by Niecey Roy
The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile. “That sounds like a compliment. Does that mean you’re not mad at me for crashing your girl time?”
She tilted her head; her gaze roamed the gorgeous plane of his face. “What do you mean?”
“I suppose since I’m being a good guy and all, I should confess that when Mia told me she was meeting you here, I begged her to let me take her place.”
“And this is you behaving?” Her entire body felt weightless. Being here with him like this gave her a sense of peace she hadn’t realized she lacked... or needed.
He gave her a sheepish smile. “I suppose.”
“Well, you get points for being sweetly mischievous.” Her body ached to stay right where it was, and so did her heart. And that worried her. She eased away. “Now quit distracting me. I have pictures to take before Samantha wows us with what Mia keeps telling me is the best prime rib I’ll ever have in my life.”
He held up his hands and stepped back. “I promise, nothing but good guy for the rest of the evening.”
So why wasn’t she relieved by his promise?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Oh God, you didn’t ask me here to, like, garden or something, did you?”
Jaden looked up. Tatem stood at the edge of the patio in Mia’s backyard, her hands shoved into the back pockets of her shorts, a suspicious squint to her eyes.
“No gardening today.” Jaden shook her head with a smile.
“Good. I don’t need community service hours that bad.”
“I hear gardening is therapeutic.” Jaden stood and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder. She pointed to the camera bag on the patio table. “You take that. You’re in charge of pictures today.”
Tatem’s eyes brightened. “Really?”
“Really.” She waited for Tatem to ease the camera strap over her head and across her chest to hang at her hip, then walked around the side of the house. “You know how to operate a camera like that?”
“I’m on the yearbook committee, but our camera sucks.” She fell into step beside Jaden. “Thought maybe you didn’t need my help since you didn’t call.”
Jaden glanced over at her, and bit back a frown. The girl was used to not getting phone calls, used to broken promises. She knew that feeling all too well, and the fact she’d been filed away into the same category made her heart ache.
“Sorry about that; I haven’t touched my blog since my first day here, and I haven’t made a dent on the list Mia gave me. Since she’s already told everyone there’d be something on my website, I better get something up or the town will ban me for life.”
Tatem shrugged. “I wasn’t worried about it or anything.”
“Are you enjoying your summer vacation?” Jaden rounded the SUV to the driver’s side.
“Not really.” She tugged the passenger door open. “This is a lot nicer than that piece of crap you had.”
“Tell me about it.” Jaden climbed into the vehicle and reached between the front seats to set her messenger bag on the back seat. “Everything works in this thing.”
“You ever get tired of traveling?”
“Never.” Jaden slipped on her sunglasses. “Seatbelt.”
Tatem crinkled up her nose, but reached for the belt. “We don’t have to wear seatbelts here.”
“If you’d seen the accidents I have, you’d wear your seatbelt all the time.” She pulled away from the curb. “So why aren’t you enjoying your summer?”
“Because this town sucks.”
Jaden turned at the end of the block, and let a smile tug at her lips. “I used to think that too, but this place isn’t so bad.”
“Oh yeah? So why haven’t I ever seen you before?” Her stare challenged Jaden. “If you like this place so much, why don’t you live here?”
“I left to get away from my mom.”
They drove in silence for two blocks.
“So, your mom sucked, huh?”
“She wouldn’t have won any parent awards, that’s for sure.”
“So why’d you come back, then?”
Jaden glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “She’s in rehab again, so I don’t have to worry about running into her anywhere.”
“People kinda suck, you know?” Tatem turned to stare out the window.
“Yeah, sometimes they do.” She turned onto Main Street and pulled into traffic. Of course, traffic in River Bend was nothing like traffic in a city, but for this small town, it was rush hour. A car full of teenagers skidded around a pickup backing into the street from the curb in front of the pharmacy. “But I didn’t let her ruin things for me. After I graduated, I left and made my own life. You can too, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said with a note of finality.
