Page 9 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

"Can't right now, babe," he mumbled, then glanced up as he caught movement in his doorway.

Juno stood there, her arms loaded with sofa cushions, that familiar wall slamming down behind her eyes. Then she bustled into the room, all business, setting the two overstuffed cushions on the bed beside him. "I'll be back with food shortly." And with that, she spun out of the room.

"Juno, wait—"

But she was already gone, her footsteps quick and sharp as she headed down the hall to the kitchen.

"Who is Juno?" Payton. Sheesh. The woman was still on the phone he had pressed to his ear. "What's going on, Alex? You wouldn't have lunch with me, and now you're withsome other woman? You know, I'd heard the rumors about you, but I didn't believe them. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, and look what you—"

Alex hung up on her. He set the phone face down on his night stand, then carefully maneuvered his leg up onto the bed and shoved one of the cushions Juno had brought in under his calf. He was a back-sleeper, and he knew already that even if he started out lying on his side, he'd roll onto his back soon after falling asleep. "And I thought I had trouble sleeping before," he muttered. He could hear Juno rattling around in the kitchen as he positioned himself so that he could still eat whatever she was whipping up. He'd gone shopping earlier this week, but he was pretty sure she wasn't going to whip out a frozen microwave dinner for him.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with as much air as he could, then let it out in a long, slow exhale. As soon as she came back, he'd try to explain about Payton.

Though… explain what, exactly? That Payton meant nothing to him? That he called every woman he went out with 'babe'? That he hadn't meant to lead her on? That she read far more into his actions than he'd intended?

That Alex was exactly the kind of guy Juno thought he was?

Maybe he should pretend to be asleep when she came back with his food.

5

Juno

Junopolishedthealreadygleaming espresso machine, letting the familiar motion center her. The late afternoon rush would hit soon, and she needed to get her head back in the game. Three hours. She'd lost three hours of prime business time playing Florence Nightingale to a man who clearly had other options for care.

Can't right now, babe.

She set the cleaning cloth aside and did a final check of her prep station, making certain canisters were stocked, supplies were accessible, and the glass display case was full. Having things primed and ready at all times helped her feel in control, even when everything else in her life felt like borderline chaos.

"We've had so many compliments on the lavender honey latte today," Poppy said as she pulled espresso shots for an order. Juno could tell her barista was trying to bolster her with her encouraging words. It was one of the things she really appreciated about Poppy; the girl always saw the bright side of things. "Did you change something in the recipe?"

"No changes." Juno eyed glass syrup dispenser. There was less than a third of the bottle left, and that was even with the double batch she'd made that morning. "Looks like we might run out again."

Before she could head back to the kitchen, Poppy piped up again. "Everyone's talking about what happened this morning." Her voice held barely contained curiosity. "Is Alex okay? It was so brave, what he did. Like something right out of a movie," she gushed.

Juno wanted to shake the young woman by the shoulders and tell her to take off her Alex-colored glasses. "He'll be fine," she said with finality. She wasn't going to spend another moment thinking about him. "How are we doing on scones? Will we have enough for this evening, or do I need to make more?"

"We should be fine," she said, peering quickly into the glass case. "We're out of the lemon blueberry ones, but we've got several of the rest of the flavors." Poppy lingered, clearly hoping for more details. "So I heard his foot was broken and that he's in a cast. Maybe he'll let me sign it, you think? And someone also told me that he might have to get skin grafts for his road rash." She looked distraught, her hand pressed to her chest.

Juno sighed and turned to eye the young barista. Might as well give the girl the correct information before the gossip-mongers started making more out of things than what they were. "Poppy, Alex is fine. His ankle, not his foot, is sprained, not broken. He has crutches to use for the first few days until the swelling goes down a little, and he has a walking boot so that when he's comfortable putting weight on it, he can get rid of the crutches. He isnot," she said sternly, "getting skin grafts for his road rash. I don't know who started that rumor, but you can stop spreading it immediately. His back is going to hurt and get gross and scabby before it heals up, so you'll probably get to see him wandering around without a shirt, but that's nothing new."

"Oh, well, all of that is good, right?" Poppy didn't exactly look apologetic, and Juno thought maybe the girl knew her a little too well. Maybe, just maybe, Poppy had purposely laid it on thick just to get Juno to spill the real details. The little minx.

"That's really good, yes. If the guy had to take a hit for being a hero, then it's best case scenario, all things considered."

Poppy nodded, her eyes wide and innocent. "I bet he could use some meals. Do you think I—we should organize a meal schedule for him?"

Juno was shaking her head before Poppy finished asking the question, but not because she didn't think Alex needed help. It was because Poppy needed to stay clear of the man. There was nothing more endearing than a big, attractive man in need, and after seeing the pitiful contents of his kitchen – frozen packaged foods, lunch meat that had more ingredients than a chemistry lab, and a cupboard full of dorm room staples like ramen and peanut butter and pancake mix – he was inarguably in great need of help. The man ate like a college student and Juno had to resist the urge to purge his kitchen and replace everything with real food.

She could not, in good conscience, let her young barista fall into that kind of a snare. She put her hand on Poppy's shoulder. "Listen. I spoke to Ward when he came to get the truck. Hazel and Penny are going to put together a bunch of healthy easy meals for him. I will contribute sandwiches for a couple of days, and if you'd like to be the one to make them for him, that would be great."

Poppy's eyes lit up. "Okay. I can deliver them, too."

Juno held up a hand to stop her. "Not necessary. Ward is going to pick them up from here on his way to check on him over the next few days," she explained. "Alex is going to be a little grumpy for the first day or two as he gets used to his limitations. Be considerate and put yourself in his position. Would you want visitors if you couldn't take a shower or change your clothes?"

Poppy actually looked like she was seriously considering it, then she twitched her shoulders and grinned. "I could help him shower and change his clothes."

Juno snatched the towel from the counter and playfully swatted it at Poppy. "You are depraved. Now get back to work. You can make his sandwich tomorrow. Roast beef and roasted pepper on sourdough hoagie with the sundried tomato mayo."

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