Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
TULLY
What a freaking day, and it’s not over yet.
Before I even contemplate calling Dean or my mom, I’m going to stop at the bakery.
A girl needs to drown herself in something sweet after dealing with the asshole of all assholes.
Plus, I owe it to my best friend to catch up on the book she’s been reading, and in order to do that, I’ll have to hold being on the phone for later.
The narrator talks while I drive down the two-lane road, heading into town, my tires eating up the distance from the clinic.
There isn’t much in the way of things to do in Arrowleaf.
We don’t even have a downtown area. A couple of main roads where you’ll find a diner, a bakery, a couple of gas stations, and a dollar store of sorts.
Even further into town is where you find the vet clinic, grocery store, and whatever else you could need, like a smaller auto parts store.
As for the rest, you’ll have to hit the next town over.
I turn my blinker on, slow down, and prepare to turn into Whisked Away.
I’ve only been here a couple of times before then I was hooked.
I literally crave Maeve’s croissants—the perfect amount of flakiness, buttery goodness, and the best part is the big chocolate chunk inside.
“That’s different. I hope she’s not closed.
” It would really put a kink in my plans if Mae was closed.
I’d probably resort to calling or texting her to see when she’ll be open again.
A movement in the glass window reassures me she’s open.
Besides her, Mae only has a couple of the local high schoolers come in to help in the afternoon.
Essentially, she’s a one-woman show, and I have no idea how she does it all.
It’s not like she gets to sleep in either.
The bakery is open as early as five o’clock in the morning on some days.
The ranchers and farmers around here may like breakfast at home or at the local diner, but when their sweet tooth hits, Mae is overrun with customers.
I hit the pause button on my steering wheel, not wanting to miss a single thing in this highlander book Birdie is talking nonstop about.
Especially when it gets to the spicy scenes.
There is something insanely hot about a big, towering man taking his woman.
I mean, yeah, I have that in real life with Dean, but that doesn’t mean I can’t read about it.
I’m hopping out of my car once it’s in Park, transferring the shit in my pockets into my bag in the back seat, rooting around for my dang AirPods.
I swear I’m always losing them, and the little Find my Device app doesn’t work when they’re right under your nose.
Too bad they won’t give you the exact location, like in your outside purse pocket, for example.
“Gotcha!” The little boogers were at the very bottom of my ridiculously huge purse.
I take one AirPod out of the case, grab my phone, get the book cued up, and make sure my wallet has money in it.
There have been times I stash cash and my cards in scrub pants, jeans, or wherever I can find a spot.
Today seems to be looking up as I see everything is in its place.
Who knows if I’ll be able to listen to a chapter.
It’ll depend on how busy Maeve is, and even still, she’s working.
I don’t expect her to entertain me while she’s running a business.
A few adjustments later, and I’m stepping out of my Tahoe.
Most single women wouldn’t fathom of having a vehicle or gas guzzler this big.
My black-on-black SUV was my dream car all through high school.
I’d beg to drive my mom’s car all the time.
She’d say no, and I made it my goal to eventually have one of my own.
Now I do with a hefty payment monthly, along with the gas to go with it.
I hip-check my door to close it, then hit the lock button on the handle and walk toward Whisked Away.
The scent of fresh baked bread wafts in the air before I make it inside.
My stomach grumbles, an oddity considering Dean and I ate breakfast together this morning.
He was heading back to the ranch, and I was heading into work, yet he still made time to come back home, wake me up with the sweetest kiss as well as breakfast.
“Hey, there, Tallulah,” Maeve greets me when I open the door. It’s so weird to see her bakery not be busting at the seams.
“Hey, Maeve, are you closing early today?” I ask in case I’m intruding.
“Yeah, I’ve got a wedding cake to drop off, but I don’t have to leave for a few more minutes.” She wipes down the counter before doing the same with her hands on her apron.
“Are you sure?” There’s no doubt in my mind she’s probably thinking Good grief, why did this lady have to come in before I had a chance to lock the door?
“I am, plus because I’m closing early today and won’t be in until later in the day tomorrow.
You’d be doing me a favor to help off-load some of the stuff I overbaked.
Maybe take it back to the clinic?” I must make a face I’m unable to control.
“Oh, no, something happened. Did that old coot fire you? I swear the only person to last at the clinic is Maureen, and she’s too sweet to leave. ”
“You could say that. I didn’t get fired. I quit. We had some words, and I didn’t think it was fair how he was handling things, so I put in my notice effective immediately.” Looks like I’m the one gossiping, though it’s the truth and not lies others would spread around.
“Good for you! That man has been a bane of the whole town’s existence long enough.” Mae is still boxing up a plethora of sweet treats.
“Thank you, but, ugh, Mae, I can’t take those back to the clinic.” I point at the sage green box in her hand when she turns around.
“I know, but you’re going back the Johnson ranch, right?”
“I am, I’ll take the rest of the croissants, too.” I lick my lips. There are about six left, and I’m not above eating one daily until they’re gone. “In a separate box,” I tack on.
“Of course. Not going to share with the rest of the bunch?”
“Nope, not the chocolate croissants at least. The rest is fair game. They don’t know how to savor food, especially desserts. I swear the lot of them stuff food down their mouth without even tasting it.”
“I’ll bet. Okay, here are your croissants. In this box there are donuts, this one has some scones and extras, and then this one is for JW.” My eyebrows shoot up, wondering how Maeve knows what he likes when he barely says a few sentences when everyone is around.
“Of course.” I bite my tongue from questioning her.
“I know, I know. You don’t have to say a thing.” She throws her hands up in the air.
“Me? I didn’t say a word.” It’s a good thing I paused my audiobook when I walked in, or I’d have missed this juicy tidbit.
“Tully, your face says it all. JW is in here once a week, loads up on a half dozen of cinnamon rolls at a time, and then repeats the cycle every week like clockwork. Usually around closing time, except I’ll be closed today.
This way, he won’t miss out on his sweets.
” This is interesting, very interesting.
“I’ll be sure to bring them to him.” I pull out my cash, looking down to make sure I have enough to cover the cost plus a fat tip. Whisked Away is a small business. Running a credit card cuts down on her profit, and she’s too amazing of a baker for that to happen.
“Thank you.” Mae looks down at the counter, taking my money that I’m sliding toward her.
“You’re welcome. Keep the change.”
“No way, that’s too much.” I’m not sure how much the total is but figured it would cover my croissants and then some.
“It’s not enough, plus I know JW’s weakness. Do you know the type of leverage I have now?” I wink and pick up the boxes. I was going to sit down to eat, but that won’t be happening today. Maeve is closing, plus I’ve got to pull my big girl panties up and make a phone call back home.