My entire life I wanted to be a baker. I remember getting up early on Saturday mornings with my mom so we could make muffins for my dad and younger siblings before they got up for breakfast. When I was nine, I made my first cake, and by the time I was twelve, I was selling cupcakes after school to make money for clothes and more baking items. Right after high school, I attended culinary school in Colorado and then moved back to North Dakota after school to take a job with one of the most popular wedding cake bakeries in Bismarck.

As I approached thirty, I knew that I wanted more with my life than just working for a bakery. I wanted to own my own bakery. Did I know what I was doing? Not really, but I had always been a quick learner and I figured that I could learn as I went along. I happened to be reading a newspaper when I saw an ad for a bakery for sale in Harlington, a super small town about five hours from where I lived. It was risky, but I had some money put away from my inheritance after my parents passed away and I knew that they’d want me to follow my dreams.

So about eighteen months ago I packed up everything I owned and moved to this small town in the middle of nowhere and took over as the new owner of Harlington Sweets. I figured that I would make consistent sales and get that feel-good feeling every time I opened the shop in the morning. What I didn’t expect was for word to spread quickly about the new owner and people come from all of the small towns around Harlington for a taste of my small shop’s now famous cupcakes.

I even did my very first wedding cake about a year ago when Jimmy Brown, owner of the mechanic shop in Valley View and son of the biggest ranch owner in the area, married his wife Tiff Brown in their absolutely perfect country chic wedding. After that wedding, it seemed like I was always busy. I didn’t mind. I was even able to hire four other people, two full-time, and two part-time. All things considered, I’m doing great in my professional life.

“Hey Holly, I’ve got this taken care of if you want to head out for the day.”

“It’s only ten in the morning, Kathy. I told you that I would stay until Maddie comes in at 2:00.”

Kathy was my very first hire. She had worked for Mary, the old owner, for almost two decades and although she was not part of the sale, she was there the day we signed papers and I hired her right away. The best thing about Kathy is that she doesn’t bullshit anybody, she’s a straight shooter and has brought me back down to Earth more times than I care to admit.

“I know what you said, but dear the bags under your eyes are bigger than Mt. Rushmore itself. You need a day off. I’m here, I’ve got it!” I frowned, bringing my fingers to my eyes. I’m sure she was right about the bags, but I was going to avoid mirrors for a bit just to be on the safe side.

“Are you sure?” I ask her once again, wanting to make sure she was totally positive before I checked out for the day.

“I’m sure,” She said with great sincerity. “Go grab a coffee and a crescent and take the day off. Well at least until you come back tonight to start prepping for tomorrow.” She ended with a grin.

“Okay, you’re right. I’m going to go enjoy this summer weather. Thanks, Kathy, you’re the best!”

“Remember that when it is bonus time!” Kathy joked as I started to pack up the materials that I had on my work station.

“Don’t worry, I will.” I remove my apron, wash up, I gave Kathy one final look, but she shooed me away with a flip of the wrist. The bright summer sky met me as I stepped foot out the front door and directly onto Main Street. I started heading down the block to the best little coffee shop.

The best part about Harlington is that almost everything is walkable within the town. If you need anything more than coffee, a cafe, and a small general store you’re a little out of luck. But Valley View is only about a ten-minute drive and they have a greasy diner, bar, mechanic, and a little bigger general store. The bell above the door to the coffee shop rings as I walk in. I see Stacy pop her head out of the back room when she hears the bell.

“Hi, Holly! What can I get you?” Stacy, smiling like always, even though I knew she was up as early as I was this morning.

“I’ll take a caramel latte with an extra splash of caramel and a chocolate crescent.”

“Medium or large?” I give her a sideways look “Large it is!”

I gave her a nod and a smile, “You know what working a small business is like.”

“You’re right I do! I still can’t believe you get crescents from us after I tried yours!”

“Yeah, well, I prefer making cupcakes and cookies over other pastry type-items. Plus, sometimes it is nice to have something sweet that somebody else made.”

“I hear ya. I’ll get your order right out to you, Holly.” I handed Stacy the money for my order and dropped the change into the tip cup. I made my way to the corner booth that was right next to the front counter.

Being mid-morning, the coffee shop is not busy at all. I’ve been here about 6:00 am though and it is out the door busy. Everybody is grabbing their coffee before heading off in every which way to get to their jobs. Stacy makes a great cup of coffee and yum pastries! I bet if she had a drive-thru she would double her sales, but since she was landlocked in her location, that wouldn’t be an option.

A few minutes later, Stacy comes out and delivers my order to me and then takes a seat to chat. We don’t get to talk very often because we are both really busy. Stacy’s dad owns the coffee house still, but he’s getting a little too old to work too many hours. Because of this, Stacy does most of the work. Still, she was one of the first people to come welcome me when I officially moved in. I think she probably came in to see what the new competition was going to be like, but once she realized I wasn’t serving coffee or refreshments, I wasn’t competition as much as just a friend.

We’re in the middle of our conversation when the door opens again and I turn around to see a tall man, probably 6’3” at least, with dark blonde hair and hazel eyes so bright that I can see them from here. I swipe my hand over my chin to make sure I’m not drooling. I have been living here for a year and a half and this is the first time I have seen this guy. He looks over to our booth and smiles at Stacy. She puts her coffee down and begins to stand up.

“I’ll be right back!” She puts on her cheery face as she heads back behind the counter.

“Oh, take your time.” I try to sound casual, but I take a look at the tall glass of water standing just a few feet away from me while he interacts with Stacy.

“Hey, Wes! How are you today? Not sure I’ve seen you in these parts in a while.” Stacy is on a first-name basis with him, not too surprising, she probably knows most of the people in these parts.

“The ranch keeps me pretty busy. I was just dropping something off and I thought I’d get a cup of coffee before heading back to Valley View.” His voice is baritone deep with a bit of a country drawl. There are no southern accents here in North Dakota, but when I moved to this more rural part, there was definitely a little twang in some of their voices.

He orders a cup of coffee to go and as he is getting sugar and cream in his coffee he looks up at me and smiles. I smile back, but the moment is gone far too quickly before he leaves the shop. I take my cup and plate up to Stacy as she comes back out from the back.

“Thanks for the chat, lady! I should get going and not take up too much of your time.”

“We should go do something soon. I hate that we rarely ever see each other outside of work.”

“I’d love that, what did you have in mind?”

“The Watering Hole?” The Watering Hole was the name of the bar and dance club over in Valley View. It was the most popular place for people our age to hang out.

“I could get down with that.”

“How about next Friday? That gives us a week to make plans so we don’t flake.”

I laugh at her comment, but she’s totally right. We will both need to plan ahead. “A week it is! I promise I won’t flake.”

“Then it is a girl-date. Get some rest today and I’ll see you next time. Maybe I’ll grab an afternoon cupcake the next time I take off early.”

“I like the sound of that. You know where to find me!” I wave goodbye to Stacy and head back to the shop. Rather than going through the front door, I take a small passageway to the back alley which leads to the door to my apartment. I promised myself I’d get some rest today and I’m sticking to that plan.