Jaden laughed and sat down at a stool beside the counter. “Yeah, well, she told me you like to give her a hard time right back, so I’m thinking it’s a thing between you two.”
Hillary swung an annoyed glare at Jaden. “No thing with us. I think he enjoys driving me nuts.”
Trey’s grin turned diabolical. “She’s right. I do enjoy it. But mostly because you’re so cute when you’re pissy.” He patted Tatem on the head. “And what’re you doing, squirt? Armed with expensive equipment, I see.”
She ignored him and turned to Jaden. “Should I go take some pictures?”
“Yeah, and don’t worry about taking too many. We’ll go through them together tomorrow and I’ll show you how to use the editing software on my laptop.”
“Cool.” She smiled sweetly at Trey. “Smell you later,” she said, and walked off.
Hillary laughed. “I like that girl. Maybe she needs a job at the bakery.”
Trey grimaced and shook his head. “Then I’d have both of you busting my chops when I come in.”
“Exactly,” Hillary said with a narrowed gaze. “Now go away so I can concentrate. I’m trying to win a ribbon.”
“Trophy, babe. It’s a big-ass trophy. I saw it on the way in.” He winked at her and started in the direction of the door. He stopped after two steps and said to Jaden, “Hey, you need to call my pal, Cole. He’s moody as fuck without your tongue down his throat.”
Jaden rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t ignore the flicker of satisfaction at the thought of Cole agonizing over her. “I’m sure Cole knows what a phone is. He can call if he misses my tongue.”
Trey whistled with raised brows. “Feisty. No wonder he likes you. I’ll be by later to taste the wining roll, Hills.”
After he was out of earshot, Jaden turned back to Hillary. She doubted the flush on Hillary’s cheeks was solely due to the ovens behind her. “So, Trey, huh?”
Hillary brushed the back of her hand across her cheek at an invisible tickle. “You’re crazy.”
“Am I? So why’d he just show up...” she waved her hand in gesture. “…at a kolache competition?”
Hillary punched out circles of dough with a round cutter. “Who knows. Maybe his girlfriend is here.”
“Or maybe he likes your kolaches.” Jaden waggled her brows with a lascivious grin.
“Ew, don’t do that,” she said, and her skin climbed three deeper shades of pink. “It makes you look pervy.”
Laughing, Jaden searched the crowd. “I’m going to find Mia and make sure she’s not on the verge of a stress induced heart attack.”
Jaden found Mia pacing at the back of the room, squinting down at the clipboard in her hand. She stuck a pen behind her ear and pulled her cellphone from the purse on her hip and glanced at the screen. She shoved it back into her purse. By the time Jaden reached her, she’d checked her phone one more time.
“Hey.”
Mia glanced up and forced a smile. “Hey. You made it.”
“So, I wasn’t going to press this, but you look like you might have an aneurism right here and now.” Jaden reached for her hand and squeezed it. “No more avoidance; tell me what’s going on. Okay?”
Mia chewed on her lip, but finally nodded. “Okay.” She pulled Jaden to a quieter corner against the back wall of the community hall. “It’s David. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“And that’s not good?”
“He was supposed to be back yesterday. I mean, I know it’s his job, but...” She blew out a sigh and crossed her arms.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
Mia nodded.
“Good. What’s really going on, Mia?”
The fact Mia hadn’t yet confided in Jaden was proof of the distance growing between them. She’d been in denial about it, certain their relationship would always stand the test of time. But their lives were in different places, and getting together once a year wasn’t enough. Life happened in-between, and they’d missed so much.
“It’s just a David thing—we’ve been fighting lately. I didn’t even want to tell you because it’s... stupid.”
“If it’s bothering you, it’s not stupid, Mia.” Shaking her head, Jaden pinched her lips together. Then she added, “You shouldn’t keep this stuff festering inside. It’s going to drive you crazy.”
“It’s just, I don’t want to be one of those paranoid women who complains about her marriage, you know?”
