Along the Cane River: Books 1-5 in the Inspirational Cane River Romance Series

by Mary Jane Hathaway

  “That you, sha? Back so soon?” Mamere was standing over the fryers, skin shining with sweat. She didn’t wait for a response but shook her head, murmuring to herself. “How long should these cook? Can’t tell if they’re done.”

  Roxie waved and headed for the walk in freezer. She usually brought her clothes out and left them in a neat pile in the bathroom, but today she’d forgotten. Well-chilled underwear. That was going to be one more layer of horrible to her fantastically awful day.

  Minutes later she pulled on her socks and slipped her feet into her boots. Her charms were like ice against her skin as she fastened the clasp of her bracelet. Mamere liked to say God could redeem any situation and Roxie thought that this situation she’d created would need a certifiable miracle to fix. The suit had several black stains along the front and a small tear under one arm. Roxie sighed, knowing there was no way to clean the suit before tomorrow, when someone would need to be out there again to bring in the festival-goers.

  Tears filled her eyes again but Roxie straightened up and wiped them with the back of her hand. Enough. Enough whining. Mamere needed her and there were worse things than a broken heart and a bruised ego. She didn’t have Andy’s money, power, or connections but she could definitely take a page from his book and stop wallowing in her misery. He believed she was out there for a noble cause, with charity in her heart and a smile on her face. He couldn’t be more wrong, but she was determined that was going to change. She was going to embrace the ideal of noble sacrifice. It was never too late to start living up to this cupcake mythos Andy had created.

  ***

  Andy waited outside Sunshine Bakery and tried not to think about how he’d chased the cupcake down the sidewalk until she’d fallen off the curb. Replaying the scene in his mind, he felt sick to his stomach. He’d said way too much to her, and she’d decided he was a nutball. In her defense, she had a pretty solid case.

  He took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to talk about the cupcake or ask about her or even mention her to anyone again. The only way to look like a sane person was to stop acting like a crazy one.

  Checking his watch, he glanced down the block. Mark was supposed to meet him for a cookie but Paul may have taken him down through the bookstore. Mark loved cats and would probably want to pet them all.

  Little groups of women passed by every few minutes, chatting and carrying shopping bags. The Steel Magnolia weekend must be great for local businesses. Alice had invited him to watch the play tomorrow but it didn’t seem like his type of entertainment. His movies didn’t need a body count or international espionage, but the description seemed a little heavy on the family drama. He had enough of that already.

  “Andy,” Mark called as soon as he saw him. His face lit up and he skipped a few feet, his blue backpack bumping against his hip. Andy waved back, thinking he would never get used to Mark’s joy at seeing him, even after only a few hours apart.

  “Sorry we’re late. We went through the bookstore and Aurora insisted on showing Mark all her hiding spots. Did you know she keeps Cheerios under the red chair in the front? She’s got a stash of them.”

  “Now you need a dog to eat the food she leaves around.” Andy opened the front door and let them pass through.

  “That’s an idea.” Paul paused as Mark walked in. “Are you okay? You look like someone told you off.”

  “Huh? Nope.” Andy said looking him in the eyes. “You going in?”

  Paul narrowed his eyes. “As usual, you act like I don’t know you at all.”

  The bakery was packed with tourists. Every table was full, and most of the customers seemed to be women over forty. There was a sudden lull in the conversation and at first Andy thought they were all looking at Mark. He felt a spark of anger and he looked around, ready to defend his brother from the stares and whispers that were so common when people encountered a grown man with a mental disability. But instead of shocked faces, there were only smiles.

  “Would you like our table?” A woman with clear blue eyes motioned toward her spot. “We were just leaving.”

  “Thank you,” Andy said, ashamed of his first impression. Natchitoches wasn’t New York City. People were gentler here, more accepting. It was a slower pace and Mark fit right in.

  “I’ll hold the table while you guys pick out the goods.” Paul took a seat and spread his arms out over the table. “I won’t let anybody take your spots.”

  Mark laughed out loud. “You funny, Paul.”

