She took over taking the orders, and Steph filled them, making coffee and heating bakery products in record time. After the crowd died down, Steph moved close.
“Oh shoot, you didn’t clock in. I’ll make a note to put you arriving a few minutes early for your shift and adjust your timecard.”
She shook her head. “Oh no, I can’t believe I forgot.”
“We’ll take care of it. It’s great to have you back.”
“Thanks. It’s great to be back.”
Steph’s gaze shot around the shop then she moved closer. Her voice was conspiratorial as she began speaking. “I think half the people in here today wanted to see you. You’re the hottest gossip.”
“Wait, what?”
“They all know you two were shot at. They don’t know why, but they heard you two were heroes.”
“Oh. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“It’s a small town. You can’t fart without people wanting to talk about it. They enjoy spreading gossip as much as they enjoy spreading butter on their biscuits.”
The words brought laughter to April’s lips. She shook her head and then rolled her eyes. “Surely they aren’t that bad.”
“Oh, they’re worse. They live for gossip. They enjoy telling all the secrets. Of course, they usually don’t know the whole truth so secrets get twisted into lies, and it’s just a bunch of junk that gets told around town. For a while, they had me dating one of the women in town.”
“Really?” April asked.
“Yeah. Not that I minded that rumor being told, but it wasn’t the truth. I wasn’t dating anyone. It kind of made me lose my chance with a guy, but it turned out for the best. He ended up cheating on the woman he started dating.”
“Ew, that’s awful.”
“Yeah, I’m not a fan of cheaters. I prefer people who don’t do that.”
“Well, I hope you find someone good to date.”
Steph shrugged. “I’m not too concerned. I mean, one day, I’d like to have someone special again, but it’s not necessary. My life is full as it is.”
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
“It took a while to get there. I went through some rough years when I split up with my ex. He wasn’t good for me, and I didn’t want to admit it.”
“I’ve never really had a serious relationship.”
“So what about you and Mac?” Step asked.
She shrugged. “I know we haven’t known each other for that long, but I want there to be something between us. He’s a good person, and I like him.”
“I can vouch that he’s a good person. I’ve known him for years.”
The shop had emptied out and they’d started stocking items that needed to be resupplied, like napkins, sugars, and utensils. She didn’t want to bring it up, but she felt that maybe Mac needed someone other than his parents to speak to about everything that had happened.
She finished filling the sugar container and stood at the counter in front of Steph. The question sat heavily on her mind. The words wanted to be free, but she feared how it would sound to Steph.
“You look like you want to ask something.”
April narrowed her gaze and then checked behind her to make sure no one was coming to the shop. “How well did you know Mac’s parents and everything that happened?”
Steph blew out a breath. “I mean, I knew them before Mac was born, but I don’t know much about the situation. His parents wouldn’t tell me anything about his birth family. I just knew he came to them, and they adopted him.”
April nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”
Steph’s lips twisted into a grimace. “His mom called, wanting to make sure he was okay. I told her I would keep my eye on him.”
April nodded. She felt a little odd talking about Mac without him here. “So you’ve known him for a long time. Maybe you could come over and he can talk to you. But then again, maybe he doesn’t want to. I don’t know. I don’t want to butt in, but I feel like I’ve shared enough with him that I can say it would be good for the two of you to talk.”
“I can come by this evening. I don’t know if he will want to talk about it, though. I’m his parents’ friend. He may not feel comfortable talking to me.”
April nodded. “I get the distinction. He may not want to talk about it.”
The door opened, and a group of women stepped in. They were the ladies who did bible study together and then came in after their class to chat. They were high maintenance but nice for the most part, the one time April had experienced them.
The ladies all ordered tea and cookies. They took up two tables and pulled chairs over so they could sit together. Their conversation wasn’t obnoxious, but it did get loud, and some of the other patrons didn’t appreciate the chatter. If the ladies’ bible group was here, most other people got their coffee or food and left.
There was a lot of traffic that afternoon, but only the group of ladies stayed. It gave April time to think. She realized since the incident with Mac and the woman who’d tried to kill them, she hadn’t really thought about her stalker. The other night she’d been really afraid. She’d thought either she or Mac would end up dead, and they hadn’t. They’d survived, and now her stalker didn’t seem so relevant. It was like a breath of fresh air had been delivered, and she gladly accepted.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The door chime rang, and April glanced up, seeing Mac coming through the door. Pleasure rippled through her but was quickly followed by worry. He shouldn’t be here.
He shot her a sheepish smile as he ducked his head. She drew in a slow breath, fighting the urge to yell at him, telling him he should be resting. Then Brock stepped in behind Mac, and she realized Mac hadn’t driven over or walked this far. Maybe he would have been okay driving, but she didn’t want him to chance it.
“Hello, Mac. It’s good to see you,” Steph called out.
“Hey, Steph. Good to see you, too. I’m buying Brock whatever he wants since he drove me over.”
“Coffee, black, is good,” Brock said.
“Thank you for driving him over,” April said. “He should be taking it easy.”
Brock nodded. “He napped for a while on my back porch.
“Oh, that’s good.” April didn’t know what to think about Mac sleeping at Brock’s house. Maybe it was a guy thing. She wouldn’t ever sleep at someone else’s house, but then again, she hadn’t really gotten close to anyone. Maybe Mac and Brock had a close sort of friendship.
“I can’t believe you fell asleep at his house,” Steph said as she poured a cup of black coffee.
“It happens when you’re injured. He needed the rest, and I was home,” Brock said.
“Well, thank you for looking out for him,” Steph added.
“Are you doing okay?” April asked.
Mac shrugged. “Not bad. I feel like I’ll be strong enough to work tomorrow. Luckily the hike I’m leading is for a group of older people who want to take it easy. We’re going on one of the shortest and least difficult trails.”