Winning the Baker's Heart

Chapter 8

Kyle knocked on the tidy green door of the modest two story house. Even though it was still in town, he could hear crickets because of how quiet the street was. Daluca's Pass wasn't a large town so everyone knew everybody, but it was spaced out so everyone had some privacy.

They'd worked quietly after Rey had left. In the two weeks he'd been there, the youngest man had livened things up. He didn't talk much, but his skills made things easier. Yes, they'd gotten more orders, but they could manage it if they worked as diligently as they had recently.

Several customers had told Kyle about how brave Rey had been standing up to Louisa Ryan. Since she'd started working at Regan & Son's ten years ago, she had been a nightmare. Even her judge of a second ex-husband hated trying her cases. She thought she was better than everyone even though she had just as much schooling as her fellow attorneys.

Many others had known Stewart Truman when he and Mia had been married. An outstanding ornithologist and later architect, he had designed the community hospital and had won the bid to build it where it didn't endanger any of the wildlife in the area. Kyle had just left for school when they had started breaking ground on the new location. He had never officially met him, but Stewart and Mid had still been married when he'd returned. Rey must have been a toddler at the time.

He remembered finding out about their divorce. They'd done it quietly. One minute Stewart had been in town and the next he was gone. The only reason anyone had found out was because it was in the legal section of the newspaper. It had shocked everyone because they'd seemed so loving. Even the most loving relationships could end though.

The front door opened. Kyle could smell peppers and onions cooking as Mia Truman before him. She wiped her hands on a dish towel as her big brown eyes softened. She was still wearing her pediatrics scrubs with dancing bears on her pink shirt.

"Kyle, what can I do for you?" she asked. She swatted at a mosquito as it buzzed by her ear.

"Hey, Mia. Sorry to intrude. Rey left his bag at work today. I'm just dropping it off," he said.

"Come on in." She stepped aside so he could come through the door. When he was safely out of the sticky heat, she closed the door behind him. "It's hotter than blue blazes out there."

Kyle looked up the stairs. "Is he okay?"

Mia motioned him into the kitchen. While she went to stir her vegetables, Kyle sat at the counter. She passed him a bottle of water then went back to her cooking.

"Has Rey told you?" she asked.

Kyle nodded as he took a drink. "He told me this weekend. Is it hereditary?"

"My father was bipolar. He took his own life when I was fourteen. I don't want Rey to feel ostracized as he did. When he started showing signs, I took him to Little Rock to a specialist. Stewart met us, and we made the decision to put him on medication."

She paused as she glanced up at the ceiling. Rey's room must be above their heads. Kyle glanced up as well but he could only see the smooth ceiling panels.

"He hasn't been himself in the last couple of days. He usually sleeps until noon on Sundays. He was making breakfast when I got ready for work," she said. She added steak to the vegetables and mixed it all around the pan. "He's been showing signs of mania this week. I don't know what happened."

"Louisa Ryan made some unsavory comments about your ex-husband today. It may have sent him over the edge."

Mia slammed her wooden spoon in the pan. "That woman needs to shut her mouth. I know more things about her than she would want exposed. We went to high school together in Biscoe. I know too much. She needs to leave my child alone."