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“And then my mother is the one to announce it to the world,” I said on an eye roll.
He held up his finger. “But we aren’t shacking up. We both know that, and we’re the only two that matter, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, accepting a cup of hot cocoa from him and taking a sip. “This is good. Thanks.”
He set the plate of cookies on his knees and took one, taking a bite and checking it out. After he swallowed, he twisted what was left of the cookie one way and then the other. “It’s good, but it’s not Michelle Garland good.”
I grabbed one and took a bite. “You’re right,” I agreed after I swallowed. On a sigh, I lowered the cookie to the plate. “That’s another reason I feel terrible. I know Michelle would be disappointed that scene happened in her front yard.”
He set the plate and mug aside and turned to me. “I get the impression that you think my mom was perfect or something.”
“No, it’s not that,” I promised. “I know she wasn’t. None of us are. I just, she was so incredible, you know? She was woven into the fabric of the community and I used her as an example of how to live my life, and then I go and do that,” I tried to explain, motioning out the window again. “Your mom wouldn’t have done that.”
“You’re wrong,” he said, shaking his head with a little smile on his lips. “Michelle Garland was as sweet as pie, but when she’d had enough, she wasn’t afraid to tell you. Ask any of her patients how far you could push Michelle before she gave you the business. Here’s the thing you aren’t seeing living under the rose-colored glasses of this house. My mother would never stand by silently if she saw injustice occurring. If she had been here tonight, not only would she have done the same thing I did, but she also would have called the police and reported Brenda for trespassing. Then she would have hugged you and reassured you that you did the right thing. Life was never black and white for my mother. Not as a nurse or a community member.”
“I miss her,” I whispered, accepting the hug he offered when he wrapped me up in his arms.
“Me too, so much,” he whispered, burying his lips in my neck. “But then I come face-to-face with someone like Brenda and I’m reminded that I am my mother’s son. Brenda doesn’t get to disrespect you on my property and get away with it. Life is hard enough. We don’t need to give time or space to people who make it harder, right?”
“Right,” I whispered, leaning into his warm chest. He’d showered and smelled of spicy soap that I inhaled greedily. “I appreciate the pep talk. I had just texted Ivy and told her I wasn’t going to work in the morning.”
He leaned back and lowered a brow at me. “And what did she say to that?”
“That she’d heard about what happened and ordered a meeting between me, her, and Mel at five a.m. tomorrow morning. I’m not to be late.”
“Sounds like Lance is cooking for the breakfast club in the morning. I’d better get the eggnog ready.”
“Can it be spiked?”
“At five a.m.?” he asked with feigned surprise.
“Might make the meeting easier.” I shrugged and he chuckled, kissing my lips with a gentle buss.
“If I know Ivy, and I do, she’s going to mother hen you until your defenses are back in place and you’re ready to face the day with vigor and determination.”
“Probably,” I agreed on a chuckle. “I know I’m being ridiculous, okay? I’m just so tired of Brenda acting like there is some reason I need to care about that man as he nears death. I would think she’d be happy for him to pass away and for me to be out of her life. Then she can go on about her life as though the first half of it didn’t happen. I suspect it comes down to her facing life alone. Not that she hasn’t been alone for years since Bruce’s stroke. I don’t understand her sometimes.”
“I can’t say I do either, but I do understand that your feelings are real and they are valid. You aren’t being ridiculous. Considering what you’ve been through with those two, I think you’re handling this with maturity and grace. Certainly, with more maturity and grace than Brenda has. You didn’t say anything tonight that wasn’t true. I’d much rather hear the truth from your lips than lies if it means you’re happy.”
“You make me happy, Lance Garland, and that’s the truth. I want to ask you to hold me tonight so I don’t feel so alone in this world, but also, I’m afraid that puts you in an awkward position.”
His finger came down on my lips. “You make me happy, Gumdrop, and that’s the truth. I wanted to ask if I could hold you tonight so you knew you weren’t alone, but I didn’t think I could handle the rejection when you said no. So, instead of us being wide awake and alone, why don’t we try being together and asleep. It won’t be awkward for me if it’s not awkward for you.”
I sagged against him with a sigh as I hugged him tightly. “Thank you. I’d like that more than anything tonight.”
He reached over and shut off the lamp, then covered us with the quilt at the bottom of the bed. “Me too, Gumdrop. Me too,” he promised as his lips feather kissed their way across my forehead. “Sleep now, the day was long, but the sunrise holds the promise of a new and better day.”
I snugged into his chest as he pulled the blanket up around my shoulders. “I sure hope you’re right, Lance.”
He rubbed my arm up and down until my eyes started to droop and just before I fell into dreamland, I knew that he was the new and better promise of tomorrow. All I had to do was trust him.
"I hope you're hungry because Lance has cooked up some treats for the breakfast club this morning!"
The man I'd found myself wrapped up in when we awoke at four a.m. came swinging through the door with a tray of food he slid across the counter as if he'd been doing it all his life. I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm for his work this early in the morning. I could barely manage to bring my coffee mug to my lips, and he’d had breakfast almost done by the time everyone got here. And yes, I mean everyone. I had barely settled in a booth with Mel and Ivy when we were joined by first Becca, then Heather and Addie.
"For the queen of the diner, the fabulous twelve, you're going to need it today," Lance promised, setting a plate in front of Ivy.
"The Queen of Christmas gets two eggs, hash browns, and buttered toast for your jam." He winked at Addie when he set her plate down. "I didn't know what to make the queen of the apple cookie, so potato pancakes with a side of applesauce," he said with a flourish as he served Heather.