She hoped for Tatem’s sake that her mom stayed gone. There’d been so many nights she’d lain in bed, wishing her mom would take off and leave so she could live with Mia’s family. But she’d wake up the next morning and her mom would be there in the living room, passed out on the couch surrounded with pill bottles and empty beer cans.
They spent the day walking around town, Tatem taking pictures and Jaden taking down notes. Every single business opened their door to her, eagerly offering her royalty treatment. After leaving one establishment for another, guilt set in. She couldn’t possibly feature every place she visited on her blog, not unless she dedicated a month’s worth of posts to the town.
The community center was packed with contestants, the tables laden with sweet rolls filled with so many different fillings she couldn’t remember them all. Women of all ages had come from all over the county to enter the contest, and the energy in the room took Jaden by surprise. Of all the years she’d lived in River Bend, she’d never made it to one kolache competition. Apparently, two preliminary events with more than fifty contestants had been held prior to the kolache finale, where they were.
Jaden found Hillary at the third table in, her cheeks flushed pink and her short blonde hair pulled up in a stubby ponytail and covered with a hairnet. She had a quilted apron tied around her waist, and a hard look of concentration as she worked the dough by hand. Each contestant had a full kitchen to work with. Every roll presented had to be made in the kitchen, in front of judges, and Hillary had been at the community center baking since early that morning.
She glanced up from rolling dough, her eyes slightly crazed. “Please tell me you brought me a diet soda.”
Jaden shook her head and handed her the fountain pop she’d picked up at the gas station on the way over. “No. I brought you a regular soda. Aspartame will kill you.”
Hillary took the Styrofoam cup and sucked in a long drink through the straw. Her eyes rolled back. “This is heaven. Thank you. I needed a caffeine pick-me-up.”
“Where’s Angie and the rest of her gang?” Jaden searched the crowded room. Fans were set up to help circulate the cool air-conditioning, but with so many people, the building was still warm.
“They’re around here, scoping out the competition. Betty and Elaine have convinced Grams that her kolache nemesis is plotting some kind of sabotage.” She wiped at her wiggling nose. “Scratch my nose, will you?”
Jaden tore off a paper towel square and reached over the countertop to rub Hillary’s nose. “Did I get it?”
“Yeah, thanks.” She blew out a heavy breath.
“Is Mia here yet?”
“Somewhere. Dealing with some festival board catastrophe. I don’t know, budget issues.” She waved flour-dusted hands near her flushed face. “It’s ridiculously hot in here.”
“You’re looking pretty hot in that apron, there, Hills.”
Jaden turned to Trey who sauntered up to the counter. It annoyed the hell out of her that her eyes roamed behind him, searching for Cole. He wasn’t there, though. She ignored the flash of disappointment.
“What are you doing here?” Hillary rolled the dough flat with her gaze locked on Trey. “Derby’s on the other side of town.”
He clutched his chest with a pout. “I am deeply offended. Your kolaches are as important to me as junker cars bashing each other around a track, Hills.”
Hillary rolled her eyes. “What are you really doing here, Thompson?”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “This woman gives me butterflies with her sweet talk.”
Jaden laughed and sat down at a stool beside the counter. “Yeah, well, she told me you like to give her a hard time right back, so I’m thinking it’s a thing between you two.”
Hillary swung an annoyed glare at Jaden. “No thing with us. I think he enjoys driving me nuts.”
Trey’s grin turned diabolical. “She’s right. I do enjoy it. But mostly because you’re so cute when you’re pissy.” He patted Tatem on the head. “And what’re you doing, squirt? Armed with expensive equipment, I see.”
She ignored him and turned to Jaden. “Should I go take some pictures?”
“Yeah, and don’t worry about taking too many. We’ll go through them together tomorrow and I’ll show you how to use the editing software on my laptop.”
“Cool.” She smiled sweetly at Trey. “Smell you later,” she said, and walked off.