“You’re not one of those paranoid women. I’ve never known your gut to be wrong, Mia.” And already, Jaden wanted to punch David in the stomach. “What’s he doing?”
“Nothing. He’s doing nothing,” Mia said, with so much frustration dripping from her words that Jaden’s eyes widened.
“What kind of nothing?”
“We’re fighting again. About kids.” Mia glanced down to her hands, fidgeting with her fingers the way she did when she was stressed. “It’s always about that.”
“I know.” And it broke Jaden’s heart. Mia would be the best mom, but she’d been unable to get pregnant. “I’m sorry.”
“I want to do in vitro—something. Anything. But he thinks it’s a waste of money because it might not work.” She pinched her lips together then sucked in her bottom lip to moisten it before saying, “And his mom is the worst. Of course, it’s my fault. Always is.”
Jaden scrunched her brows together. “You’re kidding. She told you that it’s your fault you haven’t gotten pregnant?”
Anyone who knew Mia, really knew her, would know how much an accusation like that would hurt her. She wanted a family so much.
“She told David. We were fighting the other day. I want to spend the money on the treatment, he doesn’t, and he said his mom thinks my career is causing too much stress to get pregnant.” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “And his whole family thinks I need to quit my career because I’m the reason we don’t have a family yet.”
She shook her head and scrunched her brows together. “Are you freakin’ kidding me? They’re nuts. And David...” Jaden trailed off under Mia’s piercing stare. She sucked in a breath and said, “David’s a jackass. I’m sorry. I don’t want to offend you, or piss you off, or hurt you... but that guy hasn’t changed one damn bit. And I’m not going to sit around and let him or his family blame you for not being able to get pregnant. Maybe he’s got weak fucking sperm.”
Mia’s eyes had widened in degrees throughout Jaden’s rant, and when she was done, Mia’s mouth was parted in surprise. When she burst into laughter, Jaden expelled a breath of relief.
“I’m sorry.” Mia wrapped her in a tight hug, settling her chin on Jaden’s shoulder. “I should have said something to you sooner. I needed to hear that.”
“Yes, you should have,” Jaden admonished and hugged her tighter. “But, I understand why it’s so hard for you to talk about it. I do.”
Mia pulled away, her eyes shimmering with the tears she blinked back. “I miss you, you know that? I miss us. I should have said something sooner. You flew all this way—you knew something was wrong.”
That familiar pang of sadness, of things lost, buried itself into Jaden’s ribs. All these years she’d been pulling away from River Bend and her mother, she’d also been pulling away from Hillary, and from Mia, the one person who was family.
“That’s going to change. No more missing each other, okay?” She gave Mia’s hand a quick squeeze. “I’ll come back more often during your busy season, and you can come visit me during my busy season.”
“Agreed.” She bent to pick up the pen she’d dropped when they hugged. “No more going months, a year, without seeing each other.”
“And no more stressing about David. When he gets home, you’ll talk to him and straighten things out.” But she couldn’t shake the feeling that Mia would not get the answer she needed from her husband.
“I’m going outside to call him. He left a message and I haven’t called him back, I’ve been so mad. I just keep staring at this stupid thing, trying to figure out what to say.” Mia slipped her phone from her purse. “I’ll meet you at Hillary’s station in a few minutes, okay?”
Jaden nodded. “Okay. Good luck.”
She stared in the direction Mia had disappeared into the crowd. David was a piece of work.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a rush. When it was time to announce the new Kolache Queen, Jaden and Mia stood at the front of the crowd. Hillary looked so nervous Jaden was afraid she might throw up. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone in the room that she won, but it was still an exhilarating moment. The three of them had their picture taken with Jaden’s camera, their arms linked around each other in a moment she knew she’d look back to often.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cole hefted the plastic bin from the bed of the truck, then lifted it over the edge of the tailgate. It was loaded with packages of hamburger buns and bags of potato chips. The air was heavy and smelled of barbeque. Music from a live band carried to him from blocks away. He picked up the bin and made his way down the crowded sidewalk to the firehouse.
