“Well, I actually didn’t know that. I’ve only been back in town for a little while. Is everything okay?” I tried not to sound too worried.
“Oh, yes! I just need to slow down a little. When Luna started baking donuts for me, I realized she might be a good fit to take over. Her donuts are divine.”
“Ah, well, excellent plan. Do we call them Divine Donuts?” I teased.
“Just Luna’s donuts,” Janet said with a smile. “You’ve met Casey, right?” she asked, gesturing to Casey, who stopped at her side.
“She’s waited on me a few times,” I replied. “But I don’t think we’ve gotten past names.” I grinned over at Casey. “Born and raised in Willow Brook, and I’m back.”
“So you have credibility,” Casey teased.
“Is that what we call it??”
Casey shrugged lightly. “I’ve only made it through one winter so far. I can’t call myself an Alaskan until I’m an old hand at winter.”
“Ah. The winters are a thing. Where are you from originally?”
“Coastal North Carolina. It’s freaking hot there. I love the snow here. It’s so pretty. I love how it brightens everything up.” She tipped her head to the side. “Are you glad to be back?”
I paused, contemplating. “I missed Willow Brook.” This was true, but my feelings were complex around my hometown.
“Why did you leave?”
“The usual. College and so on.” I figured vague-booking it was the best way to explain. “I haven’t been that far away. I went to college in Juneau.”
“Oh, so you’re Alaskan through and through.” Casey nodded thoughtfully.
Janet slid my coffee across the counter. I lifted it, taking a swallow immediately. “Oh, so good.”
Janet got swept into serving other customers, as did Casey. I slipped out of the way to wait for the scone I’d ordered. When the bell chimed on the door, I glanced over, and instantly, my stomach plunged. My mother’s former best friend glanced over, and our eyes met.
Shelly had babysat me so many times growing up. Her daughter and I had been friends. Maybe not best friends, but we’d been babysat back and forth between our parents. Until the whole messy, ugly, and hurtful truth came out.
While Shelly smiled at me, dread coiled inside my chest and I couldn’t even force a polite smile. As soon as Janet’s eyes landed on Shelly, her gaze whipped toward me. Of course, Janet knew the whole story. Even worse, it spread through high school because when the entire drama came out—that Shelly had been having an affair with my dad, her best friend’s husband, for a whole-ass decade, and my mom had left him. Shelly and my dad moved in together and left town not long after that. Oh, so much fun.
Shelly was trying hard to somehow mend the bridges that she had literally thrown grenades at before. Good fucking grief, I could not tolerate her trying to be friends with my mother and me. It was all too much.
Over she came anyway. “Hi, Tori.” Her smile was soft, a little tremulous. “How are you? I heard you moved back to town.”
“Seriously, Shelly?” was all I said.
“What can I get you, Shelly?” Casey said brightly, blessedly interrupting.
“My usual,” Shelly said, her tone cool.
I immediately didn’t like that she wasn’t being nice enough to Casey, by my standards, at least. I stayed quiet and took the warm scone Luna passed over. I hadn’t even noticed her come out from the back.
“Do you need anything?” Luna asked, her voice low.
“An escape hatch?” I quipped.
“Do you want to come in the back?”
“I’ll take you up on that,” I whispered.
“You can meet my dog,” she said brightly, her voice rising.
“Well, I love dogs,” I said, already moving in her direction.
