Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) (9 page)

He held his hands up. No way did he want to start an argument. “No, but I have some customers with kids in that school. Some of them want people to know that their kids are enrolled at Juliette’s like it’s some kind of trophy or something. Is the education really that great? It’s preschool not college.”

“I want the best for my daughter. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.” It looked like he needed to take her seriously. He took her hand. “Why is this so important to you?”

“I already explained that to you.”

He shook his head. “I’m not talking about working in the soup kitchen. I’m talking about Juliette’s. What will you do if she doesn’t get accepted?”

Her pretty mouth hardened. “Well, can I come to the soup kitchen when you volunteer again?” So, she was going to ignore his question. She acted as if she already knew that Jennifer would get accepted.

“Misty, the area is rough. You’ve got so much going on with your new job, Jennifer and helping Adrian.”

She narrowed her eyes. “So? You don’t want me to come?”

Well, it wasn’t that, really. “Why don’t you wait a few weeks before coming? You need to make sure Jennifer will stay with Adrian if you volunteer.” She seemed so aggressive that he wouldn’t be surprised if she showed up on her own.

She seemed to think about his words for a few minutes. He was finally rewarded with one of her bright smiles. “Okay, that sounds like a plan.”

Now, he needed to change the subject. “I was wondering why you were looking for me in the parking lot earlier today. We got sidetracked with Jennifer,” he reminded her.

Her brow furrowed, as if she were trying to recall why she’d approached him earlier. She suddenly smiled. “Oh, actually, it wasn’t me who was looking for you, but Adrian was.”

He frowned, looked away for a few seconds before focusing on Misty again. “Adrian was looking for me?”

Misty nodded, her dark pretty hair bouncing with the movement. “Yes, she wanted to talk to you about looking for a used car. You were busy a few weeks ago and we never got around to doing that.”

Was that all she wanted? He’d hoped that Misty was looking for him since they hadn’t seen each other for almost a week. Didn’t she take his offer of friendship seriously?

She touched his arm. “What’s the matter?”

He shook his head. “I’m okay. Just have a lot of stuff on my mind.”

She offered her thoughts. “Maybe we can get together sometime next weekend to go car shopping. Adrian and Jennifer can come too.”

He frowned again. This wasn’t what he’d planned. He’d wanted to take her car shopping…alone. Having Jennifer and Adrian was not what he’d expected to do. He sighed, figuring it was probably best that both of them come along since Adrian would be the one to make the final decision since she was the one paying for the vehicle. “I might be able to do it on Saturday, but I’m not sure.” His mind was so cluttered that he couldn’t recall if it was his turn to have a Saturday off from his busy bakery. He needed to check the schedule when he went into work.

“Saturday should work for me,” Misty stated. She glanced away, and fidgeted.

“Is that all you wanted?”

She hesitated, glanced at the small throng of church members littering the parking lot. She scratched the back of her neck, and Sterling sensed that she was nervous. “While we were in the church, you’d said you’d explain.”

“Explain?”

She nodded, still looking everywhere except directly into his eyes. “Yes, about that girl.”

He frowned, having no idea who she was talking about. “What girl?”

“Latisha.”

He chuckled, smiled at her. “Are you jealous?” He continued to wonder about his strong attraction to Misty. It’d been a long time since a woman had dominated his mind. He hoped her curiosity about Latisha at least proved she might be interested in him.

She pursed her lips. “Of course I’m not jealous. But, she looked at me as if I was the worse person on the face of the earth. What gives?”

“Misty, you’ve got enough on your mind with Jennifer, your new job and...” He paused, about to point out that Nate appeared to give her lots of drama. He decided not to mention Nate. “And relocating to Miami. Giving Latisha any thought is a waste of your time.”

She raised her dark eyebrows, assessing him. “Really? How come?”

He thought about the way Latisha mysteriously popped up at church a few months ago. She wasn’t a member of the church, but attended regularly. She’d asked every single man in the church, with the exception of the older men, out for a date since she’d started attending. He’d often wondered if her only mission in coming to their pulpit was to find a husband or boyfriend.