  “Let’s get in line, buddy.” Andy stepped toward the counter and looked right into familiar deep brown eyes. Roxie had come around the corner, a packed tray of cupcakes balanced on one arm. She looked as if she’d been crying but she smiled, as if nothing had ever passed between them.

  “I want a cookie,” Mark said.

  “Okay. Go ahead and look at what they have,” Andy said. He could barely get the words out. He’d been prepared but seeing Roxie was like taking a punch to the solar plexus. Pretending to read the faded menu, he didn’t meet her eyes again. Every hour of every day of the past week he’d wanted to knock on her door and explain himself. But then he tried to imagine how the conversation would go, and couldn’t make himself do it. Hello, I carry a recessive genetic trait that causes mental disabilities, among other issues. Want to go out with me?

  Their kiss had been completely unplanned, and a huge mistake. He couldn’t explain what had happened, except to say her speech about seizing the day had bypassed his brain and gone straight to his heart. Kissing Roxie was the best thing that had happened to him in years, but she deserved someone who was a little less complicated and a lot more available.

  A young guy stepped up to the counter and caught Roxie’s eye. She came over, a smile spreading over her face.

  “Hey, Blue.” Roxie leaned over the counter and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Are you back in town?”

  Blue? What kind of name was that? Andy gave the man a closer look, taking in his nice haircut, blue button-up shirt and dress slacks. He felt his gut twist with jealousy so fiercely it blurred his vision. He wondered whether this guy had moved or simply been away on a trip. Maybe Roxie hadn’t really been available. He’d certainly never asked her.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Blue laughed a little. “Couldn’t keep away for long. Just like you, right?”

  “That’s right,” she said and winked. “Now, what can I get for ya?”

  Andy hated this guy with the ridiculous name. Hated him for getting a flirty wink out of Roxie when Andy could only manage to say things like tall.

  “Coffee to go and a bag of beignets, please.”

  “A bag all for your lonesome? Sounds like you’re drowning your sorrows in sugar.” She was teasing him. Ringing up the price, she accepted his money and handed back the change.

  “Naw. I invited Ellie Guy to the movie tonight. I’ve got a new lawn blanket, some beignets, and a sturdy shoulder for her to cry on.”

  “Good plan,” Roxie said, grinning, and handed him a bag. “Ellie’s a great gal. I hope it works out.”

  Andy’s jealousy faded away like ice under hot sun but it was instantly replaced by shame. Roxie wasn’t his and never would be. If she could find a nice guy, then Andy should be happy for her.

  The next moment Blue had stepped away and it was Andy’s turn at the counter. He met her eyes and his mouth went dry. She had a professional smile on her face. “Hey, there.”

  “Hi.” Andy noticed her nose was as red as her eyes.

  “What can I get you guys? We don’t carry Pringles, but maybe we should start stocking them.” Her voice was husky.

  “Are you sick?” The moment the words left his mouth he wanted to take them back. “Sorry, that was rude. I’m not accusing you of spreading germs. It’s just your eyes…” He needed to stop talking.

  “Just a cold. I really shouldn’t be at the counter but Felicia went on a break and we’re crazy busy. I promise not to cough on you.”

  “Hi, Roxie.” Mark pointed to the cookies on
the tray in the glass cabinet. “Can I have one of the chocolate chip ones?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m so glad you want to try one of my cookies. We make them special, just for friends like you.” Roxie took a blue plastic tissue and retrieved a cookie.

  He nibbled a corner. “Good. It’s good.”

  “Excellent.” She seemed honestly relieved.

  “Go ahead and sit down with Paul, buddy. I’ll be right there.”

  Mark went back to the table, the cookie gripped in one hand and his backpack dangling from the other.

  “Thank you for all the great food you’ve been sending over. You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know. But Angela is already cooking, so why not share? Mark won’t touch any of it.” He smiled, hoping she understood. He wasn’t trying to buy her help, or make her feel like she was indebted to him. “It makes me happy to know you’re enjoying what she makes.”

  He’d said too much, he could tell. She dropped her gaze to the counter. “Thank you.”

