Authors: Susan Behon
Once inside Tracy's bathroom, she got a good look at herself
in the mirror and groaned. She looked like she'd gotten into a fight with a case of powdered doughnuts and lost.
Before Reed walked back in the bakery, he stripped off his shirt, shook it out, then put it back on. He ran his hands through his hair and dusted the rest of the powdered sugar off his jeans.
Heading up front, he heard Tracy's flirty voice before he walked into the room.
“
You like that don't you, Ben? Did I blow your mind?”
Reed stormed in, praying they had their clothes on but fully
prepared to interrupt any hanky-panky. Turnabout was fair play after all. He stopped so quickly the air might as well have been a wall of glass. Tracy sat next to a euphoric looking Ben, handing him a napkin.
“
What the hell is going on here, Ben? I thought we were here for work, not…”
Tracy cut him off when she held up a cupcake. “Want to try one? It's my July special. I call it Red, White,
and Blue My Mind. Almond flavored white cake, raspberry filling, and blue swirl buttercream frosting.”
Reed was so thrown off, it didn't even occur to him to ask her about the white cake. She nudged Ben, who was starting on his second cupcake. “It rocks, right?”
Ben might have been smiling, but it was hard to tell with his cheeks shoved full of cake. The bastard definitely had a twinkle in his
eye. Reed politely took a cupcake and sampled it.
Oh damn
. It was moist, sweet, and delicious. White cake was better than yellow cake. Mystery solved.
Tracy got a good look at his clothes, which still had some traces of powdered sugar. “What happened?”
“
That cupcake was awesome.”
Tracy waved that off. “Thank you, but what happened to your clothes?” She looked past him, just noticing Sophie
wasn't with him. Her expression grew more worried and she frowned.
“
Where's Sophie?”
Reed ignored Ben, who was looking pointedly at him.
“
There was a little sugar mishap.”
Ben snorted. Reed chose to ignore that as well.
“
Sophie's upstairs borrowing some of your clothes.” He waved his hand in a vague, “whatever” gesture guys used when they didn't quite know what womanly things were happening.
Tracy rose out of her chair. “What did you do to Sophie?”
“
Nothing!”
Ben gave him a knowing smirk. “You sure about that?”
“
Seriously! The sugar got all over her dress so she had to change. Her shoe was broken too. I'm not sure what she'll do about that.”
Tracy narrowed her eyes. “Her shoe or her ankle?”
“
Shoe.” He was positive about that.
She headed out of the room muttering, “I better check
on her.”
Reed took her recently vacated seat and watched Ben watch Tracy walk away. When there was nothing left to see, Ben turned and faced Reed.
“
So, a sugar mishap, huh?”
Reed kicked his chair. “Not another word, Ben.”
* * * *
Sophie was pulling on a pair of lavender colored drawstring shorts when Tracy poked her head in the room.
She let out a wolf whistle. “Woo hoo, little mama. Now
that's sexy.”
Tracy eyed the equally baggy matching T-shirt with a critical eye. “Hmmm, but it seems to be missing something…oh, I know! How about a pair of high heels?”
Sophie laughed in spite of herself. “You just shut up!” She groaned and put her hands over her face. Talking through her fingers, she said, “God, Tracy, I think I made a complete fool of myself.”
Tracy sat on her bed and pulled
Sophie over to sit on the patchwork quilt next to her. “Tell me what happened and start from the beginning.”
Sophie blew out a slow breath. "Okay, you know I was taking inventory while wearing those evil shoes."
“
Yes, bad idea.”
“
Reed came up behind me and startled me.”
“
Uh-oh.”
“
I tripped and broke the heel off of my shoe.”
“
That's bad.”
“
Reed caught me.”
“
That's good.”
“
A bag of powdered
sugar came off the shelf and opened up on us.”
“
That's bad.” Tracy paused. “On second thought, that has possibilities.”
“
Reed kissed me.”
“
That's good! Right?”
“
Ben walked in and caught us.”
Tracy didn't see the problem. “So?”
Sophie was flustered. “He had his hands on my butt.”
