One month later…
Rachel wrapped her apron strings around her waist, tying them in the front just above the rounded swell of her stomach. She smoothed the fabric down, glancing nervously at the large crowd that was gathered on the sidewalk outside. They only had a few more minutes before her bakery would officially open to the public. Rachel felt Jamie's arm circle her shoulders, pulling her into a brief hug.
"Everything is going to be perfect," he promised. Rachel was quite certain that wasn't true. This wasn't her first time starting a business. And opening day always came with a series of unplanned catastrophes. But she smiled anyway, trying to focus on any last minute details she might be missing instead of how cute Jamie looked in his logo bakery apron.
Looking around, Rachel had to admit she was overjoyed with how the space turned out. With some of the money she got from selling her parents' house, she repositioned and expanded the front enough to put in a dining area where she could serve breakfast and lunch. And she bought a large commercial espresso machine. Which meant that she could now sell the overpriced coffee drinks that everyone in Bozeman seemed to love. The bakery case was filled to the brim with a vast assortment of treats and desserts, including a small selection of vegan and gluten free treats that Summer helped her make. And the breakfast special was Yellowstone steak and eggs, dubbed accordingly since both items were brought in directly from the ranch. That was Beth's idea and Rachel had to admit it was a great one. Especially considering that she could sell the cooked steaks and make 4 to 5 times what John was making by selling a cow whole.
"They're here!," Dakota hollered from the doorway. Rachel smiled when she leaned to her right far enough to see that John's truck had pulled up out front. He was already out of it, shaking hands and greeting the line of people waiting outside.
John offered to help in the bakery on opening day with the rest of the family. But after Rachel almost had an aneurysm trying to teach him how to ring purchases into the Ipad, she came up with an alternate idea. John was going to be her first customer instead. Which was actually brilliant because not only was he not behind the counter driving her full crazy, a whole news crew was outside waiting for John and the other bigwigs he invited to make an appearance. He had the former governor Lynelle, who was now a senator, with him. Rachel knew Summer wasn't going to be happy about that. Especially since she was about to have to wait on them and take their order. Rachel put those worries aside for the moment. Because along with the senator, John had Thomas Rainwater, the reservation chief, with him. Between the three of them, Rachel was getting a ton of free advertising. And all of them were getting a nice little PR opportunity. And what she hoped was about to be the best breakfast ever.
"Okay," Rachel chirped, turning her back towards the door so she could face everyone inside the bakery. "Here we go! Is everyone ready?," she asked. She laughed when a large round of hooting and hollering rang out from the kitchen. And soon enough everyone inside the shop was whistling and cheering. Rachel took a deep breath before she turned and unlocked the door. Since Rainwater was there, she motioned for Dakota to join her. She hoped it would look better for him if people could see that he was supporting a business that had some reservation ties. Stepping outside, Rachel and her daughter waited until John and the others joined her in front of the door before she thanked everyone for coming and welcomed them inside.
The morning passed her by in a blur. Rachel was quite sure she'd never shook hands with so many people in her life. And she was more grateful than ever to have Jamie, a seasoned professional hand shaker, by her side. He was also the one that steered her into the kitchen despite the still crowded lobby and made her sit down and have something to eat before she passed out. The steak special looked and smelled beyond amazing. But Rachel knew she'd be sick if she tried to force that much food into her nervous stomach. She tapped at her phone as she scooped up a fork full of fresh buttermilk biscuit, checking curiously to see if any online bakery orders had been placed for the next day. Before she could log into her email, Rachel noticed there was a message from Dakota. She wondered what her daughter could possibly be texting her about, especially since she was at the bakery with her and had been there all morning.
"Oh my god," Rachel exclaimed, her eyes widening at the video that popped up when she clicked the link Dakota sent her. Monica set down the tray of sugar cookies she'd come into the kitchen to retrieve, interested to see what had Rachel so wound up.
"That's Dakota's Aunt, isn't it?," Monica asked.
Rachel nodded as she restarted the video, holding her phone so they could both watch Angela BlueThunder being cuffed and forced into a reservation police cruiser. Rachel wasn't sure who tipped off the police. She knew they reopened the investigation of her parents' death. But she didn't think anything would actually come of it. Rachel was shocked to hear what the voice on the video was saying. Angela was being arrested for tampering with evidence and bribery. The original report on the car crash that killed her parents surfaced, showing that the vehicle had been tampered with. Angela must have made that disappear somehow. Or at least she thought she did. Rachel suspected that Rainwater was after her former sister-in-law for political reasons rather than actual justice for her parents' death. But she was still going to consider it a win. Watching that haughty bitch finally get her comeuppance was satisfying regardless of the motivation behind it.
"Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better," Rachel joked, turning her phone back off and setting it facedown before she was tempted to watch Angela's arrest video for the third time. Monica laughed as she lowered herself on the stool next to Rachel, pulling the heaping plate of biscuits and gravy that Gator scooped up for her between them so they could split it.