  There was a pause and Andy realized he hadn’t finished his order. “So, I think Paul wants some coffee and…” He glanced around, unsure of what else.

  “He likes the sweet rice fritters and the mini apple pies.” She glanced up at him. “And a few beignets for you?”

  Before he could stop it, a memory flashed through his mind. Her lips pressed against his, tasting of powdered sugar and everything he’d ever wanted. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She blinked in surprise and started to laugh. “You sound like a real Southerner.”

  “I don’t know where that came from.” He patted his chest, as if searching for something. “I didn’t know I had it in me.”

  They stood there, smiling at each other until a woman behind him coughed politely into her hand. Roxie jumped to ring up his purchases. “I’ll be right over with the coffee,” she said.

  Andy paid and wandered back to the table, almost in a daze. That hadn’t been so bad. There weren’t any hard feelings. He should have trusted that Roxie would understand.

  Settling in the chair, he thought of the way she’d laughed when he’d said “ma’am”. That wasn’t the look of a woman who hated his guts for kissing her and then apologizing. He let out a long breath. For almost a whole week, he’d been carrying the worry of their next meeting. She was a generous, beautiful person who wouldn’t refuse to serve him or ignore Mark because things hadn’t worked out between them.

  Honestly, her first reaction had been much more understanding than his would have been. He still felt an aching regret, and he was the one who had shut the door on their relationship.

  “Earth to Andy.”

  He looked up to see Paul laughing into his fritter. “What’s so funny?”

  Paul held up his hands. “Have mercy on this unfortunate man. I am only a lowly observer of human nature. It’s not my fault if I point out how in love you are with a certain bakery assistant.”

  Mark looked from Paul to Andy. “Love,” he said. “I like love.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He glared at his beignet.

  “Love. I’m talking about the thing that makes people recite poetry and sing sad songs and give up their single lives and get married and have children and―”

  “That’s not me.” Andy’s chest had contracted at the list. He wanted all of that. Maybe not the sad songs, but definitely the rest of it.

  “Oh, come on.” Paul was still laughing. “When you look at her, you look like someone hit you over the head with a frying pan.”

  “Unconscious?”

  “Dazed and confused,” Paul said. “Stop fighting it and just embrace the glory of it all. You won’t regret it, I promise.”

  “No, see, you don’t understand. You think that I can have what you have, but I can’t. It’s not possible for me.” Andy could hear the frustration in his voice. “Life isn’t that simple.”

  “Come on. I never thought I’d say it, but things can’t always be simple like they were for Alice and me.”

  Andy snorted. Alice and Paul had such a rocky start that at one point Alice sued Paul to get him out of the Natchitoches Historic District. “It’s nothing that easy. A lawsuit would be a relief at this point.”

  Paul’s smile faded away and he seemed to grasp for the first time that Andy was carrying a heavy burden. “You mean the responsibilities you have right now? Because she seems like she―”

  “No, that’s not it.” He glanced at Mark, then around at the bakery. It wasn’t the time. But then, it would never be a good time. “I had some tests done a few months ago. Tests on both of us.”

  “Us?” Andy could see the moment Paul understood which two people had been tested. “Oh.”

  “Aurora made me think of it,” Andy said. “She was so perfect, so healthy. And she absorbs knowledge like a sponge. I just hadn’t ever wondered why…”

  “Andy, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t even think of it.” Paul’s expression was anguished. “Did they give you percentages? Or some odds?”

  “It depends on the woman. If she’s a carrier, there’s a fifty percent chance.”

  “If she is. And it’s not that common, right?” Paul was searching for some kind of positive to the news.

  “Not common, but not unheard of. “ Andy wiped a hand over his face. “It’s just that there’s no time to approach that subject. First date? Third? Tenth? There’s no way to start that conversation. It would either kill what was already started, or assume too much, like people who talk about naming their kids on a first date and scare the other person away.” He thought of Roxie and how their friendship had gone from barely speaking to serious attraction to his fit of jealousy when she talked to another guy. No matter what he told himself, his heart had already made decisions for him.

