Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
DANI
“Thanks, Nancy,” I said, taking the cup of coffee she handed over the counter to me.
Nancy flashed a distracted smile, already turning to greet a customer waiting behind me.
Wake & Bake Café stayed busy all the time by virtue of its convenient location in downtown Stolen Hearts Valley.
In spring, summer, and fall, it catered to the touristy groups passing through the Blue Ridge Mountains looking for a beautiful drive, or a few days vacation.
Come winter, although there weren’t as many travelers, the local traffic picked up the pace.
As far as I was concerned, there wasn’t much better than a hot cup of coffee from Nancy, who owned Wake & Bake Café with her husband, Dan.
Although I prided myself on making a mean cup of coffee for the staff and the customers at the lodge, I was always quick to recommend Wake & Bake Café to anyone simply looking for damn good coffee.
“Dani, dear,” Nancy called as I turned away. Glancing back, I raised a brow. “Your bagel with cream cheese will be out in just a few minutes. My daughter will get it for you.”
I gave her a thumbs-up and wove through the tables to snag one by the front windows looking out over Main Street.
The icy rain that had begun two nights ago and lasted through yesterday had finally turned to snow last night.
It left our pretty little town nestled in the mountains covered with fairy dust.
The sun wasn’t up yet, with merely the glimmers of its rays reaching above the mountain range on the far side of town.
The early morning sky was stained pink with a silvery, lavender hue, casting a faint glow on the thin layer of snow covering the landscape.
I took a sip of my coffee, letting out a sigh of approval as the rich, dark brew slid down my throat.
Although I wasn’t actually working in the restaurant this morning, I was still up early.
I was so accustomed to getting up early, I figured I would, even if I had absolutely nothing to do.
I found it quite doubtful there would ever be nothing to do in life.
“Hey, sweetheart,” my mother’s voice said from over my shoulder.
Looking to the side, I saw her hurrying my way, her giant purse weighting down one shoulder and another bulky bag dangling from her other arm. When she reached the table, my mother leaned over to press a kiss on my cheek before straightening and letting her bags slide off her arms.
“Morning, Mom. Need some help?”
I began to stand from my chair but my mother waved me away. “Don’t you dare get up. I’m just gonna leave these bags before I get out of this giant coat and go get a coffee.”
After she had done precisely that, she hurried over to the counter. She conferred for several minutes with Nancy before returning with her own cup of coffee and my bagel generously slathered with jalapeno cream cheese.
“Well, Nancy seems just fine. It’s always good to catch up with her. I don’t get in here enough, you know?” my mother said as she set the small plate with my bagel down in front of me. She sat down and immediately took a hearty gulp of her coffee.
I enjoyed a bite of my bagel while she got settled.
After a moment, she brushed an errant curl out of her eyes.
I had inherited my unruly brown curls from my mother.
Hers were still wild, but they were now streaked with silver standing out amidst the brown.
I had also inherited my round face and freckled cheeks from her.
We shared the same build as well, curvy and on the short side.
Otherwise, my mother had a rather brash personality. I knew I could be brash, although I tended to think that side of me had been tampered by my rather strict father. My father had loved me, but he hadn’t been the warm and fuzzy type.
My mother, on the other hand, was effusively warm and opinionated with everyone.
Her tendency to speak her mind had tested my father’s patience throughout the entirety of their marriage.
However, he’d loved her, and I imagined he appreciated it anyway.
That said, he certainly hadn’t encouraged me to be as bold and brash as her.
“I’m so glad you escaped the kitchen for a morning,” she finally said, leaning across the table to squeeze my hand. “I brought a bunch of treats for the animals in the rescue. That’s what’s in there.” She gestured to the bag by her feet.
“I’m sure Jackson and Shay will appreciate that. How are you, Mom?”
“I am just fine, dear. Staying busy at the hospital, how about you?”
My mother was a nurse and worked an intense schedule at the hospital. I supposed I got my workaholic tendencies from her. “I’m doing fine. Always busy, but then, the restaurant never slows down.”
My mother pursed her lips. “Working is all you’re doing. I sure hope Jackson appreciates it. You are making him a ton of money,” she huffed.
Although she would work herself to the bone for someone else, she tended to hover and worry about me. “Mom, he pays me really well, and I love my job.”
“Of course. Jackson Stone is a good man and always has been. If he hadn’t fallen in love with Shay, I might’ve tried to play matchmaker with y’all.”
I almost choked on the bite of my bagel I had just taken.
After I recovered, I leveled my mother with a glare.
“Seriously, Mom? Don’t you even start thinking about matchmaking me with anyone.
Not to mention, I have never felt anything even remotely like that for Jackson. He’s just a friend and nothing more.”