Hillary laughed. “I like that girl. Maybe she needs a job at the bakery.”
Trey grimaced and shook his head. “Then I’d have both of you busting my chops when I come in.”
“Exactly,” Hillary said with a narrowed gaze. “Now go away so I can concentrate. I’m trying to win a ribbon.”
“Trophy, babe. It’s a big-ass trophy. I saw it on the way in.” He winked at her and started in the direction of the door. He stopped after two steps and said to Jaden, “Hey, you need to call my pal, Cole. He’s moody as fuck without your tongue down his throat.”
Jaden rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t ignore the flicker of satisfaction at the thought of Cole agonizing over her. “I’m sure Cole knows what a phone is. He can call if he misses my tongue.”
Trey whistled with raised brows. “Feisty. No wonder he likes you. I’ll be by later to taste the wining roll, Hills.”
After he was out of earshot, Jaden turned back to Hillary. She doubted the flush on Hillary’s cheeks was solely due to the ovens behind her. “So, Trey, huh?”
Hillary brushed the back of her hand across her cheek at an invisible tickle. “You’re crazy.”
“Am I? So why’d he just show up...” she waved her hand in gesture. “…at a kolache competition?”
Hillary punched out circles of dough with a round cutter. “Who knows. Maybe his girlfriend is here.”
“Or maybe he likes your kolaches.” Jaden waggled her brows with a lascivious grin.
“Ew, don’t do that,” she said, and her skin climbed three deeper shades of pink. “It makes you look pervy.”
Laughing, Jaden searched the crowd. “I’m going to find Mia and make sure she’s not on the verge of a stress induced heart attack.”
Jaden found Mia pacing at the back of the room, squinting down at the clipboard in her hand. She stuck a pen behind her ear and pulled her cellphone from the purse on her hip and glanced at the screen. She shoved it back into her purse. By the time Jaden reached her, she’d checked her phone one more time.
“Hey.”
Mia glanced up and forced a smile. “Hey. You made it.”
“So, I wasn’t going to press this, but you look like you might have an aneurism right here and now.” Jaden reached for her hand and squeezed it. “No more avoidance; tell me what’s going on. Okay?”
Mia chewed on her lip, but finally nodded. “Okay.” She pulled Jaden to a quieter corner against the back wall of the community hall. “It’s David. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“And that’s not good?”
“He was supposed to be back yesterday. I mean, I know it’s his job, but...” She blew out a sigh and crossed her arms.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
Mia nodded.
“Good. What’s really going on, Mia?”
The fact Mia hadn’t yet confided in Jaden was proof of the distance growing between them. She’d been in denial about it, certain their relationship would always stand the test of time. But their lives were in different places, and getting together once a year wasn’t enough. Life happened in-between, and they’d missed so much.
“It’s just a David thing—we’ve been fighting lately. I didn’t even want to tell you because it’s... stupid.”
“If it’s bothering you, it’s not stupid, Mia.” Shaking her head, Jaden pinched her lips together. Then she added, “You shouldn’t keep this stuff festering inside. It’s going to drive you crazy.”
“It’s just, I don’t want to be one of those paranoid women who complains about her marriage, you know?”
“You’re not one of those paranoid women. I’ve never known your gut to be wrong, Mia.” And already, Jaden wanted to punch David in the stomach. “What’s he doing?”
“Nothing. He’s doing nothing,” Mia said, with so much frustration dripping from her words that Jaden’s eyes widened.
“What kind of nothing?”
“We’re fighting again. About kids.” Mia glanced down to her hands, fidgeting with her fingers the way she did when she was stressed. “It’s always about that.”
“I know.” And it broke Jaden’s heart. Mia would be the best mom, but she’d been unable to get pregnant. “I’m sorry.”
“I want to do in vitro—something. Anything. But he thinks it’s a waste of money because it might not work.” She pinched her lips together then sucked in her bottom lip to moisten it before saying, “And his mom is the worst. Of course, it’s my fault. Always is.”
