Page 64 of Screwed
He liked the sound of that way too much.
Chapter Fifteen
Over the next weeks Callie received a couple more orders for cakes—a small wedding cake and a birthday cake. Also, she had to make Cash’s mom’s birthday cake. She had no idea what he was looking for, so she’d have to give him a call.
No, she was not making up reasons to call him again. This was legit. It was business. He’d asked her to do it. Also to plan the menu with the people at Interlude for the party. And she wanted to see if he’d heard from his dad.
He’d obviously been rattled by the news. After twelve years of not hearing a word from the jerk, it was understandable. She could tell how painful it had been for him to be abandoned by his father, although he was pretty good at hiding it. Enough time had passed that he was cool about things, but she supposed no kid would ever really get over that. So it was pretty freaky that the very next day he’d heard that shocker.
Intense curiosity burned inside her at the reasons for his father’s contact. He said his son wanted to meet his older brother and sister. That could easily be true. But why now? Was Cash’s dad just trying to appease his younger son? And what about Ginnie? How would she feel about this?
Now Callie was curious about Cash’s little sister. Ginnie was quite a bit younger than him. That was probably why she’d never met her. When Callie had graduated from college and moved back to Houston, Ginnie’d been away at Texas A&M. It sounded like they had a good relationship when he’d talked to her on the phone on Saturday. She’d seen that protective streak of Cash’s in evidence when he’d asked about Ginnie’s new boyfriend.
That protective streak that had ended in a bar brawl at the Wild Turkey.
Her heart turned over in her chest, remembering that. He was crazy, but he’d been looking out for her. She didn’t need looking after, but damn, she had to admit she’d liked it.
She consulted with the clients on the two cake orders, sketching out ideas, as well as more of the necessary evil business stuff that had to be done. The baking was the fun part of the business, but she was well aware she’d have to be businesslike about this if she wanted to succeed.
She and Kristy talked and emailed back and forth a few times, tweaking the website, getting her email running and business cards made. When a third order came in, she started laughing.
Damn. She was really going to do this.
One evening later that week, she had an experiment in the oven—cookie shots. She’d shaped the cookie dough into small cups and planned to fill them with liqueur-flavored buttercream. Hopefully it would work out okay. Then her doorbell rang. She answered the door, wiping her hands on the big white apron she’d taken to wearing.
“Daddy!” Her gaze went past him to see Beau standing behind him. Her stomach dropped. “And Beau. What a surprise.” She kept her tone cordial, but inside, her heart galloped like a horse at Sam Houston Race Park. What the hell were they doing here together?
They stepped into the house. Daddy kissed her cheek, and she greeted Beau with a cool smile.
“Feels fucking weird ringing my own doorbell,” Beau muttered.
“It’s not your house,” she snapped back. “It’s my house, remember?” Then she pulled in a deep breath, trying to stay calm. She curled her fingers into her palms.
“We didn’t come here to rehash the divorce settlement,” Daddy said. “We came to talk to you about your crazy idea to open a bakery.”
Callie sighed. “Mama told you.”
“Of course she told me. Callie, what in blazes do you think you know about running a business?”
She tried not to flinch, even though it felt like she’d been slapped. “Here we go again.” She turned her back on them and hastened into the kitchen to check her cookies, using the moment to fight for composure and blink back tears that threatened. She peered into one of the ovens. Still a minute or so left. She straightened and faced the two men who’d followed her.
Beau looked around. “Wow, this place is a mess.”
Another slap. Her chest tightened, but she lifted her chin. “Again, not your house. And I’m working.”
“Callie,” Daddy said. “I know you have your trust fund and you can do what you want with it, but I don’t want to see you throwing your money away.”
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I assume you’re using your trust fund to finance this crazy business idea.”
“No.” She shook her head and crossed her arms to hide her shaking hands. “I’m not. Not right away, anyway.”
Daddy stared at her. She ignored Beau, who was peering into a box of sugar flowers she was working on for the next wedding cake.
“You’re not?” Daddy crossed his arms, too, frowning.
“I’m not. I mean, I may need to use a little. But I’m just starting out, and I have most of what I need. I’ve had a few small business expenses, and I need to buy supplies, but that’s not like millions of dollars or something.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m setting up online, and I’ll see how it goes. If I get busy enough, I’d love to find a little retail space where I could sell my baked goods.”
