“Do you enjoy being ignored?”
“I needed to see how she was.”
“And?” Hutton asked.
“She seemed okay.” If he concentrated, he could still feel the smooth curve of her back under his hand or hear her ragged breathing as he kissed her. “Better than I expected. I mean, she didn’t kick me out.”
Hutton sat, pulled on his socks and shoes. “Didn’t you wear that shirt yesterday?”
“You ready?” Graham asked in response.
Hutton pushed past him into the garage and hauled his bike from the hooks on the wall. Letting the pedals flip around on their own, he jogged the bike down the driveway.
Graham followed, wishing he’d canceled their ride. Talking to Hutton about Jack never got him any closer to figuring out what to do about her. Why would today be any different? He mounted his bike and nudged it forward until he was eye to eye with his friend.
“I’m only saying this once, then we’re done talking about my sister, got it?” Hutton waited for Graham to nod his agreement. He clicked the strap of his helmet. “I know you care about Jack and I get why you’d be attracted to her. But you can’t let her think it’s possible to be anything more than friends.”
Graham choked the handlebars until his knuckles burned. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want anyone to be happy,” he said under his breath. He pushed off and picked up speed as he cleared the driveway. The air slapped at his cheeks. Pumping hard, he concentrated on the road. The graying asphalt and cracking white lines played monotonously in front of him like a bad movie. He’d ridden these roads most of his life and knew every pothole and curve. He looked at anything but his friend.
Breathing heavily, but steadily, Hutton matched his pace to Graham’s.
They did most of the ride side by side. But with another three weeks before the Twilight, he needed to ramp up the intensity. Graham crouched lower over the handlebars and peddled harder. He took the lead with Hutton falling in line behind him.
When they rounded the corner into Sugar’s main downtown drag, Graham slowed. The shop was a few blocks up. He could just make out the teal awning blowing in the warm breeze. A half-dozen people stood on the sidewalk out front. It was late enough that Jack might already be at work. His stomach muscles clenched at the thought of seeing her.
It’s not like they hadn’t slept at each other’s houses before, or even in each other’s beds, he reasoned. But he’d gone there last night knowing he wanted to stay. Knowing he wanted her. If she told him he couldn’t have her, he would try to suppress his feelings and move on like nothing happened. But a part of him whispered that he would fail. That he would never be able to get over wanting her.
He turned as Hutton caught up to him, red-faced and short of breath. He loosened his grip on the handlebars and flexed his fingers. “I know you’ve always said Jack’s off limits, but—”
Dark-tinted sunglasses hid Hutton’s eyes, but the clenched jaw told Graham he should have left it alone. “Don’t go there, man. We settled this back in high school, remember?” he said.
“How is this anywhere near the same thing?” he asked. He remembered the first time he’d confessed his feelings for Jack.
He’d gone over to the Paces’ house the day after he kissed her, when he knew she wouldn’t be home. He needed to talk to Hutton without her around. Keep his mind free from distractions. It was hard when the house smelled like her perfume, subtle and sweet. He imagined taking her to dinner or a movie, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to pull her close, and steeping himself in the scent.
He shook his head to clear it, to focus. He found Hutton in the backyard tinkering on his motorcycle.
“Hey, man,” he said. He straddled the picnic bench his friend used as a worktable. It was coarse and splintery. The wrenches had left grease and oil stains on the russet wood.
“Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be working today?”
“On my way. Thought I’d stop by. Talk for a minute about your sister.”
He looked up from the bike, swiped the back of his hand across his cheek, smearing dirt and sweat. “Oh, yeah. Thanks for getting Jaclyn home yesterday. Coach was in a foul mood and kept us doing laps in the freakin’ rain until dark.”
“It was no problem. I, uh, kinda enjoyed it,” Graham said.
“You enjoy carting my sister around? Awesome. She’s yours.”
“Hutt, I’m serious. I like Jaclyn.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Staring at the ground, he added, “A lot.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘like’? ’Cause if you mean what I think you mean, we’re going to have some serious issues.”
“Just hear me out. I’ve liked her for a long time. And I didn’t do anything for years because I was worried it was just some dumb crush and I didn’t want to hurt her. But all I wanna do is be with her and make her happy.”
Hutton dropped his tools into the dirt and pushed up from the ground. He wiped his hands on his grease-stained tee. The dark spots were overtaking the white so that before long nothing of the original design would be recognizable.
Not wanting to provoke his friend, Graham stayed seated. He ran his fingers along a split in the wood. It pried up easily. The thin piece cracked and pulled off, leaving a jagged edge on the seat.
“What the hell are you talking about? What did you do with my sister?”
“I kissed her. That’s it. But I’m gonna ask her out and wanted you to know before I do. I figured I owe you that much.”
“You are sadly mistaken if you think you’re dating Jack. I don’t give a damn what you think you feel for her. You’ve known her long enough to know she’s not the one for you. I know you’ve said it’s all bullshit, but if it’s not and the girl you’re supposed to be with is out there somewhere, you’re not gonna use my sister as a placeholder. To hell if I’ll let you break her heart when you leave her.” Hutton swung out and caught him on the chin, knocking him off the bench.
