Before she had a chance to answer, Poppy stopped by with my two coffees to go. I gave her enough cash to cover Marlowe’s bill as well and waited for her to walk away before pushing to firm up the plan.
“How about I make you dinner at Grandma’s place? I’ve been craving her meatloaf and having you over would be a good excuse to make it.”
I licked my lips at the thought of tasting her grandma’s meatloaf again. It had been too damn long. “That sounds real good to me, but you shouldn’t have to cook your own birthday dinner.”
“Then come a little early, and we can make it together.” Her brows arched in a challenge.
“You got it, but I’m bringing dessert.” I shoved my hand across the table to shake on it. As soon as her palm slid against mine, heat shot up my arm.
Marlowe pulled back first, her movement so jerky that she knocked over her coffee. Dark liquid spilled over the table and dripped onto the floor. I grabbed a few napkins and tossed them down on the puddle. Just then, my phone pinged with an incoming text from Atlas.
A few of the Savage Bones had been spotted driving through the middle of town. With Marlowe back, I had an added incentive to do away with those bastards for good.
“I’ve got to go. Can we talk later to firm up plans?” I didn’t want to leave, but duty called.
“Sure. I’ll see you soon.”
I nodded, already pulling my jacket tighter around my shoulders as I left the table. Hell yeah, she would.
CHAPTER 4
MARLOWE
I watchedLily roll out the next pie crust, in awe of her natural ability. “You make it look so easy,” I said.
“It is easy when you’ve made as many pies as I have.” She nodded at the apple pie filling I’d been mixing. “Is that almost ready?”
“Yep.” I stepped back to give her room to scoop the filling into the prepared crusts. When Ruby asked if I had time to help with the Friendsgiving desserts, I’d been happy to volunteer. But once I saw Lily in action, I wondered if she really needed an extra set of hands, or if Ruby was just determined to help me resettle in town and make friends.
“Now we just need to do the top.” Finished with the filling, Lily motioned for me to move closer.
I watched how she laid strips of dough over the top of each pie to make it look like lattice and did my best to copy.
“If you decide you need a part-time job, just say the word. You’re really good at this,” she said.
“I think I’ve got enough going on without committing to another job.” Between unpacking, updating my grandma’s cabin, and keeping up with work, I was busy enough. Plus, the only reason I hadn’t burned something yet was because she waskeeping a close eye on me. I had a history of not being very competent in the kitchen. No telling what had gotten into me when I’d invited Viper over for a whole meal.
“Ruby says you have a birthday coming up. Are you doing anything special to celebrate?” Lily glanced over with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.
“It’s actually today,” I admitted.
“Happy Birthday! I wish I’d known. I would have made you a cake to celebrate. Do you have big plans?”
“I’ve got plans, but I wouldn’t call them big.” I wasn’t willing to share anything more.
“They don’t happen to involve a certain biker, do they?” Lily shot me a knowing grin.
My eyebrows lifted. “Really? How do you know about that?”
“You’ve lived in the city for too long. Have you forgotten what it’s like living in a small town?” Lily giggled as she rolled out more dough. “Especially one where Ruby Nelson takes it upon herself to make sure every eligible bachelor in town finds love?”
“Is that how you and Mack ended up together?” I asked.
Lily nodded. “Ruby definitely had something to do with it. Just be glad she’s not posting her mountain man of the month on the tourism website any more.”
“No way. She did that?” I hadn’t paid too much attention to Ruby’s antics when I’d lived in Mustang Mountain. Granted, I’d only been eighteen when I moved away, and keeping tabs on the mayor’s wife hadn’t been a priority.
“She’s got good intentions.” Lily helped me put the last two strips of dough in place on the final pie. “If it weren’t for Ruby, I’d probably still be single and living in Bozeman.”
