‘You’ll have to stop with the kid glove treatment soon,’ she said, doing her best to sound unruffled. ‘I’m fine.’
Sadie and Seb exchanged a knowing look. ‘Why don’t we fight that battle in the morning?’ Sadie suggested.
As she started for the stairs that led up to Seb’s attic apartment, Cat found her eyes seeking Jaren’s once more. There was so much she wanted to say – he’d saved her life and a mere ‘thank you’ didn’t seem to be enough. He gave her a reassuring smile. ‘Catch you tomorrow.’
She nodded. ‘Yeah. And thanks again – for everything.’
‘No problem,’ he said. ‘Get some rest, Cat.’
Cat turned away, reluctantly leaning on Seb for support as she climbed the stairs. But it wasn’t Jaren who filled her thoughts as she settled back against the mountain of pillows Seb had rustled up out of nowhere, it was Elin. The Swiss woman had barely spoken a word, and she’d said nothing at all to Cat, although she’d smiled and joked along with everyone else. But there’d been a moment right at the end when her smile had slipped and Cat thought she’d seen something entirely unexpected underneath. Unless she’d been mistaken, it looked a lot like Elin was jealous and Cat couldn’t help wondering if it was because of Jaren’s heroic rescue. He and Elin were still in the early days of their relationship – maybe still early enough for the attention he’d given Cat to rankle. Cat hoped not; as Jaren had said, anyone would have done the same in his shoes and she didn’t want his heroic actions to cause tension between him and Elin.
Cat closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted by the emotional and physical effort of coming back to the Court. Perhaps she’d have a quiet word with Elin, once she was feeling better. Or perhaps it was something that would resolve itself in time.
Chapter Five
The next few days passed in a blur of noisy workmen and even louder machines. The pumps had taken the best part of a day to remove the flood water from the basement, sending it up the stairs in long rubber pipes and into the Court’s drains. The front of Smart Cookies was fenced off for the procedure, something that provoked plenty of curiosity among the passing shoppers; Sadie had been able to fix a notice in the window explaining what had happened but hardly anyone could get close enough to read it.
Once the water had been pumped out, the dehumidifiers were brought in. At the same time, the ground floor was stripped of its damaged fittings and the joiner returned to inspect the floorboards and stairs. Cat had given in to demands that she spend Monday resting and kept away from the shop but Tuesday was a different story. She hovered impatiently for an hour or so in the morning, watching the various workmen go about their business, and then conceded there was nothing much for her to do, especially since Sadie seemed to have everything in hand. She took herself off to check the condition of the rescued stock and declared around fifty per cent to be undamaged.
‘Which means I need to get baking, fast,’ she told Sadie. ‘If you need me for anything, I’ll be in my kitchen.’
‘Don’t overdo it,’ Sadie warned.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan,’ Cat said, with good-natured exasperation. ‘Delilah is coming over – she’s going to make the dough and I’m going to cut the biscuits out. The heaviest thing I’ll be lifting is a cookie cutter, okay?’
Sadie smiled. ‘Okay. I’ll drop in later and see what you’ve got that needs icing.’
The weather forecast made good on its promise of sunshine. As Tuesday turned into Wednesday, and the Easter weekend edged closer, the days grew warmer and more spring-like. After a flurry of emails, Sadie received permission from Castle Court’s management company to set up her pop-up biscuit shop; they’d even arranged space in the ground-floor cleaners’ cupboard so that she’d be able to store it out of harm’s way overnight. Andrew and Earl had managed to source a cart – Sadie wasn’t entirely sure from where – and she spent the best part of Tuesday morning painting it blue and gold to match the Smart Cookies colour scheme. The awning was white but she and Clare disguised it by pinning swathes of blue material across the top. Early on Wednesday morning, they attached bunches of blue and gold balloons to the sides and stepped back to admire their handiwork.
‘Not bad,’ Sadie said, her gaze roving critically over the cart.
‘I think it’s fabulous,’ Clare said. ‘And I think our customers will love it too.’
Sadie glanced up at the clear skies and crossed her fingers. ‘If the weather stays like this, we might just get by. Come on, let’s load her up with stock.’
The cart had a small amount of storage at the back – they left samples of their spring collections on the counter and packed as many tins as they could into the space. It wasn’t ideal, Sadie thought, but it was infinitely better than nothing.
