Page 17 of All Inn Thyme
My phone rings in my pocket as I head out to my truck. I don’t recognize the number, but I answer it anyway.
I stop at a drive-thru for a burger and fries, then head to the parking lot of Larkin where I sit in my truck and eat my food before my shift.
As I walk in, I see stacks of pallets and wonder if I could snag some of those to build something in the greenhouse for Mellie to put her plants on. I shake my head. Not my problem. I shouldn’t think about her anymore. But that’s the problem… I can’t help it. She’s gotten under my skin and now I think about her all the time. Could I build something with her around all these secrets?
Because, clearly, we both have ’em.
7. mellie
Oh, this is going to be good…
“What dowe even know about this guy? He’s impossible,” I say as I set down a plate of brownies with a little too much force, one of them bouncing off the plate and landing on the table. I’m still irritated about my run-in with Ty and I need to talk about it with my friends.
Beth and Allie stop talking and stare at me. “Well, hello to you, too. Who are we shit talking about?” Beth snatches up a brownie and takes a bite.
“Ty. Who else has rented the bunkhouse?” I huff, exasperated.
Allie chuckles and takes a sip of her wine. “You didn’t seem too bothered about Ty when you were kissing him at the tavern the other night. You didn’t even eat dinner you were too busy to come up for air.”
I put my face in my hands, not realizing how much of that they were paying attention to. “Okay, so he might be easy on the eyes and a great kisser, but he’s also impossible.” My face flushes at the memories of him kissing me.
“Might?” Beth scoffs. “There’s no ‘might’ about it. Ty’s a bona fide smoke show. And he’s good with his hands, if you know what I mean.”
Allie wrinkles her brow at Beth. “How doyouknow he’s good with his hands?”
“Duh,” Beth says, shaking her head. “He’s a mechanic. He knows what he’s doing.”
“What? Are you insane? This is so complicated, and not what I need.” I gape at her.
“Oh, it is most definitely what you need,” Allie says, a smug smile on her face. “A hot, blue-collar mechanic to check under your hood. Yes, you definitely need that.”
Beth and Allie burst out laughing so hard, they look like they can’t breathe. I’m so glad they’re enjoying themselves, because this is stressing me out.
“Absolutely not. Especially after what happened.”And shit.I’ve said too much.
“Wait, what happened? Did I miss something?” Allie reaches over and swipes the brownie that fell off the plate and takes a bite. “These are good. Did you make these?”
I roll my eyes. “Like I bake. I swiped them from Sasha.”
I learned a long time ago from my ex, naturally, that I’m a terrible cook. I made spaghetti and garlic bread one time. When Bradley came home, I remember him walking into the kitchen and saying it smelled good. I was excited that I finally got something right.
Then he took in the frozen garlic bread and store-bought spaghetti sauce and got so angry. “You can’t make anything homemade, can you? You’re so lazy. I work all day and come home to frozen food and sauce from a fucking jar.”
I had said I was sorry and explained that I’d wanted to make a quick meal so we’d have more time to spend together afterward.
“Why would I want to spend time with someone who is so fucking lazy? What do you even do all day? Nothing. You do nothing. I bust my ass for this family, and you can’t even make me a decent fucking meal when I come home.”
Having Sasha cook and Allie bake here so that I can get by without screwing up any cooking and remembering those days has been a relief. Having delicious meals ready for us every day might not be much to some people, but it has been nourishment to my soul.
I shift back to the present. “It’s just bad. I can never show my face around Ty ever again,” I say, hoping that they won’t ask further questions.
Beth and Allie both turn to look at me, and Beth pushes her glasses up on her nose, tilting her head expectantly.
Wrong. I should have known better.
Reluctant to tell them, I slink down in my chair. “Okay, something did happen.” I lean forward and put my face in my hands. It’s getting warmer as embarrassment grows.
“What?” they both say at the same time.