Graham landed hard on his left shoulder. His head bounced off the dirt. Disoriented and nauseated, it took him a moment to realize that a scabby, dime-sized stick protruded from his back. When he reached for it, moss and bark flaked off in his hand. The wound throbbed as he extracted it. It came out slowly and covered in sticky blood.
He flicked it to the ground at his friend’s feet.
They both watched as the blood trickled down, making dark pools in the dirt.
“I won’t hurt her,” Graham said. He stood and straightened so he looked down on Hutton.
“You won’t get the chance to. It’s me or her, man. Your choice.”
Graham let go of the bike handle and rubbed at his side. He fingered the bullet-shaped scar just below his kidney where the stick had penetrated years before. A small reminder of the choice he’d made.
But, he realized, if they were back in the same situation now after more than a decade, what’s to say they wouldn’t be back here in another fifteen years if he gave in to Hutton again? It was looking more and more like Jack was the Pace he couldn’t live without. If Hutton made him choose this time, he knew, without a doubt, their friendship would be over.
“I gave in because I was scared of hurting her. But I never understood what you thought was so wrong with the two of us being together,” Graham said.
Hutton pulled up short at the Stop sign. He looked over Graham’s shoulder at the shop. Shaking his head, he said, “You were leaving, Graham. I saw the way she looked at you. How she was always finding some way to be near you, to talk to you. She couldn’t have handled you leaving.”
“You never give her enough credit. We could’ve made it work.”
“You would’ve tried, but we all know she wasn’t the one for you. I didn’t want to see her get hurt when you found the girl who was. And I didn’t want to hate you for being the asshole that broke her heart.”
“What about now, Hutt? I’m not going anywhere and I don’t want any other girl, but you’re still dead-set against it?”
&nbs
p; “Your dad wasn’t going anywhere either,” Hutton said. “Until the day he did.”
Words screamed in Graham’s head. Years of frustration and resentment he hadn’t allowed himself to acknowledge. His chest burned from the pressure of holding it all in. Hutton might not be afraid to fight dirty, but Graham refused to.
Instead he said, “Like father, like son, I guess.”
Hutton’s voice barely registered. Graham wasn’t sure if he’d apologized or tried to backtrack. And at the moment he didn’t care. Instead of going straight to finish the last seven miles of the ride, he turned left to circle back into town. He knew, without looking, that Hutton hadn’t followed.
thirteen
Jack wiped down the tables for a second time though no one had been in yet to dirty them. She looked up to see a small gathering of people on the sidewalk. Most were folks she recognized from town; some were regular customers. None came in. They stood outside talking to one another—with occasional glances in her direction—or pretended to stare at their reflections in the window.
Jack forced herself to smile at them. They’d been her friends the day before. She’d find a way to make them be again. She talked herself into taking out a plate of samples to them.
Tabitha maneuvered between people, jockeying for a place right in front. Her bleached hair caught the sun and looked ghostly white among the crowd. She threw glances in the store’s direction and talked animatedly to whoever would listen. Her cheekbones were sharp and her eyes narrowed whenever she glowered at Jack through the window.
Her hatred and spite slammed into Jack like a blast of air from the oven. The room filled with a sour smell Jack couldn’t place. She refused to look away. Her heart jumped when her mom and Graham’s forced their way through the crowd. Their smiles were big and oozed Southern hospitality, even as they tapped on shoulders and squeezed between people on their way to the door.
Charlotte paused, placed a hand on Tabitha’s arm, and said something that caused Tabitha to shake out of her light grip and stalk off in wobbly, three-inch heels.
The chirping voices trailed off when they opened the door.
“How’re you doing, sweetheart?” Pepper asked. She reached over the counter to hug Jack. Her hand was rough as she rubbed Jack’s back up and down.
Jack repeated the motion with her own mom a few seconds later. “You’re the first people to actually set foot in here today other than Harper, and I kicked her out.”
“What are all those?” Charlotte asked, pointing to the growing group of people outside. They watched, their faces pressed to the window.
“Spectators. All here to look at the freak behind the glass.”
Her mother tsked. “You’re not a freak, Jaclyn.”
“You haven’t seen the way they look at me, Mama. They’re not mean about it. They just watch me as if I’m going to make their favorite flavor appear out of thin air.” She waved her hands and flicked her fingers the way a magician might before the smoke clears and a bunny appears.
“Oh, phooey on them,” Pepper said. “Especially that blond one out there stirring up trouble. I would’ve given her a piece of my mind if your mama hadn’t said something first.”
“You’re not feeling like a grilled cheese today, are you, Pepper? Or is it too spiteful to want Tabitha to get caught in a little rain today?”
“That’s just the right amount of spite.” Pepper grinned at her.
Charlotte chuckled and patted her daughter’s hand. “Give it a little time. They’ll calm down. And they’ll come back in.”
“What if they don’t?” Jack asked. “What if it ruins the business?”
“What has Graham said about it?” Charlotte asked.
“Have you talked to him since last night?” Pepper added.
