Page 40 of Wood Riddance
He was perched at the counter with a fresh slice of blueberry pie with homemade vanilla ice cream on top sitting in front of him.
Adele loomed over him, silently inspecting him for a long moment. I thought she would curse him out. Instead, she grabbed the plate and a fork and took a big bite of his pie.
My jaw hit the ground.
“You don’t get pie,” she said, her voice low. “Pie is for kind people who don’t gossip about or judge others.”
The mayor’s eyes widened, and his face flushed. He probably wasn’t used to having his authority challenged.
Shoveling another bite of pie into her mouth, she scanned the crowd. “Bernice, don’t you dare give him more pie. He doesn’t get pie until he learns how to be a decent fucking human.”
Bernice, the sassy owner of the diner, nodded at Adele, her beehive bobbing as she did. That small interaction was the most shocking part of this entire encounter. Bernice wasn’t known for taking anyone’s shit.
Still holding the mayor’s pie, Adele tilted her chin higher and scrutinized one person after another. “This ends now. You will not punish good people, and you will not damn a child for the actions of one evil man. We’re better than this.”
With that, she pivoted sharply once again and prowled toward us. Her expression was still set in a severe scowl as she moved closer. I was glued to the spot, baffled and at a loss for words. But when she approached, she didn’t speak to me. Instead, she kneeled, softened her expression, and looked straight at Merry. “My mom and I have room in our booth. Do you want to join us?”
Merry studied Adele with stars in her eyes, and finally, a tiny smile lifted one side of her lips. “Okay.”
Adele heaved herself back up and led us to the booth, where she gestured for us to slide in before taking a seat next to her mom. She still commanded the attention of every patron in the place. They hadn’t stopped watching her since she opened her mouth to defend us. “Now eat your damn breakfasts,” she said, giving each and every one of them a pointed look, “and stop being assholes.” With that, she lifted her hand, gesturing at Bernice for more coffee.
“Sorry about that,” she said to Merry, picking up her menu. “I’m in the mood for pancakes. What about you?”
My daughter gave her a bright smile, then opened her mouth and proceeded to expound on her love of pancakes.
I exhaled, feeling the knot that had tightened the second we stepped into the diner finally loosen. People had gone back to their meals and conversations, and the tension that had thickened the air began to dissipate. Mayor Lambert snuck a few looks in our direction, but otherwise, things cooled down.
My pulse slowly settled, and my breathing returned to normal. In the military, I had learned to assess threats. I’d had to use that skill many times overseas. It was ingrained in me. How could I have underestimated how dangerous it would be to bring Merry into the diner on a Saturday morning?
I was still silently berating myself when a small hand covered mine.
“It’s okay,” Mrs. Gagnon said softly. “It’s not your fault.” She was of medium height with dark hair cut in a neat bob. She had all the appearances of a sweet middle-aged woman, but there was a fierceness in her eyes that reminded me of her daughter. If I had to guess, she was also a force to be reckoned with.
I’d seen her plenty over the years, but I hadn’t been able to look her in the eye since learning that my father was responsible for her beloved husband’s death. That shame washed over me once more as I sat across from her now. Would I be apologizing for his actions forever?
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She tilted her head and assessed me for a long moment. Finally, she breathed a quiet “thank you” and patted my hand. The contact was comforting, friendly. She wasn’t judging me. She didn’t hate me. And with that realization, the wave of shame began to wane.
It was only then that I picked up the sound of Merry’s laughter. She and Adele were playing hangman on the paper menu, and Adele had chosen the wordbooger.
Adele sat across from Merry, laughing right along with her. Her blond hair was in a ponytail, and she wasn’t wearing a lick of makeup. She had clearly come from the gym, but the sight of her took the breath right out of my lungs.
This woman was exceptional in every way. She was brave and kind and more empathetic than I’d ever realized. There was absolutely no way I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life pining for her.
Two years ago, we had kissed. A moment I still relived almost every day. After that night, I vowed to make her mine. To take my time, get to know her, and lock her down forever. Because she was one of a kind.
Things had changed. She’d never be mine now. But fuck if I didn’t wish it were possible.
Chapter12
Adele
Ididn’t care. Really. I didn’t. He was another asshole in a vast ocean of them who stood in my way every day. But we were the only ones here.
And without a word, he’d jumped in to help me clean the shop.
Our work was complicated and messy, but we worked most efficiently when each and every aspect of the shop was in order and put to rights. So at the end of each day, every tool and piece of equipment was cleaned, checked, and put away.
