Page 10 of Autumn Wishes and Pumpkin Kisses

“Are you sure? Like I said, it can wait.”

I roll over to the side of the bed and sit up. “I’ll be there in a few.” After hanging up the phone, I toss it onto my bed and head for the bathroom. Turning on the shower before splashing my face with some cold water to help wake me up. Bits and pieces come back from last night. I had offered to help Teaganne move furniture in her house. Why? I’m not totally sure. My brain tells me to avoid her as much as possible, but every other part of my body wants to be around her as much as possible. Something about seeing her on her own as a single mother makes me want to protect her. It’s a crazy thought because if there’s one person in this world that doesn’t need protection it’s Teaganne. Yet, I could see the struggle in her eyes. She’s worrying about her decisions and how they’re going to affect her kids.

Kids. That’s something I always wanted. However, I saw them with her and then that dream died and now I don’t know what I want. Silas and Seraphina are great though. Every time I get around them, I just want to hang out and play. The bathroom starts to steam up so I strip the only piece of clothing I have left on and climb beneath the scalding hot stream of water. Afterwards, I dress quickly and head out the door. The morning breeze has a bit of a chill to it and I'm thankful for grabbing the long sleeve flannel to go over my black t-shirt.

Parking at the bakery is a lot easier than normal and it’s just another reminder that I need to get on top of making Warbee’s website. I refuse to let Fran with the Sip and Smack knock Warbee out of her bakery. I notice Rocker’s truck and realize he’s probably up a lot earlier than normal since Warbee left her Jeep with Teaganne. There she is again, in my thoughts.

I walk into the bakery and the home baked smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, apple, pumpkin and sweet potato fill the air. My stomach rumbles, clearly hungry. Capri is standing behind the counter, placing some delicious looking donuts into one of the display cases. I walk over and greet her. “Good morning, Capri.”

“Well, good morning there. How are you doing today?” She looks up and smiles at me. Her hair is a large messy bun with tons of strands escaping. Her glasses are gone for the day.

I nod my head. “I’m tired and apparently hungry.”

Capri laughs. “Nope, that’s just the magic of the bakery. You could have just eaten a five course meal and the moment you walk in here you’ll be hungry again. It’s honestly a miracle that I don’t weigh five thousand pounds at this point.”

As I’m laughing with Capri, Warbee and Rocker come out from the kitchen. “Good morning y’all. Can I get a couple of these donuts?”

“You don’t even know what they are,” Capri says, with a laugh.

I shrug. “I don’t need to. Warbee made them, right?”

“Of course,” Warbee answers. She walks over to stand next to Capri. “But I’m still going to tell you what they are. This one is an apple cider donut with a cinnamon and nutmeg glaze. The other is a pumpkin donut with pumpkin cinnamon glaze and chopped cinnamon sugar pecans on top.”

My mouth waters. “Yeah, I’ll take two of each please. Two for now and two for later. I’m pretty sure my mom will want to try these.”

“If you manage to share them with her,” Rocker teases, as he comes around the counter with two coffees in his hands.

His statement makes sense. I’m not much of a donut person, but there’s something about Warbee’s...they’re unique and so moist. “You know what? He’s right. Let me have four for later so I can make sure my mom tries them.”

Capri laughs. “Sure thing, blue eyes. I’ll get them boxed up. Here are your two for now.” She hands me a small glass plate. It’s cream colored with fall leaves around the border and pumpkins in the middle.

“Thank ya, ma’am,” I tell her, as I head over to join Rocker in one of the booths. “How’s your morning going so far?”

He takes a sip of his coffee and nods his head slowly. “Pretty good. I wish I could get Warbee out of her funk. She’s a much better actress than any of us realize.”

“I’ve got the plans for the website and I’m going to start on it today.” My mind instantly starts running through a list of photographers I could pull in from Atlanta. Then another thought occurs to me. Why pull one from there, when I’m sure I can find one from Blue Ridge. That would also win some major points with the locals, not that Warbee needs that. She’s a staple in the community, but it could never hurt to remind them. “You said you had an opportunity for me?”

“Yeah, you know I mentioned little league football last night...well, I could always use an assistant coach and I was thinking there’s no one better for the job than you.”

“What?” I ask, almost spitting out the spitting out the sip of coffee I just took. “Are you serious?”

He nods his head. “Yeah, I think it’ll be great. You know football as well as I do. You’re great with kids, why not?”

I can think of a reason...Teaganne. I know she’s worried about Silas playing football, but I also know she’ll show up with him because she wants this transition to be as easy as possible for her kids. Can I handle seeing her that much? Do I want to see her that much? My head and heart are once again locked in a battle. Rocker watches me expectantly. I’m about to tell him hell no when the bell above the door chimes and I hear the distinct voice of Seraphina. “Auntie Bee!” I look over my shoulder to see Teaganne entering with Silas and Seraphina. She looks amazing enough so that I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating. She has on a maroon colored sundress that hits just above her knee, dark brown boots that hit just below her knee and a brown leather jacket. Her hair is pulled up into a ponytail and her face looks makeup free except for some mascara and eyeliner. A pair of bronze-colored earrings dangle from her ears. Teaganne always stood out in Blue Ridge and she still does. She waves at Warbee and Capri. She hasn’t spotted us yet but Silas does.

Before we can blink Silas is running between the tables and other customers to get to our booth. Rocker grabs him in for a bear hug while tickling his sides. Once he puts him back down, he rushes to my side and climbs in beside me. I smile down at him while ruffling his hair. “How are you this morning, little man?”

“I’m hungry.” Silas looks at my donuts. “What’s that?” I explain the donuts to him. “I’ll be right back,” he announces to Rocker, and I before rushing back over to Teaganne. A few minutes later, he returns with a plastic yellow plate.

“Did you get a donut?” Rocker asks.

He nods his head as he takes a big bite. “Yeah, an apple one,” he replies, his mouth full.

“Silas Alexander, close your mouth when it’s full. You have better manners than to talk with your mouth full,” Teaganne scolds him.

Once Silas swallows the donut. “Yes, ma’am. I do know better. I’m sorry,” he apologizes to the table.

Teaganne places a glass of water in front of him. “Did you even ask if you could sit with them?” He opens his mouth and then closes it again. Teaganne laughs lightly and shakes her head. “Silas, you know you always ask before joining.”

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