Jaden scrunched her brows together. “You’re kidding. She told you that it’s your fault you haven’t gotten pregnant?”
Anyone who knew Mia, really knew her, would know how much an accusation like that would hurt her. She wanted a family so much.
“She told David. We were fighting the other day. I want to spend the money on the treatment, he doesn’t, and he said his mom thinks my career is causing too much stress to get pregnant.” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “And his whole family thinks I need to quit my career because I’m the reason we don’t have a family yet.”
She shook her head and scrunched her brows together. “Are you freakin’ kidding me? They’re nuts. And David...” Jaden trailed off under Mia’s piercing stare. She sucked in a breath and said, “David’s a jackass. I’m sorry. I don’t want to offend you, or piss you off, or hurt you... but that guy hasn’t changed one damn bit. And I’m not going to sit around and let him or his family blame you for not being able to get pregnant. Maybe he’s got weak fucking sperm.”
Mia’s eyes had widened in degrees throughout Jaden’s rant, and when she was done, Mia’s mouth was parted in surprise. When she burst into laughter, Jaden expelled a breath of relief.
“I’m sorry.” Mia wrapped her in a tight hug, settling her chin on Jaden’s shoulder. “I should have said something to you sooner. I needed to hear that.”
“Yes, you should have,” Jaden admonished and hugged her tighter. “But, I understand why it’s so hard for you to talk about it. I do.”
Mia pulled away, her eyes shimmering with the tears she blinked back. “I miss you, you know that? I miss us. I should have said something sooner. You flew all this way—you knew something was wrong.”
That familiar pang of sadness, of things lost, buried itself into Jaden’s ribs. All these years she’d been pulling away from River Bend and her mother, she’d also been pulling away from Hillary, and from Mia, the one person who was family.
“That’s going to change. No more missing each other, okay?” She gave Mia’s hand a quick squeeze. “I’ll come back more often during your busy season, and you can come visit me during my busy season.”
“Agreed.” She bent to pick up the pen she’d dropped when they hugged. “No more going months, a year, without seeing each other.”
“And no more stressing about David. When he gets home, you’ll talk to him and straighten things out.” But she couldn’t shake the feeling that Mia would not get the answer she needed from her husband.
“I’m going outside to call him. He left a message and I haven’t called him back, I’ve been so mad. I just keep staring at this stupid thing, trying to figure out what to say.” Mia slipped her phone from her purse. “I’ll meet you at Hillary’s station in a few minutes, okay?”
Jaden nodded. “Okay. Good luck.”
She stared in the direction Mia had disappeared into the crowd. David was a piece of work.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a rush. When it was time to announce the new Kolache Queen, Jaden and Mia stood at the front of the crowd. Hillary looked so nervous Jaden was afraid she might throw up. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone in the room that she won, but it was still an exhilarating moment. The three of them had their picture taken with Jaden’s camera, their arms linked around each other in a moment she knew she’d look back to often.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cole hefted the plastic bin from the bed of the truck, then lifted it over the edge of the tailgate. It was loaded with packages of hamburger buns and bags of potato chips. The air was heavy and smelled of barbeque. Music from a live band carried to him from blocks away. He picked up the bin and made his way down the crowded sidewalk to the firehouse.
The town’s fire and rescue department was small, and like most towns in the county, it relied heavily on donations. There was a small staff of full-time firemen rotating shifts, and twice that many volunteer firemen. Cole was on call when they needed warm bodies. This summer had been dry, and he’d seen more action as a volunteer this year than in the past.
Sweat beaded his forehead. Forecast called for rain over the weekend, and they needed it. He hoped the summer storm brought the moisture, but no hail. He wanted the ‘Vette in the car show, hoped for one ribbon—a trophy would be nice—on the beauty before he sold it to a car collector from Georgia. He needed the weather to cooperate.