Free The Baker's Man by Jennifer Moorman

dropped everything on the table except an envelope mailed from the coast. Anna shoved her finger beneath the flap and ripped open the letter. Torn pieces littered the floor. She yanked out the folded contract. It smelled briny, and it warmed her cheeks. The faint sounds of rolling ocean waves and crying gulls filled the room. She pictured the boardwalk and glittering sand blowing across her toes.
    A smile broke across her face. She lifted onto her tiptoes and bounced up and down. Then she twirled across her small kitchen, holding the contract high in the air like a baby doll dance partner. Her front door opened, and the scent of ripe cherries burned her nose. Anna barely had time to haphazardly shove the contract beneath a cookbook on the table. Half of it stuck out and hung off the side.
    “What on earth are you doing?” Evelyn O’Brien asked.
    Anna stepped in front of the dangling contract. “Mama,” she said breathlessly, “you should knock. I never barge into your house without knocking.”
    “I have a key. Why would I knock?” Evelyn moved a book from the chair cushion and sat. “Besides, what would I interrupt? A baking session?” She smiled at Anna. “Come and sit. I have exciting news.”
    Anna dropped onto couch. “How’s Daddy?” she asked. “He didn’t come by for his cookies this afternoon.”
    “He’s finally agreed to let me redo the kitchen. I had him looking for a specific tile this afternoon. But you’ll never guess who called me today. Charlotte Clarke.” Evelyn paused for emphasis. When Anna didn’t fill in the silence with a response, Evelyn huffed. “The Clarke House? She’s selling it. She knows you’ve always loved it, and she’s agreed to let you make an offer first.”
    Anna leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees. Her heart pounded too hard. She’d been in the Clarke House only a handful of times during the years, but she had seen it in her dreams. It was a magical place, a yellow and white gingerbread house nestled among pink dogwoods, wild roses, and lavender. “Is this a joke?”
    “Tessa is representing Charlotte as her realtor,” Evelyn said. “You’ll make an offer, of course. Opportunities like this are rare, and you could finally move out of the bakery.”
    Anna’s mouth was as dry as if she’d thrown a handful of flour onto her tongue. “I like this apartment.”
    Evelyn laughed and smoothed her hands down her gray slacks. “This is a shoebox, honey,” she said. “This isn’t a place you live in forever. I think Baron would love the Clarke House too. It’s big enough for a growing family.”
    Melancholy slipped into the room, swirled around Anna, and settled beside her on the couch. She stared at the contract swaying off the table. “Baron was offered a job in California, and he’s moving,” Anna said, unable to look at her mother’s expression.
    Evelyn sat up straighter in the chair, displacing the air in the room like an approaching tornado. The contract flapped against the edge of the table, and Evelyn glanced over her shoulder at the sound. “You’re going to leave Mystic Water? You can’t. You belong here.”
    Anna’s heart punched out a panicked rhythm. Had her mother somehow found out about the job offer in Wildehaven Beach? Keeping secrets from her mother was nearly impossible. She had eyes and ears everywhere. Nothing was ever too secret to be kept from Evelyn O’Brien. Anna opened her mouth to explain, but her mother stood and paced the living room.
    “I know you love Baron, but how could he ask you to leave? He has a perfectly good job at the firm here. What’s in California that he can’t do here? This is your home. This town needs you.”
    The room stunk like cherries forgotten in a summer sun. Anna stood and rubbed her stomach. She felt nauseous and clammy. “He didn’t ask me to go.”
    Evelyn’s eyes widened. Her pink, glossed lips parted, but nothing came out. Then she pressed her hand to her collarbone. “Oh,