Shauna

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Shauna

The smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar-filled the air as I removed the lid from the plastic tote sitting in front of me. Bursting with savory items for the two bed and breakfasts my siblings and I own and operate, I set about the task of putting a fair amount of goodies on the serving plates next to me.

Dancing on the breeze created by the hard-working air conditioning, the delicious smells wafted out of the kitchen into the homey dining room area. I know that Auntie is somewhere near and will smell the delicacies soon.

She makes me laugh at her antics when she catches a whiff of what I've got for her. Blowing softly, I dislodge the wisps of hair that have escaped the messy bun I put it in and are now caressing my face and get back to work.

Setting the table with the china and cutlery unique to the design of the house, Millie stopped her task, closed her big hazel eyes, and breathed in the fragrant air. Damn, that girl can bake; now it's time to sample the sweets and add a little more cushioning to the backside. Smacking her rear for good measure Millie Johnson-Doogal, younger sister to Shauna's mother, abandoned the table settings and sashayed out of the dining room in search of sugary sustenance.

Silently creeping over to the white swinging door that connects the dining room to the kitchen, I open it and smile at my niece's back. Cut-off jeans, black high-top Converse tennis shoes, and a colorful shirt tucked in at her trim waist, as usual. Not too different from my own casual attire - bright blue and neon coral tennis shoes, casual jeans and a fitted t-shirt with 'Carole Did It' printed on the front.

Her long curly dark brown hair liberally infused with natural blonde highlights is coiled on the top of her head in a sloppy chignon and food service gloves covered her café au lait hands.

Sniggering quietly to myself, I plan my surprise. Moving like Stealthy Smurf until I reach her I whispered in her ear, "Shauna baby, you know you don't have to bring these pastries over every morning, don't you?"

She jumped and gasped in shock. Grabbing her chest covered by her hot pink 'Make Cake, Not War' t-shirt she spun around, her chocolate brown eyes as big as saucers.

"Auntie Millie, don't do that," Shauna chastised her aunt. "I almost dropped the box of cinnamon rolls, bear claws, and other stuff I was putting on the cake plate." I picked up the platter I used for the B&B guests as the self-service for their continental breakfast and tilted in Auntie's direction. "That would have been a disaster," I huffed affectionately.

Taking a deep calming breath, I whipped off the gloves and gave Auntie a big hug, the smile on my face causing the deep dimples to pop out on both of my cheeks I'm sure.

Letting her go, I turned around, drew on new gloves, and continued the task of plating the savory and sweet goodies in an appetizing manner.

Speaking over my shoulder to my effervescent aunt, " And I know that I don't have to bring these over here, but since I was baking the specialties for the shop anyway, it's easy enough to add a little more flour and sugar to the mix. It is a nice treat for the guests and it means that there is less for you and Aunt Posey to have to cook. I mean, running the bed and breakfast for us is hard enough so we want to help when and where we can."

Auntie stepped back over to the center island and stood next to me. Bumping her with mine she smiled her pearly white toothy grin at me.

Then she grabbed some plastic gloves to help me with the pastries. The smell of cinnamon assaulted me once again senses, making my mouth water, and my stomach rumble in protest of its empty state.