Chapter 7Elijah
Chapter Seven
Elijah
I’m not innocent.
Waking up alone this morning reminded me of the day Hannah had told that she had left.
I was working mornings at the shop, still deciding if I wanted to go into the air force.
Apprenticing with Axel and Rodd was great, but I didn’t see it as a solid career path yet, since I needed a formal education if I was going to open my own shop one day.
I remember I was pissed off about one thing or another when I went home for family dinner. Hannah was there helping our dad while Jake was hovering like he always did. I asked where Maisie was since she usually came over on Saturdays because her father worked weekends.
Hannah delivered the news as if someone had died, my chest felt hollowed out. Empty. I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. Apparently, she noticed my distress and said, “Leave it alone.”
So I did, but I know I should have reached out.
It made me realize how much I had taken her for granted.
Part of me always expected her to come home to Ghostlight Falls, at least for the holidays, but after her father moved away, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. It’s the reason I decided to join up.
Perhaps I have always been running too, in my own way .
“You should really eat something.” I say.
We’re standing in front of Grim’s Bakery waiting for Phil, the new blonde pastry chef, to return from the back since we caught her in the middle of restocking the front case. Maisie is practically hovering, eyeing the assortment of pastries set out on the small trays still warm from the oven.
“I’m fine.” She lies, folding her arms across her stomach.
“I told you that I’d make you breakfast, this is the next best thing.”
Just then, Phil returns from the back, cleaning her hands on a washcloth, “Sorry about that. What can I get you two this afternoon?”
“We’re here to pick up Alexis’s birthday cake.” I pull my phone out, swiping it open to my messages and the photo Hannah took of the receipt, setting it on top of the tempered glass display case.
Phil looks at the photo, then at the both of us and smiles, “I’ll get that for you right away.”
As I’m grabbing my phone, it buzzes, Axel & Rodd flashing on the screen.
“Hannah again?” Maisie asks, looking over.
“It’s work.” I debate taking it, but I know Mike doesn’t call me out of the blue unless he needs help.
He’s still a kid, a quick learner fresh out of high school and taking online mechanical engineering courses at night.
I see way too much of myself in him, so it’s been interesting to say the least.
“You should answer it.” She says with a nod.
“You’re right, I’ll be right back.” I press the green button the moment I step outside, lifting the phone to my ear, “What’s up?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Eli. I didn’t know who to call, there isn’t a phone number listed on the account for the Camry.” Mike says, his voice just a little louder than the torch wrench going off in the back.
“What’s the damage?” I fold my arm across my chest, watching the cars drive by.
“No damage, I just finished up. It’s done.”
“What do you mean ‘it’s done’? I just dropped off the keys 30 minutes ago. How can you be done?”
“I ran diagnostics and then replaced the spark plugs. Everything is good as new. You should see the old ones—they’re wrecked. Why? Was there something else?”
I groan, raking my hand through my hair, gripping the back of my neck. “No, I was just hoping it would take a little more time.”
There’s a silence, and then the sound of my office door shutting, Mike says, half whispering into the phone, “If we need to keep this person in town, you know, for legal reasons, I can do a full workup on the car. It would buy you some time at least.”
“What?!” I glance over my shoulder, thinking that Maisie might have heard, but she’s still looking at the baked goods, “I mean, I like where your head is at, but, no. The car belongs to,” I hesitate, “a friend, and she’s visiting for the weekend, so I thought, nevermind.”
“If she’s that special to you, the least we can do is give her an oil change. We could rotate the tires and maybe get one of the guys to detail her car.”
“You know what? Do it. Toss in whatever else you think is appropriate. I’ll flip the bill for whatever supplies you use.”
“She must be pretty great,” Mike replies.
Maisie looks over her shoulder, brows furrowed as she searches the sidewalk. Her features soften the moment she finds me and I can tell she’s fighting a smirk, as always.
It’s like a shared reaction, lightning arcs between the two of us whenever we lock eyes. She stares at me like I’m the only man in the world, and in that moment, she is the only thing that matters.
I exhale, “Yeah, she really is.”
After I hang up with Mike and step foot into the bakery, Phil emerges from the back carrying a white cardboard box with a pink sticky note attached to the side with Alexis’s name in a sprawling script.
She circles around to the small wooden countertop beside the register, setting the box down in front of us.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I took a few creative liberties with the design.” Phil flashes a smile, unfastening the sides of the box and lifting it to reveal the cake.
The two-tiered round white cake is decorated with bright green grass along the bottom and a row of green shells with a shiny royal icing rendition of Ghostlight Lake, with Happy Birthday, Alexis written in a lighter blue icing over top.
That’s not all, Phil also added three tiny Great Basin Spadefoot frogs sculpted with frosting sitting on the small patch of grass off to the side of the lake.
“That is incredible.” Maisie’s smile is as bright as the sun.
“It’s wonderful, you have really outdone yourself, Phil. Alexis is going to love this.”
Phil smiles, looking between the two of us, “Can I get you or your mate anything else?”
“My—” I look down at Maisie, my heart in my throat.
Her panicked thoughts threaten to overwhelm me, but after her initial shock, there is a wave of jealousy.
Followed by an intense longing, images of a future and a quick barrage of memories from the night before play through her head.
The whole confusing ordeal leaves my cock pulsing uncomfortably in my jeans.
“Not his mate. We’re just friends.” She finally forces out, her voice laced with the disappointment that I felt in her thoughts.
“I am so sorry,” Phil waves her hands, her cheeks flushing pink, “You two look really close, so I got that vibe. It just kind of slipped out, I apologize.”
“No harm done. However, we will take one of each.” I say, gesturing to the glass case filled with the assorted pastries.
She seems to relax, “Great.” She closes up the cake box, setting it off to the side as she turns and picks out the pastries, placing them in individual paper sleeves.
“Elijah,” Maisie mutters a warning under her breath, “I’m not eating all of that.”
“Who said it was all for you?” I lie with a smile, placing my card on the counter.
She rolls her eyes, fighting a grin, and that one smile means the world to me.