The Baker (7 page)

“Yeah, Tom’s and mine.” Aileen nodded. “The kids’ as well, once the time comes, but I think it’s better they see for themselves and have someone to meet rather than trying to imagine what it means that their uncle has a boyfriend, not a girlfriend. It’s not a concept they’re exactly familiar with, at least not yet.”

“How?” Ian was reduced to monosyllables, trying to understand the implications of what Aileen was telling him.

“How?” Aileen grinned her mischievous big-sister grin. “Do I need to mention Bobby in your senior year of high school? Or all the boy band posters on the walls of your room? I’ve suspected for a very long time, but the lack of any girlfriends over the years sort of confirmed it for me.”

Ian’s jaw dropped.

“You may have been able to fool our parents, but I’m your big sister, not stupid.” Aileen’s grin morphed into a laugh as she rose, pulling Ian with her and right into a sisterly hug. “Love you, little brother. Always have and always will, no matter whom you end up spending your life with.”

And if this isn’t the most unexpected outcome of this mess, I’ll be in
real
trouble!

AFTER A
very late night, at least for him, by the time Aileen and Tom made it back home and he’d been able to drive back to his apartment and collapse into bed, Ian had a hard time getting up at five the next morning. But Saturdays could be busier than weekdays, and his father insisted on all employees being there on time—be they family members or hired help. And since it was his turn to be there this Saturday so Senga could have a day off, he’d better be there. By the time lunch came around and he finally had some time for himself, he was ready for a nap. Not that he had time for that. He urgently needed to talk to Matthew to find out if individual participants would be allowed in the Tartan Day competition. And if not, he hoped to convince the man to discuss it with his father, the mayor.

Half-asleep but trying to seem awake and alert, Ian dragged himself into the restaurant Matthew now owned and ran. The wide double door almost hit him on the way in, and after a few minutes in line, it was his turn to approach the hostess.

“Welcome to Tadman’s Restaurant and Bakery. How—” Katie, Matthew’s younger sister, stopped midsentence when she realized whom she was talking to. “Oh, hi, Ian!”

“Hi, Katie! Didn’t expect to see you here.” Ian grinned at the suddenly very grown-up version of the girl who had followed him and Matthew around
everywhere
when they were younger and usually up to no good.

“Well, you know how it is. Final year of gastronomy degree, needed some work experience, the one arranged by the University of Nevada fell through, etcetera, etcetera. So big brother comes through at the last moment, and here I am working off my you-know-what.” Katie rolled her eyes.

“I bet you’re glad you have him.” Ian laughed.

“Don’t tell him I admitted it, but yes.” Katie grinned, then ran a hand through her long brown hair and put on her professional face. “What can I do for you, sir?”

Ian almost collapsed laughing. In his mind she was still the ten-year-old with pigtails who was always up to no good.

Katie raised her eyebrows at him, green eyes twinkling, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Hell, she probably did.

“Okay, right. Back to business.” Ian cleared his throat. “I’m hoping Matthew is in. I need to talk to him as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, sure, he’s in the office.” Katie smiled. “You know the way?”

Ian nodded. As if she needed to ask.

“Off you go, then. See you later.” Kate dismissed him with a wink, then put on her serious face and turned toward the people waiting patiently in line behind Matthew.

Ian walked toward the door marked Employees Only, opened it, and followed the narrow hallway about halfway down to Matthew’s office door. He knocked, Matthew yelled, “Enter,” and he walked inside.

“Hey! Ian! Good to see you.” Matthew’s hair was as messy as ever, but he was wearing a dark blue suit and an ironed shirt today. “I’ve been hoping to hear from you, my dad wants to finalize the competition details for the big announcement on Monday morning. It’s been almost a week since I saw you, is everything okay?”

“Yes and no.” Ian closed the office door behind himself and sat on the visitor’s chair facing Matthew’s utterly cluttered desk.

“Uh-oh.” Matthew leaned forward. “What’s wrong?”

By the time Ian was done updating Matthew on everything that had happened, leaving out some of the details of his discussion with Aileen, Matthew was frowning.

