Sprinkles on Top (A Sugar Springs Novel)

by Kim Law

  Chicago would be better, though. More clients, more money. She could be someone.

  And it wasn’t like she’d have to live there to do it.

  That had been her original plan, but after her brief experience, there was no way she’d move there now.

  But sell mirrors there? She nodded to herself. She just might do that.

  Even to a snooty bitch.

  She made arrangements with Ms. Daughtry to send a digital portfolio within the next two days, and got off the phone.

  “You okay?” Brian asked from the grill.

  “Huh?” She barely gave him a glance. She needed to get home and pick out the pieces she wanted to showcase, as well as set up a spot to photograph them. Then she’d need a piece of black velvet for the backdrop. And a camera. She didn’t even have a decent camera.

  “The phone call,” Brian said. “Everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  She nodded. Then she shook her head. “No. No ghost. I’m fine. I just . . .” She glanced around, wondering if there was anything else she absolutely had to do before she left. “I need to go. I think. Can you box up the fireflies? I’ll finish them tomorrow.”

  “Sure.” Her brother nodded. He watched her carefully, as if he feared she might flip out and start screaming obscenities at the customers. “Anything wrong?” He pointed to the phone.

  “No. I just . . .” Oh, my God. Someone wanted to see her work. Her hands began to shake. She looked out the order window and found Zack again. She wanted to tell him about the call. And then she wanted to go home and get busy. “You got a camera I could borrow, Brian?”

  “Sure. You need it today?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m here for another thirty minutes. I’ll bring it to you. You going to be at the house?”

  She had moved to grab her purse from the office, and as she came out, she saw the concern on her brother’s face. They all gave her grief about men, and they’d picked on her all her life for one thing or another, but they also loved her. And she’d excluded them from something that was a vital part of who she was.

  They thought her mirrors were a hobby.

  They had no idea they were her life.

  It was time to change that.

  “Can you bring it out to the cabin?” she asked. “Maybe even hang around a couple hours? I could use some help.”

  “Sure.” There was no delay in the response. He was her brother. Her family. He’d be there for her. She wasn’t sure why she’d ever doubted that.

  He’d probably even go to Chicago and punch all the snotty people in the face if she asked him to.

  “Thanks,” she said. Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.

  She headed out through the dining room, hoping to get a minute alone with Zack. She wanted to tell him about the call. Yet as she stepped through the door, she saw that his mother and brothers were hitting it off. She didn’t want to interrupt.

  And then Hounddog smiled at her.

  She got a little tickle in her stomach. That boy was dangerous with that smile.

  “Important call?” he asked.

  She looked down at the phone still clutched in her hand. “Yeah, actually. Sorry, Bobby, I’ve got to run. Can we catch up later?”

  “Sure thing.” He rose and gave her a hug. While he had her close, he planted a friendly kiss on her cheek. “Real good to see you, Holly.”

  “You too.”

  Zack looked up from the table while Holly stood in the circle of Bobby’s arms. The planes of his face hardened.

  “Can I walk you out?” Bobby asked.

  She shot one more peek at Zack. He looked to be stewing. Jealous. But he had no right.

  “Absolutely.”

  Without a glance back, she turned and walked out the door with Bobby “Hounddog” Thompson. All the while hoping Zack was watching. And that it stuck in his craw to see her with another man.

  Zack sat at the table, his fingers tight around his water glass, while Holly left the building with the man who’d just kissed her. That made three times in less than one week he’d had to watch another guy put his lips on her.

  She’d been laughing with this one as Zack had come in. Not a polite, friendly laugh. The kind filled with true I’m-happy-to-be-around-you, I-couldn’t-stop-myself-if-I-tried bursting joy.

  The kind that weakened Zack every time he saw it.

  That was what he liked best about Holly. She always found a way to be happy. She could have her feet completely ripped out from under her, and she’d find a way to roll over and start dancing.

  He wanted that.

  He wanted Holly.

  Zack had also noticed that the guy she’d left with wasn’t hard on the eyes. Which he suspected she’d been well aware of herself. She certainly wasn’t blind. It made him wonder where they were heading off to.

  And what that call had been about.

  She’d looked shell-shocked as she’d stood talking on the phone. She’d sought him out with her gaze, and ridiculously, he’d expected her to come out from the back and tell him all about it.

  Instead, she’d hugged another man and left without looking back.

  Zack’s temperature rose. Jealousy was such a bitch.

  He dragged his attention back to the extra-large booth where he sat. His mother, brothers, and nieces were having a good time. His mom had immediately fallen for the two men who looked so much like him. And truth be told, they acted a lot like him too. Zack found it interesting that genetics played as big a role in what shaped a person as the environment they grew up in.

  But even more importantly, she was head over heels for Candy and Kendra.

  If the girls lived in the same city as his mother, he suspected Janet’s long-time love of doting would reappear in full force.

  “And what grade will you two be in?” his mom asked.

