Chapter 5 Delaney
CHAPTER FIVE
Delaney
There should be a warning sign on the Sunridge Ranch driveway:
BEWARE: HOT COWBOYS AND YOUR TERRIBLE LIFE DECISIONS LIVE HERE
Because this place is an absolute nightmare. An attractive one, a confusing one. But still a nightmare.
I scrub my face with both hands in the guest bathroom, flour still clinging to the ends of my hair from this morning’s pantry disaster.
Silas is here.
Silas, the guy whose hands were on me last week.
Silas, who now smiles at me like he knows exactly how I sound when I fall apart under him.
Nope.
No.
No no no.
This is exactly the kind of thing I promised myself I’d stop doing.
I need a reset. Air. Space. Preferably far away from Silas’s grin and Boone’s quiet judgment and Sadie’s blinding sweetness.
So I grab my tote bag and leave the ranch with the urgency of someone fleeing a crime scene. I tell myself it’s fine. I’ve got a few hours before I need to start dinner prep.
It’s just a quick trip into town, in and out. No derailing my schedule. No disappearing for half a day like a disaster.
Coyote Glen’s small downtown is a collection of charm, paint colors, and storefronts that look like they belong in a series about community and hope and freshly baked pies.
I have never lived anywhere like this.
I’m not sure I belong anywhere like this.
But I force myself forward.
First stop: Granger’s Goods, because I had to write my grocery list on my arm like a disorganized child. I grab everything I need: produce, flour, spices, pasta, and whatever else this ranch eats.
I check my list twice as I move through the aisles. Breakfast for Boone and Sadie, lunches for the week, snacks that won’t make Sadie bounce off the ceiling, and dinner for four… five? Does Silas count as a permanent fixture? I need to ask Boone.
People stare.
Not in a rude way. Just curious. Like they know I’m new before I even open my mouth.
I check out and escape before anyone can ask where I’m from.
Next stop: Coyote Cup, because if I don’t get caffeine immediately, I’ll become a cautionary tale.
The café smells of cinnamon and hope. I order an iced vanilla latte and settle by the window.
I’m just starting to breathe normally again when two women behind the counter beam at me.
“You’re new!” the first one says, Lani, according to her name tag. Cute messy bun, big glasses, contagious grin.
Her coworker, labeled Savannah, leans on the counter. “We know everyone. You’re not everyone. Therefore, new.”
“Guilty. I’m Delaney.”
Lani’s face lights up. “Oh! Delaney. Sloane mentioned you.”
My stomach dips. “She did?”
“Yeah!” Savannah nods. “She said you were moving here and that you’re ‘the best kind of wild culinary angel.’”
I choke. “She… said that?”
“Her words,” Lani confirms. “She also said to give you free coffee if you look stressed.”
I look down at myself.
Flour still in my hair.
Shaky hands.
Wobbly dignity.
Savannah pushes a muffin toward me. “You seem stressed.”
They might be witches.
But I don’t get a chance to contemplate it because the café door suddenly flies open with enough force to rattle the tip jar.
Bedlam enters.
First through the door: a very pregnant woman balancing a three-year-old on one hip and holding hands with another little girl.
Behind her, another toddler.
Behind the toddler, an older girl with a backpack bigger than she is.
Behind her, a dog.
I blink.
I blink again.
The dog makes direct eye contact with me and barks as if to say, you signed up for this now.
“Oh wow,” Lani whispers. “Brace yourselves. Pickle is always carnage!”
Savannah groans. “I’m hiding the pastries.”
The pregnant woman, beautiful, glowing, overwhelmed, lets out a long, tired sigh.
“I swear,” she mutters, “these kids conspired against me today. Max, don’t touch that. Mia, please stop licking the window. Lucy? Lucy? We do not run away from Mommy in public places! These triplets… Come on, Max and Mia, stop fighting, please.”
She turns to the older child before I can even catch my breath.
“Penny, do you have the wipes?”
The girl tries to drag the backpack off her shoulder. “Mom, your water bottle spilled in my bag, and now everything smells of cucumber.”
“I’ll deal with it later,” the pregnant woman cries out, waving frantically. “Olivia, did you remember Jacob’s snacks?”
Behind her marches Olivia, elegant as hell with a sleek ponytail and a toddler, presumably Jacob, on one hip, and patience worn thin across her face. “I tried to remember snacks, Ivy, but Pickle stole them.”
Pickle barks proudly.
Ivy sighs. “Why does this dog hate me?”
Lani swoops in with snacks for the kids like a well-trained disaster response team member. Savannah brings wipes. Penny starts distributing crayons and coloring books from a bottomless tote bag.
Max immediately tries to eat the blue crayon.
Mia escapes toward the espresso machine.
Lucy climbs into a chair like a mountain goat.
Jacob starts crying because Pickle barked at him.
Pickle circles the table, barking at the air.
I just sit there, stunned, clutching my iced coffee.
“Delaney,” Savannah calls across the café, “welcome to Coyote Glen.”
I’m not sure if she’s joking.
Ivy finally collapses into a seat, letting out a breath that could power a small windmill. “Sorry about all that. We aren’t usually this…”
“Much?” Olivia supplies.
“Unhinged?” Penny adds.
“Covered in dog hair?” Lani suggests.
“I was going to say lively,” Ivy says. “I’m Ivy. This is Mia, Max, Lucy, Penny, and the menace here is Pickle.”
“And I’m Olivia,” the other woman says smoothly, adjusting Jacob on her hip. “Ivy’s moral support.”
“And therapist.” Ivy nods. “And emergency snack provider.”
I laugh before I can stop myself.
They all look at me, curious. Warm.
“So, Delaney, right?” Ivy brightens. “You must be the new chef at Sunridge. Sloane told us you’d be coming.”
“How does everyone know about me?” I blurt.
Olivia smiles. “We like getting to know Sloane’s people. She said you needed friends. We volunteer as tribute.”
I blink. Hard.
Ivy leans in conspiratorially. “Also… gossip may have said something about Silas being suspiciously cheerful recently, ever since a specific night at The Hollow...”
Oh no.
My face burns.
How tiny is this town?
I try to hide behind my coffee cup, but Olivia’s eyes widen. “Wait. Silas? Cheerful? What happened?
“Uh,” I say.
“Oh my goodness,” she squeals. “Tell us everything.”
“I…. no, nothing…”
“Did you hook up with him?” Savannah whispers loudly.
I choke. “What? No… well, yes, but… No, I mean, yes, but that was before…it was...”
Olivia grins like a cat. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”
Ivy nods. “Silas is weird. You’ll get used to him.”
I cover my face. “Please tell me this is a dream.”
Ivy pats my wrist. “Sweetheart, I have three preschoolers and a dog with me. If this were a dream, I would be napping.”
Pickle barks.
Jacob throws a cracker at the wall.
Lucy yells, “I want milk!”
Mia sticks a sticker on my elbow.
Max tries to crawl under my chair.
And Ivy just sighs contentedly. “See? Perfectly normal.”
I cannot stop laughing.
It bubbles out of me, unexpected and warm, loosening the tightness in my chest.
They smile like they’ve been waiting for that.
“So,” Olivia starts, “welcome to the town. We’re very loud, and we feed people emotionally and literally.”
“And we brunch,” Lani joins in.
“And we’ll absolutely help you hide a body,” Olivia adds again.
Penny rolls her eyes. “She means bake cookies.”
“I mean what I said,” Olivia insists.
Ivy beams at me. “You’ll fit right in.”
And now…
I believe I really might.