He returned to the living room. Adrian had finished setting out the plates. She’d made herself comfortable on the couch. Taking a few deep breaths, he pushed Leon out of his mind, again focusing on Adrian’s news. “So, you’re trying to set me up with your cousin?”
She shook her head so fast, a few strands of hair escaped from the fashionable bun at the nape of her neck. “No. I know you’ve been sad since your dad passed. I’m just trying to get your mind off of it.” She stopped speaking, placed her hand on his arm. “I’ve been praying for you every day since your dad died.”
“Thank you.” The simple words warmed his heart, making his grief a bit easier to deal with.
He eyed his friend. She sat up straight, her small hands now folded in front of her. He’d been worried about her over the last few weeks, helping her out when he could, but it’d been hard. He’d had to work more hours in the bakery after his dad had gotten sick. Now that he knew she’d have a roommate, he wouldn’t worry about her so much. “So, when’s your cousin supposed to arrive?”
Chapter 3
Sterling pulled his car into his driveway. He turned off the ignition, closed his eyes. Whew, he needed to refuel his energy before going inside. What a rough day. Surprising he’d made it to work on the day after his dad’s funeral. He peeked at his watch. It was four o’clock and once he was inside, he needed to catch a quick nap before settling into his evening routine. The bakery had been packed. Several of his regular customers expressed their sympathies. He’d been busy, baking pies, cakes and cookies all day. When his assistant had closed out the register, he’d been pleased with the day’s income.
His friend Rhea had sent a plant to his house and had called him the previous night. Speaking to her had been nice. Her twins were two years old and her third was still an infant. She could only talk for a few minutes but had urged him to call if he needed anything. His buddy Toni had also called him from Chicago. Since her own father had passed the previous year, she could relate to what he was going through. He’d bonded with Toni and Rhea at a food conference four years ago. They texted and emailed one another regularly. They also kept in touch via Facebook. He’d found that since both of his friends had gotten married, their texts and emails were not so frequent.
He’d also seen a lot of his relatives the previous day. His Aunt June had shown up at the funeral and she’d come to his house for the meal afterwards. He had not seen his Aunt June since he was a teenager when she’d come up for his mom’s funeral. It’d been weird seeing her after so many years. She looked so much like his mom, and sounded like her too. They had not seen her very much because she’d married a German and had moved out of the country. She sent a Christmas card every year, and that was about it. He’d told her that the twins had left early, confided about Leon’s drunken rage. She’d been concerned and worried about the twins. She’d promised to visit them before she took her flight home the next day. After all these years, he still missed his mom, and now his dad was gone, too. It was kind of hard to believe at thirty-three, both of his parents were dead. He was now an orphan. He shook the depressing thought away.
He forced his thoughts back to his workday. As he’d been baking, memories of his dad haunted him. He’d found himself stopping as he’d mixed pie dough or cake batter, recalling how his father used to continuously give baking advice as they’d gone through their day.
The noise from a loud engine broke his moment of solitude. He opened his eyes, turned and glanced across the street. A large orange, black and silver moving van backed into Adrian’s driveway.
He opened his car door and exited his vehicle. A petite, dark-skinned woman got out of the van. She wiped her brow, oblivious to his scrutiny. She opened the back of the moving van. Seconds later, she hefted a box from the van and approached Adrian’s porch. She dropped the container on the ground, pulled a key from the pocket of her jeans and unlocked and opened the front door. She then propped Adrian’s door open with a chair.
This had to be Adrian’s cousin. He checked his watch again. Adrian wouldn’t be home from work for another two hours. The woman hefted another box, turned, and spotted him. Their eyes locked like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. He waved. She obviously couldn’t wave back since her arms were full. He sprinted across the street, hearing a dog bark in the distance while birds chanted from the sky. He approached the woman, his arms outstretched, ready to take her load. “You need some help?”
She clutched her box, shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I’m moving in with your neighbor.”
“I know. Let me help you.”
Again, she shook her head. Sweat popped from her brow and her arms shook from the weight of the box. “No, I’ve got it.”
He grabbed the box from her slim arms and hefted it into the house. “Where do you want this?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t even know who you are and you’re going into my cousin’s house with my stuff?” Her smooth voice brimmed with annoyance.
He took a deep breath. Maybe he should just leave this, petite, stubborn woman to unload the whole truck by herself. He eyed the countless boxes in the back of the van. He dropped the box into the doorway as a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek and irritated his aching jaw. He probably looked awful. He wasn’t in the best of moods, and this woman didn’t know who he was. He walked toward her, offered his hand. “I’m Sterling Richards. I live across the street. I’m Adrian’s friend. We go to the same church.”
Relief flowed through the small woman’s features. She smiled and a dimple winked in her cheek. His heart skipped. He again found himself staring, full of curiosity about his new neighbor. She shook his hand.
“I’m Melissa, but everybody calls me Misty.” Her small, soft fingers enclosed within his palm. He released her hand, spying her red-painted nails. He stepped back, catching a whiff of pleasant, rose-scented perfume. “I’m sorry about the way I acted. I didn’t know who you were.”