  Candy sat up straight, as if to make herself look older than she was. She was tall and thin, and with her dark eyes and matching smile, looked strangely almost as much like him as his brothers did. “Eighth grade, Mrs. Winston. I’m on the basketball team. First string next year.”

  “And I’m one of the top cheerleaders,” Kendra piped in. She swished her long brown hair back over her shoulders and preened from between her uncle and sister.

  Candy slid her sister a look as if to point out that “one of the top cheerleaders” didn’t quite compare to first string of the basketball team.

  “I also have a boyfriend,” Kendra tacked on.

  “Oh my,” his mother murmured. “Is it serious?”

  Both Candy and Cody guffawed as if the idea wasn’t possible. Kendra rolled her eyes.

  “It’s just as serious as I want it to be, Mrs. Winston. I’m not looking to settle down yet.”

  “Well, that’s certainly a good thing.” His mother reached across the table to pat both girls on the arm. “And please, feel free to call me Janet. Or even Grandma, if you want.”

  Guilt cracked Zack’s chest open. His mother wanted grandchildren and he was doing nothing to give them to her.

  He had no intention of giving them to her.

  Only . . .

  He looked at the door again where Holly had left the building, and let the idea float through his mind. Could he be someone else? The kind to provide grandchildren?

  The girls entertained his mother for a few more minutes, telling her about their school and fun things she might want to do while she was in town, while Zack just took it all in. His brothers and nieces both seemed to be as taken with his mother as she was with them.

  Of course, he’d expected nothing less.

  He was the only one who’d ever not been civil in the group. But they were getting over that. He and Cody had come a long way since their first encounter. Dinner at Lee Ann’s Friday nigh
t had been great. It had gone much easier than he’d anticipated. In fact, being around Cody had grown almost as easy as hanging with Nick.

  “Maybe we should invite Joanie and Lee Ann too,” his mom said now, in response to an invitation to take her over to the national park to give her the flavor of the Smokies. “I’d feel bad taking you away from them. Plus, I want to meet them too. I’m sure they’re wonderful people.”

  Though Zack was included in the outing, it felt almost like he was on the outside looking in. He knew that was unfair. His mother loved family, and she’d wanted more than one son. Her attaching herself to his brothers and nieces now only made sense.

  But still. He couldn’t help but feel like his brothers were swooping in to steal his mom.

  Or his mom was choosing them.

  They did have kids, after all. And soon-to-be wives that his mother was already looking forward to meeting.

  The jealousy running through him over his mother irritated him as much as watching Holly leave the restaurant with another man. He had to get this under control.

  “How about the Firefly Festival?” Nick pointed out. “We’ll all meet up there. Joanie will be working the morning shift, but she has someone who’ll take over in the afternoon.”

  “I’m on it,” Cody said. “The girls want to arrive early so we’ll stake out a place.”

  Kendra and Candy nodded exuberantly, and then Kendra looked at him. “You’ll be there too, right?”

  His heart seized up. “Absolutely.” A mutter was all he could manage.

  Kendra gave him an easy smile, and his heart took off again, this time at a gallop.

  Zack watched his mother’s face glow as she sat across from the four of them. She was in love with her new extended family, and she’d barely even scratched the surface. The next thing Zack knew, she’d be inviting them all to Atlanta and cooking them a big meal.

  “One other thing,” Cody said as he looked over at Zack. “I’ve been meaning to bring this up. Now seems like the perfect time.”

  Zack had no clue what Cody was about to say, but did notice that the girls began to twitch on the seat as if they couldn’t sit still. Smiles fought their way to their lips.

  “My wedding is in a little over three weeks,” Cody said. “I’d love it if you’d stand up with me.”

  Zack’s mother sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, Zackie. You always did want brothers.”

  He shot his mother a look. No need telling all his secrets. And quit calling him Zackie!

  Cody and Nick both gave him smug looks. “So we weren’t the only ones?” Nick teased.

  Shit. Leave it to his mother to put him on the spot. But the truth was that, no, they hadn’t been the only ones to want brothers. And he suddenly didn’t see the harm in admitting it.

  He shrugged. “Brothers would have been nice.”

  “Yeah.” Cody nodded. His gaze went serious as it locked onto Zack’s. “Real nice.”

  The moment felt heavy. The three of them had missed out on a lot together because of one selfish, inconsiderate person, but at least they had managed to find each other before it was too late.

  “It’s actually not so bad now,” Zack grudgingly admitted. Nick smiled. Cody nodded.

  And one more chink clicked closed.

  “What do you say, then?” Cody asked again. “Be in my wedding?”

  Candy and Kendra both nodded with excitement. This was big.

  Cody had talked about the upcoming nuptials, and Zack had assumed he’d be welcome to come up for the event. But honestly, it had never occurred to him that he might be invited to participate.

  The invitation meant a lot.

  Then he glanced at his mother and a petty thought crept maliciously into his mind. Was it because of her? Did the invitation have more to do with wanting her there than him? The offer hadn’t come until after she’d shown up.