‘We’re going to spend a lot of time running back and forth to the pancake house and the diner for stock,’ she said, biting her lip.
Clare tapped the watch on her wrist. ‘I’m going to blitz my 10,000 steps, then. No gym for me this Easter!’
‘And how are we going to manage the personalised icing?’ Sadie fretted. Now that they were almost ready to open, all she could see were problems.
‘We’ll take the details and suggest they take a look around the Court while one of us ices the biscuits in Jaren’s kitchen,’ Clare reminded her. ‘And if the customer is in a hurry, we can do it while they wait. Relax, Sadie, it’s going to be fine.’
‘It needs to be,’ Sadie said, uncomfortably aware that she ought to be the one offering positivity and reassurance. ‘We can’t afford to lose any more business while the shop is being repaired.’
‘Why don’t I snap a few photos for social media?’ Clare suggested. ‘The local paper might run a piece too.’
It was something Sadie should have thought of herself, she realised; maybe she would have, if she hadn’t been so busy catastrophising. ‘Good idea,’ she told Clare. ‘Hang on, let me grab Cat.’
At least the plan to use some of Jaren’s kitchen space to bake seemed to be working well, in spite of one or two territorial stand-offs between Delilah and Jaren’s head chef initially. But once things had bedded down, as long as the bakers were clear of the kitchen by eight-thirty then there didn’t seem to be a problem. Sadie wasn’t at all sure how things would go once Clare started to pop in and out to keep up with the personalised biscuit orders but they’d have to cross that particular bridge when they came to it.
She waved to Jaren as she made her way to the kitchen. ‘Just grabbing Cat.’
‘Follow your nose,’ he said with a grin. ‘You know, you should find a way to pipe the smell of baking biscuits into the Court – sales would go through the roof!’
Cat had just pulled a tray of chocolate biscuits from the oven when Sadie walked in. ‘Have you got a minute? We’ve finished setting up the cart and Clare wants to snap a photo to put online.’
Cat lowered the biscuits to the worktop and undid her apron. ‘Great idea,’ she said, steeping back and tugging on the hairband that kept her dark curls off her face. ‘Delilah, could you move these over to the baking trays to cool, please?’
The older woman looked up from the dough she was rolling out. ‘Of course – leave it with me.’
Cat followed Sadie out of the kitchen. ‘How’s it looking?’ she asked. ‘Have you got everything you need?’
Sadie pulled a face. ‘Not really but we’ll cope. How about you? Are Jaren’s ovens behaving?’
‘They’re wonderful,’ Cat said, her face suddenly alight with enthusiasm. ‘I’d forgotten what it was like to work in a big kitchen – there’s so much space. It’s making me hanker after La Perle a bit.’
Cat had been head chef at one of the most famous restaurants in Paris and although it had ultimately cost her a lot, Sadie knew there’d been a time when her best friend had loved her job. The basement of Smart Cookies must be a poor substitute. ‘You know, this might be a good time to re-design things—’ she began.
‘You can’t re-design
a postage stamp,’ Cat said, giving her an amused look. ‘But don’t worry, the kitchen at the shop might be small but it’s also perfectly formed – I designed it that way, remember?’
Sadie nodded; Cat had overseen everything, from the initial drawings to the eventual installation of the units and appliances. ‘I know but –’
‘But nothing,’ Cat said firmly. ‘I’ll be perfectly happy to go back to Smart Cookies once the repairs are finished. I just need to make sure I don’t get used to spreading out in the meantime.’
She stopped dead when she saw the cart, its balloons bumping gently against one another in the breeze. ‘Oh, Sadie, it’s gorgeous. Well done!’
Sadie’s cheeks flushed with pleasure. ‘Thank you. Clare and I did the best we could.’
‘Seriously, it’s so cute,’ Cat said, clapping her hands in delight. ‘People are going to love it.’
‘All the more reason to upload some pictures,’ Clare said, ushering Sadie and Cat into position. ‘Say biscuits, ladies!’
Once Clare was satisfied with the photos, Cat checked her watch. ‘Eight o’clock – I’d better go and make sure Delilah is out of firing range before Jaren’s kitchen staff arrive.’ She paused and eyed Sadie with concern. ‘You look tired. Are you going to be okay to ice the last of the Bishop’s jewelled cross order tonight?’
