by Olivia Miles
“It’s easy to forget,” Maddie said quietly. Sometimes, it was easier to forget. But she wanted to hold on, not push the past behind her like Cole seemed to want to do.
She pulled in a breath, thinking of how they’d just left things, wishing she hadn’t bothered to stop by at all.
Perhaps sensing her thoughts, her father said, “You coming from the McCarthy house?”
Maddie met his eyes. “I had something to drop off. Cole is helping with the bakery, you know.”
“Oh, I know!” Dennis gave a hearty laugh, and Maddie could only roll her eyes skyward. “Don’t be too mad at Candy, honey.”
“Too mad?” She gave her father a pointed look. “What are all these little projects that Candy has Gus doing here at the moment? Such pressing repairs that couldn’t wait until after my bakery was finished?”
Dennis looked at her mildly and took another sip of his coffee. “You and I both know this was never about repairs.”
“Right.” They agreed on one thing. “It was about Candy wanting to meddle in my love life.”
“She just wants to see you happy.”
“Who said I’m not happy?” Maddie cried, only right now, leaving Cole on terms like that, she didn’t feel happy at all. Yesterday, when he’d almost kissed her, then she’d felt happy. Spent the rest of the festival laughing and chatting with family and friends, but her heart was somewhere else.
And her mind…Her mind should be only on the bakery right now.
“I need to focus on the bakery, Dad. You know how much work it is to run your own business.”
Dennis’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I know, all right. Don’t you mind Candy. She’s just trying to help.”
Maddie grumbled under her breath. She wasn’t up for a coffee right now, but she had half a mind to walk in the house and get a mug to warm her up. Instead, she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat.
“Speaking of help,” Dennis said, “there was a young lady at the festival looking for work. Britt isn’t planning to hire anyone new for the off season, but she might be a good hire for you. She’s Franny Benson’s granddaughter. Just finished college, doesn’t know what she plans to do yet, and she’s staying up here for a while until she figures it out. She might not be a long-term fit, but she could work out for now. And you know how Blue Harbor has a way of keeping people here.”
Maddie gave a little smile. She knew, all right. “Does she have any baking experience?”
“She’s Franny’s granddaughter,” Dennis said, and that was really all that needed to be said. Franny had always gone head to head with Maddie’s mother for every pie baking contest the town ever held.
“I’ll call Britt later and ask for the contact information.” If this girl was available tomorrow, she’d interview her properly. Already, she was hoping it would work out and she would have one less thing to worry about when it came to her bakery.
Only right now, the only thing that seemed to be troubling her was the thought of Cole, and where they stood.
“Thanks for the help, Dad,” she said, standing to give him a peck on the cheek.
“I didn’t realize I’d given any,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “But I’ll gladly give it if you’ll take it.”
Maddie thought about what he’d said, and she thought about her conversation with Cole yesterday, too. “We’re family,” she said. “I’m always happy to receive the help.”
Even, she considered, when it came from Candy.
11
Maddie hadn’t come by the bakery on Monday, not even to check on the progress. Cole didn’t read too much into this. A part of him was relieved. The other part…Well, there was no sense dwelling on the other part. Maddie was a sweet girl, always had been, but it stopped there. It always stopped there. With Maddie. With anyone. There was no sense in trying to get close to anyone in this town. And he’d made damn sure that it was impossible, hadn’t he?
But the next day, Cole was pulling some tools from his truck when he saw Maddie pulling up on her bike. He knew he shouldn’t be mad at her; after all, how was she supposed to know that his mother was sick? It wasn’t something he shared. Wasn’t something he wanted to admit. Wasn’t something he wanted people to know, so he wouldn’t have to talk about it.
Hadn’t there been enough talk in this town for his family?
But it wasn’t fair to come down on Maddie, he knew.
He held up a hand as she came down the gravel path, and when she caught his eye, for a moment he thought she was going to hit the boulder that she was quickly coming up on. But she jerked her handlebar to the left and narrowly missed slamming into the side of his truck. Her cheeks were bright red as she hopped off her seat, and Cole did his best to stifle a laugh.
Unfortunately, it would seem that he hadn’t done a good enough job.
Maddie glared at him, her mouth pinched as she swiped her toe across her kickstand.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said, trying to hide his grin. “But for a moment there, I thought you were going to wipe out.”
“No thanks to you,” she said ruefully, but she seemed to be smiling too. “One of the hazards of living in a town this small. Some people have car accidents. I…have bike crashes.”
“You mean?” He stared at her, wondering if he was understanding her correctly.
She shrugged. “What can I say? One day I can point out the scars if you’d like.” Her cheeks flushed again as their eyes locked, and she glanced away, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her down vest. “I mean, you know, before you finish the job.”
“Which should be any day now,” Cole said, wanting to deliver good news, but the words fell flat, and landed heavily. And for reasons he couldn’t explain, he was already starting to dread the day that he finished up here. Sure, he’d have more time to paint the house before the cold front blew in. And he’d have more time to spend with his mother too.
But being here these past two weeks with Maddie had been a welcome distraction. And a surprisingly nice time.
