Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
“ T hat’s all the doctor did?” Spencer stood next to the barista bar. He’d already been handed his uncomplicated black coffee, but he was waiting on Clara’s much fancier, hard-to-recite order that involved some type of nut milk and way too many flavorful syrups. “He just checked her shoulder?”
“Said some things about starting a blood pressure medication, but Nana wasn’t having any of that. You know Nana. Her idea of taking medication is an herbal tea and a brisk walk.”
“She has high blood pressure?” He should probably spend more time learning more about the medical history of his family members, considering their own father passed from a sudden heart attack years ago. It wasn’t something he ever paid much attention to, but that likely needed to change. He wasn’t getting any younger.
“Borderline high blood pressure. But the doctor thinks the medication could benefit her.”
Spencer almost felt sorry for the barista when he finally called out Clara’s complex drink order, practically running out of air by the end. Grabbing a straw from the basket nearby, Spencer picked up the cup and handed it to his sister.
“I’m glad you went with her to the appointment. Thank you for doing that.”
“Of course.” Clara made the most dramatic face when she took that first sip of her drink, as if she were swallowing pure sugar. Spencer couldn’t stand all that sweetness, but he and his sister had always been opposites. “I was happy to tag along.”
“You guys working on the quilts again today?”
“I think that’s the plan,” Clara said, then touched her brother’s arm. “Hey, want to stop into Summit Sweets while we’re here? I overheard the bridal party back at the ranch house saying something about a butterscotch mocha flavored cookie that I’d love to try.”
Spencer couldn’t understand how all of his sister’s teeth weren’t filled with cavities, but he wasn’t one to turn down a trip to Faith Porter’s bakery. She arguably made the best butter croissants, his favorite breakfast snack.
As soon as they stepped out of Bitter Cold Coffee Bar, the delicious scent from the bakery a few paces down the street met them. The door to the pastry shop was cracked open, and the mix of sugar, cinnamon, and spice wafted out to greet them like an aromatic hug. It reminded Spencer so much of his grandmother’s Christmas kitchen from when he was a young boy that the nostalgia immediately took him back to those days, standing next to her on a folding stool so he could reach the counter. He could instantly envision the pies, the cakes, the cookies.
Clara inhaled audibly, smacking her lips. “Mmm. It’s a good thing I don’t live here because I would easily eat my weight in cupcakes if I did.”
Spencer gave his sister a skeptical look. “They don’t have bakeries in Sacramento? Even when I was living at the cattle ranch out in the middle of nowhere, the nearby town had a bakery. Sure, Patty made more treats for the animals than for actual humans, but there was always a chocolate chip cookie or a brownie we could snag?—”
“Of course, we have bakeries.” Clara cut him off. “But they don’t compare to Faith’s stuff. That woman is genius when it comes to baked goods.”
Spencer couldn’t argue there. And the line that wrapped around the store and doubled almost all the way back to the entrance door was further evidence that Faith was every bit the baking magician Clara claimed. Everyone loved the place.
“I sure hope they aren’t sold out by the time we get to the front.” Clara impatiently lifted onto the tips of her toes to peer over the crowd blocking them from the pastry cases. “I really want to try those butterscotch cookies.”
“Hey.” Spencer looked further up the line to see if he could peer into the glass display, but something else caught his attention. “Isn’t that Anthony?”
Spencer thought he glimpsed his sister’s ex standing in the front by the register, just about to order.
“Anthony McCullen?” he repeated, in case there was a world in which Clara didn’t remember the boy that she had been engaged to at the youthful age of eighteen.
Clara hit the floor.
“Clara?” Spencer’s gaze dropped to where his sister had flattened against the tile.
And then he was suddenly being yanked down with her, her hand grabbing tightly to his shirtsleeve. “Shhh,” she hissed. “We need to get out of here before he sees us.”
“When was the last time you two even talked?” Spencer asked at full volume. Clara slapped her hand over his mouth, her eyes wide with dread. “At least a decade, yeah?” he mumbled against her palm.
“What part of shhh don’t you understand?” She pleaded with him to be quiet. “The last thing I want to do is run into Anthony today. The very last thing.”
He didn’t need to know the details; if Clara was uncomfortable, Spencer would find a way to get them out of there unnoticed. It hadn’t helped that the group immediately in front of them had turned around due to the sudden commotion, but as long as their interest didn’t have a domino effect and work its way to the front of the line, they should be in the clear.