“So your father is not giving you the secret ingredients, which is a shitty thing to do, just saying. You have no way of figuring them out, and even if you did, you can’t represent the bakery without his permission, which clearly isn’t happening. And your sisters won’t be any help because one is not on speaking terms with him, good for her by the way, after what he tried to do to her, and the other is too shy. And anyway, what you need is a united front of people who can influence him.” Matthew scratched his head.

“Yeah, but I don’t think they exist.” Ian shook his head. “I never realized how bad it is, but my father doesn’t listen to anyone.”

“Oh, I’ll bet he’ll listen to the mayor.” Matthew grinned. “We’ll have to figure out what we want my dad to tell him. As long as it fits his plans, I’m sure my dad will help. After all, you’re like a son to him.”

“Even after all these years?” Ian was stunned.

“Of course. You don’t stop loving your children just because they grow up.” Matthew shrugged. “Well, normal parents don’t. No offense.”

“None taken.” Ian sighed. “I’m only now beginning to realize how one-sided and not normal my relationship with my father has always been, and I don’t think it’s getting better.”

“Not from the sound of it.” Matthew raked his hair. “Man, him thinking he can tell you to get married and to have kids, which is a big decision, makes me mad. You’re not going to do that, are you?”

“No way!” Ian shook his head for emphasis.

“Okay, that leaves only one option.” Matthew rose and started to pace back and forth in the small office space. “What we need is individual entries, not just one per business, so you can compete with your own creations.”

“Yeah….” Ian wasn’t comfortable with that idea. “I’m pretty sure he’s not going to let me represent the bakery with my stuff though. So what that means is me having to go up against my father in an act of public defiance—at least that’s how my father will see it.”

“I agree.” Matthew sighed and sat down behind his desk. “He might even enter himself, and then you’ll be up against him, in direct competition. Are you up for that?”

“I have very little choice if I want to prove my worth as a baker.” Ian shouldn’t be this nervous; he knew that, and Cameron would definitely tell him to relax. But he couldn’t help it. He’d never gone against his father’s wishes, and even if it was high time he stood up for himself if he didn’t want to lose all self-respect, it was fucking terrifying!

“You’ll do fine.” Matthew smiled at him. “So what I’ll tell my dad is that we’d prefer it to be individual entries that can be linked to a business but don’t have to be. I actually think it’ll make the competition better because more people can join. Strictly speaking, they won’t even have to have Scottish ancestry, as long as the food they make is original, right?”

“I think that’s fair. After all, genetics have nothing to do with an ability to cook or bake certain foods.” Ian nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay, now I’m with you.”

“Great!” Matthew clapped his hands. “I’ll speak to my dad over the weekend and will call or text with his response so you’re prepared for what he’s going to say Monday morning.”

“Thanks, man.” Ian looked at his smartphone and winced. “I better get back to work, or my father is going to accuse me of sabotaging his business through absenteeism.”

“He just might.” Matthew rose and stepped around the desk to give Ian a quick hug. “You’ll be fine, I know it.”

“Thanks.” Ian wished he had half his friend’s confidence.

MONDAY MORNING,
as usual, came much too quickly. At least Ian hadn’t been needed at the bakery on Sunday, and he’d used the time to catch up on boring housework. Cameron was busy doing stuff with friends, so they hadn’t managed to connect. And the text Ian had received from Matthew late Sunday afternoon had been more than cryptic.

Ur father called my dad. Not 2 worry. All ok.

How the hell did Matthew expect Ian to relax knowing his father had gone so far as to call the mayor? What was the man planning? And of course Matthew had not picked up his phone all evening, and none of Ian’s three texts had been responded to either. Matthew must have been very busy with his wife; he tended to go offline when they spent quality time together.

Ian was at the bakery by 6:00 a.m. He switched on the ovens, pulled the dough from the fridge, and set to making the first batch of bread. Pastries were next, and for a while, he lost himself in his work.

“Morning.” Senga’s voice from the back entrance they all used outside of store opening hours pulled him back into reality.

“Good morning.” Ian looked up, grinning at Senga’s disheveled look. His little sister, even at twenty-five, was such a party girl. “Long night?”