“
Ben?” Tracy's mouth was agape in shock.
“
No, Reed!”
Her friend looked instantly relieved. “Oh. Okay. I have
to ask again. So?”
Sophie rubbed her temples. “You're right. That part was good. I never expected him to kiss me, but I don't regret it. Given the chance, I'd do it again. Repeatedly. It was just really embarrassing getting caught.”
“
As dear Grandma King used to say, this too shall pass.”
Tracy pulled her up to her feet and handed her a pair of flip-flops before heading out the door. Over her
shoulder, she grinned. “Think of it this way. Ben never talks so he won't tell anyone you're a little hussy!”
Sophie gave her a playful shove. “Keep it up and I'll tell Ben you like him.”
Tracy scoffed. “What? Are we in grade school now? I'd tell Reed you like him, but he probably figured that out when you were playing tonsil hockey with him!”
“
Tonsil hockey? Did you really just say that?”
Tracy went down the stairs laughing. “If the shoe fits. Oops, I forgot! You broke the shoe!” Sobering for a second, Tracy asked, “You didn't hurt yourself when you tripped, did you?”
Sophie warmed at her best friend's concern, then sighed and opened the back door. “Nope. Only my pride.”
* * * *
Reed watched in awe as Ben ate his fourth cupcake. “Man, how do you eat all that without getting flabby?”
Ben wiped his mouth on his napkin and simply said, “I run.”
“
I know you run. We run together, remember? But I've never seen you eat so much cake before.”
Ben looked away. “I run more now.”
Reed eyed Ben's tall and surprisingly still lean frame and guessed he had to be running to Thailand and back if this was the new normal for him.
* * * *
Sophie and Tracy walked in just in time to hear Ben
accusingly tell Reed, “I've looked in your freezer.”
The carefully neutral look on Reed's face and response of, “Stay out of my freezer!” had Sophie's heart beating like a trip hammer. What was in his freezer? Her wild imagination ranged from T-bone steaks to the head of his last girlfriend.
Ben smirked. “I saw your stash of cookies.”
Cookies?
Tracy nudged Sophie.
Reed defended himself. “So
I like cookies. Is that a crime?”
As long as it wasn't the head of his last girlfriend, Sophie was on Reed's side.
Ben elaborated. “Sophie's cookies.”
Reed shrugged. “Hers are the best.”
Really?
She was definitely on his side now.
Ben gave him a hardy thump on the shoulder. “You like cookies. I like cake.”
Sophie nudged Tracy back. She felt strangely giddy and all because Reed had a crush
on her cookies!
Tracy whispered to Sophie. “You go on in. I have a date with a broom and dustpan.” Sophie had forgotten all about the mess! “You don't have to do that! It's my mess, I'll clean it up.”
“
It's all my fault. Let me take care of it.” Reed had snuck up behind her again.
She could feel the heat of him against her back. His aftershave was subtle yet spicy and, as of now, her new favorite.
Sophie briefly closed her eyes and breathed in the sublime scent. She turned, gazed up at him, and could almost swear he looked proud of himself.
Was he smug for sneaking up on her again or for taking part in making the mess?
Tracy gave them both a little push. “Go on in and get started with measuring or hammering, or whatever needs done.” She winked at Sophie. “You know what we want so explain
it to the guys. I'll be back in no time.”
Reed took hold of her hand and led her toward where Ben was sitting.
“
Okay, Sophie. Tell me exactly what you want and I'll make sure you have it.”
She had to remind her hormones that they were talking about construction now. Time to get back to business.
* * * *
Reed watched Sophie from across the table. She did her best to look business-like and
composed, but he wasn't buying it. He wasn't even talking about her T-shirt /shorts combo that were so big on her that he could probably wear them.
Not that he would
.
It was her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes that gave her away. He wasn't sure if it was in response to their kiss earlier or her excitement over having her wall built, but Reed wanted to kiss her again to find out.
Somehow, she
looked just as good in this outfit as she did in the dress she had on earlier. It didn't seem to matter what she had on; she looked incredibly beautiful to him.
