A Child's Gift. Linda Warren

and he knew now that was never going to happen. The Wiznowskis were a tight-knit family and she would never go against them.

      He’d never thought much about love until he came to live with the Rebel family. He’d loved his great-grandma. Familial love he was familiar with, but the man/woman thing eluded him. After what he’d been through, he never thought it would happen for him. He saw all the Rebel boys fall in love and get married. As he watched all that happiness, he began to yearn for something of his own. A family of his own.

      He was afraid he would never be able to feel the emotion. Or even recognize it. Not many women wanted to spend time with a man who had a scar across the side of his face, wore a long ponytail and had been in jail. He was used to that, until he’d met the lady at the bakery. She smiled at him, treated him nicely and made him want to go back just to spend a few moments with her.

      Then one day he went in late to the bakery while Anamarie was closing up. She quickly pulled the shades down and locked the door. He was confused and thought he should leave until she said she’d saved some kolaches for Pete, Egan’s dog. Then she offered him a glass of iced tea and they began to talk. As she was talking about her day, the rubber band around her topknot broke and her long hair had tumbled down around her. She’d laughed and immediately tried to put it back up, but he’d stopped her.

      People tended to ignore her, but when he’d looked into her blue eyes that day, he received a jolt. The bright blue reminded him of the sky and what lay beyond. He figured God had checked out on him a long time ago, but that day he knew Anamarie was as close to heaven as he was ever going to get.

      Love was that precarious thing all the Rebel boys talked about, but they had a hard time recognizing it. So he was surprised he could actually label his feelings: he loved her. Looking into her eyes, he saw it bright and clear. He had no idea how it had happened. He liked talking to her, being with her, but he never had the courage to tell her how he felt. And now he never would. Some things just weren’t meant to be.

      He glanced back at Dusty who was sound asleep in the car seat. Luckily Rico had two car seats in the back. He kept Egan’s kids, Justin and Jordan, on date night.

      He would weather this like all the other heartaches he’d been through. But he had to admit this cut a little deeper because it had taken a little piece of his heart.

      ANAMARIE DROVE AROUND for a little while to cool down. If she went home, she was afraid her whole family would be there with their opinions of what she’d done. It was her decision and she wasn’t backing down now even if her family begged and pleaded, which she knew they would do. No one wanted to go in at three in the morning to make kolaches. Since her mother had gotten older, the responsibility had fallen onto Anamarie’s shoulders. There was only so much Anamarie was willing to take, though.

      Riding around she realized what she was doing: avoiding a showdown. Time was up. She had to stand strong. She drove into the driveway of her home, her very own home. When Angie had come home from Temple with her daughter, Erin, she’d bought the house to keep their mother from controlling Angie’s and Erin’s every move, a decision that had infuriated their mother.

      Later Angie had married Erin’s father, Hardy Hollister, and she’d put the house on the market. Anamarie had decided then it was time for her to move out of her parents’ home. Of course, her mother had fought it all the way and there was tension for several months until her mother had accepted it. It had been a lifesaver. She had her own space and peace and quiet.

      Parking in the garage, she made sure to put the door down, and went inside to wait for the onslaught. It didn’t take long. Angie was the first to arrive, then the twins, Patsy and Peggy, and then Bubba. Her dad was the last to trail in.

      Everyone talked at once like angry birds chirping in her face and Anamarie wanted to scream. She raised her hands and said, “Let me make this clear. I am not going back. Someone else will have to make the kolaches from now on. I made this decision and I’m not changing my mind.”

      “Who’s gonna do the baking then?” Patsy asked.

      “How about you?” Anamarie countered.

      “Me! Most mornings I have to be at the shop by eight. There’s no way I’m going in to make kolaches. I didn’t like it when I had to do it and I’m not doing it now.”

      “Don’t look at me,” Peggy said. “I have the same schedule as Patsy. And I do have a boyfriend, you know. I don’t want to spend my extra time in the bakery.”

      Peggy was dating Stuart, the deputy. It was getting serious.

      Everyone looked at Angie. “Oh, please.” Angie rolled her eyes. “I’m not leaving my family before three in the morning to make kolaches.”

      Anamarie thought about her family and how the situation would affect them. She hated that she had a soft heart, but she was well aware of how her family used her.

      Her eyes centered on Bubba. “Do you realize how hard it is on me when Margie doesn’t come into work? I have to do everything myself and it’s really stressful.”

      Bubba shifted in his chair. “We were up late and she forgot to set the alarm clock. Sorry, sis.”

      “And that’s okay?” She lifted an eyebrow, letting some of the anger show in her voice. “You’re supposed to be a responsible adult, but I don’t see much of it when you let your sister do double the work.”

      “Come on, sis. You know you love that bakery.”

      “That’s a cop out, Bubba.”

      “Okay, I’ll do better.”

      “I don’t care if you do better. It’s too late. I’m not going back.” She looked around at their anxious faces. “Has Mom told you why I’m not going back?”

      “She said you left the bakery with no one there to help the customers and when she called you on it, you were very rude and walked out.” Patsy was very quick to quote their mother.

      Anamarie shook her head. “Oh, no, that’s not what happened.” She told them about Dusty and Jericho. “She was upset because I was with Jericho and that I let Jericho into the bakery before six. She forbade me to see him or to let him into the bakery before opening. She said she owned it and I had to do what she wanted. That’s what happened.”

      “You’re seeing Jericho?” Patsy high-fived Peggy. “Now that’s a story. When did this happen?”

      “Don’t encourage her,” Bubba said. “Mom doesn’t want her seeing him and it’s causing trouble within the family.”

      Anamarie laughed. “A typical momma’s boy. You won’t marry Margie because she’s been divorced and that’s frowned on by the Catholic Church and your momma. You’re weak, Bubba.”

      “Wait a minute.” Bubba got to his feet with a scowl. “Why are you picking on me?”

      “Because you’re controlled by your mother. We all are,” Anamarie told him. “Well, as of today, I’m not. I plan to see Jericho anytime I want and that means someone has to open the bakery and make the kolaches.”

      Willard, their father, stood. “Anamarie, why don’t you come over to the house tonight and talk to your mom. Everyone else has jobs they need to go to and I’m sure you and your mother can work this out. You know she tends to say a lot of things she doesn’t mean.”

      There it was. The guilt trip. This time it wasn’t working. “You mean you want me to apologize. Like always.”

      “Well, you know how your mother is. She’s bullheaded and overreacts about everything. Take some time to cool off and come talk to your mom.”

      She shook her head. “No. I’m not doing that this time. I’m serious.”

      “That bakery is your life,” her father reminded her and that made