The town’s fire and rescue department was small, and like most towns in the county, it relied heavily on donations. There was a small staff of full-time firemen rotating shifts, and twice that many volunteer firemen. Cole was on call when they needed warm bodies. This summer had been dry, and he’d seen more action as a volunteer this year than in the past.
Sweat beaded his forehead. Forecast called for rain over the weekend, and they needed it. He hoped the summer storm brought the moisture, but no hail. He wanted the ‘Vette in the car show, hoped for one ribbon—a trophy would be nice—on the beauty before he sold it to a car collector from Georgia. He needed the weather to cooperate.
The street in front of the firehouse was blocked off with orange and white saw horses. The bay door was raised and the town’s two fire trucks polished to a shine for photographs taken at the fundraiser. Barbeque grills were fired up on the cement drive in front of the building. His stomach growled. The chrome and weather stripping had taken most of the day to put on the ‘Vette, and he hadn’t eaten since that morning.
Picnic tables were lined in rows on the brick street, and packed with people. Families and friends laughed over paper plates piled high with food. At the opposite end of the block, an outdoor stage had been erected for live music. The Songbird’s front door was open so the bar staff could carry out supplies for the beer tent set up near the stage. A line of people inched forward along the sidewalk in front of the firehouse; wandering from dish to dish.
The community always pulled together for events like this, donating hot and cold salads, condiments and extras. Between the food and the street dance, there’d be enough money raised to keep the firehouse healthy through the end of the year.
Cole side-stepped a toddler with pigtails who nibbled on a hotdog and bun wobbling in her chubby-handed grip. He shifted the box so he wouldn’t run into a man carrying two heaping plates. He made it to the firehouse driveway without losing any chips or buns. A cute redhead flashed him an inviting smile when he set the box down beside a table for the EMT personnel to take care of. He recognized her, but he couldn’t remember her name. Maybe she was new in town. He nodded as he passed. No spark—that’s something he’d notice. He knew what sparks felt like.
The fire department’s chief stood at one of the grills, a spatula in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He flipped a burger before waving the spatula at Cole.
“’Bout time, Brooks.” He swooped in with the spatula and saved a burger from errant flames. “I almost got all the food cooked.”
“You mean burned?” He flipped open the grill next to Mason and punched the igniter. “Turn the fire down, old man.”
“You run your grill how you want, and I’ll run mine.” He lifted another burger to the top rack, the edges charred black.
“He’s been feeding the burned ones to Rex,” Brett said. He was a massive man, standing six foot six with arms the size of his head. The tattoo sleeve on his right arm and his piercing gray eyes kept strangers at a distance. He wasn’t so intimidating once you got to know the man, but Cole wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of Brett’s right hook.
“Poor dog.” Cole reached down and scratched the Dalmatian behind the ear. “This dog eats better than I do.” Mason gestured to the kids nearby. “They’ve been giving him most of the food off their plates.”
“He’ll probably barf in your truck.” Brett flashed a bright smile.
“Thanks, man.” Mason grimaced and flipped another burger. “Rex won’t like it, but I think he’ll sleep outside tonight, just in case.”
“Did Trey show up? I sent him with cases of pop.” He pulled a spatula off the rack beside the grill and used it to shuttle fresh pressed patties onto the grill.
“He brought them. He was helping until Shelby showed up, pissed about something.” Mason twisted off the cap from the water bottle with a laugh. “Told him to be careful with that one.”
Cole shook his head. “Trey’s a glutton for bad situations.”
Shelby was a good time, if that’s what a guy was looking for. She wasn’t the type to settle down—or never had been, until Trey moved back to town.
“She might be the only woman who can put up with his crap.” Brett tossed a hamburger patty in the air and caught it with his spatula. At Mason’s raised brows, he shrugged. “What? The ladies love it.” He nodded at a table of women, who weren’t embarrassed they’d been caught staring.