Page 16 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

Mrs. Becker shook her head. "I'd better not." She reached out and grabbed Juno's hand. "I'm praying for you."

Before Juno could respond, the bell above the door chimed, and Thad held the door open for Alex as he maneuvered his way inside, crutches awkward in the narrow doorway.

8

Alex

Alexgrabbedthecrutcheshe'd leaned against the trunk and hobbled toward the coffee shop door, his ankle throbbing with each hop. Changing Mrs. Becker's tire had been more taxing than he'd anticipated, but he'd managed it, and there was a small satisfaction in that.

"Thad, my good man," he said, just as the owner of the bait shop opened the door and stepped back to let him in ahead of him.

"Morning, Frampton. You've seen better days."

"That I have," Alex said with wry chuckle. "Thanks." He headed into the restroom to wash the brake dust from his hands, then headed toward Mrs. Becker's table, surprised to see Juno slipping away, her expression troubled. Had he interrupted something?

"All done," he announced, setting the Buick keys on the table in front of her. "It's just a donut spare though. You'll need to get it replaced properly today. Do you need help setting that up?"

"My hero," Mrs. Becker beamed. "Thank you for rescuing this damsel in distress." She pointed at the chair that Juno had just vacated. "Now come sit before you fall over."

He hesitated, watching as Juno efficiently handled Thad's order, but when she lingered behind the counter after Thad said his goodbyes, Alex lowered himself gingerly into the chair, careful not to jostle his ankle. The smell of freshly ground coffee filled the air as Juno worked at her espresso machine.

"Extra cream, three sugars," she said, her voice carrying above the whir of the grinder. "Right, Alex?"

His chest tightened with pleasure that she knew exactly how he liked his coffee. "That's right." Sure, she'd remembered Thad's usual order, too, but a 'large black coffee to go and one of your morning specials' was hard to mess up.

When she returned to their table and handed him the coffee, he noticed that she deliberately avoided touching his fingers. His hands were clean, so he couldn't excuse it away; she was maintaining her distance. Not that he could blame her.

He took a cautious sip. The coffee was so good—exactly how he liked it, exactly how she'd always made it for him. "Wow. That's perfect."

"Good. Now do you want to tell me what you were doing parked outside my coffee shop in the dark this morning?"

Alex was taken off guard by the direct question, but he was pleased to note that she sounded more curious than upset. That didn't mean he wanted to explain his presence, though. Maybe he could avoid doing so by making light of it. He cleared his throat. "Hadn't you heard? I'm a small town local hero. I arrived just in time to help Mrs. Becker change her flat." He shifted in his seat to relieve the twinges of discomfort shooting up his leg, but then let out a sharp grunt when he accidentally bumped the brace against the table leg.

"Here," Juno said suddenly, grabbing a chair from another table and swinging it around to face him. "Put your foot up here. You're supposed to be elevating that thing."

"Thank you." He carefully lifted his leg, wincing as he settled his booted foot onto the chair. "So Mrs. Becker," he said with a grin at the older woman. "I know Juno already asked you, but what brought you here so early in the morning?"

"Oh! Well, I'm picking up Ward's breakfast order for his crew out at the Garden Gate," she explained. "Hazel and I are spending the morning out in the garden with Judy. The poor thing is quite distressed by all the activity in the kitchen; it's her favorite room in the house, and she's struggling to process all the changes."

Reality crashed back. Right. "Yeah, he's got my crew working for him this week. Without me. Stupid ankle." He knocked on the frame of the brace in frustration, then asked, "But how did you get recruited? No offense intended, but are they that desperate?"

"Hey now," Mrs. Becker chided, wagging her spoon at him. "I may be retired, but I still come in handy sometimes. I offered to make everyone a breakfast casserole, but I think Hazel let slip that my kitchen skills have something to be desired. Ward insisted that I pick up breakfast from here rather than cooking it myself."

He smiled despite himself. Mrs. Becker had always been able to pull him out of his darker moods, even back in high school.

"Well, no one makes better breakfast sandwiches than Juno," he said, genuinely meaning it. Then quickly added, "Not to say anything against your casserole."

Mrs. Becker's eyes twinkled. "And speaking of kitchen skills, no one is better at installing kitchen cabinets than you, Alex. At least that's what Ward was saying yesterday. They could use your help. Why don't you head on over there with me? I know they'd put you to good use."

He gestured at his ankle. "I'm not much use to anyone right now."

"Nonsense," Mrs. Becker waved dismissively. "Penny was just telling me yesterday how much they miss having you around. Said the place isn't the same without your terrible jokes."

From the corner of his eye, he caught Juno's smile—quickly suppressed, but definitely there. His jokes had always been terrible; he wasn't afraid to admit it. Deliberately so. He shook his head. "Nah. I'm probably going to head back to my place and put my foot up for the rest of the morning. Maybe try to get some sleep," he added. It sounded so good to his ears, even though he knew how unlikely it was. At least the sleep part.

"Right after a cup of sugar and caffeine? Ha." Mrs. Becker wasn't buying it. "And you can put your foot up over at the Garden Gate, too. That way you can still contribute your expertise to the project. Besides, I'd really appreciate you following me over. I'm a little worried about driving on that funny little tire."

Low blow. Mrs. Becker knew exactly what she was doing, playing on his instinct to help. And it was working.

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