“The market starts in an hour. We’d better head into town if we plan on having all of this set up by then.” Liz waved her hands at all the containers of pies, breads, cookies, and rolls she’d made.
“Right.” She took one more glance around and then locked the door behind them.
“So, do I get a cut of today’s profits?” Liz asked as Kara drove into town.
“I think you ate your share of profits this morning,” Kara joked.
“Hey, no one would blame me. Those cinnamon rolls are delish.” Liz glanced back to the back seat.
“No, you can’t have another one,” Kara said dryly, causing Liz to groan and cross her arms over her chest in a pout Kara knew all too well. “You can have some cookies after you’ve finished helping me set everything up.”
Liz smiled. “Deal.”
It took them a little while to find the booth that Cheryl had set up near the pavilion in the center of town. The middle-aged woman was one of the biggest health fitness gurus in town. She ran her own yoga studio out of her garage on the weekends and made jewelry when not homeschooling her three young children.
Both Kara and Liz had purchased many items from her in the past few years. Not once, however, had either of them known that Florence’s Jams was actually Nick’s business.
Cheryl had already set up all of the jelly and jams but there were two large tables empty just for her baked goods. Liz had brought a display case that they ended up putting the individually wrapped cookies and cinnamon rolls in.
Before they were done setting up, she’d sold three cinnamon rolls. It was repeatedly suggested that the coffee cart be moved to sit beside them next time.
An hour after the market opened, Nick strolled over. He looked tired but happy to see her.
She knew from texting him that he’d spent all night repairing the upstairs windows that had been busted out.
“Morning,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. When he just held on and took a deep breath in her hair, she smiled.
“I get the idea you need some sugar to get you going.” She nodded to Liz, who took out a cinnamon roll for Nick.
“I can run and get us some coffee,” Liz suggested.
“I’d kiss you, if my heart didn’t already belong to Kara,” Nick said with a sigh.
Kara’s heart did a little flutter just hearing those words. She couldn’t tell if it was a good flutter or the kind you got right before stepping on a carnival ride that looked dangerous but was still fun.
Liz smiled as she handed him the cinnamon roll. Then her friend took everyone’s coffee orders, wiggled her eyebrows at Kara, and disappeared.
After that, she stayed busy and didn’t have a chance to talk to Nick again. When Liz returned, Kara’s coffee went untouched until it was cold, thanks to all the people stopping by the booth.
The farmers market usually ended at one o’clock, but by noon she was completely sold out. She had a few custom orders for the next market.
“How much did you make?” Liz asked as she took out the last cookie she’d stolen before someone else stopped by to purchase it.
“I haven’t counted it yet. A lot of people paid me on my app.” She motioned to her phone. “I’ve made over two hundred dollars just in app deposits today. Not to mention the cash and checks.” She tapped the money bag that she held to her chest. “Which I’m going to deposit first thing in the morning.”
“If you’re going to continue selling at the market, you should create a business. You now, get a license, a bank account. The whole works,” Liz suggested. Then her friend snapped her fingers. “You should open a bakery.”
Kara laughed. “Right.”
“What? There isn’t one in Cedar. Not after Sunrise was closed. The place next to mine is empty and my parents own the building. I could talk to them.” Liz motioned to her parents, who were standing at the base of the Christmas tree, talking to the mayor.
Kara shrugged, not wanting to admit to her friend how wonderful that sounded. It was far too early to dream about anything other than getting through another farmers market.
The truth was, she loved her ranch and enjoyed working with the animals just as much as she loved baking. But she was beginning to wonder if she wanted to be tied to doing it each day. There was so much to do around the place. Especially with her parents gone.
“Wow, you sold out?” Nick said when he came back to the booth. He’d wandered off at one point and, seeing the bundle of flowers in his hands, she realized he’d gone off to purchase them. “For you,” he said, handing them to her. “Congratulations on being a huge success. You’re the most exciting thing to hit this market in a while. Everyone’s been talking about how wonderful your cookies are.”
Kara buried her face in the bundle of wildflowers and took a deep breath. They smelled like spring, even as the crisp cold air blew over her face.