Chapter 34
Chapter 34
When she finished her breakfast, she turned to go upstairs and found Declan sitting at the table behind her with Harlan and Connor. His gaze flicked up to meet hers, his expression unreadable. Tessa looked away, passing their table without a word. She climbed the stairs, wondering how long he’d been sitting there.
Back in her room, she changed into a shirt she didn’t mind getting flour and cinnamon all over. Then she spent the afternoon making
babka with Natasha.
They sat at the workbench, drinking coffee while the dough went through its first rise. Tessa asked Natasha about growing up in
Poland and listened to stories about her brothers and sisters, her
parents, her family’s farm.
“I sort of grew up on a farm, too,” Tessa said. Her maternal grandparents had owned a dairy farm, and she’d grown up just
down the road from them. She’d started working on the farm very young, doing the fun stuff like bottle–feeding calves. By high school, she was milking before and after school, planting alfalfa hay in the spring, baling the hay in the fall, and doing all the other messy, backbreaking tasks necessary to keep a small farm afloat. Even after moving away, she’d still worked on the farm when she came home to visit. But grandpa passed away five years ago, and Tessa’s mom
and uncle sold the farm.
“Ah, this must be why I like you so much,” Natasha told her. “Farmers are a special kind. Hardworking p>
They commiserated over the endless, exhausting, glamourless work of farming. Natasha told Tessa more about her first few years in Longtooth, and the ways she’d struggled to adapt.
“It does not happen overnight,” she said, and Tessa knew she was
Chapter 34
referring to their conversation from a few nights ago.
Tessa shrugged, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. Natasha’s situation had been so different from hers. She’d come here as a wife, tied to the Valley by love and by law. Tessa was just here because of a job–a job that she could do anywhere, and that could be done by anyone with the certifications. That transient feeling wasn’t helped by the fact that she lived in a hotel. She reminded herself that plenty of locals lived at The Spruce–Declan, Jess, Elena, Connor, and Max. But their situations were different from hers, too. They lived in The Spruce because they were single and worked in town. But they had family all over the valley–parents and grandparents and siblings whose houses they could visit, eat at, stay at, any time. All Tessa had was her little room.
If she could find what Natasha had found, maybe she’d feel more welcome here. More wanted. Immediately, Declan appeared in her mind’s eye. She shoved him away. She didn’t need that humiliating reminder. Her chest still felt cracked. Nobody had ever looked at her the way Arthur and Natasha looked at each other–and she didn’t think anybody was ever likely to. Even the guys in Longtooth who’d made no bones about their interest in her–Adam, Connor,
Isaac–only looked at her the way a golden retriever looks at a
hamburger.
“There is going to be another party this Saturday,” Natasha said
suddenly. “You might have heard–for Linnea and Roland Teague’s
twentieth wedding anniversary p>
Tessa remembered Linnea mentioning something about it at school
a couple weeks ago. Linnea hadn’t asked her to come, so she’d assumed, with a mixture of hurt and relief, that she wasn’t invited. She realized now, that simply mentioning the existence of a celebration might be construed as an invitation in Longtooth.
“Roland’s a Teague and Linnea’s an Ankkonisdoy, so between the two of them, they’re related to almost everybody. It will be a big party. You can meet the rest of the Valley p>
Chapter 34
Tessa swallowed the anxious little whine trying climb out of her throat. If she wanted to stop being treated like a temporary visitor, she was going to have to suck it up and start socializing. If only she could meet the rest of the Valley in small groups, rather than in a huge crowd. But that wasn’t feasible. So a crowded party it was.
“That sounds great,” she lied cheerfully. “This Saturday p>
“Yes. There will be music and dancing and drinks and I’m making a cake. A very big cake.” Natasha got up to fetch the ceramic bowl with the rising dough from its warm spot next to the oven. She pulled the towel back to check on it. “Ah, here we are.” She brought the bowl over to Tessa. “See–twice as big. Now we punch it back down, and we shape it. Go on p>
Tessa did as directed. Surprisingly, the anxiety about the upcoming party had faded away to nothing after that initial spike. She worked
the dough, enjoying the satiny feel of it, relaxed and unconcerned. A
little while later, they had a piping hot cinnamon babka cooling on a
wire rack.
“Whenever you want to bake, just let me know,” Natasha told Tessa
as she cut thick slices for them and spread them with butter. “You
can use the kitchen any time p>
When they’d finished eating, Natasha wrapped the remainder of the
babka up and made Tessa take it to her room. “You are not so unhappily skinny as when you first arrived,” Natasha told her, pinching the back of her arm. “But you could still carry a little more weight, I think p>
Tessa smoothed her hands over her hips. She was getting happier
and happier with her shape, but she didn’t disagree with Natasha.
“Don’t worry,” Tessa said. “A few more weeks of your cooking and
I’ll have to switch to elastic waistbands p>
Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.