Callum laughed.
The four of us returned to the café to drop off the empty baskets before locking up and heading back outside. The sun was setting now, the light of day fading into a dark golden hue that shone on the peaks of the mountains in the distance while casting everything else in shadow.
“See you in the morning,” William told me with a respectful nod. He fastened the buttons on his thin overcoat and smoothed down the front.
“See you then,” I responded. “Tomorrow is bread day. Prepare to make the softest and fluffiest bread ever.”
“I look forward to it.”
“And I look forward to eating the leftovers,” Callum said as William hailed a carriage and stepped up into it.
“I may show him how to make cinnamon rolls too. The food of your people.”
“I thought you said I was stale bread now?”
“Eh.” I shrugged. “Changed my mind.”
Callum ruffled the top of my hair. “Let’s go. I know a certain person who’ll be eager to see you.”
Ban kept a short distance behind us as we started toward the inn. The distance wasn’t too far from the café, and the stroll through town at sunset was nice.
“Fancy a flower?” a woman in the market asked, holding a basket over her arm with a few roses, tulips, camellias, and ones I didn’t know the name of, but they were pretty. “Pickin’s are slim this late in the day, but I’m sure the beautiful young maiden in your life would love one.”
“Heisthe maiden,” Callum said with a shit-eating grin. “More like a damsel.”
I elbowed him in the ribs, and he laughed. Ban then drew my attention. He stepped toward the woman and pointed toward a red camellia. She told him the price, and he withdrew a coin from his pouch, exchanging it for the flower.
Who was he buying it for? Heck, maybe he wanted it for himself. No shame in that.
Ban approached me. His cheeks were a noticeable shade darker than the rest of his face, matching the flush going up his neck. His gaze lowered as he offered me the flower.
“You bought this for me? Really?”
He nodded.
“As thanks for the cookies?”
Another nod.
“Thank you.” I accepted it and pressed my nose to the soft petals. “It’s pretty.”
“You big sap,” Callum said to Ban. “Now he’s going to start crying because of you.”
“No I won’t,” I denied, even though, yes, my eyes did burn a little. “It’s just allergies.”
As we headed in the direction of the inn, I periodically smelled the flower and smiled each time. The gift had been unexpected. Ban was so different than I’d thought. He was kindhearted and sweet despite the intensity with which he carried himself.
The warm, fluttery feeling from the gift then faded a little. I learned two things that evening. One, someone in Exalos remembered my mom. It made her feel real in a way she hadn’t before. She’d also loved feeding people, just like I did, and had touched several lives with her food. And two?
She had vanished without a trace.
***
“Shoulda told me you liked flowers. I would’ve stolen several bouquets for you by now.” Rowan lounged on the windowsill, one leg hanging down and touching the floor while the other bent at the knee.
Lake sneered at him. He sat at the table near the fireplace, whittling a piece of wood.
“Stop stealing.” I sat on the bed, hugging a pillow to my chest and admiring the flower Ban had bought for me. Lake had found a vase for it. “It’s wrong.”
