Ryan's Love - C.A. Harms Page 0,3

had finally ebbed, I had to admit I wasn’t all that sad. Kevin and I had lost our spark; the relationship had become boring and predictable. Still, I wanted to make him suffer. After all, he made me look like an idiot! Plus, I was tired of our mutual friends looking at me so pitifully. So with no other attachments keeping me there and a lease that was up, I decided to pack up and move to Montana. I needed a fresh start, far away from everyone who continued to look at me as “that poor girl.”

My grandma died of acute liver failure a few months ago. I barely knew her because we lived so far away from each other and because of my mother. When my parents divorced about fifteen years ago, Mom decided to travel at the expense of the many men in her life. She always had a new one. It was so hard to keep up with them all. Having a relationship with her own mother wasn’t something she valued, so knowing my grandmother was a pleasure I was not given.

Grandma left the bakery to my mother, who had no intentions of keeping it and saw it only as a means for more travel money, which disgusted me. I might not have known my grandma that well, but I knew she loved her little slice of heaven. Thankfully, my mother never got around to selling the place.

When everything fell apart with Kevin, I started to reevaluate my life. I had attended culinary school and once upon a time enjoyed cooking and baking for others, but over the years I had truly forgotten the joy I had once taken in it. Instead, I had spent the last eight years working for a shitty boss at a local restaurant.

My cousin Alena was the one who had reminded me of the bakery in Montana. She was traveling throughout Europe with a few friends, and I was cooped up in a life I despised. So after calling my father, knowing he would do whatever I asked, I now owned Helen’s Bakery.

Now, before you think my father is a saint, let me clarify. I rarely hear from him and have no idea where he is half the time. When my parents divorced, he moved to New York and seemed to forget he had a daughter back in Chicago. He would throw money my way to make himself feel less guilty for abandoning me, but he never truly took the time to get to know me.

Both my parents are selfish and put money ahead of family. Mom wouldn’t part with the bakery without some sort of financial benefit, so calling my father to pay her off gave them both what they needed to feel good about the transfer—and themselves. My mom got her money, and my father was willing to pay for the next ten years of guilt-free avoidance.

Problem solved, and I was rid of the entire disaster that had become my life. It was now time to make those necessary changes. I had spent the first twenty-five years of my life doing what others wanted me to do. Now it was my time.

***

I arrived at the bakery only to find a dusty and neglected building. It was in desperate need of some love, but all I could do was smile, even while standing in the midst of the worn interior. This was my new beginning, my chance at a fresh start, and nothing was going to dampen my joy. What some may have labeled as a disaster, I called perfection.

The apartment above the bakery was adorable. Though it was tiny and outdated, it was mine, dammit, and I saw nothing but potential. I had spent the last two hours carrying box after box up a flight of stairs. Thank goodness it was already furnished for the most part and I didn’t have to lug in any large pieces of furniture, except for two beds. Carrying up appliances or an overstuffed couch would have been impossible.

By the time I was done, I was dirty, sweaty, hungry, and riding along the edge of exhaustion, but I still couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.

My cellphone rang in my back pocket, and I dropped the small box onto the kitchen table and quickly retrieved my phone before it went to voice mail.

“Hello?” I said breathlessly.

“Hey, sweetness! What are you up to?”

It was Bailey, my BFF who was more of a sister than a friend.