“I was just going to take a break for lunch,” Cole explained. There was a pause as Maddie nodded. Cole usually brought his lunch from home, but he hadn’t made it to the grocery for supplies in a few days. He knew it would be easy to place an order at the café next door, take it out to his truck, and eat by himself as he usually did, with the radio for company. But he didn’t feel like being alone right now. And he suspected that Maddie didn’t either. Things had been awkward on Sunday, and he’d seen the way she’d looked at him. It was a look he was all too familiar with growing up. He’d let her down.
But he’d let himself down too.
“Care to join me?” he asked, before he thought the better of it.
He pulled in a breath, waiting for her to give him a snappy retort, and rightfully so. He couldn’t argue that it was exactly what he deserved.
Instead she gave him a slow smile, one that made his stomach relax and his heart speed up.
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
“We could get something from the café?” he offered. It was right next door, after all, and he knew how much Maddie loved supporting her sister’s business.
“Only if we take it to go,” she warned. “I really can’t handle Candy again. I’m still recovering from Saturday.”
Cole closed the door to his truck and laughed. “Something tells me that Candy would love nothing more than to see you again.”
Maddie considered this as they walked around the building to the café. “She’d love nothing more than to be a part of the family. A permanent part.”
“Ah.” Cole definitely had that impression, too. He just hadn’t considered that maybe Candy was the only one hoping for that outcome. “And I take it that you want something else?”
Maddie gave him a long look, her expression turning wistful. “I guess what I want doesn’t really matter, does it? If it isn’t possible?”
Cole was about to ask what she meant by that when Candy herself came bursti
ng out of the blue-painted door to the café just before he could reach for the handle. At the sight of them together, her eyes burst open, and a huge smile took over her face.
“My! Look at what we have here!”
“Just grabbing a sandwich,” Maddie said mildly. She slanted him an apologetic glance.
Cole didn’t mind. He was actually quite enjoying watching the way Maddie squirmed under Candy’s overt suggestions. Made up for all the pushing that he had to endure last night from his mother, who seemed determined to stay on the topic of Maddie long after she had left for the day and long after he had stopped answering her dozens of questions.
“A lunch date!” Candy exclaimed.
“No,” Maddie ground out. “Just…lunch.”
Now her cheeks seemed to positively flame as bright as the red in the sweater that she wore under her vest. Candy, however, seemed completely unaware as she squeezed her hands together and beamed. “Isn’t this lovely. You might be able to snag the table near the fireplace if you hurry. In fact, I could always go in and pretend to clean it, to make sure that someone else doesn’t snatch it up first? Amelia keeps asking me to come out here and tend to the mums, but really, I’ve already checked on them a good five times since I punched in this morning! If I didn’t know better, I might just think she was getting tired of my singing in the kitchen!”
This time, Cole was grateful that Maddie didn’t slide him a look. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to compose himself.
“I didn’t realize that there was a fireplace at the café,” he said to Candy, recalling never having seen such a thing the last time he was here.
Candy gave a knowing smile as she set a hand to her heart and said, as humbly as she could muster, “Actually, that was my idea.”
“You had a fireplace installed?” Maddie asked. Her jaw was slack.
As a contractor, Cole knew that this was far from a small project, so he was more than a little curious how this had taken place. “Oh, is that the project you had Gus doing for you?”
Candy darted her eyes at that, seeming to stumble over her own story as she said, “Oh, no, he’s doing some work at the house…The back fence…”
“We don’t have a back fence,” Maddie cut in.
“Well, we were thinking of getting one. For the dog,” Candy added.
“We don’t have a dog!” Maddie cried. “Do we?”
“Well, we were thinking of getting one,” Candy said. “A fluffy little white one? Oh, I already plan to name it Baby.” Her eyes shone.
Maddie blinked a few times and seemed to shake her head, unable to even keep up with the story. “So back to the fireplace.”
“Oh.” Candy swallowed hard. “Well, it’s more of a…space heater? But it looks like a sweet little fireplace, and so I told Amelia that we could make it a special table. You know, really create some romantic ambience, for those chilly days, when you might want to…snuggle?”
Maddie’s mouth was gaped, and there was a long silence, before she finally said, “Actually, we’re grabbing our food to go. Big project. Not much time! I’ll let you get to those mums now, Candy!”
Candy winked at Cole as she walked by him and whispered, “I’m still working on that one, but I’m not giving up. Some things are worth the effort.” She winked at him again, and then disappeared around the side of the building to the window boxes.
“What are you laughing at?” Maddie asked when he met her inside the café a moment later.
“To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m laughing about the dog that doesn’t exist or the fence that doesn’t exist. Just what does she have Gus working on?”
“I think we both know the answer to that,” Maddie told him. She gave him a knowing look. “Probably nothing. Little things here and there, to make sure he was too busy to get the job done for me. Anything to make sure that he wasn’t my contractor and you were.”
“You mad about that?” he asked.
She gave him a little smile. After a beat she said, “No.”
He smiled. It wasn’t often he had a compliment. Wasn’t often he sought him them out.
Or paid them back, he thought.