He recalled the time he’d run into her at the ice cream parlor a few weeks ago. She’d been out on a date and she’d been wearing a provocative outfit – a short skirt and a tight, revealing shirt. He’d witnessed her wide smile and overly-made-up face as she’d gazed into the eyes of her date. The twosome had shared an ice cream sundae amidst their sporadic passionate kisses. She’d been so caught up with her date that she didn’t even notice that Sterling was in the ice cream shop. The memory of Latisha’s lewd behavior made him cringe as his eyes settled upon Misty. The difference between the two women was about as different as night and day. Without mentioning Latisha’s ice-cream-parlor date, he told her about her reputation as a man hunter who wore too much make-up and too much perfume. He groaned. “Her behavior bothers me.”

Misty didn’t appear stunned or shocked. She shrugged, voicing her opinion. “Does she have any friends?”

“How the heck am I supposed to know that? I can’t have a conversation with her because she wants me to take her out and I’m not interested. The only reason she works at the soup kitchen is because she’s wants to spend time with me.”

Misty rolled her eyes. She looked cute when she was irritated. “That sounds awfully arrogant.”

He shrugged. “It’s the truth. She didn’t start volunteering until I started working there. I’m not being arrogant. No way am I flattered by her attention.”

Misty folded her arms. “That might not be true. She’s volunteering her time so that’s good.” She stopped speaking for a minute, as if she were searching for the right words to say. “Don’t be too hard on her. She might be going through a rough time and she might need a friend.”

He frowned, not liking the way this conversation was playing out. “Why? Do you want to be her friend?” He couldn’t imagine Misty and Latisha as friends.

Misty shook her head. “I saw the way she looked at me in church. Right now, I doubt she’d want to be friends with me. But, maybe one of the sisters in the congregation could show her some kindness. That might help tame her behavior.”

He paused, thinking about Misty’s words. He glanced toward her car, where Adrian and Jennifer continued to patiently wait. Shame swept through his soul – he had no right to judge Latisha for her behavior. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things about Latisha.” He shrugged. “She honestly does get on my nerves, but, I never took the time to think about why she acts like that.”

She squeezed his arm, gracing him with a small smile. “It’s not such a big deal. I understand why you don’t like the way she acts.” She glanced at the car. “I really need to get going. Jennifer’s going to want her lunch soon.”

He watched her walk away, still ashamed about his words against Latisha. It was hard to change his attitude towards her since she was so annoying and forward. He’d never seen anybody in his church show any kindness toward Latisha and he wondered why Misty seemed to care about the wayward church attendee. He doubted that a friendship could change Latisha’s attitude – that girl needed a miracle.

Chapter 13

Sterling opened his eyes, waking up from his Friday night of sleep. He rolled over, checked the time. Four AM. Thank goodness he didn’t have to go to the bakery. It was his turn to have Saturday off and he again looked forward to spending time with Misty while car shopping. Around five o’clock AM, the sound of a car engine across the street caught his attention. He peeked out the window, spotted Misty pulling out of Adrian’s driveway. Where in the world was she going at five o’clock in the morning?

He finally got up, still wondering where Misty had gone. The desire to rush over to Adrian’s, demanding answers about Misty’s whereabouts, swept through him. No, the last thing he needed to do was to make a fool of himself. Adrian was still asleep, so, he’d visit her later. Besides, he needed to find out if they were still going car shopping. Perhaps Misty had encountered a sleepless night and she wanted to go for an early morning drive to clear her head.

Maybe she went down the beach. The beach could be quite calming when one was distressed. Okay, he needed to stop thinking about Misty so much. What she did during her spare time was her business, but, he did wonder. He forced Misty out of his mind. He needed to do something constructive. He’d been experimenting with a new recipe. That’s what he’d do. He’d bake a batch of his mango muffins. He’d take them over to Adrian for breakfast. Heck, by the time he was finished, Misty would probably be back.

He recalled when he’d first met her that she’d mentioned that Jennifer loved sweets. The child would probably love his mango muffins. They had a sweet tangy taste, and his mouth watered, just thinking about the confection. After he’d showered and shaved, he started a pot of coffee, peeked out the window. Misty still wasn’t back yet.

