Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) (14 page)

Chapter 21

After Misty had finished working for the day, she rushed to pick up Adrian and Jennifer. She didn’t want to be late for her dinner shift at the soup kitchen. Since Jennifer’s sickening episode last Friday, Misty had been worried. She’d frantically apologized to Ms. Tweed, hoping and praying that Jennifer’s illness did not affect the director’s decision about offering acceptance into the school. Before she’d left the open house, she’d offered to buy Ms. Tweed new shoes. After spotting the Christian Louboutin logo, she figured she’d be paying for those new shoes for a year! From Ms. Tweed’s tight-lipped, forced smile, Misty felt all of her hopes and dreams had been flushed down the drain.

Over part of the weekend, Jennifer had suffered a stomach virus, but she’d been fine by Sunday. Misty had spent part of the weekend in bursts of tears. Adrian had tried to calm her down, but Misty could not be calmed. She’d ruined everything by being over aggressive. She knew Jennifer had not been feeling well. She should’ve called the school and tried to arrange for a private meeting or something, let them know that Jennifer was ill.

She knew Adrian was sick of hearing her complaining about the open house.

She’d longed to talk to Sterling about it. She’d fantasized about going over to his house to confide in him, let him know how awful she felt.

She’d seen him return home from work last Saturday, looking fine in his work pants and shirt. Looking out Adrian’s kitchen window, she’d stared at him while he went into his house. She’d craved his kindness, warmth and friendship all weekend.

When she’d attended church on Sunday, she’d started a conversation with a parent, discovering that her child was a student a Juliette’s. Misty had been ecstatic to meet another parent and after church, she’d told about her quest to get Jennifer into the prestigious preschool. The woman had been warm, friendly and kind. She’d invited Jennifer to her son’s birthday party the following Saturday. She encouraged Misty to come because there would be other Juliette parents there. She could find out more about the school and Jennifer could get to know some of the students.

Afterwards, she’d longed to talk to Sterling and she’d been disappointed when he didn’t show up to church on Sunday. When she didn’t see him before services, she’d just assumed he’d come late. But, it appeared he hadn’t come to church at all that day. She’d noticed Latisha in the church foyer, wearing her short dress, studying the crowd. Misty had a feeling that Latisha was probably looking for Sterling, too.

When she’d picked up Jennifer at the nursery, her daughter had asked about Sterling’s whereabouts. Adrian didn’t know where he was either. She’d longed to go over to his house to see if he was okay, but, when they’d returned from church, she’d seen his car was gone.

She still had mixed feelings about accepting Sterling’s offer to drive her to the soup kitchen that evening. Yeah, she wanted to see him, but, she didn’t want to be too dependent on him. After all, she was perfectly capable of driving over there herself. However, as she thought about it, he had a point. She’d hate to get mugged like Rachel and have Jennifer to see her suffering like that.

Sterling showed up on time to take her to the soup kitchen. His dark, chocolate brown eyes were like pools of warmth. He touched her cheek before they left Adrian’s house. His light, gentle touch was enough to make her swoon. While he drove, he didn’t speak. He frowned, and she figured something was going on. No need to keep wondering about it. She might as well ask him. “I didn’t see you at church last Sunday.”

He gripped the steering wheel, his mouth mashed down. Uh, oh. Last time she’d seen him so angry was when she’d asked him about his brother. “My brother got into some trouble. I had to go over to his place on Sunday morning.”

This sounded serious. “What kind of trouble?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” His curt reply gave her pause.

“Why is it that you want me to be your friend, tell you when I have problems, but, you don’t want me to do the same for you?”

He frowned, stopped at a light. “What?”

“You heard me. You won’t tell me why you have problems with your twin brothers. Why?”

“I told you, my brother hates me, literally.”

“If he hates you so much, then why did you go over there to help him on Sunday?” Misty knew if her sisters hated her, she doubted she could keep helping them. She knew it was Christian to help others, but, she honestly didn’t know if the Lord would want her to put herself out there to assist her sisters continuously if they didn’t appreciate what she was doing for them. Wouldn’t it be better to help those who truly wanted to be helped? Wouldn’t it be best to help those who understood and appreciated what you did for them? As a new Christian, she still struggled with some of these things. Heck, she would help the world if she could, but, one person could only do so much to help somebody else.

