“I’ve got about thirty,” I admit. I know she wants more. I can see it on her face. She’s offered me a job a million times, but I keep turning her down. I feel like turning pie-making into a job will take away my love for it. Lately I’ve been thinking more about it, however. I just graduated high school, and I need to do something with myself, with my future.
Making a few batches a pies a week and making millions of aprons I pack away or give away isn’t going to make me a living. I can’t live at home forever, and I know the time is coming for me to make some decisions. I’m sure my mom and Ned would enjoy having their home to themselves.
“That’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll just sell them by the slice.”
I nod as I round the counter, bringing in the boxes and placing them in the counter. Nicole brings in more boxes while I put them away. After that, I pull a few out and place them in the display cases.
“This is cute,” Mrs. Kathy says, coming to stand next to me. She’s looking down at one of my pie boxes.
“I ordered them online and decorated them myself.” I feel a little embarrassed saying that. That I sat in my bedroom and decorated over thirty boxes with stickers and doodles. I even wrote some cute sayings on them.
“They’re adorable,” she says as the bell over the front door of the diner rings. She turns around, grabs a coffee pot, and goes to work. I shut the cooler and give Mrs. Kathy a small wave as I leave the diner, wanting to escape before the rush hits.
Nicole whistles, and I see her sitting on the bench a few stores down. I go down and sit beside her. I’m distracted by thoughts of Mrs. Kathy’s job offer.
“We forget to give one?” I motion to the pie box sitting between us. This one is decorated with small hand-drawn hearts.
“No,” A sneaky smirks pulls at her cherry-red lips. She must have put on more lipstick, because it wasn’t there when we left my house this morning after she picked me up. “You should give this one to Owen.”
I follow her line of sight across the street to the cluster of boys we went to high school with. Five of them are standing outside the hardware store. It’s pretty normal around here to see them gathered outside the place. Most of the boys live on farms with their families, so this is as good a place as any to congregate. We live on a farm, too, but ours isn’t really a working farm anymore. My step-dad retired and rents out all his land to other local farmers. Now he dabbles in random investments with other farmers to make money on the side.
My eyes scan the crowd and I see Owen is looking right at me. He’s had a crush on me since I moved to town, but I didn’t pay him any attention. There were only sixty students in our high school graduating class. Everyone dated everyone, and something about that always made me feel weird. Not to mention I was in love with someone else. Had been since I even knew what love was, so I avoided the whole dating thing while everyone else swapped boyfriends every other month. I shake my head at myself. Like I have room to judge. I’m in love with my stepbrother. That has to be weirder.
Owen is cute with his shaggy blond hair and bright blue eyes. All the girls in school wanted to be with him, and most had, if the rumors were true. You never know in a small town, though. Some rumors are straight-up lies. I’m thinking the ones about Owen with most of girls in our graduating class are true, though. Owen is nice and has manners, but he sometimes acts like he’s God’s gift to the world. I wonder if I’ve snagged his attention purely because I don’t pay him any.
I pull my eyes away from him, back to Nicole. “But I don’t even like him like that.”
“Just flirt with him. It’s fun,” she pushes.
I tap my cowboy boot, thinking about what she’s saying. Maybe I should flirt with him. Even my mom has been asking me when I’m going to start dating. I thought parents were supposed to keep you from doing that. It’s hard to even think about dating when I know my heart will always belong to someone else. It doesn’t seem fair to string someone along.
I wonder for the millionth time if Jasper dates. I’m sure he does. When he comes home every holiday, I get a knot in my stomach thinking he’s going to show up with some woman. They probably throw themselves at him. Heck, I want to throw myself at him. Only I have no idea how to do that. I don’t even know how to dress to attract a man.
“Give me your lipstick,” I tell Nicole, making her smile.
She reaches into her purse and pulls out a tube. I take it from her and put it on. I grab the glasses from my face and blink a few times, but then change my mind and slide them back on. I’ll just fall on my face without them and confirm to everyone that I have no idea what I’m doing. I really should try the contacts I have, but I feel strange without my glasses. I’ll walk over to Owen and flirt and see what happens. Practice. Like when I’m trying out a new recipe, I have to practice a few times. So when Jasper finally comes back to town, I can make sure he gets the best.