Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hendrix
"You're not seriously dragging me out to eat this morning, are you?"
I managed to convince Maisie to let Janie open the bakery for one more day so she could relax. I just forgot to mention that relaxing meant going out to breakfast at the Crazy Fox diner. Sure, the place was known for its eccentric club sandwiches but Bee whipped up a mean breakfast as well.
"Of course I am. You need to get out and talk to people more."
"What you really mean is you want people to see us together so everyone knows we're dating?"
"Oh, sweetheart." I yanked her to my side. "We're so much more than just dating, but yes, I want everyone in town to know you're mine."
She tried to push me away but I didn’t let her.
Last night was all about reminiscing and giving her time to let the grief take over for a bit. Today was a new day and I was determined not to let her wallow.
I knew I’d made the right decision when we walked into the diner and caught Bee's attention. If there was anyone who could spread news faster, it was the old woman.
"Well, I'll be damned!" She clapped her wrinkly hands together in excitement and shouted across the space. "I never thought I would see the day you two would take your heads out of your asses."
"It took some convincing, Bee, but I finally got her to give me a chance!" I hollered back as I moved us to an empty table right in the middle of the place.
"You kidnapped me," Maisie huffed. " Twice to be exact."
No one in the diner seemed the least bit surprised about her confession, but it was Bee's response that took the cake.
"That's my boy! Never giving up. I've said it before but I'll say it again. You're my favorite."
I settled Maisie into her seat because that was what a gentleman did, even if he was a kidnapper. Then I turned to Bee and gave her a wink. "And you're my favorite girl."
"Should I leave the two of you alone?" Maisie hiked her brow when I took the seat next to her.
"I'm not sure I'm man enough to handle Bee."
Maisie laughed and the old woman proved she still had excellent hearing when she shouted back. "No, you're certainly not!" I joined in on the laughter.
The Crazy Fox was my favorite place in Willow Creek besides Maisie's bakery. Bee was a hoot and ran an excellent establishment. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was top-notch. If there was one place everyone came to congregate, it was here. More stories were shared in this place than anywhere else in town.
Bee's granddaughter, Jo, slid up to the table with a coffee pot and poured us each a cup. "So what will it be today?"
"Maisie here is going to need something sweet for her coffee. Preferably caramel, if you have it."
The woman in question shot daggers at me. "No need to get me anything special. Cream and sugar will be fine."
"I'm sure my grandmother has caramel in the back. I'll be happy to get you some. Do you know what you want to eat or do you need a few minutes?"
I waved to Maisie to go first.
"Waffles, please. How ever they want to make them is fine with me. I'm not picky when it comes to my toppings."
I shook my head. I don't think Maisie even realized how much of a people pleaser she still was some days.
"I'll have the same."
Jo nodded her head. "Coming right up."
Maisie waited until Jo walked away before she hissed at me. "I don't need special treatment. Yes, I like my coffee sweet, but I could easily go to the bakery to make it after."
"You'll never know if they have it if you don't ask."
"They don't need to have it."
This wasn't an argument either of us was going to win, so I changed the subject. "Are you going to the bakery after this or did you want to come to the office with me? I want to talk to Nolen about what Matthew said yesterday."
Maisie chewed on the side of her lip. "I think I'll go to work. Janie's been great about covering for me this past week but I need to get back into things. Work has always been a great distraction for me and I think now more than ever I need to be distracted."
I could think of much better ways to distract her but I kept my mouth shut. I could always show her those ways at night when she came home to me.
"Are you going to let her take over some more so that you aren't working twelve-plus hours a day?"
"Here you go." Jo plopped a carafe of caramel on the table before slipping away again. Maisie hollered a thank-you over her shoulder before turning back to me to continue our discussion.
"I'm going to sit down with her and talk about it. See what kind of schedule she wants. Anything would be better than what I'm doing now by opening and closing every day, so I'll be happy to let her pick her shifts."
Again with the people pleasing.
