Page 43 of Feel It All

“Thanks, man.” Feeling more at ease, I focus on the night ahead.

Chapter 13

Winry

Iunlockthebackdoor at Crossroads bright and early at six in the morning. Clicking on all the lights, I make my way to the front to get everything opened up. I tidy everything up and get all of our machines up and ready to go. Ivy comes strolling in about a half an hour later.

“Ready for the day, sugar?” I ask as she makes her way back to the kitchen.

“Oh, as ready as I will ever be. Hey, have you talked to Graham?” Ivy hangs up her bag and gets started on our normal pre-shift coffees.

“About this weekend? Yeah, he told me. I am trying to think positively about my birthday and pray this awful curse breaks this year.” I cross my fingers and a say a silent prayer.

“No, I meant…never mind.” Ivy turns back to making our coffees.

“Oh, come on Ives. Tell me, is there something else about this weekend I should know about?” I walk up to her and nudge her with my elbow a few times. “You know you want to tell me.”

“It’s not about your birthday, but I am looking forward to it though. No, last night I was at Bluebird’s and Flynn was there. He got plastered again. I don’t know what is up with him, I mean I never knew him to be such a drinker. Anyway, he got kicked out but wouldn’t leave so Lacey had to call the cops. Graham and Owen showed up, and he did his best to get under Graham’s skin. Flynn kept talking about you, Graham looked like he wanted to kill him. They didn’t arrest him though, his unfortunate new girlfriend managed to get him in a cab.”

“No, he hadn’t told me, but now this makes sense why he came and saw me last night. He showed up at the apartment in the middle of the night last night. He said he just saw my lights were on and wanted to check on me. I wonder why he didn’t just tell me.”

Ivy shrugs. “He probably didn’t want to freak you out. I mean you would be home all night by yourself, and I know you, you would be worried about Flynn showing up all night. It’s sweet though that he came to check on you. I swear, that man is obsessed with you.” Ivy hands me my usual latte.

“Yeah, I guess you are right, I definitely would have been on edge. And he is not obsessed with me.” I mean yeah, we spend every moment we can together, and I am pretty sure I am falling in love with the guy, but I keep that to myself.

“Um, yes, he is, and you are just as obsessed with him. Don’t try to lie to me, Win, I know you. I don’t think I have ever seen you this happy. Want a chocolate chip scone? Sorry, I don’t have any muffins.” Ivy pulls out a tray of scones that we have wrapped from yesterday.

“Yeah, hand it over.” I reach out for the chocolate chip goodness and then hop up on the counter.

“Everything is going good, right?” Ivy perks her eyebrows in question.

“Yeah, everything seems to be going great.” I keep my answer short. To be honest with myself, I do love him. I just push that thought aside; there is no way he is in love with me. Do I think he likes me? Yes, but love…I don’t know if I am good enough for his love.

Ivy cocks out her hip and gives me her listen to me look. “Seems to be? Come on, Win, I can see those gears turning in your head. You can think whatever you want, but we can all see it. He is head over heels for you.”

“I think I am for him too. But come on, it’s time to open up.” I hop down and unlock the door, ready to start the day.

The day seems to go by fairly quickly. A small group of girls come in and grab some coffees. One of them looks oddly familiar, but I can’t seem to place her. I continue with my normal daily tasks, wipe down some tables, and help Ivy where she needs. Our door chimes, and in walk Owen and his adorable niece, Annabelle.

Owen’s older sister, Natalie, is a bit of a mess. She had Annabelle at sixteen but never really grew up. I get going out every now and then, but if Annabelle isn’t with Owen, she is with her grandma. Annabelle’s dad signed away his rights as soon as she was born, so Owen has sort of taken on that father figure role, but with his schedule it can be hard.

“Hey guys, what a treat. What brings you in?” I walk around the counter and give Annabelle a hug.

“Belley here had demanded to come back to her—and I quote—favorite store in town.” Owen ruffles her hair, and she swats his hand away the best she can.

I let out a laugh. It’s always so sweet to see Owen with Annabelle; he loves her fiercely and it shows. “Annabelle, you will be going into the fifth grade, right? Maybe next year you will get Waverley as one of your teachers.”

“Oh, I really hope so, that would be so cool.” Annabelle says ecstatically.

“I hope not, I want you to actually learn something in school.” Owen places his hand on her shoulders and gives her a little shake.

I roll my eyes at Owen’s joke. “Annabelle, we just got in some new books in the young adult section—why don’t you go take a look? See if you can sweet talk your uncle into getting you a couple of books.” Annabelle bounces by completely focused on finding a new book.

“Thanks for that, I’ll be broke by the end of this.”

Annabelle always has her nose in a book. At eleven years old, she is reading at a twelfth-grade level. Sometimes she walks here after school and reads until her grandma can pick her up, and I love seeing her so enthralled by the book she is reading.

“Anytime, now what else can I get you? Coffee?” I ask, walking back behind the counter.

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