My Angel is the Centerfold
Chapter 4
Carol glanced at the clock as the back door of the bakery swung open and slapped shut. The loud noise was followed by Wren and Sophia's high pitched laughter. The sound made Carol smile, despite the fact that she was starting to worry about River. The errand River left to run shouldn't have taken her more than an hour. And it was going on two and a half hours that she'd been gone. If River left to go anywhere during their work day, she was always back before school let out. That way one of them could watch the counter while the other one made the girls an afternoon snack and got them started on their homework.
"Where's my mom," Harley asked, poking her head out from inside the kitchen and glancing around the bakery lobby.
"She had to run to the supply store," Carol explained. Harley nodded, moving forward and snagging a large chocolate chip cookie from the display case.
"I got softball practice in a half hour… Want me ta make tweedle dee and tweedle dumb sandwiches before I go?," Harley asked. Carol smiled at the girl. She came off like a typical moody teenager. But Carol noticed right away that Harley was mature beyond her years. With her dad missing in action and her mom forced to spend much of her time working to support them, Harley had been responsible for her younger sister since she was younger than Wren and Sophia were now.
"I'd really appreciate that," Carol replied, giving the girl a soft smile. "Thank you, Harley."
Harley stuffed her cheeks with the remaining chunk of cookie as she wrapped an arm around Carol's shoulders. She pressed a crumb coated kiss to her cheek. "I gotcha Momma C," she chirped. "I'll make sure they get started on their homework too."
Carol brushed the crumbs off her cheek as she stared after the young woman, wondering what had her in such uncharacteristically high spirits this afternoon. Carol fought back laughter as she heard Harley hollering through the kitchen at the younger two girls with excessively colorful language. Sophia's soft squeak of a voice followed the flurry of curses. You just said the F word! And then Wren's high pitched squeal of laughter when Harley announced that Sophia was about to hear a lot worse if she didn't quit jacking around and get started on her fucking homework. Carol knew most mothers might object to such brash language being used around their children. But Sophia had been subjected to much worse than the F word in her young life. And Carol knew Harley wasn't cursing in anger, the way Ed used to, she was doing it to make the younger girls laugh.
The soft tinkling of the bell above the door drew Carol's attention. And she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw River finally walking in. Her relief quickly gave way to amusement when Carol noticed the woman was empty handed.
"Where's the fondant?," Carol asked, expecting that River drove all that way and then forgot what she went there for in her car outside. That would be a typically River thing to do. She had a funny way of being completely reliable and a total airhead at the same time.
"Oh," River sighed. "They were out."
Carol raised a brow at her friend. She had a hard time believing that a large commercial bakery supply store had run out of basic baking supplies. In fact, she didn't believe that at all. And River's eyes looked puffy and red rimmed, like she'd been crying. The sleek ponytail she left with was now a messy lopsided bun on top of her head. Something happened to her.
"River, is everything okay?," Carol asked, her voice rising in concern. River didn't answer the question one way or the other. She just shrugged her shoulders and promised Carol she'd explain later. Carol nodded. Whatever caused her obvious distress, River clearly didn't want the girls hearing about it. Carol watched as River paused outside the kitchen doorway, plastering a giant smile on her face before she headed in to greet the girls.
"Who wants twenty bucks?," River asked, causing the girls to stampede in her direction for the offered cash prize.
The little bell on the bakery door jingled again, drawing Carol's attention away from the commotion in the kitchen. Carol offered the entering customer her standard greeting. "Hello, Welcome to Babycakes." This greeting usually came with a smile. But hers quickly faltered as she narrowed her eyes at the man that just pushed in through the door. He certainly didn't look like their average bakery customer. His motorcycle was parked just outside the storefront window. Carol probably would have heard him pulling up on it if the girls weren't being so loud. But as it was, he surprised her. His light brown hair was short, but still shaggy in appearance, like it was growing back from a bad at home clipper job. And his plaid button down shirt was missing the sleeves, putting his muscular arms on full display.
There was no denying that he was an attractive man. Just the sight of him had Carol instinctively sucking in her stomach. But still, she watched the man with suspicion as he moved across the lobby and approached the counter on the opposite side of the bakery case. Carol didn't know what River's ex-husband looked like. But she knew he was a biker. And this man bore an obvious resemblance to River's older daughter, especially the color and shape of his piercing blue eyes.
"Can I help you with something?," Carol asked, eyeing the man with suspicion. Her eyes darted nervously between him and the phone on the countertop before they settled on the large shop broom she'd been preparing to sweep the lobby up with before the girls rushed in.
"Where's River at?," the man asked, ignoring her question. His tone and body posture were casual and relaxed as he rounded the corner of the large glass case. The man leaned forward and peeked inside before reaching his unwashed hand into the case and grabbing a vanilla cupcake.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?," Carol asked. She reached back, getting a firm grip on the wooden handle of the large shop broom. Pulling the broom off the wall, she gripped it in both hands and lifted it slightly off the floor. She wasn't swinging it yet. But the threat was obvious.