Sadie resisted the temptation to rub her eyes. She’d been up late working on replacements for the water-damaged stock but thought she’d applied plenty of concealer to mask her sallow skin and dark circles; clearly more was needed. ‘I’ll be fine.’
Cat looked unconvinced. ‘How is Daniel behaving? Is he making sure you eat?’
‘I am capable of feeding myself,’ Sadie said, trying to ignore a prickle of irritation. ‘And looking after Lissy.’
‘Woah,’ Cat said, stepping back slightly and staring at her in alarm. ‘I didn’t say anything about Lissy. Of course you’re looking after her – I just meant that I know you sometimes get a bit engrossed and forget to eat, that’s all.’
Sadie took a long deep breath and let it out again. Of course Cat hadn’t meant to suggest she wasn’t taking care of Lissy. But it didn’t take a genius to work out why Sadie had overreacted: Daniel. He hadn’t said anything but she’d seen the accusation in his eyes when she’d left the cottage at six-thirty that morning. And it was true that she was working too hard but what choice did she have? They were swimming against the tide; if she stopped for a moment, everything might go under the waves.
‘Sorry,’ Sadie said to Cat, summoning up a smile. ‘Maybe I am tired.’
Clare stepped forwards. ‘I’m more than happy to take over the Bishop’s order if you want to take the night off.’
Sadie shook her head. ‘Thanks but I’d feel weird watching you working in my kitchen while I lazed around in front of the TV. Let’s stick to the plan – you do the Easter Bonnet tins and I’ll finish the crosses.’
Cat studied her for a moment. ‘If you’re sure?’
‘I’m sure,’ Sadie said. ‘Now, shouldn’t you be getting back to Jaren’s? We don’t want a turf war between Delilah and Meik.’
‘God forbid,’ Cat said with a shudder. ‘I’ll see you in a while.’
The first shoppers started to arrive in Castle Court just after nine o’clock. A few glanced curiously at the cart; some obviously recognised the distinctive Smart Cookies branding because they came over to chat to Sadie and Clare. And to Sadie’s delight, most seemed happy to support them in whatever way they could. The other shopkeepers were doing their bit too; Andrew and Earl seemed to be telling all their customers to stop by for a look and by lunchtime, Sadie’s anxiety over whether the cart would be a success had all but evaporated. Cat had been right; people loved it.
‘You should keep this going once the shop re-opens,’ one regular said as she cooed in delight over the painted swirls and loops Sadie had added to the cart. ‘Maybe even take it out into the Rows.’
Chester’s famous shopping streets dated back to medieval times and were mostly made up of covered walkways and charming gabled buildings steeped in history; there was nothing quite like them anywhere else and Sadie could easily imagine the Smart Cookies cart nestled against the city’s quaint black-and-white backdrop. ‘Maybe we will,’ she said, sliding an extra biscuit into the bag that held the woman’s purchases. ‘Thanks for the suggestion.’
Trade built steadily throughout the day. Sadie and Clare just about managed to keep on top of the personalised biscuit orders, although they were both run off their feet by the time the customers thinned around five-thirty.
‘Imagine what it’s going to be like on Easter Saturday,’ Clare said, looking worried for the first time. ‘There will be crowds to contend with too.’
‘We’ll just have to do our best,’ Sadie told her as she started to pack the cart away. ‘That’s all any of us can do.’
Sadie’s feelings were mixed as she parked outside her childminder’s house. On one hand she was happy to be collecting Lissy but it also meant she’d soon have to go face Daniel. Her gaze slid uneasily to the boxes lining the passenger seat and footwell; he wouldn’t be happy that Sadie had brought more work home with her. But she did her best to push her gloomy thoughts to one side as she trudged up the path to the childminder’s front door. Lissy would chase her apprehensions away – she always did.
‘Mummy!’ the little girl cried when Sadie stepped into the living room. Rushing forwards, she flung her arms around her mother’s neck.
‘Hello,’ Sadie said, burying her nose in Lissy’s soft curls. ‘Had a good day?’
‘Yes,’ Lissy said, beaming. ‘Guess who we saw on the way home from school?’
Sadie frowned. ‘Hmm, let me think. Was it the Easter Bunny?’
Lissy shook her head excitedly. ‘No. Guess again.’