“Follow me,” Spencer instructed when Clara finally removed her silencing hand from his mouth. “I have a plan.”
But it was too late. Faith Porter was as efficient in customer service as she was talented at baking. Anthony had made his purchase in record time and was already heading toward the exit. Unfortunately, Clara and Spencer were blocking the door, crouched down as they awkwardly attempted to waddle out.
“Clara?” Anthony pulled up short. The bag in his hand rustled as it collided with his leg and his feet planted beneath him. “Is that you?”
They wouldn’t be able to get away, but Clara still paused like she was trying to figure out a way to either make herself invisible or transport to another realm. She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head before straightening back up.
“Hey, Ant.” Her grin was false, and so was the enthusiasm she’d injected into her tone. “How the heck are you?”
Her ex scratched the back of his neck while he gave her an odd look. “I’m good. Been back in Snowdrift for a while now working as Sierra Nevada’s correspondent for The Golden State Gazette. What about you? You back too, or just visiting?”
Spencer was upright now too and even though he’d made it across the threshold, he turned back to stand next to Clara. He wasn’t about to leave his sister’s side.
“Hey, Spence.” Anthony gave a quick nod, but Spencer just waved. He’d liked the guy back when they were teenagers and Anthony and Clara had made promises of forever and exchanged family heirloom rings. But when Anthony had called off the wedding only weeks later and left town, all of Spencer’s allegiance returned to his sister. And that’s where it would permanently stay.
“I’m just visiting,” Clara said, finding her voice. “Just spending a few days at the ranch before I head back to Sacramento.”
“We should grab a coffee and catch up while you’re in town.”
That was bold. Spencer knew there was no way his sister would agree to that. It was super presumptuous on Anthony’s part.
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “I’d like that.”
Spencer’s eyes widened so much he felt like they just might pop out. He gave Clara a stern look that bordered on a glare. “You’ll be busy with all the stuff Nana has on the agenda,” he said, offering an out because he figured Clara couldn’t come up with one on her own. He could rescue her from this situation, no problem.
Clara eyed her brother. “I’ve got time.”
“Great.” Anthony rolled the top of the brown paper bag in his grip and grinned. “Same number?”
“Yep,” she said, this time giving him a real smile. “A lot has changed, but not that.”
They exchanged a laugh that made Spencer’s mouth turn down at the corners. What on earth was happening? He didn’t like this.
“I’ll shoot you a text,” Anthony said before squeezing past them through the open door. But before he was fully out on the sidewalk, he turned around and added, “It was really good running into you today, Clara. Really good.”
“You too, Ant,” Clara echoed, all while Spencer frowned at the ridiculous interaction.
He watched his sister’s gaze track Anthony all the way down Main Street, lingering on his form until he was fully out of sight, the cars and patrons and passersby ultimately obstructing her view.
She finally brough her eyes back to Spencer’s.
“What?” she asked much too innocently.
“You’re serious? You have to ask?”
“It’s been a long time,” she said with a dismissive shrug. “Water under the bridge.”
“I believe that bridge was built over the river of tears you cried when that guy called off your engagement.”
“We were kids.” She shrugged again, then stepped back into line. Several groups had filled in ahead of them when they’d tried to make their getaway escape, which pushed them back even further.
“You might have been young, but you were in love. And he broke your heart.” Spencer could sense that his scowl hadn’t left his face. His jaw was set, his eyebrows heavy over unconvinced eyes. “I don’t trust him.”
“It’s just coffee.” Clara’s arms were bound across her in such a defensive way Spencer knew she wasn’t going to relent. “Plus, I’m a big girl, Spence. You don’t need to protect me. After all, I am the older twin.”
“By four minutes,” he pointed out.
“Still older.”
He could tell Clara had no interest in hearing him out on this. She was going to do what she wanted, always had. It was for that very reason she had ended up engaged at only eighteen even when everyone else had warned against it. Ah, young love.
“You still want to wait in this line?” he asked.
“Absolutely, I do. I need a sugary pick-me-up, especially after that unexpected run-in.” She blew out a breath.
“And your dessert in a cup isn’t enough?” He nudged his head toward the coffee in her hands.
“I can never get enough sugar, Spence. You know Mom and Dad always said the rhyme about girls being made of sugar and spice didn’t apply to me. That I was just spice. I’m working hard to fill in the sugar portion.”
He had to laugh at that.
