~TESSA~
(The following day)
It was 8:30pm.
The kitchen smelled of cinnamon and butter. Debbie had somehow convinced me to help her bake a pie.
She was at the counter, fussing with her pie crust, humming something cheerful.
I stood at the sink, rinsing apples, sneaking bites when she wasn’t looking.
“You’re a menace,” Debbie teased, smacking my hand with the wooden spoon as I reached for another slice.
I laughed, a real laugh that loosened something tight in my chest. “Hey, I’m quality-checking. You should be grateful.”
She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Sure. Remind me not to hire you if I ever open a bakery. You’d eat the profits before we even opened the doors.”
I grinned, tossing another piece into my mouth, and for just a heartbeat, I felt… normal. Like a girl hanging out wit
