Misty grabbed his arm, her pretty eyes sparkling like twin diamonds. “You work in a soup kitchen?”
Why’d she find that information so interesting? “Yes, I just started a few weeks ago.”
“Do you need any volunteers?”
“Let’s go outside and talk about it.” No way did he want Misty working in that soup kitchen. It was in a bad area.
Latisha was now flirting with another man. “Who in the world is that?” Misty mumbled, glaring at Latisha. “Is she your girlfriend?”
Before he could respond, Adrian chuckled, continuing to hold Misty’s elbow as they made their way to the door. “If you’re talking about the woman who was here a few minutes ago, that smelled like Latisha Brooks.”
“Who?”
Adrian continued to laugh when they stepped into the bright sunshine. Birds chanted from the trees, and the flowers bobbed in the hot breeze. Adrian continued to explain, keeping her voice low. “Latisha usually wears a lot of perfume…too much. I can always smell her when she’s around.”
Sterling touched Misty’s arm. “Look, I’ll explain about Latisha in a minute. I needed to talk to you. Is it okay if Adrian and Jennifer wait in the car for a few minutes so that we can chat?”
Misty shrugged. “Sure.”
Jennifer continued to snooze as Sterling buckled her into her car seat. Adrian got comfortable in the front seat while Misty started the car and turned on the air conditioner. “Adrian, I’ll leave the air running so that you and Jennifer won’t get too hot.”
“Thanks, Misty.”
After Jennifer and Adrian were situated, Sterling pulled Misty away. They walked over to a nearby palm tree and stood underneath it. The canopy of green leaves swayed in the hot wind. He relished watching Misty close her eyes as she enjoyed the warm breeze. The urge to kiss her again consumed him, but, he fought off the strong feeling, focusing on what he’d wanted to say.
“Sterling, I’m interested in working in the soup kitchen.”
“Who’d keep Jennifer if you volunteered?”
She blew air through her lips, scratched the back of her neck. “I was hoping Adrian would keep her.”
This was surprising. “Jennifer would stay alone with Adrian?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”
“Well, don’t worry about volunteering now. You might want to wait until you’re more settled.”
She shook her head, grabbed his arm. “No, I need to do this now.” Her voice hardened. What was going on?
“We have plenty of volunteers. It’s not like the homeless won’t get fed.”
“You volunteer regularly?”
He nodded. “I’m in charge of the Wednesday night shift. I just started a few weeks ago.”
“How is it that you’re in charge of a shift if you just started a few weeks ago?”
“Since I own a bakery, I’m considered to be a food-service professional. They need a professional to run each shift. I volunteered since the last person quit.”
“I see.” She sighed, kicked a rock. Her sultry mouth drooped and for the life of him, he couldn’t understand why she was so upset. “How did you find this job?”
“Misty, it’s not a job. It’s volunteer work.” He thought she understood that.
“No, I’m talking about how is it that you’re in charge of the kitchen. I know you’re a food service professional and all, but, how did they know to contact you in the first place?”
What was it with all of her questions? He might as well pacify her curiosity. “The people at the soup kitchen know me because I donate food regularly. I was approached to head the kitchen because of my culinary background. Like I said, the last person who had my position quit and that’s when I was approached.” He paused, still trying to figure out what was going on. “Why is doing this right now so important to you? You might want to just focus on helping Jennifer adjust.”
“I’m doing this for Jennifer.” Her voice wavered. Oh no. She was upset. Misty seemed to be one big emotional roller coaster when it came to her daughter. This was the second time he’d made her angry while discussing Jennifer.
He tilted his head, still baffled. “What do you mean?”
In a rushed voice, she told him something about food service hours for a scholarship to use once Jennifer was accepted into Juliette’s preschool. She spoke non-stop for five minutes, and the entire time he ached to hold her in his arms. Her voice filled with joy and she gestured while she spoke, as if she were highly emotional. He wanted to tell her to calm down so that they could discuss this rationally, but, he doubted she’d listen to him. He just couldn’t believe the words that tumbled from her mouth. Juliette’s? Was she serious?
Before he could stop himself, he laughed. The whole idea seemed off the wall, weird, and just downright time-consuming.
Her mouth dropped open. She turned away from him, stormed to her car. He’d better go after her. “Misty, calm down.” He took her thin arm, gently coaxed her back to the tree.
“I don’t appreciate being laughed at.”
“Look, I’m sorry. You just seem to be going through a lot of trouble to get your daughter into that preschool. Juliette’s isn’t so great.”
She peered at him. “What do you know about it? You don’t even have any kids…do you?”
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. Hav
ing 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.”
Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) Page 9
