Chapter 20
Run interference – to handle someone else’s problems by solving your own dang problems
Rowan
Iwhistle as I pour the cupcake dough into the tray. I usually struggle to wake up and get to the bakery on time but not this morning. Today I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. Maybe I’ll try a new recipe out this morning.
“What are you happy about?” Bryan asks as he strolls into the kitchen of the bakery.
“Does there have to be a reason?”
He gasps. “You’re answering a question with a question, which means you’re hiding information from me.” He pauses to peruse my face. “Oh my word! You slept with Ashlyn. It’s about time!”
I put the tray of cupcakes in the oven before whirling around to confront him. “We are not discussing this.”
He claps. “Yeah! It’s serious. It’s about time you got over your bitch of an ex-wife. Ashlyn is the perfect rebound girl.”
I growl. “Ash is no one’s rebound girl.”
He squeals. “It is serious! I knew it! Finally, it’s my turn to win the bet. It’s about time. I’ve been here two years now and I haven’t won a single bet yet.”
My hands are around his throat before I realize I’m moving. “Ash and I aren’t a joking matter.” I drop my hand. “Ash and I aren’t a couple anyway.”
He rolls his eyes. “Sure, you aren’t, Mr. Hot and Cold. You care for her more than you’re willing to admit. It’s time you got over She Who Shall Not Be Named and moved on with your life. You deserve to be happy.”
I don’t deserve to be happy unless I can make my woman happy and I can’t, which means I don’t deserve love.
Bryan sighs. “You’ve retreated into your big silent man persona once again. I’ll go get the front of the house ready to open.” He stomps away but stops with his hand on the door and glances back at me over his shoulder. “Have you ever considered you couldn’t make Sandra happy because no one can make her happy?”
I motion for him to get going. I don’t want to discuss my ex-wife with him. He’s the one person who was with me through it all. He knows everything Sandra said and did. Well, not everything. There’s one thing no one else knows. My secret shame.
“You know I’m right,” he sings as he sashays away.
Easy for him to say. He doesn’t realize I couldn’t give Sandra the one thing she wanted.
An hour later, with a tray of cupcakes in my arms, I elbow the door to the bakery open. As soon as I step into the room, silence falls. I frown as I scan the crowd. Everyone is staring at me as if they’re evaluating me.
I know these stares. I became accustomed to them when I played ball. They’re definitely evaluating me, but now it’s not about how many yards I can throw for a touchdown. No, the good people of Winter Falls are wondering what my romantic future entails.
I should have expected this. You can’t keep a secret in this town and Ash has made no attempt to keep her feelings about me private since she returned home last year after graduating college. But I never imagined everyone would know I’d slept with her within hours. We haven’t even had the morning after talk yet!
Aspen comes rushing into the bakery. “I’m not discussing my sex life with your sister with you,” I tell her before she can speak.
Applause erupts from the crowd and money exchanges hands. Bryan slaps me on the back. “My vacation piggy bank thanks you.”
I drop my chin and rub my neck. Damnit. This town drives me crazy sometimes.
“I need your help,” Aspen shouts to be heard above the crowd.
My legs eat up the space between us. “What is it? What’s wrong? Is Ash hurt? She better not be walking around. She’s still in a cast whether she thinks she is or not.”
She leans close to whisper, “Sandra’s here.”
“What did you say, lassie? I didn’t hear you,” Basil, the hippie headbanger tow truck driver, yells.
I ignore him and everyone else. Sandra’s here? In Winter Falls? She refused to visit my parents in town when we were married. What the hell is she doing here now?
I plow through the crowd. Once I’m outside, I sprint toward my house. I wish I had my golf cart, but I only use it when it’s raining, or I have a load of groceries to carry.