He removed the mangos from his window sill. The fruit had not been completely ripe when he’d purchased it from the store. He’d set the fruit on the windowsill so that the sun could help ripen the fruit. He peeled the fruit and removed the seed. The sweet luscious scent of the fruit filled his small kitchen. He popped a piece into his mouth. The good, sweet, tangy taste was perfect. He chopped the fruit into tiny pieces. He then measured out flour, sugar and softened butter into a bowl. After he gently mixed in the other ingredients, he added the fruit last. He sighed, again recalling his dad’s unending advice about making muffins. “You don’t want to stir the batter too much. You don’t want tough muffins.” Surprisingly, his eyes didn’t tear up when he mentally “heard” his dad’s voice. He smiled, recalling the first time he’d made muffins. He’d only been seven years old when his father had first given him that advice.

He poured the thick yellow batter into the muffin tins. The uncooked batter looked so pretty. Spots of mango shined on the surface of the treats and he finished off the confections with a sprinkle of crystallized sugar. He placed the muffins into the preheated oven so that they could bake. Soon, the delicious sweet mango scent filled his house. Once the muffins were done, he let them cool for a while before he boxed them up. He peeked out of the living room window. Misty still wasn’t back yet? Well, he might as well go over there to see if everything was okay. He knew Adrian was an early riser, so, she’d be awake by now.

He took the delicious smelling muffins and ventured over to Adrian’s. He rapped on the screen door. “Who is it?” Adrian asked.

“It’s Sterling.”

Adrian opened the door. She was dressed in blue jeans and t-shirt and she was holding a sharp knife. “Hey, Sterling.” She sniffed and smiled, showing her perfect white teeth. “I smell mangos.”

He chuckled. “I brought some mango muffins. I’m working on a new recipe for my bakery.”

“I can’t wait to sample them.”

He followed her through the living room and into the kitchen. An avocado rested on a plate on her kitchen table. “Are you eating breakfast?”

She nodded and sat, touching the table until her fingers found the avocado. She continued slicing the green fruit. “You’re welcome to join me if you want. I needed to talk to you anyway. Would you like a piece of avocado?”

“No thanks.” He eyed the box of cornflakes on the counter. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had not eaten breakfast yet. “Mind if I have some cereal?” The muffins were still pretty warm. He figured they could eat them later.

“Go ahead. There’s sugar in the dish on the table if you need it.”

He poured a generous bowl of cereal and dumped milk and sugar into the bowl. He then poured himself a cup of the freshly-brewed coffee. He began eating and in between bites, he voiced his question. “So, what’d you want to talk to me about?”

Adrian popped a piece of avocado into her mouth and ate it. She waited a few seconds before responding. “Misty wanted me to talk to you.” She shook her head, her lips tilting into a frown. “I’m kind of disappointed in her.”

“Really? How come?” He glanced at Adrian. “Where did she go, anyway? I saw her leaving at five o’clock this morning.”

“She took Jennifer home.”

His heart skipped and he dropped his spoon on the floor. “She’s gone...for good?”

Adrian reached over and touched his arm. “No, I don’t mean she moved away. I’m just saying that she took Jennifer home to Lehigh Acres for the weekend. She’s not coming back until Sunday night.”

Relief swept through him, like the waves crashing upon a dry Florida beach. “Oh, okay. I’d thought we were going to go look at cars today.” He threw his spoon into the kitchen sink and fished another spoon from the drawer before he continued eating his cereal. Would Misty be spending time with Nate while she was gone? The thought proved unsettling, so, he pushed it from his mind.

Adrian sighed, popped a piece of avocado into her mouth. “She took Jennifer to Lehigh Acres because the child wants to see her grandmother.” She shook her head.

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t think she should’ve gone. Jennifer’s been wanting to see her grandmother, and she lets Jennifer talk to her grandmother on the phone every day. I think since she just moved here, and Jennifer’s having a hard time adjusting, this visit will confuse her. She’ll probably think that they’ll be staying in Lehigh Acres.”

He chuckled, fondly recalling the time he’d spend with the two-year-old girl. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out when they get back on Sunday night.”

She shook her head. “I’m not a mother, so maybe I’m not the right person to give this kind of advice to Misty, but, I thought she should wait for a month or so before taking a weekend trip to Lehigh Acres with Jennifer.”

