Page 42 of After All

She’d finally given in to the urge, telling herself that she didn’t have to give them to Scott. She did want him to get over her. Probably. So she couldn’t make him cookies. And not because of the possible cookiegasms, but because Scott would definitely realize that they were more than the best combination of flour and sugar he’d ever tasted.

So, instead she’d made cookies. Not cookiesforScott. Not cookies shaped or decorated like anything special. Just round cookies with colored frosting. And they now filled the trays in the front display case of the bakery. Cookiegasms for everyonebutScott.

But she was still wound up. It was late. He was home—Kyle had texted to tell her he’d dropped Scott off and done his dressing change. And yes, she totally heard the sarcasm in Kyle’s text. But she wasn’t quite ready to go and be all girlfriend-y. Worse, she wasn’t ready to go there to try to seduce him.

Which was the weirdest thing of all. That was the deal, the plan. He was going to push the relationship thing. She was going to push the sex thing. They both knew it. But she was hesitant, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

So she was driving very slowly toward his house and hoping to remember that she needed to do something else that would keep her out and busy for a while.

The lights were still on in the Come Again as she turned onto the highway, taking the very long and not-at-all-direct route to Scott’s. It was after midnight, and while, in Nebraska, bars could stay open until two, the Come Again was almost always shut down by midnight. There was the occasional party or special event, and during the summer festival it stayed open later, but after midnight was only for the real diehards on regular weekends, and there weren’t many real diehards in little Sapphire Falls.

But if the lights were on, that meant people. And Peyton could use some people right now. She’d been alone with her own thoughts far too long. That was, clearly, not a good thing.

She pulled in, parking next to Derek’s truck. Well, he’d likely tell Scott she’d stopped down here, but she didn’t care. As long as she could keep the bartender talking about anythingotherthan his friend, she’d be good. And Derek was totally the type of guy she could threaten with “say the name Scott to me and I’ll start buying my liquor in Kingston instead of here”. Frankly, that would put a noticeable dent in Derek’s budget.

Peyton grabbed her bag and started for the door, relieved to find it unlocked and all of the lights in the main room blazing. But no people.

She stepped into the room, letting the door shut behind her. Then she heard voices coming from the back room.

The Come Again was the kind of place where everyone felt at home. And considering she’d known the owner, Bryan Murray, another Sapphire Falls native, her entire life, Peyton was completely comfortable rounding the bar and poking her head through the swinging door that separated the bar area from the back, where the kitchen and storage were.

Derek was there with Mitch Dugan.

“Hey, guys.”

They both swiveled. “Hey, Peyton,” Derek greeted. “Thought you’d be rushing home to your patient.”

She shrugged, trying to look completely nonchalant about how the words “rushing home” hit her. Home was the tiny house she rented from Mrs. Bernard. It was fine. All of her stuff fit. She had a bed and a shower and a kitchen. And a garage—that was big during the winter in Nebraska.

But it was just a house. A house where she had her stuff. Where she could do her online business and sleep safely and hang out doing home pedicures with her girlfriends with margaritas once in a while. But it was never a place she was excited to go.

She was excited to go to Scott’s.

Which was why she was here instead.

“Kyle said he took care of the bandages and he took his medication, so he’ll probably be out pretty fast,” she said. All of which was true. And not why she was here instead of there.

“He looked a little worn out,” Derek agreed. “Weird to see big old Scott get tired from sitting on the couch.”

“Well, he was justshotyesterday,” she said.

Derek held up a hand. “Don’t come at me, wildcat. I know. I get it. You don’t need to defend your boy to me.”

She frowned. She hadn’t been coming at him. She might have snapped a little more than necessary…

“You guys hanging out here for a while?” she asked.

Derek nodded. “Mitch and Andi are adding on for me.”

“Adding on?” Peyton asked, moving farther into the room.

“We’re putting in a brick oven for pizzas,” Derek said with a wide grin. “And some other stuff. We need more space, so Mitch and Andi are doing an addition.”

“Wow, that’s cool,” Peyton said. “It’s kind of late for hammering and sawing, isn’t it?”

“We’re far enough away from any residential areas, we shouldn’t make a lot of noise,” Mitch said. “Working after closing means we don’t have to disrupt business hours and we can still do other jobs during the day.”

“You and Andi don’t need to sleep?” Peyton asked. Andi and Mitch were older than her by a couple of years, but she knew them both pretty well. They showed up at river parties from time to time and were hilarious. Come to think of it, Peyton couldn’t remember ever seeing either of them at a social event without the other.

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