Free Live and Lime Die: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 8 by Summer Prescott

replied, pleading with her eyes.
    “Yes
it is, honey. I’m proud of you,” she stood and pulled Tiara into a hug, her
tears a mix of pride and pain.
    Pulling
back and wiping her eyes, while Bernard watched the interaction, downing his
pie, she asked, “When do they want you to start?”
    Her
daughter got quiet. “As soon as possible,” she tried to break the news gently.
    “Oh.
My.” Marilyn sank back down into her chair, a hand at her throat, taking it all
in.
    “I’ve
already shown the letter to my landlord, he’s agreed to let me out of my lease,
and the company will pay for my move, I just have to schedule it,” her
ever-responsible daughter said. Seeing her mother’s stunned look, she knelt by
her chair.
    “It’s
the one, Mom. This is what I studied for, this is what I’ve been waiting for.
You understand that, right?” she asked softly, needing her mother’s approval.
    Marilyn
nodded, unable to speak for a moment. “Of course, sweetie. I’m happy for
you…I’m just going to miss you so much,” she admitted, slow tears rolling down
her cheeks.
    “I
was thinking about that, actually,” Tiara took a breath. “I’ve put some figures
together, based upon property costs and operating costs out there, and if you
wanted to, I think that you could successfully move SubLime Sweets to
California,” she suggested, biting her lip.
    Marilyn
was speechless. The thought of Tiara moving away hadn’t really ever occurred to
her, even though she knew that eventually it would happen, but the thought of
picking up stakes and starting over at her age…well that was more than a little
bit overwhelming. Bernard put down his fork, chewing slowly and watching for
her reaction.
    “Oh
my,” she said, at a loss for words. “Well, you’ve certainly given me plenty to
think about,” her mother murmured.
    “Well,
in the short term, the things that you need to know are what changes are going
to be taking place here, in my absence,” the ever-pragmatic young woman pulled
a sheet of paper out of a folder that she’d brought with her. “I anticipated an
offer coming in for this position, so I planned ahead. Kelcie has been taking
business classes, and has a great feel for what’s going on here in terms of
budget and projected growth, so I’ve promoted her to manager, to take my place.
That means you needed a new baking assistant, so I went through the old
applications from when we hired Kelcie and hired a new assistant, who’ll be
starting to learn the ropes on Monday, so that when I leave, everyone will be
trained and it’ll be a smooth transition. I’ve already started training
Kelcie,” she said, closing the folder.
    Once
again, Marilyn was overwhelmed. “I have a new assistant? Who?” she asked,
blinking.
    “Tim.”
    “Tim??”
    “Tim,”
Tiara looked at her mother pointedly. “He’s more than capable, and I’ve tried
his pies – they’re amazing. You two will be a formidable team,” she promised.
    Marilyn
stared at her daughter, mouth agape.
    “Well,
I know it’s a lot to take in, and I’ve apparently interrupted the detective’s
visit,” Tiara smiled apologetically at Cort. “So, just take a couple of days to
collect your thoughts, and we’ll sit down and talk,” she hugged her mother and
left quickly before she could formulate a response.
    Marilyn
looked over at Cort, who reached for her hand.
    “For
what it’s worth,” he said, caressing her palm with his thumb. “I’d be much
happier if you didn’t move to California.”
    She
stared at him, too overwhelmed to speak.
    “But
I’ll support your decision, even if what makes you happy takes you away from
me,” he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
    **
    Marilyn
leaned her head on Cort’s shoulder and watched as her only daughter embarked
upon her journey to start a new life in California. Her tears flowed freely,
not just because she already missed the sassy blonde, but because she was so
darn proud that her baby had