He frowned, finished his cereal, not understanding what Adrian was talking about. He stood and rinsed out his bowl. He returned to the table and opened the box. He removed three muffins. “Did you want a muffin?”

“I’d love one.” He served Adrian a muffin. “Get the butter out of the fridge, please.”

He got the butter, and slathered it on their muffins. He popped half of a muffin into his mouth.

They tasted exquisite. The large grains of crystallized sugar coupled nicely with the sweet fruit and the muffin was soft and tender. The slathered butter took the taste over the top.

“Oh, my goodness.” Adrian licked the crumbs from her lips. “Sterling, this is the first time I’ve ever had a mango muffin. I love it. I have never tasted anything like this. Do you mind if I keep some for Jennifer and Misty to sample?” Chuckling, she helped herself to another muffin and slathered it with butter.

“I brought a lot. I wanted them to taste them.” He wished they were here. The muffins always tasted better when they were fresh out of the oven. “Thanks for the compliment.”

She popped another bite into her mouth. “You’re welcome.”

Once they’d finished their muffins, he thought about Adrian’s advice to Misty regarding her visit to Lehigh Acres. “Why do you think Jennifer should wait before visiting her grandmother?”

“Well, you know how she’s been having trouble with Jennifer using the bathroom at the daycare?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I don’t think seeing her grandmother now, when she’s still upset, will help Jennifer. I think Misty should wait until Jennifer’s well-adjusted, and acting like herself, before she takes a weekend visit.” She shook her head. “I just have a feeling that this visit will do more harm than good. Jennifer might act worse when she gets back because she’ll be returning to a situation that she doesn’t like.”

He sipped his coffee, giving Adrian’s words plenty of thought. “I can understand her wanting to take Jennifer to her mom’s house. Jennifer’s been sad since she left and it might make her happy to see her grandmother again.”

Adrian nodded. “That’s true. But, like I said, I wonder how the visit will affect her once she’s back.”

Sterling shrugged, not knowing enough about the behavior of toddlers to offer an opinion. He again thought about Nate, wondering if he should ask Adrian about Misty’s ex-boyfriend. “What’ll Misty be doing when she’s in Lehigh Acres?”

“What do you mean?”

He hesitated, wondering if Adrian would mention it to Misty if he asked about Nate. “I mean,” he paused before taking another sip of coffee. “Will Jennifer be spending time with her dad?”

“Humph. I hope not. But she probably will. Nate’ll probably find out that Misty’s at her mom’s house and I’m sure he’ll be popping by over the weekend to see Jennifer, and he’ll also be bothering Misty about reconciling.” Adrian shuddered and Sterling didn’t blame her for her strong reaction. “That man is so unsettling.”

“I agree. Do you think Misty will go back to him?”

She shook her head. “I doubt it. She’s moved, found a good job, and has started a new life here. She was determined to get away from bad influences in Lehigh Acres. I can’t see her making all of these drastic changes if she were open to the idea of accepting Nate back into her life.”

He leaned back into his chair, folded his arms in front of his chest. He’d been thinking about the conversation he’d had with Misty after church. “What do you think about her wanting to send Jennifer to Juliette’s?”

Adrian told Sterling her opinion about Juliette’s. “I think she should look into other preschools. I don’t think that Juliette’s is necessarily the best, even though they charge the highest tuition.” She took a deep breath. “I just hope it works out for her. She’ll be crushed if it doesn’t.”

“Is that the only reason she wants to work in the soup kitchen, to get community service hours to make her eligible for that scholarship?”

Adrian shook her head. “You can ask Misty more about that, but, it’s safe for me to say that, no, that’s not the only reason she wants to volunteer in the soup kitchen. She’d be doing this even if there were no scholarship involved.”

He still couldn’t believe that she wanted to send Jennifer to Juliette’s. He figured he’d understand that better with time. Misty obviously had her reasons for wanting to do this. As he got to know her better, maybe she’d feel more comfortable confiding in him. He highly doubted Juliette’s provided a better preschool education than the other local preschools. It sounded like Adrian agreed with him. Why wouldn’t Misty listen to her cousin?