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Sal was supposed to let me know by the end of last week, but he’d been out of the country dealing with a family emergency. I’d called this morning to see if he was back, but I’d gotten his voicemail. I wouldn’t breathe easy until I had a signed contract for three more years. Years of guaranteed sales would allow me to hire a third baker, to take some of the pressure off Emily and me. We might even be able to take real vacations.
The memory of two days in the mountains with Carter hit me like another painful blow. I squeezed the piping bag in my hand tighter, fighting to keep more tears at bay.
My backup plan if my bakery went under was waiting tables again at the Dugout—something I hadn’t done since I was a teenager. I did not want to work for Kevin, no matter how well we got along. Then there was Emily. If the bakery went under, she was out of a job. She would probably be able to catch on somewhere else, but not for nearly what I was paying her, and not doing the creative baking we were doing here.
“What are we going to do if the Fliers don’t renew the contract?” Emily asked.
“Was I thinking out loud?”
Emily laughed. “Nope, but your forehead has creases deeper than the potholes in our parking lot. You only look that worried when you’re stressing about money, or angry at Chad. Since Chad left town last month, I figured it must be money.”
She knew me too well.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “With the revenue from the park, and all the extra sales it generated this summer, we’ll be fine this year. If sales drop off, which they will, and the Fliers don’t renew? I’ll be scrambling to find corporate clients and to do catering again. Neither one of us wants to depend on that.”
“When were you supposed to hear? I thought they told you last week?”
“They did, but Sal had an emergency last week. I left a message this morning, but I don’t know when we’ll hear back.”
I concentrated on the cookies I was prepping for the Airfield. I had to believe that if we kept doing what we were doing, the team would have no choice but to award us the contract. Even though sales were down, we consistently sold well. Our items were popular enough that I’d had to start offering cookies decorated like players, just like the ones we sold at the park.
“When is Brooke heading back to school?”
“Her job ends in two more weeks; then she goes back to Calgary. The time has gone so fast . . .” It was hard to believe how much my life had changed in the last five months.
When the season had started, all I’d wanted was to make my bakery a success. Falling in love and winding up heartbroken had not been on my radar. I wouldn’t give up my few months with Carter, but I still hadn’t been able to pick up the phone and return his messages. I wasn’t ready. I was still in too much pain, and I was afraid I’d give in and agree to something long distance, only to be even more hurt when he signed with a team on the other side of the country and we never saw each other. I still couldn’t see a way for us to be together unless I left Red Rock.
We continued working, and I tried to forget my fears about the contract. At least Emily had stopped me from obsessing over missing Carter. It was a welcome distraction.
When the bakery phone rang later in the afternoon, I snagged the receiver because Sarah was busy with customers.
“Batter Up!” I answered. “What can I bake for you?”
Sal Benito’s rich laugh greeted me. “Hey, Jane. I got your message. I just got back from Vancouver. We were finalizing all the concession contracts for the new ballpark. I know it’s later than I promised, but I have news you’ve been waiting for. We want you to operate one of the concessions at the new ballpark next year. It has double the seating capacity of the existing park, and we plan to fill it for most games. Think you can handle all the extra sales?”
Holy crap, holy crap! Double the seating capacity? Elated, I did some quick mental math. We were definitely going to need another baker. If I had to bake sixteen hours a day every day all season, we would make this work. It was everything I’d ever wanted. “Yes, absolutely we can handle it.”
“I knew you could. I’ll email you the contracts. Have your lawyer review them and get them back to me by the first of September. I look forward to us working together for a long time.”
I hung up the phone and whirled around to find Emily.
“We got the contract!” I ran over and hugged her. “As of next April, we have a three-year contract with the Fliers, for their new ballpark. They expect attendance to double. Can you believe it?”
Emily’s laugh filled the room. “Of course I believe it, we earned that contract. Double the sales is a tall order, but we can do it. And you can stop worrying about profitability. Everyone in town will be calling us.”
Even as Emily continued celebrating, I reached for my phone to send a message to Carter to tell him the good news. He was the person I wanted to share this with the most. He’d wanted to see me reach my goals and had supported me wholeheartedly.
I pulled up his last text.
Carter
I miss you.
My heart ached so much it was hard to suck in air. I closed the thread and set my phone down. I was getting everything I wanted career-wise, and he was far away revitalizing his own. He was hurting as much as I was, and messaging him would only make it worse. All I could do was hope that one day he achieved everything he wanted. That might be the only thing that would make my pain worth it.
Chapter 41
Carter