“Hmph.” Senga took off her coat and walked toward the employee room to get rid of it and make herself some coffee. She didn’t do so well without caffeine in the mornings and was usually too late to manage having some at home.

About ten minutes later, well before they’d open their doors to the public at seven, she reappeared, looking a little more awake and wearing her white apron. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and some lipstick and mascara graced her freckled face.

“I spoke to Aileen yesterday.” Senga pulled one of the two chairs in the big kitchen close to Ian’s workspace, sat down, and stared at Ian.

“Oh yeah? Did she tell you about Tartan Day and the competition?” Ian wiped his hands, turned around, and leaned against the work surface so he could watch his sister’s reactions as they spoke.

“She did. And we talked about what he told you and how shitty it all is.” Senga sighed. “But you know there’s nothing we can do, right?”

“Why not?” Ian had been afraid Senga wouldn’t stand up to their father, not that his newest plan required it, but he was worried for Senga’s sake.

“Why not?” Senga snorted. “I’ll tell you why. First of all, Aileen has it easy. She found Tom to take care of her and is off being a mother. Second, you’re a man, which puts you in an entirely different category in Father’s eyes. But have you thought about what it’s like for me? I can’t even go work somewhere else, unless I accept some minimum wage job as a dishwasher or cleaning lady or something. All I’ve ever done was work in this bakery, but it’s been mostly in sales, not even as a baker, and I have zero qualifications to show for it. At least he let you go to college to get certified as a baker.”

“It wasn’t easy to get him to agree….” Ian trailed off when he saw the anger in Senga’s eyes.

“Yeah, well, it was
impossible
for me.” Senga shook her head. “I tried, but he told me I was a woman so I’d get married sooner or later. I didn’t need an ‘expensive’ education just to run off and have children like Aileen.”

“He actually said that?” Ian wished he’d known. Not that he believed he could have changed his father’s mind, but at least he could have been there for Senga.

Senga gave him a look full of hurt.

“I’m sorry. I never knew.” Ian shook his head and was about to say more but was interrupted by the back door opening and his father stomping inside. Snow went flying everywhere, thankfully limited to the area right around the door.

“Good morning!” His father’s voice boomed through the empty space. “I hope you’ve got everything ready. Give me a minute, and I’ll come to make sure.”

Ian rolled his eyes, and Senga pressed her hand to her mouth to stop from making a sound when she laughed. It was the same damn thing every morning. Five minutes later their father inspected the kitchen and the baked goods like a general in charge of vital military equipment. Finally he was done and turned around to face them.

“Everything seems in order.” Ian’s father nodded briefly before continuing. “I’d like to share some news with you before we start. Ian, you already know about the basics of it, but some of the details will change. The mayor will make an announcement on local radio at eight thirty, so I’ll switch on the receiver in the break room so we can listen to it. Except whoever is working sales this morning, Lucy, I think. Someone has to watch and serve the customers. But this is mostly a family matter, so that’s okay.”

Senga bit her lip but remained silent. Ian wasn’t going to debate his father’s views with him right now, so he nodded.

“The mayor will announce the celebration of Tartan Day in April, you know what that is, Senga?” His father sounded like a schoolteacher already, and he hadn’t even gone into lecture mode yet.

“Of course.” Senga looked up, almost asking their father to challenge her.

Ian suppressed a grin. One less lesson his father was able to impart, and his furrowed forehead told Ian exactly how unhappy he was about the lost opportunity.

“Hm.” Ian’s father cleared his throat and continued. “Well, not surprisingly there will be Scottish food, and a competition to find the best chef, baker, etcetera. Originally, the mayor had some strange ideas around making it about the next generation or some such nonsense, so this bakery would not have been able to compete because nobody is getting my secret recipes just to win a competition.”

“Not even if it would bring us a lot of free publicity and probably many new customers.” Ian faced his father’s angry glare with outward calm, which only deepened the man’s frown.

“So I spoke to the mayor on Sunday and got him to change his mind.” Ian’s father pulled himself up into an even straighter posture. “The competition will now allow anyone to represent a business, not just the younger generation. That will allow us to be properly represented, by me, and our best-selling goods to win the competition.”