hugged her best friend for her thoughtfulness. “Thank you.”
“ Not a problem. Let's get the rest of these cookies arranged, then finish up with the rest of the baking.”
* * * *
They were both running a brisk business today. Some customers picked up their completed bulk party orders. Others came in for a sweet treat to eat in or take home.
Then, there were the gossips who came in to see if a wall was really being built in the bakery. They loitered overthe partial construction, wanting confirmation that Darlene Donaldson was telling the truth.
Most only wanted to know if Reed Sutton was the one building it.
It must have been a slow day for the Madison Falls grapevine if a new wall was considered titillating. Elaine Newman bought one lemon chiffon cookie and nibbled on it slowly in the hopes of gleaning a clue about the status of Reed and Sophie'srelationship.
Sophie was tired and irritable and doing her best to answer questions about the construction and ignore anything too personal. It was getting a little ridiculous. She just wanted to sell cookies. And sleep.
Reed showed up at eleven thirty to pick up his mom's order. Elaine must have done a superior job of gossiping about them because all eyes were on their interaction. Did theythink they were going to tear each other’s clothes off and go for it on the hardwood floor?
If the biddies thought they were going to get an eyeful, they were sorely disappointed. Reed took the order boxes, nodded at the patrons, then said, “Thanks. See ya, Soph.” Disappointed that was the extent of their exchange, Elaine Newman shoved the rest of her cookie in her mouth and left with her entourage.
By that time, Sarah was there to relieve her. Sophie wearily made her way up to Tracy's apartment, thinking the whole way that she really did need to hire someone. Buying a thank you lunch for her sister was added to her mental to-do list. She'd invite Tracy too. Sophie would think of a way to thank Reed later.
By noon, she was blissfully horizontal and sound asleep on Tracy's couch.
Chapter 10
“ What do you mean there's no meeting today?” Reed may have asked that in a voice a tad too loud for the denizens of the Madison Falls Town Hall, but he couldn't believe his ears. This had to be a mistake.
The flustered young receptionist with the tight auburn bun pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and checked her computer screen again. “I'm sorry, Mr. Sutton, but there isn'tanother MFLIC meeting until Tuesday, the twenty-ninth.”
“ Tuesday, the twenty-ninth? That isn't a regular meeting time is it?” Knowing it was futile, Reed asked the next question anyway. “So, there is no one from the MFLIC here?”
“ No, sir.”
“ No one at all?” This didn't make any sense.
“ No, sir.”
“ Are there any other meetings here today involving Dot Sutton?” His last ditch thought was thathis mom ordered the cookies for a different meeting.
She tapped a few more keys. “No, sir. I'm sorry. Maybe you could call her?”
The annoyed woman turned away and tried to look busy typing, effectively tuning out Reed and any more of his questions.
* * * *
Sophie was going to be seriously pissed off and Reed didn't blame her one bit. He had to fix what he could while she was still sleeping.Before he did that, he had to get some answers from the only person who had them. Reed went to the source and called his mom.
Dot answered on the third ring. “Hello, Reed. How are you?”
“ Hey, Mom.” He got straight to the point. “I have a question. Did you order cookies from Sophie Brandon?”
“ Yes, I did, dear. Why?” She sounded surprised by the question.
“ Why? Because I'm sitting at the townhall with fifteen dozen cookies and no one here to pay for them.”
There was a slight pause as if she were trying to gather her thoughts or God forbid, get her story straight. “Reed, why are you delivering cookies? Shouldn't you be at work?” Dot sounded mildly
“ Not a problem. Let's get the rest of these cookies arranged, then finish up with the rest of the baking.”
* * * *
They were both running a brisk business today. Some customers picked up their completed bulk party orders. Others came in for a sweet treat to eat in or take home.
Then, there were the gossips who came in to see if a wall was really being built in the bakery. They loitered overthe partial construction, wanting confirmation that Darlene Donaldson was telling the truth.
Most only wanted to know if Reed Sutton was the one building it.
It must have been a slow day for the Madison Falls grapevine if a new wall was considered titillating. Elaine Newman bought one lemon chiffon cookie and nibbled on it slowly in the hopes of gleaning a clue about the status of Reed and Sophie'srelationship.
Sophie was tired and irritable and doing her best to answer questions about the construction and ignore anything too personal. It was getting a little ridiculous. She just wanted to sell cookies. And sleep.
Reed showed up at eleven thirty to pick up his mom's order. Elaine must have done a superior job of gossiping about them because all eyes were on their interaction. Did theythink they were going to tear each other’s clothes off and go for it on the hardwood floor?
If the biddies thought they were going to get an eyeful, they were sorely disappointed. Reed took the order boxes, nodded at the patrons, then said, “Thanks. See ya, Soph.” Disappointed that was the extent of their exchange, Elaine Newman shoved the rest of her cookie in her mouth and left with her entourage.
By that time, Sarah was there to relieve her. Sophie wearily made her way up to Tracy's apartment, thinking the whole way that she really did need to hire someone. Buying a thank you lunch for her sister was added to her mental to-do list. She'd invite Tracy too. Sophie would think of a way to thank Reed later.
By noon, she was blissfully horizontal and sound asleep on Tracy's couch.
Chapter 10
“ What do you mean there's no meeting today?” Reed may have asked that in a voice a tad too loud for the denizens of the Madison Falls Town Hall, but he couldn't believe his ears. This had to be a mistake.
The flustered young receptionist with the tight auburn bun pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and checked her computer screen again. “I'm sorry, Mr. Sutton, but there isn'tanother MFLIC meeting until Tuesday, the twenty-ninth.”
“ Tuesday, the twenty-ninth? That isn't a regular meeting time is it?” Knowing it was futile, Reed asked the next question anyway. “So, there is no one from the MFLIC here?”
“ No, sir.”
“ No one at all?” This didn't make any sense.
“ No, sir.”
“ Are there any other meetings here today involving Dot Sutton?” His last ditch thought was thathis mom ordered the cookies for a different meeting.
She tapped a few more keys. “No, sir. I'm sorry. Maybe you could call her?”
The annoyed woman turned away and tried to look busy typing, effectively tuning out Reed and any more of his questions.
* * * *
Sophie was going to be seriously pissed off and Reed didn't blame her one bit. He had to fix what he could while she was still sleeping.Before he did that, he had to get some answers from the only person who had them. Reed went to the source and called his mom.
Dot answered on the third ring. “Hello, Reed. How are you?”
“ Hey, Mom.” He got straight to the point. “I have a question. Did you order cookies from Sophie Brandon?”
“ Yes, I did, dear. Why?” She sounded surprised by the question.
“ Why? Because I'm sitting at the townhall with fifteen dozen cookies and no one here to pay for them.”
There was a slight pause as if she were trying to gather her thoughts or God forbid, get her story straight. “Reed, why are you delivering cookies? Shouldn't you be at work?” Dot sounded mildly
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