Chapter Ten
BAILEY SLEPT IN THE next morning, having gotten back home close to midnight.
As she lay in bed, wearing her coziest flannel pajamas, thoughts of last night were constantly running through her mind.
There had been some beautiful moments. Hattie had seemed happy, which of course had been everyone’s main goal.
It had been very obvious to Bailey that Hattie’s physical condition was quickly deteriorating.
Clearly she had fought through her fatigue in order to celebrate with her guests.
However, the signs of wear and tear had been evident.
Sharing two kisses with Landon had been toe curling.
Before she left, she had summoned the courage to right the mistake she’d made earlier, letting him know that a kiss wasn’t just a kiss.
Hopefully he’d gotten her point. If he had, she didn’t know for sure where they went from this point.
She fully intended to continue with the ruse and cross her fingers and toes that they wouldn’t be exposed.
It would be awful explaining that they’ve been tricking everyone.
She dragged herself out of bed and took a quick shower and got dressed before heading down to get something for breakfast. At the last minute she changed her mind and decided to drive into town to her favorite café.
They had amazing breakfast foods there, and she wouldn’t have to cook.
That was always a win. After a quick peek out the window she realized that the snow hadn’t accumulated much, with only a few inches on the ground.
Bailey pulled on her toughest winter boots, her warmest parka, and her favorite knit hat before heading outside. It took her about ten minutes to wipe the snow off her car, but she was on the road after warming her car up.
Ten minutes later, Bailey stood outside her favorite place, the Caribou Café. She pushed inside to get out of the cold, heading straight to the counter to put in her standard order.
“Hey, Creed. How’s it going?”
“Bailey, you’re here bright and early today. I don’t usually see you till the afternoon. Are you getting your regular order?”
“Yes, since I’m a creature of habit, a large chai latte with sugar and oat milk.”
“And that extra dash of cinnamon, right?” Creed asked.
She playfully pressed her hand over her heart. “Finally, a man who totally gets me.”
“Be still my heart,” Creed said, batting his eyelashes.
Bailey playfully snapped her fingers. “Too bad you’re not single.
“Wait, Creed. I’m going to shock you by adding something to my regular order. I’m going to have an omelet with cheddar cheese, onions, and hash browns on the side.”
“That’ll be out in about six minutes, but the coffee will be coming right up.”
She waited at the counter until they called out her name for the chai latte and then made her way to an available table.
Bailey sat down and looked over the café.
Seated a few tables away were two familiar faces.
Her sister, Lynn, and her ex, Kai. They were having an animated discussion, and Lynn was wiping tears away from her eyes.
Bailey took deep breaths. It was clear that the two had issues to discuss, but the sight of Kai made her clench her fists.
Don’t overreact, she reminded herself. She needed to be calm before she stormed over to their table and did some damage to Kai the coward.
They were probably talking about reaching out to the venue and canceling all the different aspects of their wedding, including their honeymoon.
Hopefully this was the last time Lynn would ever have to see him.
She took a sip of her latte and counted to ten in her head.
Think good thoughts. Think good thoughts, a voice in her head roared.
She’d barely made it to five before she jumped up from her seat and headed over.
This punk needed to stop torturing Lynn.
Her sister was now sobbing, and Bailey couldn’t take it a second longer.
“What’s going on here?” she asked, hand on her hip. “Lynn, are you all right?”
Her sister looked up at her with reddened eyes and quivering lips.
Kai glared at her. “What are you doing here? This is a private conversation.”
“I happened to be eating breakfast when I saw the two of you sitting over here. I didn’t like what I saw.” She turned to Lynn and placed her hand on her shoulder. “Come sit with me. This isn’t good for you. Talking is one thing, but allowing yourself to get this upset isn’t healthy.”
“Listen to your sister,” Kai said with a snarl. “I think we’ve said everything that we need to say.”
“Go on, Lynn,” Bailey urged. “I’m sitting right over there.
” She gently urged her sister in the direction of her table.
Once Lynn began walking away, Bailey turned toward Kai.
“You’re a real turd, you know that? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from her. Go crawl back into your hole.”
Without waiting for a response, she walked away. There was so much more she wanted to say to him, but they were in a public place, and she didn’t want to embarrass her sister.
