The things we do for love.
Knowing Maddie has to leave early for work this morning, I got up at dawn to get her breakfast from the Drury Lane Bakery—a large blueberry muffin and a small barrel of coffee, which is still bigger than a Venti.
I was heading back to the truck when I remembered Rhonda got into town last night and will be at work with Maddie, so I returned to the bakery to get another muffin and a barrel for her.
In the truck, ready to head back to the hotel, it occurred to me that maybe they don’t like blueberry, so I went back and got two chocolate and two lemon to cover all the bases.
After letting myself into our room, I set the huge bag of muffins and coffee caddy on the table, then walk into the bedroom to find Maddie sitting up in bed. She’s wearing my T-shirt, and she doesn’t look happy.
“I woke up, and you weren’t here,” she says anxiously.
There’s worry in her eyes. Did she think I left her? Maybe. It was probably a bit of a shock to wake up alone. IfI had to venture a guess, somewhere in her past she’s been hurt, and from the desperation written all over her face, I suspect she suffers from some lingering trust issues. I make a mental note to reassure her whenever I can.
“I wanted to let you sleep in, so I went and got muffins from the bakery. Wasn’t sure what kind you like, so I got a little of everything.”
The tension in her shoulders eases. “Aw, I can’t believe you did that.”
I sit on the edge of the bed and lean over to give her a kiss. Both of her hands cup my face as our lips meet, and there’s more in this kiss than I expected, like she’s relieved that I didn’t abandon her. How do I let her know that I could never do that?
“We should get going, or it’ll be my fault that you’re late. Oh, and I got breakfast for Rhonda too.”
“That was nice.” As she rolls out of bed, I notice she put her panties back on. No bra though. I can see her nipples through my shirt, and wish I had gotten back sooner. We might have had time for one more round before she had to go to work. With her back to me, she starts pulling clothes from her suitcase. “So you got us a little of everything? I can’t believe they still had strawberry-rhubarb.”
“Um…”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “Oh, they didn’t, did they?”
“I didn’t see any.”
“That’s all right,” she says as she pulls a pair of jeans on. “Their honey-pecan muffins are to die for.”
“Really? I didn’t see any of those either.”
“Bummer.” Still with her back to me, she takes my t-shirt off and begins putting her bra on. “Hazelnut cream?”
“They have a hazelnut cream muffin?”
With both hands behind her back she connects the hooks on her bra. It seems like it would be a hard thing to do, but women make it look so easy. With her bra on, she turns to me with, “Zebra chocolate chunk?”
I shake my head.
“Caramel walnut cluster?”
How long is this list? “They had blueberry, chocolate, and lemon with poppy seeds.”
She looks disappointed but quickly tries to hide it. “Those are good, too, I guess. Which did you get?”
“All three. Two of each. Whattime do you have to get there for the good stuff? I was there at dawn.”
“I’d say by four at the latest. Farmers need to get as much done in the summer months as they can so a lot of them are at the bakery by three when it opens.”
What about all the people we saw at the river, like Zane and Chelsea?”
“Those were the cattle ranchers. The farmers had already left by the time we got there.”
Ah, makes sense. Cattle ranchers aren’t planting and harvesting like the farmers, so they don’t need to start earlier in the summer months. It’s smart of the bakery to change their schedule. I’m sure the farmers appreciate it.
“So, are the muffins I got going to work? Because we can stop and get something else if you want.”