Jack couldn’t place it, but she had the feeling that Pepper knew Graham had spent the night with her. Even though nothing much had happened, she wanted to lie. She settled for misdirection. She looked at the calendar hanging from a nail below the counter. “He was training with Hutton this morning, so he hasn’t made it in yet.”
Checking her watch, Pepper said, “Oh, Char, we’ve gotta get going if we don’t want to be late.”
Charlotte pulled out her wallet. “We’re headed to a meeting with Aria. Can you box up a dozen? Your choice.”
“Your money’s no good here,” Jack said. She bent to get a box and started filling it with their favorites. She added a few she knew her father and Hutton would want, too.
The buttons on the cash register beeped. The door clanged open.
“Mama!” Jack straightened and gave her mom what she hoped was a stern look.
“Well, you weren’t going to let me pay.”
“How much did you put in?” she asked.
Charlotte laughed. “Not telling. Now, finish packing those up so we can get out of your hair.”
It’s not like I’ve got anything else to do.
***
“Hey, Graham,” Harper called from the doorway. Just a hint of sound over the humming of the mixer. “There’s someone out here to see you.”
He switched off the mixer and grabbed a damp towel from the sink to wipe the flour residue from his hands. His heart stuttered at the man standing in front of the display case. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders back. He drained all expression from his face. Cocking his head, he motioned Harper into the back.
He remembered his dad as being larger than life. Tall and muscular with meaty hands built for working in construction. As quick to boom out a laugh as he was to flick a hard finger on Graham’s head when he got out of line. The man standing before him was a few inches shorter than Graham. They shared the same broad shoulders and dark, cautious eyes, but where Graham was lean and toned, his dad had gone to fat. His navy suit jacket stretched tight across his stomach. A close-cropped gray beard covered the strong jawline he’d passed onto his son.
Graham scratched a hand over his stubble and wished he’d shaved that morning. He stopped behind the counter, blocking the view from the back in case Harper tried to eavesdrop. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
William Hollingsworth rested his hand on top of the glass display. Gone were the calluses and bits of dirt and paint that had plagued his hands in Graham’s childhood. His nails were rounded and impeccable as they tapped on the glass. “I was in this little cafe having a meeting with a client and the owner was chatting to another customer about a baker in Sugar and his magical business partner. When I asked her about it, she said she was a friend of yours. Gave me a copy of the article.”
He made a mental note to throttle Thalia the next time he saw her. “Okay. But why are you here?”
“I wanted to see you.”
“Well, you’ve seen me. I need to get back to work.” Graham twisted the rag that was still in his hands.
“I guess I deserve that,” his dad said. He let his hand fall, leaving a thin sheen of sweat on the top of the display case. “I just want to know how you are, boy. Then I’ll go.”
Graham bristled at the word boy. His father could don fancy suits and scrub the muck from his hands, but on the inside he was still the rough-spoken Southern man Graham remembered.
“I’m fine. I’ve got a job I love and people I care about. Life couldn’t have turned out better.”
“You and your business partner looked pretty comfortable with each other in that magazine. Is she—” his dad asked.
“My girlfriend? Yes,” Graham interrupted. Or she would be, he hoped. They hadn’t decided exactly what they were yet. He looked over his shoulder. A tuft of pink hair vanished behind the edge of the walk-in cooler.
His dad raised a trimmed eyebrow in curiosity. “Isn’t she the sister of the Pace boy you used to play with?”
Graham heard the insinuation and clenched his jaw until his teeth hurt and he was sure he could speak without telling his dad to go to hell.
“She is. And he’s still that Pace boy I play with.”
Pressing his knuckles into the counter, he popped them in rapid succession. He leaned closer to his dad and met his disappointed stare. “I might not see some weird golden light with Jack when we touch, but she’s the one I want. Why can’t that be enough?” Graham asked.
“It doesn’t work that way, Graham.”
“That’s bullshit, Dad. I don’t need some magical ability to tell me Jack’s the one.”
“I know you feel that way now, but when you meet the girl you’re supposed to be with, everything about you will just feel different. More alive. Like if you’re not with her, you don’t really have a reason to exist. I hate what I did to your mother. She didn’t deserve that. Neither did you. But I couldn’t stay with her knowing how I felt about Beth. It wasn’t fair to anyone.”
The pressure in Graham’s chest intensified. He pushed through it in two long, aching breaths. The air tasted like curdled milk when he spoke. “I can’t believe you’re going to stand there and justify cheating on my mother,” he said.
His dad reached for his arm. Graham jerked back.
“I was faithful to your mother. Always.” He pinned Graham to the spot with a look that was both haunted and determined. He didn’t blink, continuing to stare with an unnerving intensity.
“You expect me to believe that you ran off with some girl you had no prior relationship with? Really, Dad? That’s what you’re going with?” He didn’t try to keep the disbelief out of his hard voice.
“It’s the truth. The day I met Beth she did nothing more than hand me a book. When our fingers touched, I knew. She did, too. And I told your mother that night.”
Graham clenched his jaw and said, “And then you left.”
“Beth and I didn’t want to cause any more problems for you or your mother. I’d already done enough of that.”
“Yeah, you did,” Graham agreed.
Love and Cupcakes Page 17