Page 44 of Healed
Emmalyn practically burst through the screen door with her head leaning back, her newly freshened wash cloth resting over her eyes as she lifted a corner of it to see where she was going. “Is that all?” she asked.
“I sure as hell hope so, what else did you want?” Havoc demanded.
“I want to go home. Can I go home?” she asked, looking at Brandt.
“Sure, y’all go ahead. Thanks for coming,” Brandt said.
“Let’s get you home, Em. Then I’ll run get you some of that IV drink stuff that Christian told us about.”
Emmalyn nodded and allowed Barron to support her and guide her down the stairs.
“Where is my mate?” Havoc asked.
“I’m pretty sure she’s cleaning up behind Emmalyn,” Brandt said.
“I’m gonna sit right here and wait patiently,” Havoc said, nodding to confirm his decision.
Chapter 8
“Hey, girl, heeeeeyyyy!” Shaun singsonged as he sauntered into Bailey’s coffee and pastry shop, swinging his hips as he dramatically prissed himself up to the counter.
Bailey started laughing and looked up at him, shaking her head, unable to stop the grin that was plastered to her face. “What are you doing?”
“Making you laugh. What are you doing?”
“I’m waiting for six o’clock.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s going to happen at six o’clock?” he teased.
“Well, there’s this guy, and he’s really cute, and funny. Funny is the most important part. Anyway, he’s coming to take me dancing,” she said, doing a little jig to emphasize what she was saying.
“Is he, now?” Shaun asked.
“He is.”
“Must be a great guy. I’m pretty sure he’s a great guy.”
She finished putting the rest of the apple fritters she’d just made in the display case and took a moment to look him in the eye as she pressed her hands against her side of the case and leaned toward him. “You know, I wasn’t sure at first, but he is. He is just the best thing that I think has ever happened to me.”
Shaun’s confident smirk slowly melted away, and he leaned forward to press his lips to hers. “I wasn’t always. I just want you to know that so you don’t think I ever misled you.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute. If you weren’t, it was because you were trying to do the best you could with what you had at the moment. I’m more than aware that everybody looks back sometimes wondering, ‘what the hell was I thinking’.”
“True. Very true.”
“You’re early. I can’t even begin closing up for another two hours,” Bailey said.
“Yeah, I ran out of things to do, and I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” she said.
The bell above the door jangled and she looked up to greet her customer. “Welcome to…” she stopped when saw Remi and a new girl walking in like they owned the place, “Bailey’s,” she finished. “How can I help you?”
“Bailey’s? Thought it had a different name,” Remi said, his tone sharp, though his words were slightly slurred.
“It did. But since it’s completely mine now, I changed it. Would you like some coffee or something to snack on?” she asked.
“I’d like to find out if you make wedding cakes. Remi is impressed with your donuts, but I’m not so sure,” Olivia said. “So when he said we should hire you to make the cake, at first I declined, but then I thought, why not at least check it out?”