My mother laughed. “Oh hon, I was teasing. I try to stay out of your business. If I was ever going to dedicate myself to matchmaking, I’d try to get you and Wade reunited.”
With that casual comment, she left me speechless. The tips of my ears felt hot, and I knew my cheeks were red. I stuffed a bite of bagel in my mouth, needing something to keep me from freaking out in the middle of Wake & Bake Café.
I chewed rapidly and took another bite, feeling my mother’s gaze on me the whole time. After I somewhat gathered myself together, I took a sip of coffee and brushed my curls off my shoulders. “What the hell are you thinking?” I asked bluntly.
“Hon, I was kind of teasing but serious at the same time. Your reaction lets me know I was spot on.”
“Uh, no.”
“Uh, yes. He’s the only boy you ever really liked. You two were friends for a long time first. Then, that summer happened and that was it.”
“Mom, do I need to remind you that Dad forbade me from even talking to Wade, much less seeing him again after everything went down?”
A look of sadness passed over my mother’s face.
“You don’t need to remind me. I remember quite clearly.
I wish I had done a better job of helping your father get a handle on that.
It’s no excuse, but he was terrified, so he tried to control the situation.
That was a terrible idea. He never should have forbidden you from talking to Wade, and I’m so sorry he ever did. ”
I took a sip of coffee to try to push through the emotions bottling up tightly in my throat and chest. My mother, remarkably, stayed quiet. Although, I supposed it wasn’t that remarkable.
Opinionated though she could be, she was a fiercely loyal mother and friend to anyone she cared about. She knew when to allow silence. In this case, she clearly sensed I needed a moment.
After another sip of coffee, the threat of tears had passed. “So, it wasn’t just me?” I finally asked.
My mother shook her head slowly. “Definitely not. That’s just how he dealt with things.
His years in the military suited him perfectly.
He lived to have a plan for everything. The flip side to that was not all of life is structured and orderly.
There are too many unknown contingencies.
He most certainly didn’t know how to handle a teenage daughter who was a bit too much like me,” she said with a rueful smile.
That brought a huff of a laugh from me. My chest loosened enough for me to take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I don’t guess I was easy for him.” I thought of my father, whose routine was so predictable when he was alive, I could’ve set my clock by it.
Looking to my mother, I added, “I always thought I got my early morning habits from him.”
“Well you certainly didn’t get that from me,” she said with a sly grin before pausing to sip her coffee.
After another fortifying gulp of my own coffee, I forged into the no-go zone of conversation. “Did he ever talk much with you about what happened that summer?”
My mother nodded slowly. “He was the kind of man who needed time to process things. So, it took a while. At first, he was terrified. Like I said, he did what he could to try to control the situation. I should’ve talked with you sooner about this.”
I lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. “It’s not like I asked. It’s a pretty heavy topic.”
My mother’s eyes searched my face, and I abruptly wished she didn’t know me so well.
“Of course it’s a heavy topic. But I’ve always prided myself on not being one of those mothers who avoided the difficult issues.
I’m realizing I avoided the most difficult one quite spectacularly.
I guess I knew it hurt you, so I didn’t want to rub salt in the wound, if you know what I mean.
I think if there had been more time for your father, he would’ve eventually talked to you and admitted he overreacted.
He was still upset with Wade, mind you. But then, I don’t know how many fathers ever get comfortable with the idea of their daughter having sex with anyone. ”
A bitter laugh slipped out. My heart felt sore, like an old wound that never fully healed had been probed.
It wasn’t awful, and I could deal with it, but I knew it would always be there.
I didn’t suppose you could be seventeen years old, get pregnant by accident, and almost die from an ectopic pregnancy without it being something you carried with you forever.
“I wish we’d had a chance to talk,” I finally said.
“It became the taboo subject, and then your father got sick. Speaking of things not being orderly, there’s only so much planning you can do in life. I certainly didn’t expect your father to die when he did. Heart attacks are sneaky thieves.”
The pain in my mother’s eyes lingered, and I knew she missed my father dearly.
Despite my own mixed feelings about him, I knew my father had been a good man.
He’d been flawed, just like everyone. I knew he and my mother had loved each other deeply.
As different as they’d been, I’d always thought those differences bound them more tightly together and strengthened the love they had.
“I know you miss him. I do too. I don’t have anyone to call to fix my car anymore,” I said, my lips lifting at the corners.
My mother’s eyes brightened with her smile. “You could always ask Wade,” she teased, smoothly shifting gears.
“Oh, I should’ve known that was coming,” I muttered, casting her a mild glare.
“So tell me, what is going on with you and Wade?”
I took a breath and shrugged. “I’m not quite sure. For a long time, I avoided him. Now, I guess we’re feeling our way through things.”
“Whatever you do, don’t let your stubbornness get in the way.”