The man eyed Carol's petite form and the wooden broom handle in her hands with curious interest. He was close to half a foot taller than her and outweighed her by at least fifty pounds of what looked like mostly muscle. And from the amused grin that was spreading across his face, it was clear that he wasn't scared of Carol or the makeshift weapon in her hands. He peeled the wrapper down from the cupcake in his hand and took a bite. A bit of white frosting smeared across his lip. Carol might have been slightly distracted by it. Because when he darted forward and snatched the broomstick from her hands, she didn't even see him coming. One moment she was holding the broom. The next, the man was leaning it against the wall behind him and favoring her with another smirk.
Before Carol could react, she heard Wren squealing behind her. "UNCLE D!," she shrieked, darting past Carol and throwing herself into the man's muscular arms. He hugged Wren back, lifting her up off her feet and holding her tight. When he released his hold on the girl, Wren immediately began asking him a tirade of questions, not waiting for an answer to a single one of them before she asked the next. Where have you been? Are you coming over for dinner? Can I go for a ride on your bike? Will you take me fishing this weekend?
"Yup," he replied, wrapping his arm around Wren. His answer made Carol want to laugh. Especially since she wasn't sure which question he was asking and didn't think he knew either. He took another bite of the cupcake in his hand as Wren dragged him into the kitchen with her. Carol stayed where she was, ignoring the way his eyes met hers before he rounded the corner and disappeared behind the wall.
River's voice rose with excitement as she greeted the man. And Carol scrubbed her face with her hands, beginning to feel more and more embarrassed about her little stunt with the broomstick. Carol heard the girls mention an uncle a few times. But she had no way of knowing that's who the man was when he entered the bakery. When she pictured a fun uncle that taught the girls how to fish, the man that just arrived wasn't exactly what she had in mind.
River was the first to emerge from the kitchen. Her cheeks were pink and she had a big smile on her face. "Daryl," she hollered. "Get out here! I wanna introduce ya to my friend!" There was a loud thumping raucous in the kitchen. And a moment later, Daryl stepped out. Wren was hanging off one of his arms. And he had Sophia slung over his other shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey River," he teased. "How many kids ya got again? I think I found a stray back there!"
Carol fought back a small jolt of fear. Her instinct told her she should object to a strange man touching her daughter. But she could hear Sophia giggling as Daryl swung her body back and forth. Wren was laughing and climbing up his side. They were only playing.
"This is my brother in law Daryl," River said, shaking her head and fighting back laughter. She wrapped her arm around Carol's slim waist. "This is Carol. She's running the bakery with me now. And she's my roommate," River explained.
Carol felt the blush rising in her cheeks. It was how proud River sounded when she made their introductions that got to her. Carol couldn't remember the last time someone made her feel like they were lucky just to be associated with her. She watched as Daryl shook his arm free from Wren's grasp. There was a smear of frosting on the side of his finger. And he stuck his finger in his mouth to lick it off before he reached for her hand and grabbed it.
Carol knew she ought to be disgusted. But instead, she felt a warm tingling sensation everywhere his skin was touching hers. "Roommate huh?," Daryl repeated. He held onto Carol's hand a moment longer, giving her the same smirk he gave her earlier when he snatched the broomstick away from her. Then he turned his attention to River. "Where am I supposedta stay if ya got a roommate?," he asked.
River tossed her head back and laughed. "I dunno Daryl," she teased. "Maybe at yer own place since yer a grown ass man?"
"But no one makes me cupcakes over there," he countered.
"You can stay in my room," Harley offered. She moved forward, grabbing Daryl's free hand and tugging slightly on it. "Wanna come to my softball practice?," she asked. And when Daryl nodded his head affirmatively, Harley squealed like she was no older than Wren and Sophia. Carol had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
"Go git yer bag and shit," Daryl suggested. "We can ride over on my bike."
Harley didn't need to be told twice. She darted back through the kitchen to retrieve her things. And with her out of the way, Daryl was able to lower Sophia down off his shoulder and onto her feet. He ruffled up her hair. And then he began placating Wren, who clearly wasn't happy that he was leaving to spend time with her older sister instead of her.
"I'll come over fer dinner after Harley's practice," he promised. Wren nodded, hugging him one more time before she reluctantly headed back into the kitchen to finish her homework. Daryl was able to exchange a few more words with River before Harley reappeared and rushed him out the door.
Carol watched through the window as he threaded his strong arms through the sleeves of the leather jacket he lifted off the seat of his bike. He climbed on first, holding the bike steady as Harley climbed on behind him. Once his niece had her arms around his waist, Daryl fired the bike up and flew out of the strip mall parking lot without a helmet to be seen on either of their heads.
"He's Merle's brother?," Carol asked. She turned away from the window, immediately fighting the urge to roll her eyes when she saw the mischievous grin on River's face.
"He sure is," River confirmed. "...and ya know he's single, just in case you were wonderin'..."
"I wasn't," Carol replied, ignoring River's high pitched giggles. The truth was, she'd been married so long, she hadn't even started thinking about men that way again. The idea of trying to date one was terrifying. Let alone what might come after the date. No man wanted to see her stretch marks, especially one that looked like that. Even when she was young and in her prime, Carol was never the type of girl that men noticed.
"Men are nothing but trouble anyway," Carol added. River laughed again. And this time, Carol laughed along with her.
"Ya just keep tellin' yerself that," River suggested. "If ya say it enough times, maybe I'll start believin' it too."