by Vera Quinn
“Mom, he should be here, plain and simple. If Dad were still alive and you were going through this, would he leave you alone?”
Her answer is quiet, barely a whisper. “No, honey, he wouldn’t. I guess Griffin’s a different kind of man.”
“Guess so.”
“Girl, you need to let me help you in,” Caydence yells as I unlock my front door. After a week in the hospital thanks to picking up an infection, I just want to get inside, grab a shower, and chill out. Griffin has been conspicuously absent via text or phone call, and the last time I tried, the automated message said his voicemail was full. My emotions have run the gamut from relief that they got it all to fury that my husband hasn’t been by my side.
“I can walk just fine,” I reply. “Maybe a bit slower right now, but I’m steady on my feet.” Well, mostly, that is, unless I’ve taken my meds.
She laughs as she walks in behind me. Mom let us out at the house and is headed to the grocery store now that I’m actually home. “Go sit down for a few and take a load off. Maybe go through your mail or something.” I nod as I carefully make my way over to my recliner. She walks into the kitchen, grabs me something to drink then brings it to me, along with a huge pile of mail.
My kitten, Rebel, jumps up and curls on the armrest of the chair. “Hey, little man, I missed you,” I coo as he rubs his head against my arm. My mom and Caydence took turns coming by to check on him while I was in the hospital. Once he’s content, I take a sip of my drink then start sorting the mail.
“What the hell is this?” I murmur, seeing an envelope from an attorney’s office. Opening it, I can feel my world turn sideways. “A divorce?” What the hell? As tears flow down my face, I spy a handwritten note inside. Reading it, I start to shake, my distress morphing to anger.
Never again will I allow myself to be hurt by a man.
Chapter One
Shane
Waking up slowly, I groan. I don’t mind being a part of our town’s fire department as a paramedic, but nights like last night remind me that I’m pushing thirty and I don’t bounce back like I used to. I grab my phone and see it’s only eight in the morning – time to get up and start this day and pray that it’s quieter than the night before. Working two days on, three days off, is a great schedule unless those two days are nothing but back-to-back fires and accidents. I don’t know if it was the full moon, the fact it was Friday night, or just a shift in the planets, but we’ve never been so pressed to handle all the things we did last night. Grabbing some clean clothes, I head into our communal shower to get cleaned up. I was too tired when we got back earlier this morning to bother, but now that I’m awake, I can’t handle the overriding smell of smoke.
“I see your lazy ass is finally up,” Jake says, coming up to the sinks where I’m shaving.
“Screw you, asshole. You were still snoring when I came in for my shower,” I reply.
“Hey, I went ahead and stripped down the beds,” he states. “It’ll give Gavin something to do.” Gavin’s our new probie, or probationary member, and he gets all the shit jobs we hate doing. Like laundry, taking out the trash, and washing the trucks. We all had to do it and now, it’s his and Devin’s jobs to keep this place up. I nod before grabbing my travel kit and heading back to my bunk where I quickly dress in my ‘uniform’ of dark pants and dark T-shirt with our department logo on it, as well as my black socks and tactical boots. Stowing my gear in my duffel bag, I head down to the kitchen to find Perry, our chief, standing there with his hands on his hips.
“What’s going on, Chief?” I ask.
“Fucking coffee maker just quit,” he replies. I halt my progression to the cabinet for my mug once his words sink in.
“Gotta have the java,” I mutter.
“Then head across the street to that new bakery that just opened,” he retorts. “Better grab enough for everyone, though. I just sent Gavin out to buy a new coffeemaker, but it’ll be awhile before he gets back.”
“Fine, yeah, I’ll go get us coffees to go,” I say. “Anything else?”
“Mayra said they’ve got pretty decent muffins, go ahead and snag some of them, would ya?” he asks.
I shake my head. His wife, Mayra, can’t cook or bake worth a damn, but she tries hard. If she says the muffins are good, then I bet anything, they’re to die for. “Okay, give me a few and I’ll be back.”
