself yet.”

“That’s not true.”

“Misty, I know you. Your upbringing bothers you. You moved here to leave that part of your life behind. But, I think you still carry shame from your past.”

“No, Adrian—”

“Let me finish. If Jennifer gets the scholarship and is enrolled into Juliette’s would you be open with the other parents about your upbringing? Do you think you’ll ever feel comfortable enough to tell your new friends that your mother was a drug addict and that you had to be in foster care for a few years?”

Adrian’s words sunk deep into her soul. She didn’t answer Adrian’s question because she didn’t think Adrian really wanted her to answer. She wanted her to think about what she’d just said.

While Adrian and Jennifer feasted on burgers and chips, all Misty could do was stare at her plate. She’d lost her appetite. Just thinking about Adrian’s words made her sick.

*

Sterling closed out the register. What a day. Eddie and his other assistant had just mopped the floor and had left to go home. There’d been a fair in Miami and they’d had double the amount of customers. It looked like he wouldn’t be taking leftovers to the food bank this afternoon. This was the first time in ages where he didn’t have any leftovers. The bell above the door tinkled, signaling another customer had arrived. “Sorry were clos—-”

No way. “Aunt June?” The twins followed in behind the older lady. He vaguely recalled Louis mentioning that their Aunt June was returning for another visit, but he didn’t realize she was coming today.

“Don’t just stand there looking at me, boy, come and give me a hug!”

He rushed from behind the counter, pulled her into his arms. “Why are you here?”

“She called me again,” announced Louis. “She said she needed to talk to us about something important.” Leon remained silent, sulking. Sterling figured he was still upset that he had not given over one third of the insurance money to him.

“Hi, Leon.”

“Hi,” he mumbled, glancing down at the floor. At least he was sober, which was an improvement.

“Louis tells me that you guys still aren’t getting along.”

“That’s an understatement,” Louis mumbled.

“Come on, I’m taking all three of you out to dinner.” She mentioned an upscale steak house in the heart of Miami.

No way could he go there looking like this. “So you just flew here from Germany and decided to take us to dinner?” He still wondered why she didn’t warn them that she was coming that day.

She placed her hands over her hips, giving him a hard look. “Don’t ask so many questions. I’ll explain during dinner. How about we meet up there in a couple of hours? Deal?”

He nodded, still trying to understand why she was there. He then recalled that he’d already agreed to take Misty out that night. He wanted to ask her about dating him, exclusively. He sensed she was the person that he could imagine spending time with for the rest of his life. Granted, he didn’t want to mention marriage – their relationship was still so new and so fresh. However, he felt it was time to at least talk about their relationship.

When he got home, Misty and Adrian were still at work. They wouldn’t be home for another two hours. He removed his cell phone from his pocket, dialed her number. “Hi, Sterling.”

“Misty. Something has come up. I can’t take you to dinner tonight.”

“Oh?” Disappointment echoed in her voice. He’d better tell her what was going on. In a rushed voice, he explained about his aunt and the twins showing up at his bakery. “I’ve got to see what she has to say.”

“That makes no sense. She just flew in from Germany to take you to dinner?”

“Yeah. I’m thinking she wants to talk about me and the twins, about me and Leon not getting along. I’ll call you later to let you know what happened.”

After he’d showered, he shaved, dressed in his best dark suit and tie. He then drove to the restaurant. He entered the posh establishment. The dark walls had tiny white lights scattered on the surface, like random stars. Well-dressed men and women spoke in hushed tones. The scent of grilled meat filled the air as he approached the hostess station. In spite of his nerves, his stomach rumbled. He’d only eaten here a few times. “Sir, what time is your reservation.”

“Uh.” He didn’t have a reservation, did he? “Is there a reservation for June Walters?”

“Certainly, come this way.” He followed the hostess to a secluded booth. A bottle of wine rested on the table. Aunt June had already arrived. The waitress was about to open the bottle with a corkscrew. He looked at the hostess. “Could you take the wine away?”

“Sterling?” Aunt June narrowed her eyes, pushing her glass toward the waitress, ready to be filled. “What gives?”

“Leon has a bad problem with drinking. I want him sober, if you know what I mean.”

June nodded. “That bottle of wine cost me $100.” She handed the bottle to the hostess. “Is there any way that you could keep this for me and I’ll just take it with me when I leave?”

The hostess nodded, obviously listening to their entire conversation. “Since the bottle is unopened, then, yes, we can let you take it with you.”

Sterling made himself comfortable in the booth. He couldn’t help staring at his Aunt June. She sipped her water, gave him a warm smile.

“Sorry for staring. You just look so much like my mom.” She touched his hand, still giving him a warm smile. “I understand. So, tell me more about your brothers before they get here.”

He reminded her about Leon’s behavior after their dad’s funeral, Leon’s drunken rages, his job loss as well as the loss of his apartment. “Aunt June, he needs help. I know he’s mad about dad, I get that, but he can’t let that anger eat away at him like that.”

Minutes later, the twins arrived. When the waitress came to take their order, Leon grunted. “I want a rum and Coke.”

Sterling glared at Leon. “You don’t need to be drinking.”

“But—”

Aunt June touched his hand. “Leon, this is probably going to end up being one of the most important conversations you’ll ever have in your life. I want you sober when you hear what I have to say, okay?”

He sulked, poked his lip out. After they’d ordered their steaks, Aunt June engaged the twins in small talk. She asked about their jobs and Louis took over the conversation, talking about his job as a bank manager. June had questions about managing her finances, and she spoke to Louis about that until the food arrived. After Sterling prayed over their meal, they ate. The succulent, tender meat and creamy mashed potatoes were excellent. For dessert there was apple pie with ice cream.

Once they were done eating, Aunt June folded her hands in front of her, briefly closed her eyes. “I’m concerned about what’s been going on with the three of you since your father died.” She paused and took a sip of water. “When your mom died, she left me with a secret. I promised not to tell that secret to anyone. But, this secret is affecting your lives.” She took a deep breath, kept her hands folded. “Louis, Leon, Gary Richards was not your biological father.”

Sterling’s heart skipped a beat as blood rushed to his head.
Lord, did I just hear correctly?
He closed his eyes, tried to calm down. “Aunt June…my dad isn’t Louis’s and Leon’s father?” He eyed the twins, and both of them appeared shocked, and speechless.

“Aunt June…” Louis’s eyes watered, tears spilled down his cheeks. He’d always been more sensitive than Leon. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, your mom and dad were having marital problems and she had a short affair. That’s when she got pregnant with the two of you. Your father never forgave her for what she did and he took out on his anger on his treatment of you two.”

Whoa, for the first time in ages, Sterling felt like he needed a drink. He glanced at Leon. His brother continued to be silent, and he knew he’d go and get wasted afterwards. “Leon, are you okay?”

“What do you think?” he snapped.

He focused on his aunt. “Maybe you could get the hostess to bring back that bottle of wine.” He figured Leon would go out and get drunk, maybe try and drive himself home. At least if he drank in the restaurant, he could look out for him.

The wine was returned to the table. The hostess poured four glasses of wine. Sterling pushed his glass toward Leon. He leaned back into the booth and focused on the ceiling. The ceiling had a weird curving pattern etched into the tiles. He blinked and took a deep breath. Stunned and numb, he wasn’t sure what to say or do. If he focused on the ceiling long enough, then maybe he’d find the energy to accept his Aunt June’s news.

One thing that crossed his mind – why didn’t he ever figure this out before? Looking back, it was so obvious as to why his dad had always favored him over the twins.