"It would be nice to get at least one morning a week to sleep in," I teased and Maisie rolled her eyes.
"I figured you would be used to early mornings from your days in the military."
"Marines," I corrected. "And yes I'm used to early mornings but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the fact that those days are behind me."
"The security company has made you soft," she teased back. "Or maybe it's just old age."
"Ouch." I clutched my chest and pretended her words hurt me. "I'm only fifteen years older than you."
"Only," she laughed.
Our food was delivered and we ate in silence. I never thought about our age difference until today. Maisie always seemed wise beyond her years and it was no secret I wasn't the most mature one of my friends. I didn't have to be when I had people like Nolen and Aaron in my life who took everything seriously. They more than made up for my goofing off.
Now that she brought it up, I couldn't stop thinking about it. We were halfway done with our waffles when I finally asked, "Does me being forty-nine bother you?"
Maisie set her fork down and crossed her arms on the table. Giving me her full attention when she answered. "Honestly? No. I mean, I knew you were older than me but I never stopped to think about how many years older. A person could be fifty years older, and as long as we have a connection, I'm fine with it."
"I hope you mean a friend because there's no way in hell I'm letting you date someone fifty years older than you, or anyone other than me, for that matter."
She scoffed at my answer but went back to eating her breakfast.
After I paid the bill and said goodbye to Bee, I dropped Maisie off at the bakery with a kiss and a promise to come pick her up when it closed. She had the nerve to make some offhanded comment about being able to get to my house on her own but I quickly dismissed it. I wouldn't be letting her move around the town alone now that her brother knew where she was.
I waited until she was safely inside the bakery before shoving my hands in my pockets and whistling as I walked the short distance to work.
"Good morning." I smiled at Annalee as soon as I walked through the front door.
"I bet it is." She smirked back at me. "Rumor on the street is you publicly claimed our girl for the whole town to see."
I stopped at her desk and plopped my ass on the edge. "Rumor on the street, huh? Who you getting your information from?"
"Oh, please. We all know Bee can't keep her mouth closed. If the old woman knew how to use a computer, I'm sure she would've blasted a post about it for the town to see!"
I laughed at the image of Bee using a computer. That poor woman needed help writing her letter the first time she sent it out to the fans of the town. How she managed to rope someone new into doing it each month was beyond me. Elizabella and Bee sure had a way of getting what they wanted.
"So is that who blabbed?"
I didn't care one way or another; I wanted everyone to know. I was just curious how it got to Annalee so quickly.
"Of course. She called me immediately to ask what I knew. I told her my lips were sealed."
I didn't believe that for a second. Annalee fit right in with the gossip queens. She might not blab to everyone but she would for sure be calling Kati to talk about the development.
"I'm sure you did. Tell Kati I said hi since I know that's who you're calling next."
I ignored her protests and headed into the back, where I found Nolen at his usual spot at the table. His head was down as he feverishly typed away on his computer. I often wondered what he was so engrossed in when the rest of us weren't that busy.
"Got a minute for me?" I took the seat next to him.
"Sure." He stopped typing to look up at me. "I'm surprised it took you this long to find me. I expected to hear from you last night."
"I needed to take care of Maisie last night."
He nodded like he understood. "How's she doing?"
"Seeing her brother again after so long really shook her up. She misses him. Their childhood wasn't all sunshine and roses, so they only had each other."
"Why did he show up after all this time?"
"To reiterate that we need to stop looking into him."
Nolen looked shocked. "How the hell does he know that? Our servers are secure and I don't leave a trail."
I shrugged my shoulder. "Beats me, but for the time being, I say we pause looking into what he's doing now. I don't want to put Maisie at risk. I would like you to look into his life before Atlas died though. Some of the things he said got me thinking."
"Anything you would like to share with the class?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. I want to see what you find first."
"Always a mysterious motherfucker but alright, I'll bite. I'll let you know what I find. What do you plan on doing in the meantime?"
"Keep my woman safe."