It felt like a spark.
I was dreaming of icing.The kind that poured perfectly from the bowl and melted the second it rolled across a warm cinnamon roll. I had perfected it years ago, but for some reason, I still dreamed of the perfect pour. If I could get the pour to go right, then the whole day went right.
It was just facts.
But my dream was interrupted, something disturbed the melting sugar and pulled me out of my slumber until my heart raced in my chest. I sat up straight in my bed and ripped my sleep mask off as my ears tried to discern what I was hearing.
Pounding.
Wood rattling.
My front door.
“Coming!” I called, throwing myself from my bed, stumbling on the floor as I shoved my bare feet into my slippers. “Hold on!”
The pounding stopped as I weaved down the stairs with my oversized sleep shirt hanging off one shoulder. My hair was pinned up in a bandana, and I cringed when I caught a glimpse of myself in the hallway mirror on my way to the door.
I hoped whoever it was didn’t scare easily, because I was not at my best.
I glanced at the clock on the wall and paused before opening the front door.
Three am.
Who on earth would bother me in the middle of the night?
“Goldie!” A familiar deep voice echoed through the wood of my front door, “It’s Tanner. Open up.”
Any hesitation or reservation I had about opening my door in the middle of the night, looking like a fool, vanished as I threw the locks and opened the heavy door. “Tanner,” I squinted against the bright red and blue lights flashing behind him in my driveway. “What on earth is going on?”
His eyes raked down my body as I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hide the way my shirt did little to block the cold air, assaulting my bare nipples underneath. “Goldie,” He cleared his throat. “Go get dressed, I need you to come with me.”
“What?” I stammered, clicking the porch light on so I could see him better and that was when I realized he was in hisuniform, dripping wet, standing on my front porch in the cold early spring air. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Honey & Hearth.” He said solemnly as he put his hand on the wood of my door and stepped inside. “It’s flooded.”
His words hit like ice water over my neck, and my stomach dropped, nausea rolling through me. “No.” I whispered, stepping forward. “No, no, no.” I went to go around him, like I’d be able to see my bakery from across town, proving him wrong, but he wrapped his arm around my chest and pushed me back gently into my warm home.
“Goldie, get dressed. And I’ll take you over there.” Tanner said, and I hated how sad he looked.
I hated how broken his voice sounded as he kept up the farce.
“What—” I shook my head and took a step back, breaking the physical contact. “I don’t understand, it’s not even raining. How did it flood?”
“The sprinklers malfunctioned.” He closed the door behind him and clicked the light switch on the wall, bathing us in soft light from the lamp in the living room behind me. “We got dispatched with the fire department from the automatic alarm system in the building. They’re working on getting the sprinklers off now. I’ll take you down.”
“I—” I pressed my palms to my forehead, still grappling with what he was saying as sleep faded from my body.
“Just get dressed, Goldie. We’ll get it all squared away when we get down there. Just go get dressed.”
I turned and walked back into my bedroom on autopilot as his words played on repeat in my mind. I pulled fresh clothes on in a rush and tore my bandana down, letting my wild curls free before putting them up in a clip as I ran back out to him.
Even through the panic in my heart, part of me noticed how tired Tanner looked, wet and dirty, standing there in the softglow of my living room. “Can I get you a towel, or a drink, or something?” I asked, sliding my feet into my sneakers.
A soft, almost sad smile crossed his features, warming something inside of me as he put his hand on my arm, guiding me toward the door. “Even in a crisis, you’re trying to take care of everyone else, Goldie.” He took my keys from the hook next to my door, which I had completely forgotten about, and turned to lock my door for me. “I’m all set.”
I smiled at him, through my turmoil, because his steady confidence seemed to hold me together when my mind was telling me to break down. He led me to his cruiser, and I didn’t argue or try to reason with him as he led me to the passenger seat and helped me in.
With the same steady confidence, he took the seatbelt and reached over me, buckling me in as I sat frozen in place, unable to even process the bare basics in my shock, but it didn’t matter. Because Tanner took care of it.