* *
FOR A WEEK, SIMON KEPT his distance. Instead of allowing himself to walk into the Mehlerhaus Bakery on the pretense of buying a slice of coffee cake, he kept to the opposite side of Main Street. Keri had made her feelings toward him clear with that note under the door. She’d accepted his help only because she hadn’t had a choice.
Now she was back home where her friends could lend a hand and he could go back to being persona non grata.
Still, he wished he could bring her news of Carter. But other than one there-and-back border crossing to Mexico, he’d come up blank so far.
Despite the fact the falling out between Keri and Simon was partially his fault, it still bothered him. Today more so than it had a week ago. Truth was, he was tired of that wall between him and someone who’d once been his friend. As a general rule, he got along with people. Keri’s obvious dislike for him was a burr that just kept digging deeper into his skin.
He replayed how she’d looked the day of the funeral, empty and alone. And he’d unexpectedly wanted to make that loneliness go away.
He didn’t realize he’d stopped on the sidewalk and was staring at the bakery until Justine Ware stepped out of her real estate office behind him.
“How’s she doing?” she asked as she nodded toward the bakery.
“Don’t know. Haven’t seen her since the funeral.”
Justine hugged herself against the chill. “It’s just so sad. I can’t believe Sammi is gone.”
He made a sound of agreement.
“I haven’t gone over there since she came back,” Justine continued. “Don’t know what to say.”
“Not much you can say. Just something she has to get through.”
Justine’s cell rang, prompting her to pull it from her pants pocket. “Sorry, need to take this. Business is slow this time of year, so I pounce on every opportunity I get.”
He nodded as she hurried back inside saying, “Blue Falls Realty” into the phone.
He should head on to work, but he kept standing there watching as the morning crowd went in and out of the bakery’s front door. He really would like a piece of coffee cake. Keri made the best cake of any type in town, though he only ever got a piece when someone brought it into the office. As he entered the crosswalk, he told himself he’d order his cake and a cup of coffee, blend into the crowd, take a quick glance to see how she was doing. Then he’d be off to his day of dealing with law and order.
The moment he stepped into the bakery, he inhaled the heavenly scents of baking bread and wafts of cinnamon. Looked like the rest of the crowd was enjoying its yeasty contact high, as well.
Sunshine was pulling a tray of bread loaves from the oven in the back while Keri handled the in-store crowd’s orders and the phone. The bakery was always busy in the morning, but this crowd seemed extra large. He wondered if the colder weather had everyone craving hot coffee and carbs, or if the residents of Blue Falls were turning out in force to give Keri extra business as a means of condolence. As Justine said, what could you say in this type of situation? Maybe it was as simple as “I’d like a cinnamon roll and a large cup of coffee.”
It all gave him a warm feeling until he saw Jo Baker, queen of the local gossips. His jaw tensed as Jo craned her neck to see beyond the people in front of her, no doubt hungry for a look at Keri, more interested in a morsel of gossip than a pastry. He tensed when it was Jo’s turn at the counter.
“What can I get you?” Keri asked, a bit more clipped than usual.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Jo made a show of examining the offerings in the glass-fronted display case. “How are you doing? So sorry about your sister. Where’s that sweet little girl? I’d love to see how much she’s grown.”
Simon resisted the urge to throttle the woman. “Come on, Jolene,” he said, using her full name because he knew how much she hated it. “Some of us are hungry.”
Keri’s gaze lifted to his, and for the briefest moment he thought he saw gratitude there.
Jo placed her order, gave Keri her money and strode toward the door, giving him a squinty-eyed glare in the process.
As he moved up another spot in line, he heard Hannah start crying somewhere in the back. Keri looked over her shoulder, caught between the throng of customers and her unhappy niece. Before he really thought about what he was doing, he headed for the room that served as Keri’s office.
Hannah stood on shaky legs gripping the side of a playpen, her face red and streaked with tears.
“Hey there,” he said as he crossed the small space. “What’s all this fussing for?” He bent over and playfully poked her nose.
She sucked in a breath then paused, unsure whether to keep crying now that someone was paying her some attention. When she looked as if she might start crying again, he reached into the playpen and lifted her high in the air. “Now there, no more crying. You’re too pretty to be scrunching your face up like that.” He wiggled her in the air, causing her to giggle. He smiled at the sound, surprised how much he liked it.
He’d missed out on his nephew, Evan, at this age, but he was so going to spoil his new niece rotten.
Sunshine popped her head into the office. “Thank you. It’s been nuts all morning.”
“No problem. Hannah and I are already best buds, aren’t we?”
Hannah picked at the top button on his shirt, and he wondered why it seemed to fascinate her.
Sunshine disappeared when the phone rang again, and he seated himself in the cushy chair across from Keri’s desk.
“So, how’s your day going?” he asked.
Hannah paused and gave him a grin that revealed a few tiny teeth.
“Are you flirting with me?”
As if she understood, Hannah giggled again.
He found a copy of The Poky Little Puppy on the desk, a copy that looked old enough to have been Keri’s when she was little. After he read the book to Hannah, he placed her on his knee, one of her little legs on each side.
“So, you want to be a cowgirl? If so, you’re going to have to learn how to ride a horse.” He began bouncing his leg as he held her firmly at the waist. She laughed as if it was the funniest thing she’d ever experienced.
After a couple of minutes, he noticed Keri standing in the doorway.
“Look, Hannah, it’s your aunt Keri.” He changed his voice to a higher pitch. “Look, Aunt Keri. I’m a cowgirl.”
A hint of a smile tugged at the edges of Keri’s mouth and he found himself willing it to spread, to smooth away the lines of fatigue and sorrow. Then, as if she realized what she’d done, her lips formed a humorless line.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
He considered his answer for a moment before speaking. But then the truth made itself as clear as water. “Because once upon a time we were friends, and I’d like to be again.”
He braced himself for a hot and sharp response, something about that ship having sailed, but it didn’t come. Keri simply stood in the doorway for a few seconds, then turned to head back to work.
He wasn’t about to examine why, but her response made him smile. Despite what he’d told her, he couldn’t really explain this need to help her. Sure, they’d been friends before and the whole deal with Carter was long past due for resolution. But something deep inside told him those weren’t the only reasons he was determined to place himself back in Keri Mehler’s life.
He feared it might have a bit more to do with her long, slim body and chocolate-brown eyes. He was attracted