23. Lennon
Chapter twenty-three
Lennon
The past two days have been insane. After my breakdown and whatever that was with Hayes, he has been perfect. He is still apologizing for leaving, but I had already forgiven him before he got home. I thought with my history that I would hold onto some resentment, but we talked about it, and we both saw where the other was coming from but didn’t know how to work through so many emotions.
I’m currently sitting at the desk in Hayes’ home shop, watching Travis work and going over an email from my graphic designer. Since I majored in journalism, and minored in English, I self-edited my book, but I needed to contract out for the cover. I’m blown away by the two options that were sent to me. I shoot an email back with my choice and close my laptop and put it back in my bag.
“Ready to go?” I jump at Shelby’s voice behind me. I was waiting for her to pick me up so we could talk about some catering ideas for the grand opening. She also wants to go to the bakery she told me about so we can place an order for some cookies and cupcakes. “Oh my gosh, you scared me! Yep, just let me tell Travis I’m leaving.”
I pause the music that has been playing through the speakers to get his attention. His head immediately snaps in my direction, and he takes off the mask he wears while he paints, and he starts to walk my way. “We are heading out. Do you need anything before I go? Or want me to bring you something back?” He stops at the fridge and grabs a bottle of water out, taking a drink before responding. “Naw, I’ll be okay. I’ll be here for a couple more hours, and then home to crash. But thank you.” Shelby and I say goodbye and leave him to his work, while we head to the diner to talk in her office.
Ten minutes later, we are sitting at her desk and Shelby pulls out a sleeve of saltine crackers. “This baby is going to be the death of me. I wasn’t this sick with the other two, this one must hate me.” On the drive over here, she filled me in on how she told Cash they were having another baby. She assured me that my brother was ecstatic, which eased her anxiety. I knew Cash would be happy, he loves his family with everything he has.
“Little bean does not hate you. But I’m sorry this pregnancy hasn’t been easy so far.” She waves off my comment. “I’ll push through. It will be fine. Ok. So, what were you thinking about the grand opening?” Sometimes I forget how many roles my friend juggles; she can switch gears in an instant. “I’m thinking just finger food. So, maybe some chicken salad, pulled chicken sliders. Pasta salad. Oh…your steak sliders with that sauce.”
A wide smile breaks out across her face, I’m sure she is remembering how many steak sliders she made me try the summer before I left for college. After I don’t know how many tries, she perfected it, and she immediately convinced her dad to put it on the menu at the diner. “That all sounds great! I’m also going to add homemade chips to that. Those options and then the desserts, and I think we should be good.” She makes notes of what she needs to order and grabs her purse. “Ok, I say that we have earned some sweet treats. The baby agrees. Off to Rise and Grind.” I laugh as I follow her out of the diner. “I won’t fight you or the baby on that one. I could use some baked goodness. ”
We spend the drive talking about everything except my ex-boyfriend turned stalker. I’m thankful that Shelby isn’t bringing him up. I would be ok, ecstatic even, to never bring that man up again. He has taken up too much of my life, and I still aren’t free of him. My phone lights up, bringing to life the picture of Hayes and Rosie. I smile as I look down at the two people that came out of nowhere and stole my heart. I would have never thought that I would already be in a relationship. That I would already be in love. That I would feel like a mother to a child that I just met not that long ago.
Hayes
I miss you, sunshine.
What do you miss?
Hayes
Your eyes. Your smile. Your laugh.
Hayes
The way you look when you want me to do dirty things to you.
Hayes
The way you scream my name.
I can tell that my whole face is red, I can feel the heat. “Girl, what on earth has you blushing like that? Oh. My. God. You’re sexting!” Shelby screeches from the driver seat. “ I’m not doing anything.”
Well…you’ve accomplished what you were trying to do.
Hayes
I don’t know what you are talking about, sunshine.
Be good, I love you. We are just pulling into Cedar Lake now.
Hayes
I love you, too.
