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“Okay. Good. Welcome and congratulations, I guess.”
“Thank you.” He smiled his crooked smile at her. “What can I do for you?”
“Right. I came here for a reason. Betty used to make these wonderful bear claws.”
“I’ve seen the recipe. I haven’t made any though.”
“I don’t suppose you could make me a dozen of them? My brother’s birthday is coming up, and he loves them.”
“Wouldn’t that be your birthday, too?”
“Not Sawyer. J.T. He’s going to be twenty-five next week.”
“I’d love to make a dozen bear claws for J.T.’s birthday.”
“Thank you.” She’d forgotten how blue his eyes were. Not bright blue like Sawyer’s and her father’s eyes. But deep cobalt blue.
“When’s the big day?”
“The twenty-sixth.”
“If you want to come by on Monday, I’ll make a trial batch. You can try one and see if it’s as good as Aunt Betty’s.”
“I’ll do that.” She took a few steps back from the counter. “I’ll see you then.” She turned to go and as she got to the door, it was pushed open by a boy of about twelve. Behind him was a girl who seemed a little older. She was holding the hand of a young girl. And as they came through the door, two boys followed them.
The girl smiled at Sage. “Sorry, my brother has no manners.”
“It’s fine.” Sage stood back and let them all pass. She glanced at Xander, expecting him to switch into shop owner mode, but he didn’t. Instead, he came around the counter and grinned at the youngest girl as she ran to him. He picked her up, and she giggled and hugged his neck.
Sage nodded at him when he glanced at her, then left the bakery. She wasn’t sure what she’d just witnessed. She hadn’t gotten a married with children vibe from him. And surely he wasn’t old enough to have a teen-aged daughter. Even the oldest boy seemed too old to be his son.
She was going to have to investigate. She looked around the street. There was never a gossip around when you needed one.
The loud knock on the door startled J.T. awake. He sat up, then dropped back down on the pillow. The knock came again. This time it was louder and on his bedroom window.
He rubbed his face. “Go away.”
He heard Sage’s voice. “Happy twenty-fifth birthday Jacob Thomas O’Connell the third.”
J.T. shook his head. “Won’t it still be my birthday an hour from now?”
“Yes. But I can’t guarantee Sawyer, and I won’t eat all of these bear claws.”
J.T. sat again. “Bear claws?”
“Just like Betty used to make.”
J.T. got out of bed and put on some pants, then slipped on a t-shirt as he headed for the door. He opened it up to a smiling Sage and a grinning Sawyer.
Sawyer nodded toward Sage. “It was her idea. I told her to wait until nine.”
J.T. looked at the pink box in Sage’s hands. “Those better be as good as Betty’s.” He walked away from the open door and dropped onto the chair.
Sage set the box on the small table between the couch and the chair, while Sawyer handed J.T. a tall coffee. “Tall and black. Just the way you like it.”
J.T. took a sip as Sage went to the kitchen for some napkins and plates. When she returned, she took a bear claw out of the box and handed it to J.T. on a plate.
He looked it over. “It looks like Betty’s.”
