Promises Under the Peach Tree

“Maybe you ought to change that,” she challenged him, hoping it sounded as flirty as she wanted it to.

His smile widened.

Ally drew a deep breath and took a gamble.

“So...you want to come with me?”

* * *

Where were you today?

Wiping the flour off her hands onto one of Gram’s old aprons, Nina read the text from an unknown number with a Tennessee area code. She’d been baking for hours and the kitchen currently smelled like hazelnut from the batch of Linzer torte cupcakes she’d made. Gram’s old oven was bigger than modern models, and it worked as well as Nina recalled, but she still couldn’t make nearly as many at a time as she could with professional-grade equipment.

She was just starting to reply Who is this? when another text popped up on her screen.

I thought you were coming to the Harvest Fest meeting?

“How does Mack have my cell-phone number?” She glanced at her grandmother who sat at the kitchen table stirring sugar into her cup of tea.

The spoon clinked against the side a few times before Gram looked up from the newspaper.

“He messaged me about an hour ago to ask for it,” Gram admitted, shifting her raised knee on the pillows Nina had stacked on a hassock for her. “He said you were supposed to be at a meeting, I think?”

Mischief sparkled in her blue eyes as she peered over the frames of her reading glasses.

Nina sighed. “I suppose you have the number for half of Heartache in that phone.”

Gram dragged her cell closer, the purple-and-pink floral case brighter than most teenagers would carry. “Can I help it that I like technology?”

“No. But you could warn me when you give people my number,” Nina grumbled as she plunked out a message for Mack into her sleek phone, the high-tech model a “business” expense purchased by her now ex-partner. The silicone case was black with the white-and-red Cupcake Romance logo.

You said you’d give me the notes.

“I’ve missed having Mack around.” Gram took her glasses off and slid the chain off them so that it dangled freely. Then, she dragged it across Taz’s head, inciting the cat to go into full-on hunter mode to chase the chain. “Even after you left, Nina, he still came by sometimes to say hello and ask if I needed anything.”

Taz practically did a backflip trying to catch the chain, and Nina smiled to see Gram having fun with her pet. No doubt it got lonely for her here.

“He likes taking care of people,” Nina admitted, setting down her phone when the timer buzzed for her latest batch of cupcakes.

In fact, Mack had liked taking care of people so much that he’d forgotten about his love for Nina when his best friend’s girlfriend had needed comforting. Not that she was bitter about it anymore. But it had hurt at the time.

“It’s more than that, and you know it. He’s a good man.” Gram laughed when Taz managed to yank the chain away completely and fought it with all his feline-might. “Did he talk you into helping out with the festival?”

“How did you guess?” Nina slid the last two trays of cupcakes into the oven and set the timer again.

“He’s a smart man with a lot of new responsibilities. You just rolled into town with a barn full of baking equipment and too many hours on your hands.” Gram shrugged. “Wild guess?”

“You’re right and I’m happy to help, Gram, but I can’t attend a bunch of meetings where people spend hours arguing about whether to use a pumpkin or a cornucopia in the festival ads. Things like that make me crazy.” When she’d started Cupcake Romance with Olivia, they’d divvied up duties according to their strengths, with Nina doing most of the work in the kitchen and Olivia being the face of the business and keeping the books.

Then again, in that instance, avoiding boring meetings hadn’t worked out so well for Nina.

“You always did prefer to keep busy,” Gram observed, retrieving the eyeglass chain from Taz and securing it back onto her glasses. “Just like your mom and dad. It was as if a whirlwind was blowing through this house when you all came to visit.”

Nina wanted to argue that she wasn’t anything like her parents, but her phone distracted her.

Notes are on their way. We volunteered you for all the jobs no one else wanted since you weren’t there to say no.

“Seriously?” Nina started typing a protest, but she punched the keys so hard with her finger that she typed more errors than anything.

Gram tugged aside the sheer curtains at the window near the table. “Were you expecting someone, love? There’s a car coming up the driveway.”

“Really? Why would he text me if he was stopping by anyhow?” Nina’s hand went automatically to the apron ties around her waist and undid them. Then, catching herself, she refastened the tie. Damn it, what did she care what she looked like?

Just because they were going to try to forgive each other for the past didn’t mean he wanted any more from her than that. She’d been wrong to flirt with him out by the barn earlier. It was as if she’d fallen into some autopilot mode, which was weird since she’d never exhibited a flirtatious side with anyone else she’d ever met.

“It’s not a he,” Gram clarified. “I believe it’s Scott Finley’s wife.”

Bethany? Too surprised by the unannounced visit to be embarrassed at jumping to conclusions about Mack, Nina brushed the extra flour off the apron and moved toward the door.

She opened it wide to let in the fall sunshine and fresh air. Bethany Finley hopped out of a small, extended-cab pickup with a custom paint job that read Finley Building Supply. Scott’s wife still had the thick, wavy hair that Nina remembered—a distinctive feature that she’d passed on to Ally. But she was thinner now to the point of appearing unhealthy—as if eating hadn’t occurred to her for quite a while. Bethany carried an arm full of binders, her sleeveless white blouse showing how angular she looked. Spotting Nina, Bethany quickened her pace, her red flip-flops slapping the pavement as she walked.

“Welcome home, Nina.” She held out one arm and enveloped her in a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Thank you.” Nina stepped back. “I hoped to catch you yesterday when I stopped at your mother-in-law’s house, but you must have been working.”

“Always.” She gave a tight smile as she came in the house and set the stack of binders on the kitchen table. “Hello, Mrs. Spencer.” She gave Gram a hug, too. “You haven’t spoken to Ally today, have you? I thought she was going to text me an update of her plans before supper, but I haven’t heard from her since she left the house early this morning.”

Nina’s timer went off for the cupcakes and she pulled them out of the oven while Gram explained she hadn’t seen Ally since she’d driven her home from her hair appointment the day before. Nina shut down the baking operation, putting the last trays on cooling racks. She could frost everything later.

“I don’t mean to get in your way if you’re working, but I’d volunteered to bring you some of the notes on the festival.” She pointed toward the binders, her cell phone vibrating in her hand. She glanced at the screen but ignored the call. “Mack said you might be able to help out with the food?”

“Yes.” Guilt pinched that she’d blown off the meeting. “Sorry I wasn’t there today.”

“Have a seat, honey,” Gram gestured to Bethany to sit down. “You want some tea?”

“No, thank you. I can’t stay. The store is really busy this time of year and I spent a couple of hours away for the festival meeting. Scott got Mack to sub for him, but unfortunately, I don’t have a sibling to come to my rescue.” She laughed, but there was an edge to it. Aware of what she was going through with Scott, Nina wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Did you set a date for the next meeting?” Nina eyed the binders, wondering if she’d gotten in over her head.

“Next Friday at three, but if you want to go over any of the notes with me before then, just give me a shout at the store. It would be great to have some company for a while.”

There was a lonely desperation in her eyes and Nina promised herself she would visit soon.

“I’d like that, too.” She pointed toward the cupcakes everywhere. “I’ll bring some treats for you and the staff once I get them frosted. Want me to fix you one to take home?”

She tried not to eye Bethany’s thin arms while she willed her to accept the gift.

“They smell fantastic, but I just ate.” Bethany stepped toward the door. “I’m sure the staff at the store would turn cartwheels to try them, though. And in the meantime, if you see Ally, will you remind her to call me? I know Ethan Brady works over here occasionally, and where Ethan goes, Ally is soon to follow.”