But when I stepped outside into the cool night, the stars sharp above the farmhouse, I couldn’t stop thinking of hazel-green eyes, a smile that had unsettled me more than I cared to admit. She hadn’t texted me, which irritated the heck out of me. I’d been dumb so far not to ask for her number, and I knew without a doubt that later tonight I’d be doing a drive-by of Sage’s house to see if she was okay.
14
Phiny
I can't believe people put ranch dressing on everything.
Wade
Ranch is a food group, and I won't hear otherwise.
Phiny, you literally put gold leaf on a dessert. GOLD. LEAF. How can you complain about Ranch?
Phiny
That was for a Michelin-starred tasting menu! They shouldn’t be requesting Ranch. That’s fucked up.
Kipp
I dipped my pizza last night, and it was incredible.
Phiny
I'm blocking you. That’s wrong.
Lo Lo
You can take the chef out of the small town...
Sage
Remember when she cried at the gas station hot dog display?
Lo Lo
They'd been rotating since the last presidential administration. Which one, I couldn't tell you.
Wade
The one that's been there since Tuesday is my favorite. It has character. All shriveled.
Lo Lo
Are you talking about hot dogs or presidents? I need new siblings.
15
Lila
It took almost a week for the gossip about the break-in to settle down. Unfortunately, Wade hadn’t made any progress in figuring out who the intruder was, which wasn’t ideal, but I wasn’t expecting miracles. Anyway, it was Wildwood Meadows. It was probably all just a mistake. I didn’t have anything of value, and neither did Grams. Everything she owned was put into the shop.
Just in case, I installed one of those cameras both inside and outside. It killed me to do it, and I hated getting notifications on my phone every time one of my neighbors walked by, but at least I’d have some footage if somebody came close to my door again.
I’d had trouble shaking the whole incident, but my mantra was that I was okay. The more I said it, the more true it became. If anything, I let myself get caught up inthe drama surrounding Easton Holt, who had become more of a nuisance every day. First, he wanted to fix the broken glass in my back door. I wasn’t sure why I wouldn’t let him do it. Probably because I got a savage satisfaction from saying ‘no.’ He looked almost hurt, but that couldn’t be right. Second, he kept hounding me about messaging him because Sage wouldn’t give him my number.
He’d told me to call if I needed his help, and I would. It wasn’t like he was asking me out. Because if that were the case, I wasn’t sure I had the willpower to resist. He’d said he wouldn’t push, but he hadn’tasked. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to, but I wasn’t sure I didn’t either. The first two days right after the break-in, Mia hadn’t been scheduled in early, and he’d shown up and sat in the shop while I’d gotten things started. I was almost disappointed when Mia opened with me on the third day, and I didn’t see him.
Today was a good day, though. It was a book club day. Mia and I started by wrangling ovens and tackling the endless batch baking that would get the cafe off to a good start. I’d been teaching Mia most of the recipes and trusted her to manage several of them on her own, which had been a huge help.