If I thought Pine Creek was small, Cedar Lake would be the winner on the smallest sleepy town. It is half the size of my hometown, but the big draw is the lake. We used to come here all the time in the summer to swim. It’s been years since I have been here, and I can’t wait to check out the bakery. Shelby finds a spot to park in front of the bakery, and as we get to the door, someone in a fireman’s uniform is walking out, and holds the door open for us. He looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t remember his name for the life of me.
We step into Rise and Grind and my stomach immediately growls. I’m not even hungry, but seeing all the amazing looking treats has my mouth watering. A woman comes from the back, and she also looks familiar. She is shorter than my five foot four, with curly blonde hair that she has secured with a bandana. “Hey there! Shelby and Lennon?” We both nod our heads in response. “I’m Lily. I thought you guys looked familiar. I was a year younger than you in school, but probably saw you guys at baseball games. My best friend played.” That is exactly it, and I’m assuming the guy that held open the door for us is her friend. “Let’s go sit down, can I get you guys some coffee to start?” We give her our coffee orders and sit down at the table she led us to.
Once Lily comes back to the table with our coffees and her tablet, Shelby starts us off. “This place is great. How long have you been open?” Lily breaks out in a smile, her love for this place evident. “Thank you! My mom and I opened it up last year. But we have been working on recipes since I was a kid. Her and my dad want to retire in a few years, but until then, it’s her and I here.” I take a sip of the cup of heaven that Lily brought over while Shelby continues. “That’s amazing! I own Roxanne’s in Pine Creek. It’s been in my family forever, but I finally got my dad to retire a few years ago.” They continue to talk about what it’s like owning their respective businesses while I sort of space out, drinking my coffee .
“Lennon?” I look over at Shelby’s questioning face. “Sorry! It’s so relaxing in here, I sort of checked out there for a minute.” Lilly gets up from the table, and I worry that I offended her by not fully paying attention to their conversation. But she comes back with a platter overflowing with treats and sets it on the table. “Okay, so I made a bunch of different things for you. Shelby told me it’s a grand opening of a new location. For the cupcakes, I did what are top sellers are in the fall. The cookies, I did our best sellers, and a lemon sugar cookie with the name of the shop on them. I’ll give you some time to taste what you would like and then come back, and we can discuss.”
Shelby and I tell her thank you before Lilly hurries off behind the counter to help someone. We waste no time digging into the desserts in front of us. “Oh, God,” we say at the same time and burst into laughter. Shelby wasn’t kidding, these are really the best desserts I have ever had. We lose track of time eating and drinking our coffee, and when I lean back in my chair, unable to take another bite, the bell over the door rings. I look over my shoulder and see the man from earlier coming in with an armful of plants and another man behind him with tools. “Where do you want these, Lil?” She exits from around the counter to talk to the men and comes back to talk to us .
“What’d we think?” Shelby gives me a slight nod of her head, letting me know that she is letting me take the lead on this. “Lily, everything was amazing! I’ll go ahead and order a hundred of everything, and two hundred of the Crew’s sugar cookies. Shelby, do you think that will be enough? It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Fall Festival.” She sits there for a moment, clearly trying to think about how many people we will be serving. “I think that should be good. If by chance there are any left over, we will hide them somewhere. Not at my house, the kids will sniff them out.” That earns laughter from Lily and I. “Okay, perfect. I’ll go put that order together and be right back.”
A few minutes later, she comes back and I pay for the order, as well as the box of treats I’m bringing home for Hayes and Rosie. Lily let me leave some flyers for the car show that we are hosting during the festival, and the three of us have agreed to plan a time we can get together for dinner. After a round of hugs, Shelby and I are back in her car headed back to Pine Creek.
I have a permanent smile on my face during the drive home. This was the perfect day. I woke up in bed with the love of my life. I finalized my book cover. Was able to spend the day with my best friend. Ate some amazing desserts and made a new friend. No crazy ex-boyfriend in sight.
I wish every day could be like this.