We spend the next couple of hours snacking and catching up with each other and town gossip. Whenever the topic of Ryan and me comes up, I steer the conversation in a new direction. By the time we are all ready to leave, I am exhausted. The stress of the past week and the late nights have wiped me out.
Claire and Meg have already said their goodbyes and are in their cars when Hannah stops me on the front step.
“Beck, what’s going on?” she asks, wrapping her pink cardigan around her body. “I can tell something is bothering you. Is it Braden?”
“No, I’m just tired,” I brush her off with a self-deprecating laugh. “It’s like I turned thirty and now I can’t stay up past ten p.m. without taking a nap the next day.”
“Are you sure?” she asks with concern. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“I know,” I reassure her, stepping forward to give her a quick hug.
Hugging me back, she whispers into my ear, “Even about what’s going on between you and Ryan. I know you told me nothing is happening but…”
“Not you too,” I groan, stepping away and down the stairs. “Let it go. Nothing is going on between us,” I deny emphatically.
“When you believe it, so will I,” she calls after me. “You forget how well I know you.”
How do I tell my friend that I’m developing a crush on a man that I have zero chance with?
Fifteen
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Maggie says with a look of relief washing over her face as I enter the bakery after work on Friday. “I need your help.”
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” I ask, quickly crossing the room towards her. She’s usually the picture of calm, but today she appears to be anything but. White icing streaks the front of her green smock dress, and there’s flour on both of her cheeks.
“Yes, I’m fine. We had a major mishap in the kitchen, and the wedding cake I was working on didn’t survive.”
“Okay? I’m not sure I can help with that. I know nothing about baking.”
“No, no, I don’t need help with the cake.” She furrows her brow and shakes her head. “I called a friend to give me a hand with that, but I’m going to be here all night if I am going to have it ready in time for the wedding tomorrow.”
“So, what do you need me to do?” I ask in confusion, shoving my hands into my front pockets.
“Can you drop off some things at Beck’s? My poor girl is under the weather. I picked up what she needs from the pharmacy, but I can’t get away to take it to her.”
“Oh, okay. Sure, I can do that.”
I haven’t seen Beck except in passing since I dropped her off last Saturday morning. I’m not avoiding her; I just haven’t sought her out as I wanted to.
“Thank you so much. I was about to call Riot and ask for help before you stopped in.”
Her dress twirls as she turns and rushes through the door into the kitchen. She is back just as quickly with a bag from the pharmacy. “Now, what can I get for you? I didn’t even take your order before I pounced.”
“Oh, I was going to grab a coffee before I go home.”
“Absolutely. I am also going to send you with chicken noodle soup for Beck. How about I pack enough for you as well?”
“Sounds great.” There is no sense in refusing because she’ll do it anyway. And homemade soup beats anything I’ll end up pulling from my freezer.
While I’m waiting, I notice Brian watching me from his table. I always try to be kind to the man, but I’m not interested in small talk today. I want to drop off this care package as quickly as possible and go home.
By the time I’m back in my truck, I have a box full of soup, a variety of sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, and juice. The pharmacy bag rests on top. There is so much stuff, I’m lucky I remembered to get my coffee.
My morning drive into the village has been much quieter this week. It’s funny how over the course of a few days I got used to Beck hijacking my stereo and her constant chatter. I ended up listening to the radio to help fill the silence.
Work has been busier than usual because I agreed to add a couple of Jenna’s clients to my already busy caseload. Today, there was an interdisciplinary team meeting that ran longer than expected. There shouldn’t have been time to think about Beck, but no, she’s always filling space in the back of my mind.
Last night I caved and called Carson under the pretense of asking how fence repairs were going on the farm. Then casually questioned how Nana’s car is working out for Beck. Of course, he saw right through me. I don’t even know what’s going on in my head, so how the hell am I going to explain it to him?