“Take your time. She said the owner’s a cutie and would be perfect for you.” Of course she did. Mayra is hellbent on fixing all of us single guys up with anyone she can, wanting her husband’s friends to be taken like he is. Great woman, strange intentions. I shake my head because there’s no way I’ll ever go down that particular road again. Once was enough. Finding out that my ‘beloved wife’ was nothing but a cheating skank kind of soured me a bit on love and all the trimmings.
I walk out and head across the street toward the bakery. The door chimes as I head inside and when the smell of cinnamon and vanilla hits my nose, I realize that if the food tastes half as good as it smells, I’ll be adding to my daily workouts. “Be right there!” a cheery voice calls out.
“Take your time,” I reply, raising my voice slightly to be heard over the music that’s playing. There are a few small tables, and each one has someone sitting there with coffee while they scroll through their phones. I walk over to the display cases and my mouth starts watering when I see cinnamon streusel muffins. They’ve been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, ever since my nonna made them for me. Along with those, I see banana nut, blueberry, chocolate chip, and pecan muffins. A chalkboard menu on the wall has the prices listed and I quickly calculate how much two dozen muffins will run me.
“Hi, can I help you?” Her voice washes over me and I immediately think of fresh-cut grass, sitting on a front porch, and drinking a cold one. Shaking my head, I look up to see a curvy little blonde standing on the other side of the counter, a slight smile on her face.
“Hey, uh, our coffee pot died, so I came over to see about getting a dozen coffees to go, plus some muffins,” I state.
“Did you want all the coffees black or did you want creamer added?” she asks, pulling large insulated cups from beneath the counter.
I shake my head. “No, we have the creamers we prefer over at the station,” I reply. She hands me the cups then goes over to one of the huge urns she has and unplugs it. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve got another one of these so y’all can use this one until you replace yours. It’s a freshly made pot, but if you give me a minute, I’ll grab the stuff so you can make another one,” she says.
“You don’t have to do that, ma’am,” I state.
“It’s not a problem and I’m single, not married, so please don’t ma’am me,” she retorts. Okay, seems the tiny pixie has a bit of a bite. I grin and nod because I recognize the tone, it’s one my mother has used on me and my siblings over the years. “Now, what muffins did you want me to grab for y’all?”
I give her my order then realize that there’s no fucking way I’ll be able to carry everything back in one trip. “Hang on, I need to see if one of my guys can run over and give me a hand.”
“I can help since I’m not busy yet. Besides, it’s the least I can do since y’all work so hard to keep our town safe.”
When I try to hand her money, she shakes her head at me. “Consider it a community service. I need to make sure that y’all are awake enough to fight fires and stuff.” Her grin has me smiling back without reservation.
“If you’re sure, Miss?” I ask, kind of leaving the end of my question hanging.
“Micah, Micah Walsh.”
“I’m Shane Benton.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Benton,” she says.
“Call me Shane,” I reply. I refuse to analyze why it’s important to me that she call me by my name.
“Then please, call me Micah,” she states, coming around the counter. She’s far shorter than I realized initially; only coming to my chest. I grab the
urn while she takes the bag with the boxes of muffins and follows me out the door, calling out to someone in the back that she’ll return in a few minutes. I hear a female voice call back then when I glance back, notice that she is now out in the front with the customers. Thankfully, traffic isn’t too heavy this early in the morning, so we make it across the street and to the station in no time at all. While she’s not right next to me, the slight breeze has cinnamon and vanilla wafting around, and I feel my groin tightening behind my pants.
Once we’re inside, she puts the bag with the muffins down and motions for me to place the urn on the counter. After I’ve done that, I watch her plug it back in, then pull out something from her apron as she sets the other items next to the urn. “What’s that?” I ask, motioning to the piece of paper she put on top of the other things.
“The directions to brew another pot once this one is gone,” she replies. I’m somewhat speechless, because since she first spoke, thoughts that I never anticipated thinking again have been swirling around in my head. “Okay, y’all are all set. Let me know if you need anything else, Shane.”
