Page 56 of Lavender Lake
“Ready to leave where I was.”
“And where was that?” I asked. “Did you and Declan grow up in Bonner’s Ferry together?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m from Spearfish, South Dakota.”
“No kidding,” I murmured. “So howdidyou meet Declan?”
“We were both drinking in the same bar, pissed off at the world. A couple of guys picked a fight with him. Thought two versus one was going to be easy. I decided to lend him a hand and even the score. We’ve been buds ever since.”
I smiled. “For some reason, I find that whole story completely endearing.”
“Yeah?” His eyes peered at me. “How endearing?”
“Notthatendearing.”
The line moved inside. Gracie was behind the register, two young women were at the bakery display, and there was another on the espresso bar making coffee drinks.
“You think Hadley will drink a hot chocolate if we bring her one?” Bowman asked.
“Loyal to your friend. I like that.”
“To the bitter end,” he stated. “To the bitter end.”
“We have that in common.”
“We do,” he agreed.
We were more alike than I realized. On the outside, we clashed. We both liked being in control, we both liked calling the shots. But something told me Bowman and I were cut from the same cloth.
“What does your grandmother drink?”
“Vanilla latte,” I said.
Bowman reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.
“He opens doors and he pays,” I said with a smile. “Such a gentleman.”
“Guess I gave you the wrong impression of me,” he said with a laugh.
We stepped up to the register and Gracie smiled in greeting. Her cheeks were flushed pink.
“Hi!” she chirped. “What can I get you guys?”
I listed off an impressive order that had the girls flying behind the counter.
“Taking it to the hospital?” she asked.
I nodded. “Muddy stayed there last night. We want to bring a gift to the nurses for making it happen.”
Gracie grabbed a few drink trays and started setting the to-go cups in their holders. “I’m adding a few extras in there. Some new stuff we’re trying out.”
“Thanks, girl,” I said.
Bowman tapped his credit card against the machine. It beeped, and then he slid it back into his wallet. And then he dropped a ten-dollar bill in the cash jar.
“Thank you,” Gracie said.
One of the girls handed me the paper bag with the pastry box. I took one drink tray and Bowman took the other.