He blinked, spotting a small tattoo on her neck. She covered the mark on her skin, as if ashamed. What kind of tattoo was she hiding? Still feeling off-kilter, he said the first thing that came to his mind. “I could still help you move your stuff if you want.”
“Are you sure? I’ve got lots of stuff and some of those boxes are pretty heavy.”
“What else were you going to do?” He studied the loaded truck. “Could you really carry all of those boxes inside? It looks like you need some help.”
She looked away, stared at the ground. “Some friends were supposed to help me, but they bailed at the last minute.”
He wondered about the types of loser friends she had. The desire to bring the smile back to her face consumed him, in spite of his intense fatigue. Thinking about Leon’s behavior had affected his sleep the previous night, and again he longed for a nap. But duty called. He needed to help Misty move her stuff into Adrian’s house. “What’s the matter?” Her soft voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Huh?”
“I asked what was wrong.” She gave him a small smile. “You looked like you were going to cry.”
His eyes were moist. He blinked the tears away. No way did he want Misty to see him cry. He had to pull himself together. “What happened to your cheek?” She touched his cheek, frowning. “It looks like it hurts. Were you in a fight or something?”
He stepped back. His cheek still tingled from Misty’s cool fingers. Maybe helping her move in was not such a good idea. The last thing he wanted to do was tell a stranger about the fight he’d had with his brother. “Let’s hurry up and get your stuff in the house.” He glanced at the truck. “Are all of the boxes heavy?”
She pursed her lips. She was probably annoyed that he ignored her questions. “The lighter boxes are on the left and the heavy ones are on the right.”
“Okay, I’ll carry the boxes in and you can start unpacking.”
She touched his arm, her dark eyes serious. “You don’t have to carry all of the boxes. I’ll carry the lighter ones and you can carr
y the heavy ones. I’m not some weak female who can’t do any work.” Her stern tone brooked no argument, so he agreed. He just wanted to finish the chore so that he could lie down.
They worked in companionable silence, carrying the boxes. Good thing she didn’t have any furniture. Adrian’s spare bedrooms were already furnished, which seemed to work well for her cousin. After working together for a couple of hours, the van was emptied. Misty removed the keys from the pocket of her jeans. He glanced up and down the street. “Did you need to return the van and get your car?”
She shrugged. “I don’t own a car.”
He frowned. “You don’t have a car? How come?”
She folded her thin arms in front of her chest and looked away. “I just don’t, okay.” From the irritated tone of her voice, he figured he’d offended her. He wondered how much help she’d be to Adrian without a car. Since Adrian’s roommate moved out, she’d been relying on one of her coworkers to help her. How was Misty going to take Adrian to the grocery store, church, work, and weekly errands? Questions loomed through his mind, but he sensed he needed to stay silent. Misty stood beside the vehicle, jiggling her keys, as if anxious to return the van.
He knew the whole situation was none of his business. “Did you need a ride back to Adrian’s after you drop off the moving van to the rental place?”
After hesitating a few seconds, she finally nodded. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
He’d rather go into his house and get some sleep, but he wouldn’t let her know that. “Let’s get going.”
He followed her to the U-Haul center and waited outside while she turned in her keys. Seconds later, she exited the place and walked to his SUV. She opened the door and settled into the passenger seat. He turned his radio onto a gospel station, started the motor and made his way toward home.
The crowded sidewalks of downtown Miami were filled with throngs of people. The leaves from the palm trees fluttered in the hot evening breeze. Misty remained quiet during the drive home, and his mind was plagued with questions about her background. As they drove along the highway, the blue Miami beach sparkled under the bright sun. Sunbathers enjoyed the hot, humid weather. He gestured toward the water. “You like going to the beach?”
She shook her head. “I don’t go much. I don’t even know how to swim.”
He stopped at a light. “Where are you from?”
“I’ve lived in Lehigh Acres my entire life.”
“Lehigh Acres?”
“Yeah, it’s a town about two and a half hours from here.”
As he continued driving, he glanced at Misty whenever they stopped at a light. Her smooth dark skin and large pretty eyes were hard to ignore. He recalled Adrian saying Misty had family problems. He wondered what kind of problems she was having with her family that would make her relocate to Miami.
He pulled into his driveway. It was almost six thirty. Adrian would be home soon. His stomach grumbled with hunger. “Did you want to join me for dinner?” The invite popped out of his mouth before he could give it much thought.
She furrowed her brow. “Dinner?”
It sounded like she’d taken his invite the wrong way. “I have a lot of leftovers from…” He paused, wondering if Adrian had told Misty about his father’s funeral. He threw caution to the wind, decided to tell her about his messed-up life. “Look, my dad died a week ago and the funeral was yesterday, and—”
She touched his arm, her cool fingers bringing relief to his heated skin. “I’m sorry about your dad. Is that why you looked so sad earlier?”
The sadness returned. He wondered how long it would take for his grief to lessen. He nodded. “Yes, things have been pretty…stressful lately and the people came over for the meal yesterday and left a lot of food. I’m going to be eating leftovers for days.” He didn’t want her to think he was asking to share dinner with him for romantic reasons. “It’d help me out if you’d eat some of the food.” Another thought occurred to him. “When Adrian gets home, she can come by too. Maybe you guys can take some over to your place to eat tomorrow.” He stopped speaking, decided that he was rambling. He just needed to shut up, eat and rest for a while.