  But he refused to let himself think like that.

  “It would be an honor,” Cody urged.

  “Having you stand there with us would make me proud too,” Nick chimed in.

  “Zackie,” his mother cooed.

  His brothers chuckled and his nieces pleaded. “Please,” they chimed out together.

  It wasn’t like he was going to say no. This was what he wanted. He wanted to be in his brothers’ lives. He wanted to be in his nieces’ lives. He wanted relationships. And all four of them were offering that.

  He nodded, an unusual warmth spreading through him, seeming to wrap around him and hold him tight. “I’d love to,” he confessed.

  His mother closed an arm around his waist and pressed a kiss to his bicep. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered.

  “And you’ll be there too, of course?” Cody asked Janet.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  A knot of tension grabbed hold in Zack’s shoulders at Cody’s words. But again, Zack shoved it aside. This wasn’t about his brothers and his mother. It was about him and his brothers. His mother just happened to be part of the package deal.

  Talk continued around the table. About the wedding, Lee Ann’s color scheme, and how the whole event would be incorporated into the community activities. They also talked more about the weekend’s upcoming festival. As they did, Zack watched the comings and goings around him.

  He recognized several people whom he saw almost every day. Even spotted a few he’d never spoken with but could pick out as locals. As opposed to the many tourists who’d begun to file into town over the last two days.

  Walking outside on the sidewalk was Mr. Martin, the man with the chew-toy ducks. Zack wondered if the letter his friend had sent to Mr. Martin’s neighbor had settled the dispute.

  Conversation wrapped up and Nick looked at his watch. “Got to get back,” he said. “I may own the company, but the biggest part of my workforce is me.”

  That was a lie. Dalton Construction may have only been around for a few months, but Nick was building quite the business. Already he employed a good handful of people, and things seemed to only be growing.

  His brothers and nieces said their good-byes, including hugs for his mother, and then were gone.

  Left in their place was Mr. Martin. He stood beside the table, holding a home-baked pie.

  “I know it ain’t right to bring a pie in the diner,” he said. The man’s accent was heavy with Southern drawl. “What with them selling desserts in here an’ all. But I needed to get this to ya.”

  He handed the pie over.

  Zack knew he must look as stumped as he felt. “Why would you bring me a pie, Mr. Martin?”

  “Because you helped me out. The missus baked it up this morning. I do appreciate your help.” Then Mr. Martin stuck out his hand for Zack to shake. Zack shifted the pie to his other hand and shook the older gentleman’s.

  “There was no need,” Zack started, thinking again about the differences in how he lived and how it was here, as well as the differences in what he’d expected, and what he’d found. The place was quaint. It was charming. “But I can’t say I don’t like a good pie.”

  Mr. Martin nodded. “And that letter worked, right nice. The fence went up today.”

  “Good,” Zack said with enthusiasm. “I’m glad it didn’t have to come to anything more.”

  After introducing the man to his mother and telling her about Mr. Martin’s less-than-friendly neighbor, Zack watched him turn and shuffle back out the door. One of the waitresses gave Zack the evil eye as if it were a sin to have someone else’s pie in the diner, so he slid it to the back of the table. The baked peaches smelled heavenly, but he’d wait until they got back to the house before tearing into it.

  “Well, isn’t that just the perfect thing,” his mother said in wonder. “Being paid with a peach pie.”

  Zack chuckled lightly. If only his boss could see him now. Ac
cepting baked goods as payment. “I can’t say that I was expecting payment.” He glanced at the pie. “But I also won’t say no to homemade pie.”

  His mother’s nose inched up. “As long as you don’t forget that it’s my pies you like the best.”

  Zack grinned at his mother. Seemed he wasn’t the only one who could have a jealous streak. “You haven’t made me a pie in a while, Mom. Better get on that.”

  He was teasing, but her eyes turned serious.

  She grasped his hands in hers. “You’re different here, Zackie. You aren’t as hard.”

  Her words made him think about the fact that he should be in the office working. He should be hard. He feared if he stuck around here much longer he might lose his edge. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave just yet.

  They’d get through the festival, and then he’d give his mom one more week.

  But then he had to get back to work.

  Of course, that meant he’d have to leave Holly too.

  “I like it,” his mother added to her previous words. “A softer Zack is a good thing.” She gave him a gentle smile. “Tell me about you and Holly.”

  There was no him and Holly.

  And given that he was just thinking about getting back to Atlanta and getting his hard-ass going, there couldn’t be a him and Holly. Even if he wanted it, she didn’t belong there. She was much too soft.

  She was the personification of this town.

  “There’s nothing between me and Holly, Mom. We’re friends.”

  His mother studied him quietly. Then she patted the back of his hand where she still held it in hers. “I think there might be more to it than that,” she said. “You seem happy when you’re around her.”

  He was happy. Being around her made him feel good.

  He nodded. “I am.”

  “Then quit pretending it’s nothing. She might be just what you need.”

  “I don’t need anything.”