Sterling didn’t say anything for the rest of their journey. His sexy mouth remained mashed down in a tight line. Oh, no, he was mad. Well, that couldn’t be helped. He was growing on her, and she honestly wanted to find out what was bugging him. He parked, glanced at his watch. “We have a few minutes.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds. “My brother’s an alcoholic. He recently lost his job. He needs to find another job soon before he’s evicted from his apartment.”

Whoa, she had not been expecting that. “Are you going to loan him money?”

He shrugged. “I’ve loaned him money in the past but he’s never paid me back.” He then went on to tell her about his father’s death, his brother’s out of control behavior after the burial. He then told her about his father’s life insurance policy, about his dad not including the twins in his policy. He then told her his reasons for not splitting the funds yet. “I’m not spending the money on myself, but…Misty, I just feel I need to wait and figure everything out. Leon isn’t making things any easier by the way he acts.”

Impulsively, she took his hand. “I’m sorry, Sterling. I’ll be praying for you.”

He squeezed her fingers. “Thanks.”

They needed to get into the soup kitchen. They’d spent enough time in the car talking. They exited the car and Sterling took her hand. Misty immediately took note of the rough area. Broken bottles littered the sidewalk and a homeless man sat on the sidewalk, his back resting against the building. He mumbled to himself, staring at his dirty hands.

Sterling quickly ushered her inside. She followed him into the vast cooking area. Pots and pans littered the counters and a tall metal refrigerator occupied a corner. She spotted Latisha near the stove and saw a few other volunteers setting up the long, cafeteria-style tables. She followed Sterling into the kitchen. He placed a hunk of ground beef onto the counter, along with a large iron skillet. Glancing at Misty, he told her what to do. “Start browning the ground beef. There’s some onions back here that I’m going to chop. We’ll use that for our chili.”

“Hmm.” Misty stared at the pink meat, folded her arms in front of her chest.

“What’s the matter?” Sterling threw his hands up into the air, obviously exasperated. “Most of tonight’s volunteers have cancelled. There was another mugging last night. It’s just me, you and Latisha left to do the cooking and serving.”

Latisha leaned against the counter, glaring at Misty. “Why are you staring at that meat like an idiot?”

Misty bristled and the curse words she used to use before her salvation almost flew off her tongue.
Lord, help me to deal with this crazy woman.
Ignoring Latisha, she focused on Sterling. “I don’t know how to do it.”

His mouth dropped open, and he stared at her as if she were a stranger. “Huh?”

She pointed to the meat. “I don’t know how to cook the meat.”

“You’re kidding.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not kidding.”

Latisha smirked before laughing out loud. Once she’d calmed down she continued to stare at Misty. Misty found the woman’s frosty gaze to be annoying.

Latisha sported a mini-skirt and she wore high-heeled shoes. Misty rolled her eyes. Whoever heard of wearing heels while working in a soup kitchen? She also had on a tight red blouse and Misty wondered if anybody in the church had spoken with Latisha about dressing more modestly. The woman looked like she was about to go out to a bar instead of helping the underprivileged.

Sterling grabbed Misty’s hand and led her into the back of the room. “I thought you’d said you used to volunteer in a soup kitchen.”

She nodded. “I did.” She narrowed her eyes. Both Latisha and Sterling were wearing her temper down and if she didn’t make an effort to calm herself, she’d explode.
Lord, help me to deal with these two people.
“I’m not a liar. If I said I worked in a soup kitchen then it’s the truth.”

“Misty.” Exasperation filled his voice. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”

“Wouldn’t you be mad if somebody accused you of lying?”

“I didn’t say you were a liar.”

“Well, I don’t lie. I did used to work in a soup kitchen.”

“But you don’t know how to cook?” He scratched his head. “I don’t understand.”

