Sprinkled with Love

When she turned away to speak to another person, Avery placed the black velvet box holding the beautiful jewelry next to her purse. He just hoped she would keep the jewelry. After all, she deserved to wear her own creation.

*

The pies were done at last.

The eight contestants lined up behind their entries. Avery was nervous. He held his hands behind his back to keep from fidgeting. His pie looked amazing, especially considering last week he didn’t have a clue how to bake one.

Though the crust hadn’t browned evenly, the lattice was evenly distributed and the caramel sauce had really added an extra oomph. When the judges made it to him, he straightened his shoulders and waited. First they judged the pie’s appearance and a few other criteria.

And then it was time for the most important element—the taste test.

The breath caught in Avery’s throat as each judge slipped a fork into their piece of pie. And then one by one they lifted their forks and took a bite. And just as quickly each judge frowned.

“Ugh.” Ryan Henderson, a top pastry chef, frowned as he set his fork on the plate. His gaze met Avery’s. “I think you got too much salt in it.”

The other three judges nodded in agreement.

In that moment, Avery realized what he’d done wrong. He’d let himself become distracted with Jillian. In the process, he’d added salt not once but twice. How could he have let himself become distract

ed again?

As his spirits deflated, the air in his lungs escaped.

Today just wasn’t his day.

Chapter Twenty-One

With a yank, the For Sale sign was once more removed.

Monday morning, Avery trudged up to the garbage can and placed it there, for the final time. At least, the realtor had been too busy to put in one of those big wooden signs. This was just a little sign with metal prongs.

Upon entering the house, he realized he should call the realtor and take the house off the market. He didn’t know what he was thinking agreeing to sell his childhood home—his brother and sister’s last link to their parents. The memories in the house were more important than owning a ranch. At least that’s what he kept telling himself.

Rick Styles, owner of Styles Realty, answered on the second ring. Before Avery could get to the point of the phone call, Rick wanted to talk about the Bake-Off. Avery didn’t want to be rude and settled for making small talk until it seemed like an appropriate point to segue the conversation to taking the house off the market.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Rick asked, taking some liberties since he’d known Avery all of his life. “When I last spoke with you and your sister, you both seemed so certain it was the right thing to do.”

Beth didn’t know about Avery changing his mind. She was now back at school and he wasn’t ready to tell her about his decision. She’d launch into another of her long-winded speeches about how he was making all of the wrong choices with his life. Since when had their roles reversed where she was advising him on his life choices?

Avery sat down on the living room couch and stared at the mess of paperwork awaiting him. “I’ll take care of Beth.”

“But I don’t understand,” Rick said, “your sister seemed certain about this last week. I’m not concerned about the loss on the sale. I just want to make sure you’re making the best decision for you and your family.”

“A lot can change in a weekend.” Avery’s thoughts strayed back to the Bake-Off. He’d desperately wanted Jillian to end things once and for all with Glenn, but she hadn’t. And though their relationship appeared stormy, she still cared enough about the man to try and talk things out. Frustration balled up in Avery’s gut.

If she couldn’t see what a loser Glenn was, there was nothing Avery could do. She’d made her choice and now it was time for him to put as much distance between them as possible.

Maybe with time and space, he’d get her out of his system. Something told him that was more wishful thinking than anything else. Jillian was in his mind, his blood, and most of all his heart.

What did it hurt to tell Rick about his decision? Soon everyone would know. Avery leaned back on the couch. “I’ve decided not to settle down. I’ll be heading back out on the rodeo circuit right after the last round of the Bake-Off. So I won’t have time to run a ranch.”

“I see.” Rick sounded disappointed, but he didn’t push the matter any further. “It’ll take a day or two to pull the listing from the various real estate websites.”

“I understand. And thank you. I’m sorry for putting you through all of the trouble.”

“It happens. Just let me know if you ever decide to put the house back on the market. You’ve done an amazing job with the place and I think when the time is right, it’ll sell quickly.”

Avery appreciated Rick’s kind words about his remodel job. He thanked him for everything and promised that if he needed a realtor he would be the first person he called.