By the time she got to the table, Lynn had begun crying again. Bailey reached into her purse and dug around for a tissue. She held it out for her. “Here. Wipe your eyes.”
Lynn looked suspiciously at the tissue. “Is this even clean?” she asked.
“Of course it’s clean. It’s just a little crumpled,” Bailey said, feeling indignant. “What do I look like?” She let out a snort.
Lynn blew her nose loudly and heaved a huge sigh.
“I gave the ring back,” she sniffled. “To be honest, I thought maybe Kai would be having second thoughts and tell me that he didn’t want to break up after all.
But he didn’t. He actually told me that he’s seeing someone in his office.
” Lynn began to cry again, this time harder than ever.
“We’ve only been broken up for a few weeks, and we were supposed to be getting married.
How in the world is he already dating someone? ”
Bailey had a few ideas about that, but she didn’t want to crush her sister’s spirit.
Kai was definitely the sort of guy who most likely had had someone waiting in the wings the whole time.
“I’m sorry,” Bailey said. “This totally sucks for you. I know it’s hard for you to process all of this.
It’s like being sucker punched in the gut when you least expected it.
But a guy like that who could treat you so poorly doesn’t deserve you. Not for a single second.”
Lynn looked at her with a mournful expression. “My head is telling me that, but my heart is broken.” She shook her head. “Something keeps telling me that maybe I’ll never find anyone ever again.”
“That’s just the grief talking. And you have to do whatever you have to do to push through it. Cry, scream, yell, punch.” She made a face. “And if you’re going to punch someone, you probably should start with Kai.”
Lynn burst out laughing. “You always knew something was off about him, didn’t you?”
“He was kind of a walking red flag, but I definitely understand why you fell for him. He’s good-looking in a weaselly kind of way.”
Lynn dabbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry about crying so much, especially in a public place.”
Bailey leaned toward her. “You don’t ever have to apologize for that. Not to me or anyone. You feel how you feel.”
“It’s just that I think growing up, we all saw tears as weakness and something to be a little bit afraid of because of Mom and what she went through.”
“We all went through it, but I know what you mean. When she went through that depression, we were all just so happy when she rebounded that we wanted to keep the status quo. Keep up the smiles, don’t cry, don’t complain. Don’t talk about Dad.”
Lynn nodded solemnly. “It’s weird to compare the two, but I do feel as if I’m really mourning for the first time in my life.”
“Take your time with that. You need to go through it and feel whatever you want to feel. That’s how you’re gonna heal.” She reached out and patted her sister’s hand. “And you are going to heal.”
“I appreciate your faith in me. Some days I’m not so sure I can move forward.”
Bailey totally understood Lynn’s feelings. “That’s okay. One day at a time. Before you know it, you’ll be on the other side of this.”
Her sister heaved a gigantic sigh. Her body shuddered. “I’ll be counting the days, because at the moment I feel like roadkill.”
For a moment they just sat in the moment, gripping each other’s hands in solidarity.
“Hey, what are you drinking? Did you order anything?” Bailey asked her.
“No,” Lynn said, “my stomach has been in knots.”
“Let me get you a tea and we can share my omelet and hash browns.” It had been quite a while since she and her sister had spent quality time together as just the two of them. They needed to fix that.
Bailey heard her name being called, and she rushed up to the counter. She placed a tea order for her sister, and after a few moments it was ready. Bailey returned to the table and placed the items down along with two plates and two sets of utensils for sharing.
“Dig in,” she instructed. “You have to keep up your strength.”
“Why are you being so nice to me? I’ve been a bit of a pain lately.”
Bailey met her gaze across the table. “Because no matter what, we’re sisters, and that’s for life.”
“That’s a good point,” Lynn said. “I couldn’t get rid of you if I tried.” She began to chuckle.
“And you did try,” Bailey said, referencing all the times Lynn had ditched her when she’d attempted to tag along on her childhood adventures.
“Those were the days,” Lynn mused. “Despite the accident, we had some amazing times.”
“We did,” Bailey agreed. Sometimes she needed the reminder that there had been happy times despite their loss.
Lynn sipped her tea and peered at Bailey from behind the rim. “A little birdie told me that you have a new boyfriend, by the way.”