‘The Easter Bunny’s assistant?’
‘No!’ Lissy hopped from one foot to the other. ‘You’ll never guess so I’ll tell you. It was Adam!’
‘Oh!’ Sadie said, her throat suddenly dry. Lissy was right, she would never have guessed. ‘Did he see you?’
Lissy smiled. ‘Yes. He stopped and talked to us. I asked him how his bees were and he said very well. And then he asked how you were and I told him all about the flood and he said that sounded very scary.’
‘It was,’ Sadie said absently. She felt the weight of her childminder’s curious gaze; she was clearly wondering who Adam was. ‘He used to work at the shop but left a little while ago.’
‘And he said that if you wanted any honey, you only have to ask,’ Lissy went on. ‘He said the bees have finished their winter rest now and are buzzing around like anything.’
Sadie couldn’t help smiling; Lissy’s all-encompassing fascination with bees had been one of the best things to come out of her friendship with Adam. ‘That’s good to hear. I’ll be sure to tell Cat – she uses the honey in her biscuit recipes.’
They said goodnight to the childminder and headed back to the car. Lissy continued to chatter and her constant questions almost prevented Sadie’s anxiety from building as they finished the short journey to their cottage. Maybe Daniel wouldn’t be there, Sadie thought hopefully, turning her key in the lock. Maybe he’d decided to stay at his own house this evening.
The quiet murmur of the television told her she was wrong. And sure enough, no sooner had she closed the front door behind herself and Lissy than Daniel appeared in the doorway of the living room.
‘Hi,’ he said, bending down to gather Lissy into a hug. ‘How are my favourite girls?’
‘Not bad,’ Sadie answered, turning towards the kitchen to deposit the boxes of biscuits she carried. ‘How was your day?’
‘Boring,’ he replied, following her with Lissy in his arms. ‘But getting better now.’
His gaze was warm, without a trace of the accusation she’d thought she’d seen there that morning. ‘Oh. Good.’ She placed the boxes on the kitchen table, almost daring him to comment. ‘Shal
l we get a takeaway tonight? I’ve got an order to finish for the shop and I’m not sure I have the energy to cook.’
Daniel’s smile was rueful but not angry. ‘I thought you might say that so I stopped off at the supermarket for some ingredients on my way home. How does chilli con carne sound?’
Sadie eyed him warily, searching for signs of frustration. ‘It sounds great.’
‘Good,’ Daniel said. He gave Lissy a squeeze and she giggled. ‘I’ll get this one bathed and into bed, then I’ll make a start.’
‘Not until you’ve read my story,’ Lissy reminded him with a frown. ‘Teggs Stegosaur is just about to defeat the robot T-Rex, remember?’
‘So he is,’ Daniel said with a laugh. He lowered the little girl to the ground. ‘Why don’t you go and find the right page so that we’re all set for bedtime?’
In a flash, Lissy was thundering towards the narrow stairs that led upstairs.
‘I can do bath-time if you like,’ Sadie said.
Daniel pointed at the boxes. ‘You’ve got work to do. I don’t suppose that’s all you’ve brought back, is it?’
‘No,’ Sadie admitted. ‘I’ve got four more in the car.’
He gave her a gentle nod. ‘So it makes sense for me to bath Lissy and put her to bed. It’s no trouble – to be honest, I really want to find out what happens to Teggs and his crew.’
Sadie felt her tension melt away. When Daniel was kind like this, he made everything better. ‘Thanks.’
He shrugged. ‘Don’t mention it. Want me to fetch the rest of the boxes?’
‘I’ll get them—’
‘Relax, Sadie, I’ll do it.’ He gave her a trademark Daniel grin. ‘And if you happened to be boiling the kettle, I wouldn’t say no to a cuppa. Rasping like a robot T-rex is very thirsty work.’
He left her to get on with her work, taking Lissy upstairs for her bath and bringing her back down, warm and glowing, to say goodnight. Sadie tried to quell the little voice that told her she should be the one reading Lissy her Astrosaurs adventure; Daniel was her father and it did them both good to spend more time together, especially now that he seemed more invested in being part of their lives. And it was only one bedtime; as soon as the bump in the road caused by the flood was out of the way, things would get back to normal.
Stormy Weather at Castle Court Page 5
