Brayden, Melissa: How Sweet It Is

Molly beamed and snapped Jordan playfully with the towel she carried. “I did. Who did you think made it?”

She rubbed her arm. “Ouch. Mean. For real?”

“Yes, for real. Why do you doubt me?” She pointed to the little girl on the logo above the counter and then back to herself. “Flour child. Nice to meet you.”

“I remember this place being good, but not this good. Have you sold your soul for baking secrets? Is that what’s happened here?”

Molly slid into the chair across from her and rubbed the back of her neck. She’d probably been up since o’dark thirty, which made Jordan feel a little sheepish for the nine hours she’d just stolen. “That would be a better story, but no. The truth is that I’ve been experimenting a bit. Tweaking some of our older recipes and developing a few new ones. With all the Starbucks popping up like Whack-a-mole, we have to step up our game, and even that hasn’t been enough. When the newest store opened right at the edge of town, our morning traffic took a real hit. Take a look around.”

Jordan did and a sinking feeling came over her at the implication. Only the one other table was occupied. Her voice was quiet. “So are you in trouble?”

“We’ll be all right.” Molly smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Jordan sensed that wasn’t the whole truth. While she was worried, this didn’t seem like the moment to push. Instead, she changed the subject.

“How’s the new house working out?”

“Well, it’s not exactly new, which is kind of the problem. Turns out ‘charming older house’ is actually code for ‘hope you like home repairs.’ The newest casualties are the shutters. It’s quite tragic.”

Jordan quirked an eyebrow.

“I had a jumper.”

“No.”

“Yes, and don’t look so horrified. Don’t think I don’t know when you’re making fun of me. I think I taught you how.”

Jordan laughed. “I forgot that part.” A pause. “I could fix it for you, you know, if I thought you’d be eternally grateful. Maybe we could negotiate a back alley cinnamon roll agreement of sorts.”

Molly studied her curiously. “Back alley cinnamon rolls I can do, but since when do you know anything about home repair?”

Jordan raised her shoulder and let it drop. “You can learn a lot on a movie set. One of the perks.”

“Apparently. But I don’t want to pull you from your much-needed R and R. I thought that was kind of the point of your whole sabbatical back here.”

“Yeah, among other things. But it’s either help you with your tragic shutters or shuffle papers for the dueling doctors at the clinic. I need to stay busy, and I’m thinking the shutter thing sounds pretty good. Plus, I enjoy the sun time. I look good in a tan.”

“Done. Hired. In return, all the baked goods you can eat.”

“So incredibly dangerous.”

“My middle name.” They shook on it and Molly stood. “Maybe day after tomorrow? In the afternoon?”

“Cool. I’ll get the address from my parents.”

Molly headed back to work and Jordan lingered, nursing the last of her coffee. She felt lighter somehow and she thought she knew why. Life as she knew it had a way of changing quickly. She rarely worked in the same place from day to day, let alone the same city. Producers, directors, budgets, and even the women she dated came and went. It was nice to know, however, that some things didn’t change. Molly was still the same kindhearted, whimsical girl she was when Jordan was nine years old and her family first moved to town.

Molly and her father had lived several houses down for their growing up years. She remembered the day they’d first met vividly. She’d lost control of her soccer ball and chased it down the sloping street, losing ground as she ran. There’d been a teenager in a driveway washing a car. She’d stepped ahead of the ball just in time, stopping its progress. The girl popped it into her hands with her foot, smiled widely, and handed the ball back to Jordan. “I think you lost this.”

Jordan, still breathless from her pursuit, grinned up at the girl with the light brown ponytail and halter top. “Thanks. Do you live here?”

“I do. This is my house. And I’m guessing you must be the new neighbor I saw moving in.”

Jordan nodded eagerly. “We got here yesterday from California. My name is Jordan. What’s yours?”

“Molly. Nice to meet you, Jordan from California. I’m sure I’ll see you around. Take it easy on that ball, okay?” She waved once and went back to washing the car. But Jordan wasn’t quite ready to leave her new friend. So far in Applewood, she’d yet to lay eyes on anyone younger than her parents.

“Hey, um…need any help?”

Molly considered the offer, then reached into the bucket and tossed an extra sponge her way, dribbling water across the driveway and a little onto Jordan. “You can take the right side if you want.”

She dropped the ball in the grass and eagerly went to work on making the blue Volvo shine. For whatever reason, she wanted to impress Molly, and it seemed to work.

Once they finished drying, Molly walked around the car and stood beside her. “Wow. Nice job, kiddo. I’m guessing you’ve done this before.”

“I help my dad sometimes. He’s a doctor.”

“Cool.”

“So’s my mom. I might be too one day.”

Molly nodded. “Ambitious. I’m gonna have some lemonade. Want a glass? You’ve earned it.”

“Definitely.”

They sat in Molly’s front yard drinking their lemonade and trading stories about Applewood and California. Jordan was having the best time and felt incredibly worldly hanging out with her new, older friend. Molly was pretty cool, she decided easily. She may like this place after all. “So what’s school like here?”

Molly considered the question. “Pretty laid back. I think you’ll like it. I’m going to guess third grade?”

“Fourth. What about you?”

“Tenth.”

“Like my sister.”

“Oh yeah?” Molly seemed to perk up at this new information.

And just the mention of Cassie seemed to conjure her up. “Jordy!” she yelled as she jogged up the sidewalk.” Mom’s been calling you for the past ten minutes. It’s time for dinner. You need to come home.”

“Hey,” Molly said, standing.

Cassie paused. A slow smile formed on her lips as she stared. “Hi.”

And that was the moment Molly stopped being hers.

She wasn’t complaining. At least not entirely.

Cassie and Molly had connected from that first moment, and she believed that things had worked out the way they were supposed to. They’d been friends first and started dating late in their junior year. All three parents were concerned at first and even held a few meetings, but as time went on, they grew to accept Cassie and Molly for what they were. The perfect couple.

But none of that changed the special place Molly had in Jordan’s heart. She’d been a gentle influence on Jordan over the years, listening when she needed advice and never judging her too harshly for some of the poor decisions she’d made as a teenager. Instead, she’d talked things out with her in a way no one else would. Pointed out how the things she did and said affected others.

Molly had meant a lot to her and still did.

Yet another thing that hadn’t changed.

Chapter Four

The next day was about as beautiful as they came. It was April, and in Applewood that meant an even seventy-one degrees with a pleasant breeze moving the trees in delicate patterns. Jordan looked forward to spending the next hour or two outdoors. Already she could tell it was going to be a great day. There was just something about it.