AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We’re going to be okay.
6
HALEY
As I walk back into the bakery, I feel so much better than I did all morning. I’d been feeling so self-conscious about last night, but now that I know how Mason feels, all the worry is gone from my chest. Well, most of it, anyway. I’m still not sure how things are going to be moving forward, but I’m hopeful about it.
Huh. Imagine if Mason ends up being the man I marry.
That would be…well, notthatcrazy, would it? After all, people always say that you should marry your best friend.
But I’m definitely getting ahead of myself, thinking like that.
“What are those for?” Lonnie asks, glaring at the roses in my arms as I come back behind the bakery counter.
“Mason was just being sweet,” I say. I grab a pitcher, fill it with water, and put the roses in.
As I set the flowers by the cash register, a customer smiles at them and says, “How beautiful. Someone must be really in love with you.”
I laugh, feeling my cheeks heat. “What can I get you today, ma’am?”
After helping the customer, I step back into the kitchen to get another batch of cinnamon rolls going. I can feel Lonnie’s eyes on me when he comes into the kitchen a minute later, but I stay focused on my work.
“I don’t like you being pulled away like that,” he says. “I don’t want to see that happen again.”
I keep rolling out the dough. “I was only gone for a minute, and I was overdue for a break anyway.”
Lonnie harrumphs, and I ignore him as I continue with my work. It doesn’t matter how good of an employee I am; Lonnie will always find something to complain about. I’ve learned to not take it personally.
Thankfully, Lonnie doesn’t say anything else to me about it for the rest of the day. It’s a busy day, with a constant stream of customers and called-in orders, and by the time we close I’m so ready to go home. I hang up my apron, tell Lonnie I’m heading out, and leave the bakery with a tired body but a giddy heart for my dinner plans with Mason tonight.
It’s freezing out, so cold that it feels like it could start snowing at any moment. I hurry to my car and shiver in my seat as I thrust my keys into the ignition.
The engine of my car groans, tries to start, then dies.
Shit.
After several more futile attempts, I accept the fact that it’s useless. I’m annoyed with myself for not getting my unreliable car serviced before the winter. Ugh. I guess all I can do is call—
A knock on my window makes me yelp in surprise. Pressing my hand to my chest, I see that it’s just Lonnie.
“I’ll give you a ride,” he calls through the glass.
I hesitate. I don’t really want to take Lonnie up on his offer, but it might be the best option. It’s so cold right now. I don’t love the idea of sitting here in my freezing car waiting for a tow truck to come, and I know my car will be fine parked here overnight. Sure, I could call Mason and ask him to come get me, but he’s probably still working right now, and I’d hate to inconvenience him…
I grab my purse and get out of my car.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I ask Lonnie.
“You live in town, right?” he asks.
I nod. “Over by the clock tower.”
“Well, that’s on my way home.”
I follow Lonnie over to his car. He clears some stuff off the passenger seat before I get in. When he turns the engine on, classical music comes through the speakers.
“Oh, I listen to this station, too,” I say, smiling. Maybe we can finally have something to bond over. It would be nice to have a friendlier relationship with my boss.
