Second-Chance Sweet Shop. Rochelle Alers
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pieces as samples before she slid the sheet into the showcase.
Charlotte clasped her hands together. “That looks delicious.”
Reaching for a toothpick, Sasha speared a sample and handed it to her mother. “Tell me what you think.”
Shaking her head, while chewing and rolling her eyes upward, Charlotte moaned in satisfaction. “That’s incredible. The raspberry drizzle really offsets the sourness of the cream cheese. This is a real winner. And I’m willing to bet folks will ask for it again and again.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
“It’s almost seven, so do you want me to raise the shades?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes. I’m going to bring out the muffins.” While her mother manned the front, Sasha planned to bake small batches of Madeleine cookies, snickerdoodles, ginger, chocolate chip, sugar and cinnamon hazelnut biscotti. If or when they sold out, then she would know whether to increase the quantity or eliminate them from her list.
The morning passed quickly, and the chiming of the bell indicated a steady stream of customers. A few times Sasha had to come from the kitchen to assist Charlotte. She wore disposable clear plastic gloves when selecting the baked goods, and then removed them when handling money or credit cards. The transfer was rote for Charlotte, who’d spent thirty years working in food service. They both wore bouffant caps to prevent hair falling into the food.
Kiera arrived fifteen minutes early. Punctuality was a good sign for Sasha that she could depend on Kiera. “Come with me in the back and I’ll show you where you can put your things.” Kiera followed her to the kitchen, where she hung up her jacket. Sasha pointed to the teenage girl’s three-inch booties. “Do you think you’ll be able to stand comfortably in those, because you’re going to be on your feet the whole time.”
Kiera looked down at her shoes. “I can walk around in these all day.”
Sasha wanted to tell her there were times during her school day when she was seated but decided to hold her tongue. And it was apparent Kiera was very confident with the heels that put her close to the five-ten mark. Sasha was five-nine in bare feet, and whenever she wore a pair of four-inch stilettos she towered over her ex—which was a bone of contention between them when she refused to attend a formal affair in ballet-type flats.
Sasha pointed to one of the three sinks she’d had the contractor install. “You can wash your hands over there. I’m going to give you something to cover your hair because we don’t want our customers complaining of finding hair in their food. After that my mother will show you what to do.”
She discovered Kiera was a quick study. Charlotte had stayed an extra hour to show the teenager how to man the front of the shop, and by the five o’clock hour Sasha had joined her taking and ringing up orders.
Kiera’s dark eyes sparkled with excitement. “I can’t believe you almost sold out everything.”
“It was a good day,” Sasha said in agreement. And that meant she had to come in even earlier the following morning.
“What do you plan to make tomorrow?”
“Cupcakes and mini pies.”
“What about bread?” Kiera asked. “Because there’s none left.”
“I plan to always have fresh bread.” And she knew she had to increase the quantity because she wanted to donate it to the church’s soup kitchen. “It’s time for you to leave. How are you getting home?”
“Daddy’s going to pick me up. He doesn’t see patients on Wednesdays.”
Sasha nodded and remembered Dwight talked about Wednesday being golf day for doctors. “Why don’t you go into the back and get your things? And don’t forget to take the box with your name on it from the fridge.”
The words were barely off her tongue when Dwight walked in. Her heart rate kicked into a higher gear as she stared at him. Today he was casually dressed in a pair of jeans, a gray sweatshirt stamped with the US Army insignia and Dr. Martens. He’d covered his head with a well-worn black baseball cap.
There was something intangible about the single dad that pulled her in and refused to let her go when it hadn’t been that way with other men, and that included Grant. Her ex had worked overtime to get her to go out with him, and at the time it fed her ego to have a man chase her. Dwight wasn’t chasing her, didn’t even appear to be interested in her, so she couldn’t understand her reaction to him.
“How was her first day?” Dwight asked.
Resting her arms on the top of the showcase, Sasha smiled. “She’s a pro.”
“So, you’re going to keep her?” he teased.
“I’ll fight anyone trying to lure her away.”
Throwing back his head, Dwight laughed. “That’s serious.”
“She’s in the back getting her things.” Sasha sobered. “You’re very lucky, Dwight. Your daughter is a natural when it comes to interacting with the public.”
“I must admit she had some experience last summer when she filled in for my receptionist.”
“Do you expect her to work for you this summer?” Sasha was hard-pressed to keep the panic out of her voice.
Dwight shook his head. “No. If anything unforeseen comes up and my mother isn’t busy, then she’ll fill in.”
Sasha rested a hand on her chest over her tunic. “Thank you.”
Dwight gave Sasha a lingering stare, wondering what was different about her other than the hair bonnet. Suddenly it dawned on him that she wasn’t wearing any makeup, unlike the day before, which had artfully concealed a sprinkling of freckles over her nose and cheeks. Her fresh-scrubbed face made her appear natural and wholesome.
Kiera emerged from the back of the shop, smiling and holding a red-and-white-striped box stamped with the shop’s logo. “Daddy, I’m glad Miss Sasha saved some red velvet cheesecake brownies for us, because they were all sold out.”
Dwight inclined his head. “I thank you, Miss Sasha, for you being generous and thoughtful.”
Sasha, blushing, waved a hand. “There’s no need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you for allowing Kiera to work here.”
He noticed Kiera lowering her eyes, and it was apparent Sasha had embarrassed her. Even though he hadn’t spent as much time with his daughter as he’d wanted, Dwight had come to recognize a certain shyness in her. He’d noticed boys her age staring at her while she pretended not to notice them. Maybe he was biased but there was no doubt she would become a beautiful woman like her mother. And it had been Adrienne’s beauty and outgoing personality he hadn’t been able to resist. They’d begun dating in high school and married within days of their respective college graduations.
“Daddy, I need to get home and do homework,” Kiera said softly. Her head popped up. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Sasha. And thank you for the brownies.”
“Tomorrow it is.”
Dwight winked at Sasha and dropped his arm over Kiera’s shoulders. He’d picked her up from school after her last class and drove her downtown. His mother had prepared a lunch for her granddaughter to eat before she began working. Victoria Adams had declared there was no way she was going to permit her grandbaby girl to miss a meal because of a job. She’d promised to pick her up from school on the days Dwight couldn’t.
He knew his mother was overjoyed having her granddaughter close to her every day instead of a month during the summer, and occasionally when she’d accompanied him during his trips to New York. Dwight was more than aware that his mother had never approved of his marrying Adrienne, and although her daughter-in-law had made her a grandmother, even today Victoria’s impression of Kiera’s mother hadn’t changed.
Dwight pressed the remote