Page 18

A Friendly Place to Work

Dark hair fanned out across my pillow, and Kyle’s bare shoulders on display beneath the white and purple plaid sheets brought me a sense of calm as I watched the morning arrive. This was what I would call more than a good start to my day, giving me hope that all would be okay. I sat next to where she lay, sheets still wrapped around me, my body still happily sore from the night before. I needed to get to the store by eight, but Kyle wasn’t on at the hospital until noon. No reason to wake her. I took one last look at her peaceful features, placed a soft kiss on her temple, and hopped in the shower.

When I’d finished my cup of coffee before heading to the car, she emerged from my bedroom in nothing but a gray T-shirt that said Soulmate across the front in blue script. She kept an extra bag of clothes in her car for when she was on call at the hospital. It apparently also doubled as a handy overnight bag. I shook my head, peering at her from around my mug. “It’s not at all fair that you look this good in the morning.” Even her bedhead came off as tousled chic.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She walked toward me with purpose, all gorgeous legs and bright eyes. “But I wanted to be here to say goodbye. You sure it’s okay if I stick around until work?”

I made a sweeping gesture to my living room. “Have a leisurely morning. The back patio is especially nice for watching Mrs. Watson garden, which she occasionally does in her underwear. Consider yourself warned.”

She looked to the back door. “Frisky neighborhood.”

“This isn’t the big city. We put it all out there, Kyle. Think you can handle it?”

She wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me close. “Are you kidding? You and I are going to give Mrs. Watson a naked run for her money. We should start soon.”

“I think naked gardening might challenge my demure sense of self.”

“Good thing I’m here to corrupt you.” She brushed her lips across mine and then came back for more.

We didn’t seem to be just one kiss kind of people, and holy hell that was okay with me. There weren’t too many things that could make me agree to be late for work, but Kyle’s lips topped that list—just as she’d topped me the night before. Hey-o!

“You sure you have to leave?” she asked, and kissed me softly just below my earlobe. “The groceries would probably understand. I could write you a doctor’s note.”

My skin tingled and a shiver ran through my body. “Oh, you can’t play the sexy doctor card when I’m trying to save a grocery store.”

“Now who’s sexy? I have such a thing for female superheroes.” She tugged softly on a strand of my hair. “God, Savanna. Why do you have to be so hot?” Her hands snuck beneath my blouse to the small of my back, sending me places I had no business going unless I wanted to scrap my entire morning. Tempting.

“I’m not. I’m hideous.”

That earned a laugh. Kyle leaned back against the counter. “I really, really like you.”

I pointed at her. “Okay, well, you have to like me from over there.”

Kyle grinned and folded her arms. “I will do my best to exercise restraint so you can go about your workday.”

I softened when I realized we were about to say goodbye. “Will I see you soon?”

“Yes. I will need groceries. Lots of them. More groceries than any human has ever required.”

I liked the sound of that. “And I might sprain my other ankle. And then a few fingers.”

“Maybe we can spare the fingers?” She tossed in a wink, and I decided that this was the way I wanted to start every morning from here to eternity. How did I make that happen?

I watched her, content, warm, and happy. “This is good.”

“I agree,” Kyle said, nodding. “This is really good. It’s us .”

We shared a smile that seemed to say we were actually on the same page. I’d never experienced that kind of shorthand with someone, nor the kind of physical synchronicity matched with a true emotional connection.

“I better go,” I said softly.

“Are you going to tell them what you found out?”

I paused, bag on my shoulder, sack lunch in hand. “I think I have to.” I shrugged. “They’re family and I owe them that much.”

* * *

There are moments in time that I don’t want to relive, and telling my employees that Festive Foods would no longer exist as we knew it was one of those times. I’d gathered everyone in the break room twenty minutes before opening, and took a breath as five sweet souls looked back at me with smiles on their faces. This really was such a friendly place to work, a testament to how much we all loved each other and the store.

“I probably don’t have clearance to share this piece of information with you, but Mr. Faber informed me recently that he’s selling Festive Foods.”

Maya did something I hadn’t expected. She touched her stomach, but not in a casual way. She touched her stomach in a protective sense, the way a mother would.

