Page 41 of Forbidden to Fall

“Excuse me, missy.” Lily got up from the couch. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”

“What about you?” Mia complained.

Ryan got up and came over, his anger giving way to amusement. “Little Miss Mischief.” He kissed her temple, then took her from my arms. “Come on. I’ll tell you a couple of stories if you promise to stay in bed.”

Mia smiled and nodded fervently. Clearly, she’d gotten what she wanted.

Ryan bounced her up and down on his arm as he left the room, and Lily gave me a sort of grimacing smile. “I’ll try to talk to him.”

I nodded, and she left the room.

I stared after them for a few seconds, my brain buzzing with Ryan’s words. It made it all the more difficult that his anger was mixed with concern for me. It was sweet…and totally aggravating.

But when I climbed in bed later, it was his comment about how James had been looking at me that stuck around until I dropped off to sleep.

Exhausted as I was when I woke well before dawn had even stirred, the quiet familiarity of my early morning at the bakery was calming. There was something therapeutic about kneading dough. It was probably as effective as axe throwing or rage rooms.

My conversation with Ryan had left me unsettled, but I really didn’t see an alternative to the current situation—not unless he was willing to subsidize my entire existence indefinitely.

Even then, though, how could I forgive myself if I let May down after my promise to her?

I didn’t want to hurt Ryan or make him feel like I didn’t care what he’d gone through, but…at what cost? A literal cost, mind you. I had bills and a future to consider.

Whatever he thought, I could be professional. I wasn’t some angsty sixteen-year-old anymore. I could take care of myself, however James did or didn’t look at me.

The bell jingled twenty minutes before store opening, and I glanced up from my place organizing the display case.

Morgan walked in, trailed by Mrs. Keller.

“Hi,” I said with a smile as I wiped my hands on my apron.

“Good morning,” Morgan said, looking put together and enviously flourless. She had a blunt blonde bob with a bold red lip, looking like she belonged in a high-rise more than a small-town bakery. “Good to see you again, Sadie.”

“Likewise. Welcome back to Autumn Ridge.”

“How did it go last night?” Mrs. Keller asked, as if she hadn’t already called up at least two of her friends to ask.

“It went well.” She didn’t need to know about the glaze fiasco, and she certainly didn’t need to know about the parking lot incident. “The event was really nice, and people seemed to enjoy the cheesecake.”

Morgan came behind the counter, and I pushed my body against the display case to allow her to pass behind me.

She stopped in front of the menu board, tilting her head as she looked it over. “Have you raised the prices for leaf peeper season yet?”

I glanced at Mrs. Keller.

“No,” she said. “We don’t do that. Same prices all year round.”

“Consistency is nice,” Morgan said with a smile, “but dynamic pricing is becoming more common, and it could really make a difference. Even a 10% bump.”

By the time I went to turn on the open sign for customers, Morgan had made a few other suggestions.

They weren’t bad. In fact, a couple of them were topics I’d brought up before—or had wanted to but hadn’t bothered because I’d known Mrs. Keller’s response would be no. I tried not to be annoyed when she actually entertained them coming from Morgan.

When I added a comment about the tables, which were in need of an upgrade, Morgan didn’t pooh-pooh my comment. She just looked at me like I was another part of the bakery she needed to decide what to do with.

Maybe she’d feel I needed an upgrade.

She might be right.