Misty opened her door. “I’d love some dinner.”
She followed him into his house. Butter-colored sunlight splashed into his living room. It was a good thing that Adrian had helped him to clean up the previous day. They went into the kitchen. He dished up tuna casserole and warmed it in the microwave. The fishy scent of tuna mingled with the smell of onions as the food circulated in the small oven. The microwave beeped, and he placed a generous portion of the warmed food onto Misty’s plate.
They sat at the table. Would she mind if he held her hand while he prayed over their meal? He shook the thought away. “I’d like to bless the food before we eat if you don’t mind.”
She nodded. “That’s fine.”
They bowed their heads. “Lord, thank you for this day, thank you for this food, and please…help me, Lord with…please help me with…everything you know what I need help with and please be with Misty during her move to Miami. Amen.”
“Amen.”
They ate in silence. Once they were done, he remembered dessert. Although there had been food left after the repast, the desserts were gone. He still had the red velvet cake that had landed on the floor. He’d taken Adrian’s suggestion, rescued the portion that had not touched the floor. He’d kept it for himself.
He pulled the cake out of the refrigerator. “Did you want a piece? Before you say yes, I need to warn you about something.” He told her the cake landed on the floor the previous day, leaving out the details about how it happened. “I threw away the first layer, but the other two should be fine.”
She shrugged, eyeing the dessert. “Sure, I’ll have some.”
He loaded their plates with thick bright red slices of cake coated with smooth creamy frosting. He popped a bite into his mouth. The blend of the buttermilk and chocolate flavors was phenomenal.
“Oh. My. Goodness.” She smacked her lips, finishing her cake in minutes. “That is the best cake.”
He grinned. “Thanks. I’m a baker…and so was my dad. We used to work together and red velvet was his favorite cake. I like it, too.”
Her pretty eyes widened. “You made this cake?”
He chuckled, sat up straighter in his chair. Hearing praise about his baking lifted his sullen mood. “Yeah, I made it. I make stuff every day. That’s my job and I love it.” He sighed. Since his stomach was now full, and he’d had a busy evening, it was time to lie down. He glanced at his watch. “Adrian should be home.”
She nodded, standing. “Yes, she should be.”
He covered the disposable aluminum container with foil, before pressing it into Misty’s hands. “You and Adrian can have the rest of the casserole.”
She accepted the container, smiling. “Thanks.” She placed the container on the table.
He cut a couple of slabs of cake. “You can take this, too.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. Too bad Jennifer isn’t here. She really loves sweets.”
He frowned, puzzled as he wrapped the cake slices in foil. “Jennifer? Who’s that?”
“Oh, Jennifer’s my daughter.”
“Your daughter?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t Adrian tell you that I have a two-and-a half year-old?”
He shook his head. “No, she didn’t mention that. Where is she?”
“Who, Adrian?”
He placed the slices of cake beside the casserole dish. “No, your daughter. Where is she? She’s not going to be living with you and Adrian?” He wondered if Misty refused to raise her daughter herself and had placed her into someone else’s care.
She pursed her lips, staring at her red-painted nails. “She’s with my mother right now.”
“So, your mom lives in Lehigh Acres, right?”
“Yes, I’ve been living with my mom forever. This is the first time I’m moving out on my own.”
He frowned, wanting to ask another question, but wondered if Misty would get offended. He might as well ask. “So you just left your daughter with your mom? Why in the world would you do that?”
Misty’s head snapped up and her jaw tensed. “What kind of a question is that?” Her tone filled with anger. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked the question after all.
“Well, there’s lots of grandparents in my church who’re raising their grandchildren and it’s really hard on them. Can you imagine running around after a two-year-old when you have a hard time getting around yourself?” He shook his head, pushing the food toward Misty. “Just makes me wonder about the responsibility of today’s young mothers.” He glanced at Misty. Her mouth was set in a hard line. “How old are you, anyway?”
She turned away, not answering his question. He took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” But he did wonder about her leaving her child behind.
She stood, shoving her chair underneath his table, taking the food. “I think it’s time for me to leave.” She took the food and he opened the door for her. She practically ran across the street to Adrian’s house and he wondered if she’d ever appear at his door again. He shut the door, figuring it was probably best if she didn’t return. After all, who’d want a woman who wouldn’t even take care of her own child?
Chapter 4
Misty balanced the food on one arm and shoved Adrian’s door open with her free hand. She hurried into the kitchen, slamming the food on the table.
“Misty, is that you?”
Adrian sat at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea, her fingers skimmed over a piece of paper scattered with Braille bumps.
“Yes, it’s me.” She hugged Adrian before dropping into a chair, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. “What are you reading?”
“It’s a letter from a local organization for the blind, inviting me to a special art event for blind people.”
“Are you going?”
Adrian shook her head while she pushed the paper away. “No. They usually have those events during the workday since most blind people are unemployed. I’m not going to take off from work to look at art.” She sipped her tea.
Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) Page 2
