Kannon’s face softened.“That’s really thoughtful of you, Reegan.”
“It was Ashlyn’s idea,” I told him.
He slid his gaze to her and offered a tight nod.“Christy is a fan of the croissants.I’ll give you the last of them.We’re closing up soon so we can go to the funeral.We wanted to make sure people could grab something on the way if they needed to.”
“That’s why Ashlyn wanted to stop here.She figured Christy hasn’t eaten and wanted to make sure she had something in her stomach on a day like this.”I smiled at him as he moved to collect items from the case.
“It’s a tough day.I don’t remember my dad, but my mom said his funeral was the hardest day of her life.”Kannon’s tone bordered on breaking.
“I’m sorry,” I said, knowing the platitude wasn’t enough.
“Thanks.”Kannon finished boxing up the easily transportable options and slid the box across the counter to us.“Did you want a drink, Reegan?”
“I’ll do a Roxy, too, please.”I’d been wanting to try the iced capp with cookie bits.As warm as it was outside, I was looking forward to it.
“You got it,” Kannon turned to make our drinks, not ringing anything up.
We waited at the counter for a total.Kannon set our drinks in front of us and shook his head.
“On the house.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I argued.
He smiled.“And you didn’t have to take things to Christy.She’s a friend, and I was going to bring those to her anyway.”
“Thank you, Kannon.”
I nudged Ashlyn.“Thanks,” she grumbled.
I gave Kannon a sympathetic smile and followed Ashlyn back outside into the sunshine.
“You were a little rude,” I told my bestie.
“He’s rude to me all the time.I stopped trying to be nice to the man.”
“I think there’s more to it than you realize.”
“What does that mean?”
I shook my head, knowing still she wasn’t ready to accept it.One day, she’d see that the man who served her coffee was lusting after her.Big time.
Christy was surroundedby people when we arrived, even though we were twenty minutes early for the start of the service.It seemed as though time didn’t matter when people wanted to show their love and support.
Ashlyn and I hung back, understanding that Christy was not going to be able to take a minute away from the crowd to eat but keeping the box of food safe from others who wanted to help themselves.
I saw Josh a few times, but he was rushing around and didn’t notice us.I could see the exhaustion on his face and knew losing Coach Ross was almost as hard on him as it was on Christy.Another man was following the same patterns as Josh.I asked Ashlyn if she knew him.
“That’s Oscar.He’s the third in their trio.His two sons are the dark-haired boys next to Christy.Their mom died a while ago.I never met her, but Oscar has been single since, from what I’ve heard.The three of them are town royalty,” Ashlyn said in hushed tones.“Not the type that lord their position over others, but well-known and respected and adored.”
“Josh has mentioned Oscar, but I haven’t met him.He said Oscar’s wife was pregnant with their third child when she died.”
Ashlyn’s eyes went wide when she snapped her gaze to mine.“Shit.I didn’t know that part of it.Wow.”
“I don’t think it was a secret.But it was a while ago.He said that was part of why his marriage ended.She didn’t like that he was spending time with Oscar and Christy instead of her.”
Ashlyn rolled her eyes so hard I thought she’d fall over.“Not a shock.She’s a piece of work.”
“That’s what you said.”
