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She just smiles at me, obviously knowing why I was distracted.
“Did you come from a big family?” she asks and I shift in my chair.
“Kind of. I mean, it was just me, my big brother, and my parents, but I had quite a few aunts, uncles, and cousins.”
“I was the best one of the cousins,” Ledger interrupts and I laugh.
“He’s right about that,” I admit.
“Do you see them often?” Anise asks and I shake my head.
“Not really. We were never super close, and I guess we only drifted apart once I joined the military and got stationed so far away from them.”
“Oh, that’s right! I forgot that you were in the military. Marines, right?” Anise asks and I nod.
“Yeah.”
I leave it at that and I don’t know if she picks up on my less than enthusiastic tone or if maybe Mabel has said something to her, but she quickly changes the subject.
“How are you liking Fallen Peak?”
“I love it here actually.”
“So you’re going to stay in town then?” she asks and I nod.
“Yeah, I’m staying,” I say, looking back to Mabel.
She’s watching me and she grins when our eyes meet.
“I’m not giving him back,” she whispers to me, nuzzling Romer closer to her chest and I grin.
“Wells and Snow might have something to say about that,” I remind her and she sighs.
She looks back to the baby and I see it then. There’s pure longing as she looks down at his little face. She wants a baby and a family and I aim to give her both of those things.
“Do you have a big family?” I ask her, and she shakes her head.
“No, I was an only child.”
“And you didn’t like it?”
“It was lonely,” she admits.
“Really? I always was envious of the kids who were only children. They got all of their parents’ attention.”
“My parents didn’t really have a lot of attention to give. My mom was a nurse and my dad was a doctor. They both worked crazy hours and so I was by myself or with a nanny most of the time.”
“I’m sorry. They should have made more time for you,” I tell her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
She rests her head on my shoulder and we both stare down at the sleeping baby for a moment. Our food gets delivered a minute later, and I reluctantly pull away from Mabel so that the server can set the food down in front of us.
“This looks delicious,” Grier says as she grabs her fork.
“Yeah, this is my first time here actually and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it smells awesome,” Anise says.
I’m about to ask how she could have lived here for months and never stopped at the diner but all of a sudden, Anise freezes, her fork full of food poised halfway to her mouth. Her dark blue eyes are wide and locked on something just over my shoulder.
I turn and try to spot what has her looking like a deer in headlights, but before I can, Grier yelps. I whirl back around just in time to see her dart under the table.