Misty stepped away from Sterling, distancing herself from him. The light, masculine scent of his cologne made her swoon. Again, she needed to focus and not pay any attention to the deep attraction they shared. Besides, if Sterling knew everything about her, then his attraction to her would probably fizzle to nothing. She pushed the thought aside, focusing on her current predicament.

She gestured around the kitchen. “Look, the soup kitchen in Lehigh Acres wasn’t like this. People donated the cooked food and sometimes we served sandwiches. We didn’t even have a facility to cook anything.”

“Man, I didn’t realize. But, when you signed up to volunteer, you were signing up to cook.”

“What?” No way could he be telling her the truth. It sounded like he was confused.

“I’m talking about the sign-up sheet at church. This ministry is run by a group of churches in the area. Wednesday night is our church’s night to man the kitchen. You’re supposed to help cook.”

“But, the sign-up sheet didn’t say that.”

He groaned. “Yes it did. You were probably so determined to argue with me about coming here that you didn’t pay attention to what the sign-up sheet said.”

That couldn’t be true, could it? She closed her eyes, recalling their heated argument in the church lobby. Had she been so determined to volunteer that she didn’t pay attention to the specifics? “But, can’t I just help serve?”

“Look, the way this soup kitchen is set up, you’ll need to cook, at least sometimes.”

Whoa, she was not prepared for this. She couldn’t even cook for herself, let alone a bunch of people. The thought of cooking for a crowd literally made her sick.

He glanced around the kitchen, and Misty wondered what was going through his mind. “Do you know how to cook cornbread? That should be easy.”

Misty shook her head. “No. I’ve never cooked cornbread, but I can try.” Lord willing, she wouldn’t mess that up. She pressed her hands together and tried to calm down. There had to be a way to get through this evening without making a fool out of herself.

Latisha appeared and Misty wondered how long she’d been standing back there, listening to them. “Dang, can’t you cook anything?”

Misty shook her head. “No, nothing.”

Sterling frowned. “Wait a minute. Didn’t you cook while you were living at home?”

Misty shook her head. “No. When I lived with my mother, she did a lot of the cooking. My sisters cooked, too. Haven’t you noticed when you visit Adrian’s during breakfast or dinner that she’s always cooking? I’m the one who usually does the dishes and cleanup.”

“When you were living at home, what happened when your mother wasn’t there? What did you eat?”

“I’d just make a sandwich. If we didn’t have cold cuts, I’d eat peanut butter and jelly.”

Sterling shook his head, baffled. “I can’t understand how you can’t cook, at all.”

Latisha spoke up. “I don’t understand either. You’re the first woman I’ve ever met who can’t cook anything. That’s disgraceful.” Latisha sauntered away, swinging her hips.

Misty bristled, tired of the situation already. Gritting her teeth, she exited the kitchen, took her purse, and began counting out the money in her wallet. Sterling followed her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting my money together so that I can take the bus home. Obviously you don’t want me to work here with you since I can’t cook.” Her voice wavered as she struggled to calm herself down.

“Misty, I’m sorry.” He took her hand. “Calm down. I’m just a bit stressed because there’s a lot to do and we don’t have a lot of time. Look, go ahead and start the cornbread. One of the sisters in the congregation made a bunch of cornbread for tonight’s meal, but, I doubt it’ll be enough, so we should make more. The directions are on the box and Latisha and I will do the chili and vegetables. I’m sure this will work out fine.”

They returned to the kitchen and Sterling spoke to Latisha in a low tone. Soon, the two of them began working together, companionably, and Misty glanced at them, feeling left out. She then eyed the few volunteers who had finished preparing sandwiches. They were now packing small bags of toiletries to give to the soup kitchen guests. She recalled that some stores in Lehigh Acres would donate toiletries for homeless people in the area. She wondered if she should ask one of them to make the cornbread while she packed the toiletry bags. Glancing over at Sterling and Latisha, she noticed Latisha blatantly staring at her, smirking. No, she had to do this. She glanced at the huge box of cornbread mix. She then eyed the empty pan.