"I hope Jamie's in as good a mood as you are," Monica said, trying not to laugh through her mouthful of fluffy biscuit. "Because Kayce said the movers he hired put a big hole in the wall near the stairs." Rachel covered her mouth as she joined Monica in her laughter.
Kayce and Monica were moving into Jamie's house with them. Something all of them were excited about. Especially Rachel, since it meant she'd have help with her son after he was born. Running a business and simultaneously caring for a newborn was going to be a challenge. But instead of just waiting a few days when the ranch hands would be free to move their things, Kayce was insisting on doing it today. Rachel suspected he was mostly using it as a convenient excuse to not spend his day in her overcrowded bakery. Which she found sort of hilarious. And the fact that the movers Kayce hired were totally inept and breaking half the shit they were hauling made it even funnier.
Rachel forced down a few more bites of biscuit, washing them down with the glass of orange juice Gator pushed at her after he flipped his latest round of steaks. She followed Monica out the kitchen door with a tray of cupcakes. And after they refilled the bakery case, Rachel and Monica took turns relieving the rest of the staff and making sure everyone got a break. The day was crazy and hectic. But it was also fun. There was a buzz of excitement in the air. And despite refilling it twice, they sold out nearly the entire case before lunch. Rachel knew that a lot of the sales were just due to people's excitement over something new. But even if sales slowed to only a third of what they were today, she was still going to need to hire more kitchen staff. And another waitress.
"Thanks for coming in," Rachel said, giving her last customer of the day the best smile she could muster up. "Hope to see you again soon."
"You'll be seeing me tomorrow when that case is restocked," the man quipped as he headed out the door with his arm around his wife.
"Lock that fucking door!," Beth hollered from behind the counter. Rachel laughed as she did just that, turning the open sign off before she let out a giant sigh. Beth brokered multi million dollar deals for a living. But she'd nearly been brought to her knees after one day of working in customer service. But now that all the annoying customers were gone, Beth was in her element. She poked at the Ipad, bringing up the total sales for the day. Earlier that morning, everyone made a wager on how much they were going to bring in on opening day. And they waited impatiently for Beth to announce the numbers. Along with bragging rights, a crisp one hundred dollar bill was on the line.
"Damn Summer," Beth huffed. "We made like five hundred bucks off your nasty dirt cakes." Carter groaned, urging Beth to hurry up and give them the total. "Okay, hold your fucking horses," she warned. Hitting a few more buttons, Beth was able to find the number she was looking for. "With the vegan crap, the rest of the case, the coffee, and the food service, we did four thousand and fifty dollars total."
Loud cheering rang out through the establishment. But since Tate just won the wager, having guessed four thousand on the dot, he was whooping it up the loudest. Rip lifted Beth off the ground and spun her around until she screamed to be put down. Jamie pulled Rachel into his arms and kissed her. Monica hugged Summer. And the kids all dog piled on top of Gator, screaming at top volume until the man shook them off and retreated into the kitchen.
"Hey!," Jamie called out, trying to get everyone's attention for just one more moment before they scattered away to do whatever cleaning duties had been assigned to them. "Everyone hang on for just a second, I've got something to say!"
Turning, he cast a pointed glance at Dakota. At first the girl seemed confused about what he wanted. But then her face lit up with excitement. She whipped her phone out, sliding her fingers around on the screen and turning the volume up so that everyone could hear the music she put on. Rachel watched Jamie and Dakota's interaction with curiosity. Whatever they were doing, clearly they'd conspired about it before today. Because Dakota seemed to know what he wanted her to do without him having to say anything.
Jamie turned his attention back to Rachel. And as he took her hands in his, she realized that the song playing on Dakota's phone was a familiar one. They danced to it in his house after their first date. But realizing that still did not prepare Rachel for what happened next. She gasped in surprise when Jamie lowered himself down onto one knee. He pulled a small box from his pocket, opening it to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring she'd ever seen.
Jamie had a whole proposal speech prepared. But his nerves got the better of him. And he found himself simply asking, "Will you marry me?"
Rachel stared at him with her lips slightly parted. She moved in with Jamie. But he'd never even mentioned marriage before today. She was taken completely by surprise. A hard kick to the inside of her abdomen loosened her tongue from the roof of her mouth.
"Yes," Rachel said, fanning back her tears with the hand that wasn't getting a family heirloom slid onto it. The ring fit perfectly onto her finger. And as Rachel pulled Jamie onto his feet, she couldn't help but wonder how he pulled that off.
Rachel yielded to Jamie the moment his lips pressed down on hers. Everything around her seemed to fade away into the background. And for a moment, Rachel felt like nothing else existed in the world. But all the cheering and catcalling quickly brought her back to reality. She'd been drifting alone in the world for so long. And as she looked around at the faces of those she'd come to love, Rachel knew she was never going to have to feel that way again. This was the family she was always meant to have.