  “Smells good here. Like cookies,” Mark said.

  Andy felt his throat go tight. He didn’t want to be one of those people who acted like Mark wasn’t present and talked over his head, but here he was, doing just that. “Not too loud for you, buddy?”

  “Not loud.” Mark was watching the constant stream of customers. “There’s Roxie.”

  “Yeah, Roxie’s here.” Andy wanted to turn in his chair and watch her, but he was mature enough to keep facing the rest of the bakery. “She’s nice.”

  “You like Roxie?”

  “Yeah, I like Roxie. She makes good cookies.”

  “She’s your girlfriend?”

  “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.” In a perfect world, yes. He’d want that to happen.

  “You kiss her?” Mark said it was the same inflection he used for the cookies, as if it weren’t a loaded question at all.

  Paul laugh-coughed into his hand.

  For a moment, Andy wondered if Mark had seen them in the hallway. He didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t sure it would make sense to Mark. It was like a child finding out his parents dated other people before they married each other. But he couldn’t lie to Mark.

  “Yes, I kissed her.”

  “You didn’t like the kiss?”

  He sighed. If only the world were so simple, that what you liked became yours simply by the liking. “Yes. I liked the kiss.”

  “Then Roxie’s your girlfriend.”

  Paul was giving him the most outrageous look, eyes rolling around, chin jerking upward. Andy was about to tell him to knock it off when he noticed Paul’s hand on the table. One finger was repeatedly pointing… behind him.

  Andy swiveled in his chair. Roxie stood behind him, three mugs in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other. Her expression was impossible to decipher.

  She set the mugs on the table and poured the coffee without comment. Andy kept glancing at her, trying to decipher her thoughts but Roxie had a poker face that would have given professional gamblers a run for their money. She met his eyes right before she left the table, and he thought he saw the slightest flicker in her gaze.

  He wanted to think it was a wink, but knowing his luck, it was prob
ably an eye roll.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I wept not, so to stone within I grew.—Dante Alighieri

  The afternoon sun streamed through the front windows and the bookstore glowed with warm light. Roxie watched customers milling in the aisles, examining the antique volumes. It seemed that Steel Magnolias weekend was as good for By the Book as it was for Sunshine Bakery. Or as good as she assumed it would be, since she hadn’t gone in to work.

  Roxie thought of the new waitress and how her expression had gone sour when Roxie had asked her to work a Saturday shift. Roxie had stood her ground, insisting with both Mamere and the new woman that she needed some time out of the suit. It wasn’t just the skinned knees or the cold. Roxie needed a break.

  Alice set a stack of magazines and catalogues on the table. “So, let’s pick out the furniture first, then the accents. I think that’s how it goes. This is going to be the best bookstore playroom in the state.”

  “I bet it will be,” Roxie said, trying to sound excited.

  “I’m so glad you have the afternoon off. I hope I didn’t take you away from something fun. I know how hard you work.”

  “No, you’re sweet to let me hang around, being infected with the plague and all. I’ll probably scare away all your customers”

  “Oh, you.” Alice waved a hand. “We’re sturdy Creole girls. Aurora and I can handle a few germs. Plus, we need your advice on the playroom.”

  “I just can’t imagine why you’d want my opinion, though. I don’t have kids. I don’t even know any, except Aurora.” Roxie realized how rude she sounded and tried to soften her words with a smile.

  “Aurora,” the baby echoed from her spot in the office chair. She had a cat toy and was dangling it in front Van Winkle, the gray cat who slept on the desk. Van Winkle didn’t give any sign that he was aware of Aurora, not even a whisker twitch.

  Alice flipped another page in the library catalogue and nodded. “But you have great artistic flair and elegant style.”

  “Artistic flair? Style?” Roxie examined herself. Black T-shirt, black jeans, black boots. Gray nails, silver earrings. Most of the people passing by the desk had better style than she did. She just tried to fade into the background. “I think you’re hallucinating after looking through all these catalogues. A children’s space should be bright and fun and everything made up of shapes. You know, triangle tables and round rugs.”