Tempest laughed. “Where’d that come from?”
“I just feel the need to make sure you know I’m not your enemy.”
Brandt laughed. “You have no idea, my friend. No idea at all.”
~~~
The bell jingled above the door in the coffee shop and Bailey lifted her head, smile in place, to greet whoever the customer was. Her smile faded, but she still managed to politely greet the woman. “Good morning. What can I get for you today?”
“Oh, it’s you!” Cristie said. “I didn’t know you worked here.”
“It’s my family’s place. My parents rarely come in anymore. It’s up to me to keep it running smoothly.”
“I’m Cristie, do you remember meeting me at the wedding?”
Bailey flashed a brief smile. “I do. I’m Bailey.”
“I remember. You’re Remi’s girlfriend. It was really nice meeting you after hearing so much about you. The family really loves you,” Cristie said, her smile genuine.
Bailey nodded, not quite willing to admit that they weren’t together to the very person who was the reason they weren’t together. “Thank you for saying so. Did you come in for something in particular?”
“I did! Remi brought coffee and raspberry scones. I had to fight off the family. So, in order to make amends, I’m here for more,” Cristie said on another smile.
Bailey took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She’d known Remi was going to take the extra coffee and scone to Cristie, even though he’d denied it. And that was fine, but why the lie? It wasn’t necessary. “How many are you feeding?” she forced herself to ask while remaining polite.
“I guess about a dozen. Unless there are more by the time I get back.”
“Tell you what, I’ll make you a few boxes of donuts and pastries to take back with you, and get you a gallon of the coffee to go.”
“That would be perfect!”
“Why don’t you take a look at the pastry counter while I get the coffee and let me know if there’s anything in particular you want included.”
“Thank you, Bailey. I appreciate it. But, do you know which coffee it is? I see you have different flavors.”
Bailey smiled at Cristie. “Remi always gets just regular old black. Would you like a flavored, too? I can give you a half gallon of each.”
“Yes! Can I have something vanilla, or caramel?”
“I’ve got you. I’ll get it together for you.” Bailey walked away, heading into the kitchen, letting the double doors swing behind her as she went. She took two plastic half-gallon jugs from their storage shelves and filled one with vanilla coffee, the other with Americana — the strong black coffee Remi preferred. She capped them both, then carried them back out to the front counter. “Do you want any creamers or sweeteners?”
“Yes, please. Just an array of whatever you know everybody usually asks for.”
“Got it,” Bailey said. She took out an old fashioned brown paper bag and put several handfuls of prepackaged creamer and sweetener into it, along with white and turbinado sugar. Then she loaded three boxes with donuts, scones, eclairs, muffins. She took out a fourth box and packed it with as many cherry and blueberry turnovers as she could get into it. She handed that particular box to Cristie and smiled at her. “You’ll want to give this box to Uncle Bam.”
“I will. And I’ll tell him that you sent it special for him.”
“Oh! Hold on, one more thing,” Bailey said. She took a large to go cup and filled it with hot herbal tea, added honey, then put a lid on it and handed it to Cristie. “This is for Tempest. She won’t drink any of the coffee.”
“Thank you. If she doesn’t come, I’ll take it to her later.”
“I’m sure if it’s a family thing she’ll arrive at some point. Give her a hug for me.”
“I will. How much do I owe you?”
Bailey rang everything up and gave her a total.
Cristie paid her, then dropped a twenty into the tip jar. “Thanks, Bailey. I really appreciate your help.”
