Page 24 of A Room By the Sea

“Ah,” he gasped like a fish out of water, turning around in a circle as he looked for something he could clean himself up with. A rag? Where did he put those blasted paper towels?

There wasn’t time for him to freshen up, however. A second later, Elaine pushed open the door to the kitchen and stepped inside as if she owned the place. Iris was right at her heels, looking far more gleeful than apologetic.

“Iris,” Shep said dryly, trying to gather his dignity and sound stern, “is allowing people to barge into my territory going to become routine?”

Iris smirked. “No, it won’t, I promise. But Elaine here is a special case.”

Shep grunted and turned back to the batter he had been mixing. “You’ve got that right,” he muttered under his breath. Elaine had to be the only person in town he would have allowed into his kitchen like that, and in the middle of his workday no less!

Elaine smiled, the picture of confidence and charm. “I told you I’d be back,” she remarked to Shep cheerfully. “I’m ready to further discuss the details of our arrangement.”

“I haven’t formally agreed to this yet,” Shep pointed out, feeling flustered and, it had to be admitted, petulant.

“You will, though, I’m sure.” Elaine smiled her dazzling smile again, looking serenely certain. “After you’ve seen the proposal that I’ve put together, you’ll be sure to agree to a partnership between Townsend’s and The Birchwood House. It’s not a deal that you’ll want to pass up.”

Shep just grunted. Internally, he was sure she was right. He wasn’t about to admit to that verbally yet, however.

“There’s a clean table out front,” Iris said cheerfully.

“I’ll see you out there in a moment, then,” Elaine said to Shep, and her smile was so sweet that he thought to himself it might have melted his heart under different circumstances.

As soon as the women were out of the kitchen, he frantically located the roll of paper towels and dampened a couple of them under the faucet. He hurriedly smoothed back his hair and cleaned off some of the flour that was dusting his face, arms, and shoulders. When he was finished, he still looked a mess, but at least he looked like less of a mess than he had earlier. He didn’t want to spend any more time cleaning himself off. If he did, Elaine was sure to come back into the kitchen, and he certainly didn’t want to be caught trying to make himself look more presentable.

He trundled out into the front of the shop, and he was relieved to see that the only customers were a family of tourists who he’d never met before. Strangers never bothered trying to engage him in long conversations, and that made them his favorite type of customer.

Elaine was already sitting at the little table by the front window. He sat down next to her, clearing his throat awkwardly. He was trying to think of something to say to start their conversation, but he realized in a moment that he needn’t have bothered. Elaine was ready with a cheerful remark in a matter of seconds.

“You know,” she said slowly, “I think it would be only right for me to be offered a complimentary pastry as we’re striking the deal that will define all deals. This is a great day for your business. I think that calls for refreshments.”

Shep’s jaw actually dropped for a moment before he clamped it shut. He could hardly believe how audacious Elaine was being yet again. She was acting as confident as a queen, and she wasn’t even in her own castle!

I guess I don’t know her all that well, he thought. We’ve been acquainted for years, but she always seemed more reserved to me. She certainly isn’t acting reserved now!

He had a suspicion that the arrival of her family had something to do with her new spunk and playfulness. He suspected that not only were her daughter and granddaughter rubbing off on her, they were also awakening her own fun-loving personality. He’d observed that people tended to behave more freely when they felt safe, and Elaine probably felt safe and happy enough to break out of the mold of politeness that she’d lived in for years.

I also suspect she isn’t this way with everyone, and that because of this business deal, she’s welcoming me into her inner circle, he thought. I’m glad she’s experiencing a new spurt of energy and all that, but I can’t help feeling that my life would be a lot easier if she wasn’t so motivated and outgoing.

“I’ll get us something,” he said, standing up. He was glad of a moment to step away from her, since he’d been trying to hold a neutral expression on his face and finding it difficult. Normally it was the opposite for him—he had a neutral expression even when people expected him to react more to what they were saying. Now, however, he could feel a smirk wanting to creep across his face, and he was determined not to show it to Elaine. He felt completely baffled by her, and certainly very inconvenienced, but he was also starting to feel very amused.

He got a couple of slices of streusel coffee cake and set them on plates for the both of them. The choice made sense for two reasons—it was a less popular baked good, so he was unlikely to lose any money on it by offering a slice to Elaine, and he happened to like it a great deal. He had a feeling that Elaine would like it as well.

By the time he got back to the table, Elaine had set out a notebook. On two of the pages, she’d written out detailed notes using colored pens. It looked to be a very detailed, organized plan, and he liked that.

“Streusel coffee cake!” Elaine said, thrilled. “Oh, thank you, Shep. This looks delicious.”

He grunted and took a bite out of his slice of cake. He’d found that people seldom expected him to speak when he was chewing.

“Here’s my plan,” Elaine said, looking eager. She began to outline everything she’d come up with, using the notebook page in front of her as a visual. As he listened, Shep couldn’t help being impressed.

“What do you think?” she said finally, sounding slightly breathless at the end of her presentation as if she’d just run a race.

“It sounds like a great deal,” Shep said, nodding. “You’re right. It sounds like this is going to be very beneficial for both of us.”

“Wonderful!” Elaine clapped her hands together. “How soon can you be ready to start providing us with pastries? We’re planning on having an open house for the hotel soon, and I’d love to have some pastries for that.”

“I can be ready whenever you need me to be—tomorrow even,” Shep said, unable to stop himself from feeling eager. Elaine’s enthusiasm seemed to be contagious. “I’ll just go get an order form for you. You can fill it out with the date and whatever pastries you want to have on hand. I’d recommend a few gluten and dairy-free options, if you’re having an open house. Maybe even a few vegan pastries.”

“Do you make vegan pastries?” Elaine asked, looking amused. It was clear that she thought he was the kind of crusty old man who would never consider such a thing.