When she started describing the project, Sophie spoke animatedly with her hands, orchestrating her ideas while walking back and forth across the floor. Ben started the paperwork and took notes. As Reed suspected, their request for a half
wall would be a fairly simple job. The two of them could really have it done in no time at all.
Reed made some measurements so he could calculate the amount of lumber, drywall and other supplies they would need while Ben continued to jot down Sophie's requests, asking a question or so as he went. After a while, Tracy returned and added her input for the placement and height of the wall. They
stayed a lot longer than normal but after obtaining more than enough details, it was time to go.
Standing, Reed collected his clipboard and tape measure and got ready to leave. “I'll go over the measurements, supply list and such, and have an estimate ready for you by tomorrow afternoon or the day after that at the latest. If you ladies find it acceptable, we can begin work as soon as the beginning
of next week.”
Sophie smiled, then bit her lip. “Do you mean, you, as in you, or do you mean a different crew?”
Reed liked that she was asking. “Ben and I will take this project. Keith and a lot of our workers are committed to other jobs right now.”
Ben rose and shook first Tracy's hand and then Sophie's. Reed took his cue and did the same. Ben waited by the front door while Reed lingered over
Sophie's soft, delicate hand.
“
I'll probably have the numbers by tomorrow. If it's later than that, I'll call you.” He gazed into her eyes and gave her hand a subtle squeeze. “See you, Soph.” He looked over at her friend. "Bye, Tracy."
With that, they were out the door and headed to his truck.
As they watched them drive away, Tracy peered over at Sophie's thoughtful expression. "Tell me this,
my dazzled friend, how is it possible for a man to put that much heat into 'see you, Soph'?"
Sophie sat back down and continued to stare out the window. She didn't know how he did it either, but she was sure glad that heat wave was headed her way.
* * * *
“
So I assume this job takes priority now?”
Reed took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at Ben before answering him.
“
I wouldn't
say it takes priority. It's more of a side trip. Keith can handle the crew over there for a few days. Besides, being in charge will be good for him. Worst-case scenario and all hell breaks loose, we go to the site and do damage control. We'll have to work around the bakery's business hours anyway.”
“
So.” Ben smirked. “Think you can keep your hands off Sophie's…”
Reed glared at Ben in warning.
He didn't even try to keep a straight face. “…cookies? Think you can keep your hands off Sophie's cookies long enough to actually get the job done?”
"Yes, damn it! I'm a professional.”
There was no response to his declaration. Reed assumed that Ben had used up his daily allotment of words.
Reed pushed the issue. “I mean it.”
Looking far from convinced, Ben gave a slight nod.
He was going
to argue some more but gave up.
Who was he kidding?
Ben was right. Reed wanted to get his hands on Sophie's "cookies" as soon as possible.
Sophie's cookies were ready to come out of the oven. She'd brought Lucy over to her house for a visit so Sarah could get some time to herself. The bickering was reaching a boiling point. The more time her mom and sister spent together, the more they argued like an old married couple.
Lucy had a sweet tooth so Sophie brought some iced coffee and a plate of cookies out to where she was
sitting on the deck. Her mom had needed a change of scenery. Staying in the house all the time wasn't helping with the squabbling.
Too much stress could cause her to start smoking again. After much pleading from her daughters, Lucy had downgraded from regular cigarettes to vapor or e-cigarettes. Sophie didn't know if they were any better for her, but it was a step in the right direction.
It
was a beautiful day and Lucy seemed to be relaxing and admiring the scenery. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the black-eyed Susans were starting to bloom. There was a light breeze and the shade from the patio umbrella kept any heat from the sun off her. Seeming content, she drank her coffee and petted Max.
Her mom put her vaporizer down to eat a peanut butter cookie. Max sat
obediently at her feet, doing his best to look pitiful and hopelessly hungry. His big brown eyes were trained on every bite her mom took. She was an easy mark and gave up a cookie in no time. Max snapped up the treat, panted, and then smiled adoringly at Lucy. His expression changed back to pitiful quickly when he saw that there were more cookies to be had.