Page 3 of A Room By the Sea

“Good morning, Shep!”

He turned around and cracked a small smile. Iris, his only worker, waltzed into the kitchen through the door that led into the front of the shop. Iris had short wavy brown hair, and her bright green eyes always seemed to be glowing with joy. Despite how effusively bubbly Iris was, Shep liked her. She seemed to have realized that he didn’t like interacting with customers without him having to tell her so, and she’d been great about stepping in to spare him from having to talk with visitors to the shop on several occasions. She also never seemed to be offended by his unemotional responses to things, despite the fact that she herself was always filled with energy and enthusiasm.

“Good morning, Iris.” Shep was vaguely aware that his greeting had a tone that was comparable to a bark, but he didn’t mean to be gruff and Iris never seemed to take his responses the wrong way. She simply started to hum cheerfully as she began to gather up the treats on trays, arranging them artfully for the display case in the front of the store.

After that, the day carried on at a good clip. Shep baked a batch of cupcakes that had been ordered for a birthday party. The mother who’d ordered them had asked that each cupcake feature a unicorn’s face along with a rainbow mane. It was a more creative order than what Shep was used to doing, but he soon found that he was enjoying it. He always enjoyed anything that offered him a challenge.

A couple of hours passed. Shep finished the cupcakes and carefully cleaned his kitchen. Soon he would talk to Iris to see what they were running low on, and if they were in danger of running out of anything, he’d whip up another batch. It was rare when he had to do that, however. He’d become an expert in tracking the preferences of his town over the years. Tourists always added a bit of a gamble to the equation, but tourists tended to go for classics like croissants and doughnuts and Shep was good at guessing how many of each baked good he would need. He usually knew how much to make in order to keep his bakery stocked but not too over-stocked.

He never minded when they had bakery left over at the end of the day, however, since he donated all the leftover goods to a nearby humanitarian nonprofit. He knew it wasn’t good business to bake too many items, since that would be a reckless use of his resources, but he felt pleased that his bakery never went to waste and that it always ended up blessing people in need.

“Hey, Shep?” Iris poked her head in through the doorway. “We’re down to just five bear claws.”

Shep raised his eyebrows. Bear claws were popular, but not something that he usually ran out of.

“Okay, I’ll make more,” he said, immediately walking toward the shelf where he stored the flour bags. “How come we’re running so low?”

“Well, a family of tourists bought a bunch, but then Audrey Sutton came in and bought ten.” Iris laughed. “She said she wanted to buy some for her daughter and grandmother and some of their friends that they’re having over for tea today at The Birchwood House.” Iris said the name of the hotel with an emphatic crispness, as if it thrilled her.

Shep nodded. Audrey Sutton did usually buy bear claws when she came into the shop. Her love of the treat might end up altering the amount he baked every day. He would have to watch the patterns and see if he needed to change his plan.

I should reach out to the Suttons, he thought. If they’re planning on buying big orders of bear claws regularly for their guests at the hotel, that’s something we can coordinate together.

His heart gave an odd twist at the thought of reaching out to the Suttons. He never liked the idea of talking to anyone for an extended period of time, although business conversations were always easier. But he’d been secretly fascinated by the progress the women had been making on the mansion. He thought that turning the old house into a historical site was an inspired idea, and he loved the idea of being able to walk around inside it. Collaborating with the Suttons on baked goods for their hotel guests was an idea that delighted him.

Iris gave him a cheerful wave before disappearing from the kitchen. Shep dove into the work of making bear claws with a will, his mind lingering on The Birchwood House and the Sutton women.

He’d always thought the world of Elaine, and he was glad that Audrey and Michelle had come to stay with her. He’d watched the three of them interacting at the dinner that they’d hosted in the spring to celebrate the official legal green light for The Birchwood House, and he’d thought to himself that the three women had a closeness that was rare. They interacted genuinely and with great affection, and he’d liked seeing the way kind-hearted Elaine had laughed and smiled as though she was a teenager again.

Although Michelle and Audrey were more strangers than friends to Shep, he liked them. Word traveled fast in Coral Sands—although the talk wasn’t malicious gossip—and he’d heard about how Audrey’s husband had left her for a younger woman. Those whispers had come hand in hand with the news that she’d started to date the town mayor, Evan McBride.

Shep had watched the two of them at the celebration dinner, and he’d come to the conclusion that they weren’t dating, and that all the rumors had simply been speculation. After all, the only evidence people had to go on had been the fact that Audrey and Evan had gone to a flea market together. One date didn’t equate to a relationship, after all. At the end of the celebration dinner, however, Shep had started to suspect that there was something going on between Audrey and Evan after all. He’d seen them glancing at each other over and over, and at the end of the night, he’d seen them talking to each other at a secluded table.

His hunch was that they weren’t dating officially until that party, but he was glad that they’d decided to. There was no doubt about their relationship now—everyone in town knew about it, and they’d been spotted together at several important town events.

Shep felt glad for Audrey, although he couldn’t imagine attempting to fall in love again after being so hurt by someone else. He’d always considered love to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, although he could accept that other people might be able to fall in love more than once in their lives.

I’ll enjoy hearing updates on the two of them, he thought as he carefully but swiftly worked the dough for the bear claws. I have a feeling they’re going to be great together. Evan’s a good man, but he needs someone full of life like Audrey to keep him from settling into grumpiness. Still, they baffle me. He shook his head. I can’t imagine ever being able to jump back into love like that.

He looked around his kitchen, thinking of all the mornings he’d spent there alone, not waiting for a phone call from anyone or expecting a surprise visit from his wife. It had been lonely, he couldn’t deny it. The thought of falling in love with someone else and having a best friend again was a beautiful thought, but it was a thought that, to him, seemed as fanciful and impossible as the unicorns that he’d painted onto the cupcakes.

CHAPTER THREE

Audrey stepped out onto the front porch of the mansion, her eyes on the brown paper packages that were resting in a neat stack at the top of the steps. A fragrant summer breeze ruffled her hair, and she paused to take a deep breath. The sky overhead was a majestic blue, dotted with clouds that looked as soft and comfortable as a flock of sheep taking a nap.

She picked up the stack of packages, excited to see that the sender was the bookstore that she’d recently ordered several books from. Since she’d never run a business before, she’d decided that it was time to educate herself on all of the little details that she still didn’t quite understand.

She carried the packages inside and set them on the hallway table. Using a letter opener, she pulled off the packaging surrounding the first book. She felt a thrill when she saw the thick book in her hands, and she noted with a feeling of satisfaction that it smelled pleasantly of paper. She couldn’t deny, however, that it was dauntingly thick.

This is going to be quite a read, she thought, biting her lip. When I ordered it online, I didn’t realize it was going to be this many pages.

She opened the next three packages, all of which also contained books. Each of the books was longer than she had anticipated, but she was relieved to see that none of the others were quite as long as the first one. Although Audrey enjoyed reading fiction a great deal, she hadn’t read an instructional book besides the occasional self-help book since college, and she felt a little apprehensive at the prospect of trying to take in so much information.

I’ll have to take notes, she thought. It’ll be like school again, except I’ll essentially be teaching myself.

She felt a twinge of excitement as she thought about the little pink notebook that she had resting on her night table upstairs. Michelle had bought it for her a few weeks earlier, and Audrey hadn’t known what to write in it, since she already had a diary that she was only about a third of the way through.

She took a deep breath as she looked again at the compelling, albeit intimidating titles of the books. They promised both instruction and success in business, both of which she was eager for. She opened the first book and flipped through the pages for a moment, and her heart beat a little faster as she found the sentences both fascinating and somewhat confusing.