Page 20 of Surprised By Love

“We have three flavours. Devil’s food, Vanilla and Carrot Cake.”

“I’ll take a Carrot Cake to go.” He gives me one of those panty dropping smiles, again.

“Sure, no problem,” I say, grabbing a small takeout bag placing a Carrot Cake cupcake inside. I pour his coffee into a paper cup and place a lid on it when I hear Bernie say. “She’s a peach, that one there. I might have to tell my grandson Peter to come by. They would make the sweetest couple. Dont’cha think?”

George laughs. “Don’t you go trying to set her up with Peter. Let the poor girl get settled first. Besides, you know our women will have a list made up by the end of the week for potential suitors.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. Good thing my back is to them. I can hear Bea snickering in the kitchen, no doubt hearing this conversation. That’s the one thing about small towns. You can’t keep anything secret, and people are always trying to set you up if you’re single.

I turn to give Josh his coffee and he grunts. Did I do something wrong? I place the bagged cupcake and coffee on the counter, handing him his bill.

“Thank you,” he says, placing a ten-dollar bill on the counter.

“I’ll get you your change,” I say, taking the money.

“Keep it,” He growls, as he slips off the stool and heads for the front door.

I watch him leave, wondering if his attitude change is because of something I did.

Josh

In a huff, I grab my coffee and cupcake and turn to the front door. Standing in the doorway is my gramma, not looking impressed.

“Do not tell me you gave that girl an attitude. That’s not how we raised you, Joshua.”

“No gramma I—”

“The poor girl has been through enough. The last thing she needs is you giving her an attitude for no reason.”

My gramma grabs my elbow, pulling me outside.

“Sit,” she says as she sits on a bench outside the diner.

“Have you heard her story yet?” Gramma asks, sadness taking over her otherwise bright eyes.

“Not really. I heard she’s divorced, and she has a daughter about Emily’s age.”

“They dated in high school. Her and Derek. He was going away to medical school, and she wanted to go with him so they didn’t have to do the long distance thing. Before they left town, they got married. They had a plan. After he was done with medical school, Samantha would pursue her dreams, but then she got pregnant.”

Gramma wrings her hands together as if she’s struggling to tell me more.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I ask, my stomach tightens. This can’t be good.

She shakes her head. “It’s not my story to tell. You should talk to her.”

Gramma pats my lap. “I’m not sure what your plans are with Samantha. If you’ll be friends, acquaintances, or if maybe at some point there’s something romantic between the two of you. Which, if I can be honest, I would love because we love that girl. Even though me and your grandpa haven’t seen her in years.”

“She’s still the sweet, caring girl I’ve always known, and I think she’d be perfect for you, but don’t let me persuade you. You need to decide on your own, but I may nudge you here and there because, well, that’s what grammas do.” She laughs, and her eyes light up. My gramma is such a troublemaker.

She stands and I follow, placing my coffee and bag with my cupcake on the seat. I give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll leave you with one last thing. If you think you might want something romantic with her, I wouldn’t waste any time. The men in this town already have their eyes on her.” She grins, turns, and walks away.

I pick the bag and my coffee and cross the street to the station. What in the world just happened? I know my gramma always has good intentions, but shit. What was she thinking, telling me that?

Yes. I’ve been curious about Sam and her story, but for gramma to leave me on the edge like that has my mind wandering in so many directions. Was he abusive to her? Did he hit her? My fist tightens around my coffee and I realize just in time and loosen my grip before the lid pops and I end up with coffee all over me. If he laid a hand on her…

“Hey man,” Mac says, opening the door to the station letting me inside. “What’s going on? I saw you talking to your gramma outside the diner and you had a death grip on that cup.” He looks down at the coffee cup in my hand, then back at me. “You okay?”

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