SOUL TIES (The Sánchez Brothers Series, Book 1)

CHAPTER 5 : DEBBIE

I stayed silent and drove straight home without uttering a word. We both went to our respective rooms to bathe, change clothes and whatever else. Donning denim dungarees shorts with nothing underneath, I shook my head in humor as I thought of what Sara would say with that judgemental tone if she saw me standing in such a scandalous outfit with Kayla present. She'd probably say something along the lines of "No debes usar ese tipo de ropa cerca de Kayla. Esto es muy inapropiado." I scoffed at the thought. Like I could seduce my 8-year old daughter. Another reason I didn't jump at the chance to get chummy with Sara. She was very judgemental and hypercritical.

Kayla was already waiting for me when I got to the kitchen. She was very enthused for the cake and I chuckled at her jumpiness. Her excitement was making me excited and I had to let out a breath to calm myself down. Damn, it was just a cake. A cake that my daughter had specifically requested.

"The ganache will be white chocolate." I said as I hurled out my new baking pan. I had purposely gotten shiny pans, dark pans absorbed more heat and were very likely to burn the crust. My momma told me that once while she was grocery shopping and she made the best sponge cakes I'd ever tasted.

Kayla drummed her fingers on the kitchen island in giddiness. "Mama, I don't care. As long as it's chocolate, I'm good. I really lo-." The ringtone of my phone cut her off and I jerked my head towards the living room. She got the hint and ran to get it. "It's Nana."

"Ohhh, answer it then." After all, the only reason Sara ever called is because of Mikayla. Absorbed in measuring out the butter, I only heard a few words from my chattering daughter before I zoned out. Nelly would be coming over the next day to stay with Kayla so of course, I had to put her belly into account. She'd have my head if I didn't. After that, I measured the other ingredients I needed and put them in separate bowls. It'd been ages since I last baked a cake so the occasional spills were expected. I wasn't sure of how much time passed but Mikayla strolled back into the kitchen when I was beating the butter.

"Nana said she made me cake but we already left before she could give it to me."

I shrugged nonchalantly and deadpanned. "Bummer."

Mikayla climbed the kitchen stool and dropped my phone on the island. "She said she didn't make almond cake this time."

I paused the mixer to add sugar to the soft butter. "What did she make this time? Chocolate?"

"Nope. Red velvet cake."

I coughed to cover the snicker that was at the tip of my tongue. I loved the fact that I wasn't the only person making mistakes. "Alright then." I nodded in satisfaction and turned off the mixer when those tiny bubbles appeared in the batter. I'd successfully creamed the butter and sugar.

"Can I break the eggs for the cake?" I took a few seconds to consider her request before nodding slowly. To prevent shells from getting into the batter, I gave her a bowl to break them in.

"Honey, I don't know how good your egg-breaking skills are, so you'll do it in this bowl first. We wouldn't want a bird nest in the cake, would we?" She chortled as I handed her the bowl and eggs. "Careful there, sweetie." I chuckled under my breath when she bit her lips in concentration as she started the task. "Yeah, that's it. You're doing it just right."

After mixing everything in the batter, I greased the pans and shooed Kayla away when she tried to touch it. I let her pour the batter in it though, even spread it in the pans with an offset spatula.

"Why aren't we putting the pan in the oven yet?" She whined and I rolled my eyes in humor.

"Bebe, I'm preheating the oven. Calm your tits down." Speaking of tits, mine had been poking out since I started beating the butter. I tried tucking my nipples behind the dungarees straps without staining the denim with my buttered hand but gave up after a few tries. They'd just have to stay out in the open till I put the baking pan in the oven and wash my hands.