"We're not filming that far from Missoula," Alex said. "The ranch is actually in that direction when you leave here."
"Hey, Alex, how big is the oven in your trailer? Will it hold the regular cake pan size, or does it needthis square one? I wanted to bake some brownies while we're going over footage of—oh, hi. Sorry. I didn't realize you were talking to someone."
The woman had walked up behind Alex and didn't see us until he moved. She looked us over, but our presence didn't seem to faze her much, and she looked at Alex again for his answer. She was a beautiful young woman, and my hopes seemed shattered. I laughed at myself for feeling like that because five minutes ago, this guy was the farthest thing from my mind.
Okay, so maybe I had thought of him, and maybe it was as recently as today, but that was only because I had a long stretch of road in front of me and I was headed to the place where I had met him the first time. Anyway, it would be understandable that he had crossed my mind today.
He was there with a woman, so it didn't matter.
"That oven in your trailer…" she pressed. "Is it big enough for this?" She held up the cake pan, and he shook his head.
"I don't think so," he said. "But you can just use the big one in the kitchen."
"It's okay. I'll get the smaller one," she agreed, turning around.
I had already started to turn and walk off by the time they finished talking.
"Hey, Josie, wait, let me give you my number. I'd love to see you while you're here."
I couldn't. He had a woman on the next aisle talking about what type of pan she should use to make brownies. And to be honest, I had someone back in Denver who would be disappointed if I gave my number to someone else.
"I don't guess we should, with you making brownies and stuff. It was good seeing you, though!"
I knew it was an awkward thing for me to say, but it had already come out of my mouth. There was nothing I could do but smile and wave as I turned to walk away.
"Josie, hang on for a second," Alex said at my back. "Hang on, I'm not making brownies. That's my, Cameron's one of my best friends. We work together. I told you about her already." He had reached into his pocket, and I watched as he took a business card out of what looked to be a money clip.
"Look, my number's on here," he said, looking at me with a sincere expression. "Just call me, please. Bye, Luna," he added, waving at my niece. She waved.
"Bye, Alex," I said.
"Hey, Josie. I'll hear from you soon, okay, please?"
He smiled and said the phrase so sweetly and casually that I nodded and answered with, "Okay," before I really even thought about what I was saying.
I headed away from him, nervously mumbling something to Luna about how she didn't have to ride in the car too much longer.
I walked hand in hand with Luna out of the store and to my car. I had been thinking about buying something to drink while we were there, but I didn't. I saw the brownie-baking woman on my way out, but she wasn't looking at me when I glanced at her. I was ready to get out of there.
I made sure Luna was strapped in her seat, and we got back on the road. I still had more than enough gas to make it to my sister's, so I had no more stops to make.
Chapter 7
I woke up with a headache the following morning. I blinked and swallowed hard, trying to focus on the time. My sister's place had come with blackout shades in her spare bedroom, so it was dark in there. I sat up when I realized it was 8:30.
"Lu?" I called. I cleared my throat. "Lunaa!"
I wasn't used to waking up by myself. My precious niece woke up every morning like clockwork at 7am, and waking me up was one of the first things she did. I assumed she woke her mom up, which was a good thing. I hadn't slept this late in over a year, and I blinked, taking in my surroundings and feeling confused for a second. The headache didn't help matters.
"Luuu?" I called, projecting my voice.
I tossed the covers off and trudged into the living room. The rest of the house was bright, and I squinted. "Hello?" I called. It was quiet in there, and I found a note on the bar.
I took L with me to the restaurant. Come up there and eat. She'll probably want to leave with you. Also, what have you done to my daughter? She sounds like grandma with the Jesus loves me stuff. Lol! See you later. Love you.
PS: I have no food in the fridge, don't bother looking. You have to come to the restaurant to eat.
I smiled at the thought of Luna going with her mom and my sister being playful about it. She sounded good, even in her note, and I was happy for her and proud. She may not have had food in the fridge, but she had a bottle of headache medicine in the cabinet, and I gladly took two tablets.