They waited in line together, slowly making their way to the front. Fifteen minutes had passed by the time it was their turn to place their orders. The pastry case wasn’t as full as it had been when they’d arrived, but it wasn’t quite empty, and thankfully those butterscotch cookies were still available.
“I’ll take three of those,” Clara said, tapping the glass where the gooey treats rested on the other side. “And two blondies.” She turned her head toward Spencer. “You want anything?”
In that moment, he wasn’t really hungry for much, but his eyes landed on a tray of beautifully decorated cookies made to look like individual flowers, the icing piped in bright colors across the sugar cookies to create petals and leaves.
“Sure. I’ll take half a dozen of the flower cookies.”
“That’s the perfect amount,” Faith said as she slid open the case, “because I made six different varieties. I can put together a whole bouquet for you.”
She obviously wasn’t expecting to see him so soon. The moment Spencer opened the door to Joyful Blooms, he instantly read the surprise in Trinity’s expression, how her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped into a line only a second before she recovered. Thankfully, a huge smile burst across her face, otherwise Spencer would have been tempted to pivot on his heel and turn right back around.
“Spencer.” She hadn’t greeted him with a ‘hello’ or ‘hi,’ just his name, which he discovered he liked even more.
His chest quivered when he drew in a big breath and moved forward to come up to the counter. “Nice to see you looking so much better than yesterday.”
He shouldn’t have said that. She hadn’t looked bad. She’d looked great, in fact. But he knew how horribly she’d felt, and his comment was in reference to her health only.
“I’m feeling much better, thank you. Luckily, whatever it was must have just been a twenty-four-hour thing. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that Mia skates through without catching it. She would be devastated if anything kept her away from the barn, and that’s putting it lightly,” she said, then paused, her finger in the air like she was asking him to wait, too. “I owe you for yesterday. Let me run in the back and get my purse.”
“It can wait.” He lowered the pastry box to the counter. “Next time you come to the barn is fine.”
She smiled again, her cheeks pushing her eyes into a friendly grin. “You’ll have to remind me in case I forget.” Then her gaze dropped to the box, and she looked back up. “What is this?”
“I was just at the bakery with my sister and saw these.” Lifting the lid, he revealed the set of cookies that Faith had arranged into an edible bouquet. “Thought you could share them with Liam and Mia.”
“Oh, Spencer. These are so lovely. You’re so kind to think of us.”
If he was sharing the honest truth, he had thought about them a lot these past few days. Mostly, how he wanted to spend more time with them; picking paint colors for his house with Trinity, continuing to teach Mia about the care and keeping of horses, and letting Liam dig around in the ranch dirt, something he’d noticed the boy was quite fond of, just like Spencer had been when he was a kid.
Spencer’s focus fell to the pile of flowers on the table between them, leaves pinched and placed aside while the long-stemmed blooms waited patiently to be added into the next bouquet. Trinity looked like she had her hands full.
“Is it just you in here today?”
“It is. I gave Rachel the day off since she’s been running the place solo these last couple of days. I figured she might like a peaceful day that didn’t involve flower and fauna.”
He didn’t know about that; it sounded like a pretty peaceful day to him. In fact, just being in the shop created a calm within him. Maybe it was all of the arrangements that softened the space, the delicate petals coupled with greenery that seemed to bring the outside in. Or maybe it was Trinity. She really did have a calming effect, and Spencer knew he wasn’t the only one to experience it.
Clara had said Nana Jo needed to keep an eye on her blood pressure. Maybe helping out at Joyful Blooms could be just as effective. He wasn’t sure if that was the way it even worked, but he figured it was worth suggesting the idea to his grandma. She really didn’t need another thing on her plate, but he had a hunch this might be the perfect place for her to escape the responsibilities of the ranch and let her creative side take over.
He pulled his thoughts back to the here and now and the beautiful woman standing across from him. Trinity really did look better than yesterday health-wise, but the scene around her hinted at a state of impending overwhelm. There was so much to be done.
“You need any help?”
She’d helped herself to one of the cookies, and she stopped mid-bite with his words. “In the shop?”
“Yeah, since it’s just you today. Can’t say I’m any good at making bouquets, but I’m one heck of a weeder, so that’s gotta count for something.”
“I could use some help stripping the leaves, if you don’t have anywhere you need to be.”
He did, actually. He’d promised Darrell, the general contractor, that he’d get that paint selection to Tammy today. But that could wait. There were still many hours left in the day.
Right now, this was the only place he cared to be.