“Thanks, Micah, for everything.”
“No problem. I better get back before Caydence wonders where I went,” she says. I walk her back to the door then stand there until she makes her way back across the street and into her shop.
“Fuck, these are good,” Jake says around a mouthful of muffin. I nod as I finish off muffin number two while sipping some of the best damned coffee I’ve ever had. Since I’m a bit of a java snob, that’s saying a lot. “Her ex really fucked her over,” he continues after finishing his muffin. I eyeball him when he reaches for a third one. At the rate he’s going, I foresee him working out in our gym here at the station before he goes to the gym that’s downtown. I don’t want to do ‘two a days’ again like I did in high school, so I’ll stick with two. For now.
“What do you mean?” Gavin asks. Part of me wants to know, but I also don’t want to let on that the petite woman piqued my interest, so I don’t say a word.
“Well, a few years ago, she found out she had cancer. Some female thing or something, I don’t really know, but anyhow, she had to have surgery and shit and the day she came home, her ex served her with divorce papers,” Jake replies. I don’t understand the rage that comes over me; I don’t know this woman from Adam’s house cat but hearing that when she was at her lowest her ex stuck it to her further has me wanting to hit something. Hell, I’m angrier about what happened to her than I was when I found out Audrey was on a mission to screw anything with a dick and that’s saying a lot, because I damn near went postal. Then I got smart, kicked her adulterous ass to the curb, went and got myself tested, and started rebuilding my life.
“That sucks,” Gavin states. “How do you know this?” he questions. I’m glad he’s so curious because I want to know the same thing but won’t ask.
“I used to date the sister of her best friend, Caydence,” Jake says. “Anyhow, she swore off men apparently and has focused on building up her business. If this is half of what she makes, I’d say she’s off to a great start.”
“She’s a good woman,” Perry adds. “Mayra and I have known her and her family for years. Good thing her ex moved away, because I think if he hadn’t, folks would’ve run him out on a rail. That’s when we started doing the charity run, the year she went through her treatment. Even though she’s considered cured or whatever it’s called, we still do it and donate to the local cancer treatment center to help those who need it.”
I nod because since I came on at this station, that’s all I’ve heard about, the local run that happens every year. The donations that we collect don’t go into research; they’re put into a fund for anyone going through treatment so that they don’t lose their houses, can still eat, shit like that. It’s definitely a worthwhile cause and knowing that it started with her has me mentally deciding to participate this year. “She seems pretty nice,” I say. I hope like hell I pulled off my noncommittal tone because otherwise, Jake will take what I’ve said and run with it. He gives me a look and I keep my face blank. We’ve been best friends since grade school and despite knowing what Audrey did to me, he’s been at me to get back out there again. If he thinks I’ve got a smidgen of interest, he’ll hound me constantly.
“Yeah, she is and she’s single, of course,” Jake states, giving me a wink.
“Mayra says she doesn’t really date,” Perry interjects.
“She just hasn’t met the right one,” Jake asserts. Another wink has me tossing my crumpled muffin paper at him. Fucker.
Micah
“So, who was Mr. Luscious?” Caydence asks when I get back to the shop.
“Uh, Shane Benton. He works over at the fire station,” I reply. I feel flushed and hope it’s from the slight exercise that I just did, because otherwise, I’ll have to examine how he made me feel and there’s no fucking way I’ll ever go back down that road again. Nope. Nada. It’s me and my cat.
“Wonder if he’s single?” she questions. I feel an irrational stab of something rise up in me at her words.
“No clue and don’t really care,” I reply.
“Mmhmm,” she says. When I quirk a brow at her, she grins at me so I throw an oven mitt at her. “Look, all I’m saying is maybe it’s time to get back out there, Micah,” she pleads. “Not every guy is like Griffin, that good-for-nothing douche!”