“Me either,” he said with a grin.
*
When they’d collected their sandwiches, cookies, and drinks, which Cole had insisted he pay for, and which of course had prompted the otherwise professional Amelia to flash a look of total excitement on Maddie, they headed down along the lakefront path, both seeming to search for a less public place without saying it aloud.
Maddie didn’t have to read into his motives, and she doubted he was either. Cole was a private person. A recluse, even. And she was fairly certain that both Amelia and Candy had their noses pressed against the café windows at the very moment.
She couldn’t get out of sight soon enough.
“We could try the docks over near the bay,” Cole offered, as if reading her thoughts. “I’ve got a blanket in the back of my truck.”
She nodded. She never went over there, but she was familiar with the area, and it wasn’t too far. Besides, she liked the walk. The crisp air with a rustle of leaves. She smiled as she held her face up to the sky, feeling the sun against her skin. “Smells like fall.”
He looked at her as if he had no idea what she meant. “Smells like fall?”
“You know,” she said, squinting at him. Surely, he had to know! “Leaves and a tang in the air, and…and the smell of chimneys, burning their logs.”
“I suppose I never thought about any of that before.” Cole shrugged, but he looked amused as he pulled a thick blue cotton tarp from the back of his truck.
“I love fall,” Maddie said. “I love summer, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something special about the weather turning, and the tourists leaving, and everyone retreating back inside.” She shrugged, a little embarrassed by this admission as they walked down the lakefront path. “Guess you could say I’m a bit of a homebody.”
“Is that why you like to bake?”
They had reached the dock and he motioned for them to turn down it. She nodded, following along, happy to see that there was no possible way that Candy could see them now, even with a set of binoculars. They were nestled in an inlet, where the lakeshore had turned, and the trees were dense.
“I always baked with my mother,” Maddie said as Cole spread out the blanket and they settled on the dock. She pulled her sandwich from the bag—chicken salad, Amelia’s secret recipe that only she was privy too unless Candy was now aware of the addition of cream cheese in the mayonnaise—and peeled back the wax paper from half. “It was sort of our thing, and I kept it going after she…” She still couldn’t bring herself to say it, even now, after all these years. “After she was gone.”
She felt a lump swell up in her throat and her eyes prickle and she really wished that she had worn sunglasses.
“I’m sorry,” Cole said quietly.
The whole town knew, of course, but it was oddly comforting that he was aware. “It was a long time ago,” she said quietly. More than half her life had now been spent without her mother, even though she was still such a part of her.
“Doesn’t make it any easier,” Cole said, and something seemed to hitch in his tone.
Maddie got the sense that he was about to say something more, and then thought the better of it.
“Candy seems determined to be a part of the family, but it’s hard to think of another woman in our lives. My mother was irreplaceable,” she added.
“She’ll always be your mother. I don’t get the impression that Candy wants to replace her.”
Maddie considered this for a moment as she bit into her sandwich. Candy wanted to be included, but that was different than being a parent. “I’m old enough to not need a mother anyway,” she said.
Cole gave her a glance of disapproval. “I find that hard to believe. Everyone needs their parents. Even when they’re gone. Especially when they’re gone.” He drew a breath and looked out over the lake. They fell
silent for a long time, as they ate.
“I’m sorry,” Maddie said, seeing an opportunity to speak up rather than just let what happened yesterday slip away. “About stopping by your house yesterday.”
“I should be the one apologizing,” Cole said, giving her a little smile. He set his sandwich down, heaved a sigh. “I’m not used to having visitors. Or…letting anyone in, I suppose.”
“To your house?” Maddie asked. Then, because she saw no holding back now that they were clearing the air, “Or your life?”
“They’re one and the same, but I’m a private person. Always have been. When I was younger, I didn’t know how to keep everything inside and what came out…Well.” He raised his eyebrows, and despite the circumstances, even Maddie had to give a small laugh.
“You were unhappy,” she said slowly. “I see that now.”
“Not so easy for kids to see,” Cole said, setting his jaw. He picked up his food again, took a hearty bite. “Some of the teachers saw through it, though. Some tried to help.” He shook his head. “I still feel guilty for what I put my mother through.”
“You were hurting. I understand. It’s not easy to lose a parent.” Maddie held her breath, wondering if she had overstepped, but Cole just stared pensively out at the lake.
“Yeah,” he finally said. “Only I didn’t lose my father. He left.”
“It’s still a loss,” Maddie said.
“It’s not the same.” Despite the firmness in his tone, there wasn’t any anger. Only sadness.
“Your mom told me about it,” she said.
“I figured.” His look was wry. “She liked you, you know.”
Maddie couldn’t help but feel flattered by this. “I liked her. It’s clear she adores you. Her eyes practically shone when she said your name.”
Cole groaned, but she could tell by the smile in his eyes that he was pleased. “Only child syndrome, I suppose.”
“Proud mother syndrome,” Maddie replied. She paused, wondering if she should address the real elephant in the room, the fact that once again, something big, and not good, was going on in Cole’s life, and just like when he was a child, he was choosing to hold it in, rather than open up and let someone help.