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“Super cool,” Cole added…for some unknowable reason, and the exchange was so awkward he couldn’t blame Mira for snorting.
“Cole’s helping Madigan out at Little Timber while he and Ashley are on their honeymoon,” she explained. “He’ll be here for a few weeks.”
Shifting his gaze between them—no doubt sensing that Cole had just done very inappropriate things to his mother—Ian said, “’Kay.”
Taking mercy on all three of them at this point, Cole turned to Mira, slid his hands into his pockets, and said, “I guess I’d better get going.”
“Oh, wait.” She dove behind the counter, popping back up with a chocolate chip cookie in her hand. “One for the road?”
He cocked a brow. “The perks keep coming.”
With a groan, followed by an uncanny approximation of a cat throwing up, Ian said, “I’m going upstairs.” And then he was gone, his rangy legs taking him far away from his mom and the weird stranger flirting with her in their bakery. It struck Cole then, with a cookie in his hand and a sharp twinge in his heart, that he didn’t necessarily want to be a stranger here.
After watching Ian disappear up the stairs, Mira said, “You’re probably going to be pretty busy up at Bluebird?”
It was both a statement and a question, not that Cole had an answer. “Maybe. Probably.” When he’d thought about it on the drive over, he’d envisioned a camp counselor-type situation. Like he’d be Bill Murray fromMeatballs, cracking jokes and rousing the men with inspirational speeches.It just doesn’t matter!and all that. He was also one hundred percent sure that assessment was cataclysmically naïve. “I don’t know if I’ll have to stay up there all the time or not. I’m going over all the details with Mad as soon as I leave here.”
“I make deliveries to Bluebird sometimes,” she told him. “I’ve been wanting to go more often, show my support for Little Timber in a moremeaningfulway.”
“I see.” He leaned against the counter. “Can I place special orders?”
“Of course,” she replied. “Do you want my private menu? It’s pretty exclusive.”
“Not something you give out to every Tom, Dick, and Harry?”
“Certainly not any Dick.”
When she blushed, he brushed his fingers over her cheek and said, “Mira Pink. My favorite color.”
Her blush deepened.
“I’ll call you later,” he said, pulling his sunglasses out of his shirt and sliding them on.
“You’d better.”
He leaned in to kiss her cheek, then laughed deep in his throat when she grasped his face and corrected his course, taking his mouth instead.
* * *
Every time Colepulled into Bluebird’s parking lot, the mountain looked a little different. Today, aside from the snow still clinging to its peak, it was covered in bright, velvety green grass. When he stepped out of his car, he was so taken by the view he almost missed the gigantic dog barreling toward him.
“Ugh, Murph,” he grunted, widening his stance so Murphy didn’t knock him onto his ass. “Good to see you too,” he managed while the dog attacked his face with big, fat licks.
“Murphy, get down! Cole, I’m so sorry. Murphy! Down!”
“It’s all good, Ashley,” Cole said, scratching the dog’s neck, trying to avoid his slobbery jowls becausedamnthe dog had some jowls, and some slobber.
“Come!”
Even though both Cole’s and the dog’s heads whipped around at Madigan’s command, only Murphy dropped to all fours and trotted up to Mad’s side.
“Why does he only listen to you?” Ashley asked, frowning up at Madigan, who only shrugged, then kissed her head. And it was apparently answer enough, because she stepped away from her husband to wrap Cole in a hug. “I can’t believe you’re doing this for us,” she said. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, honestly. I’m just happy to be here.” As soon as the words left Cole’s lips, Madigan crossed his arms, his head tilting, eyes narrowing the same way Ian’s had, making Cole wonder if he had I JUST GOT LAID stamped across his forehead.
Letting him go, Ashley said, “I haven’t actually taken a vacation in”—her lips twisted thoughtfully—“I can’t even remember. Not since Davis was a kid.”
“That’s outrageous,” Cole said, tapping his fingers on his thighs, his nerves suddenly jangling. “I just hope I won’t fuck things up while you’re gone.”