“Tell me how you really feel,” I say, laughing at her choice of words for my ex-husband. While I agree with her on principle because what kind of ass does that to his wife? I can’t blame him since one of the things we always wanted was a houseful of kids and there’s no way I can give anyone those. “Besides, what man wants a defective woman?”
“Stop right there, missy,” she demands. With her hands on her hips, she looks at me and continues, “You are in no way, shape or form a ‘defective woman’ do you hear me? So you can’t have kids. There are a lot of women who can’t have them, honey. Do you think they’re defective? No, I know you and you absolutely do not. So stop thinking of yourself that way. Griffin was an asshole, plain and simple. Don’t let his shitty example be what you use to keep from getting back out there again. Someone’s gonna love you for you and they won’t care if you can’t give them kids biologically. Hell, they’ll probably be willing to adopt if that’s what you truly wanted.”
“It’s scary, Cay. I mean, I had so many plans and dreams and when Griffin did what he did, they went up in smoke.”
“Micah, you still have me, your mom, and now, this awesome as hell bakery! While you were gone, I took an order for fifteen dozen cupcakes for the run next week.”
“From who?” I question. I take specialty orders and with it being wedding season, I’m up to my neck in buttercream frosting every single day. “We may need to hire a part-time person, Caydence. There’s no way I can keep up. I’m already barely sleeping.”
“Yeah, about that. Didn’t your doctor say one of the things you had to do was get sufficient rest?”
“She did, and I will, I promise, but right now, trying to make sure this is a success means something has to go to the wayside.”
“We’re hiring someone then who can come in during the early afternoon, and someone who can help us get caught up. I mean, we’re freezing the cakes so all we have to do is frost and decorate them,” Caydence announces before pulling out her phone and texting someone.
“What are you doing?” I ask as I make my way over to the sink to wash my hands. I obviously didn’t think this through; I had no idea my hometown was starved for a place like this and while I had started out with muffins and breakfast pastries, there was enough demand that now I offer several lunch sandwiches. I was exhausted and was literally only home long enough to sleep, feed Rebel, shower and get up to do it all over again.
“The local tech college has a culinary arts class. Simone goes there, and I just texted to see if she knew who we could contact in order to hire a few part-time people.” I’m gratefu
l that Caydence’s sister knows people because it’ll hopefully help us out in the long run.
I nod. “Good thinking. Now, we’ve got cookies, muffins, and cupcakes to get done. Which do you want to oversee?”
“I’ll get the muffins going. The cookie mix is chilling so that should be easy and we’ll tackle the cupcakes together,” she replies.
Chapter Two
Shane
For the past week, even on my off days, I’ve gone into the bakery. Seeing Micah every day has had me rethinking the whole dating thing. Even though we only exchange a few words, when I’m able, I sit in the bakery and watch how she interacts with the customers and I like what I see. “You gonna ask her out?” Jake asks as we sit inside enjoying a chicken salad croissant. I’m not sure where she gets the pickles, but I have started asking for extras because they’re just that good.
“Man, I don’t know. Audrey really did my head in, you know?” He nods because he was there for the whole shitshow and helped me move out of the three-bedroom house we owned into a tiny apartment above the local pharmacy. It’s nothing to write home about, but for now, it’s home, and it’s big enough to bring my daughter, Maisie, when I get her.
“Yeah, but not all women are like that bitch,” he replies. “Look at Perry and Mayra. Hell, they’ve been married since they got out of high school and nearly twenty years later, he still looks at her like she’s his whole universe.”
“This is true, but I think she’s unique.”
“Shane, you aren’t gonna know unless you try, man. What’s the worst that happens, she says no?”
Fuck if I can argue with his logic. Sighing, I nod. “Yeah, I’ll ask her out.”
“Jeez, you sound like you’re going to the gallows.” I can’t help it; I start laughing because that’s kind of how I feel. I mean, she’s attractive and the little we’ve talked has shown me that we have a lot in common so why shouldn’t I explore it?