“Maya,” I whispered and looked down at her hand.

Her eyes went wide and she dropped her hand. “Not the way I wanted to tell you. But yes.” She looked at the others, who had all blossomed into warm smiles. “We’re expecting this little one next summer. So I guess I’m wondering if I’ll have health care. Or a job.”

I swallowed as guilt descended. Maya was one of four full-time employees along with Buster, Henrietta, and myself. The rest were part-timers who filled in the gaps. Could we use more help? Sure, but Faber shot down my proposal to hire more staff a year ago.

“Congratulations!” I said enthusiastically.

Henrietta had already pulled her into a motherly hug, and the rest of the group looked like they were torn between being happy for Maya and concerned for their jobs.

“I wish I had more answers for you,” I said to the group, though my eyes were on Maya, who I was now incredibly worried about. “I promise to do everything in my power to advocate for you with whoever the buyer is.”

“Do you know who?” Henrietta asked. She held her hands together in a pose I recognized. Her nervous stance.

I hadn’t planned on divulging anything yet. It wasn’t what a good leader would do.

“Come on, Savanna. You know something. I can tell. You’re biting the inside of your cheek. It’s what you always do when you have a secret.”

I instantly stopped the biting. “There’s a rumor, but I have no way to verify its authenticity.”

“What’s the rumor, boss? We got you. No one’s holding you to what you say.”

“It’s possible BeLeaf Foods is in the mix.”

There was an audible gasp from Maya. “I love BeLeaf. Oh, my God. Yes. That means they’re not going to bulldoze the place.”

I held up my hand to slow her down. “I know. I know. Just rumor. But I can hope.”

I had to admit, the enthusiastic grins of my employees relieved some of my concern. They seemed legitimately happy about the BeLeaf prospect, and that counted for something with me. I smiled right along with them.

“So, if this place stays a grocery store, they’re gonna need people to work in it,” said Faison, my favorite part-timer.

Henrietta nodded. “And with no Faber in the way, Savanna can do her job.”

Faison smacked the table. “That sounds badass to me.”

I didn’t feel the need to point out that BeLeaf would likely install their own store manager, because I didn’t want to kill their joy. No, it was best I quietly prepare myself for whatever came my way and be grateful for the time I’d been given at Festive Foods. If my staff was taken care of, I’d be just fine.

With the meeting behind me and having gone so well, I dove into my day, tackling one project after another until I found myself turning onto aisle eight and coming face-to-face with Charlie Kielbasa.

“Oh. Hey, Charlie.” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

His eyes brushed the ground before settling back on me. The friendly vibe that always accompanied him was noticeably absent today. “I guess I’m supposed to say hi and make small talk, but the truth is I don’t really want to.”

“Okay.” I said it quickly to reassure him that he didn’t have to.

“I heard about what you said to my dad.”

I looked around to see who might be listening. We were, after all, standing in the middle of my store, and maybe this wasn’t the time to—

“I don’t know what it is that you’re after, but maybe you could back off a little, okay? I don’t think that’s asking too much.”

There were circles under his eyes that I didn’t remember seeing there before. His shoulders hung haggard, like maybe he’d had a hard night. Or week. Was this my doing? Had he talked to his dad and taken the news hard?

I swallowed, praying for the words to explain. “I’m not after anything, Charlie. I just wanted to know if—”

“My dad was sneaking around on my mom?”

The force of his words nearly made me step back. God, I hadn’t really considered that angle, what the details might do to Charlie, to have others in town hear them. I braced against the recriminations that swarmed thick and heavy. I wasn’t sure what to say, my brain having downshifted on me.

“We don’t know exactly what happened.”

He shrugged as if having given up. “I can check dates just as easily as the next guy. I would have been three. Four when you were born.”

“Charlie, I didn’t know any of that.”

“Now you do, so could you not make our lives any harder with your public displays?”

He meant the donut shop. I should have talked to Jacob privately. This town was too damn small and gossipy for its own good. This wasn’t the juicy details about who was kissing who at Ronnie’s. This was people’s lives.

“I promise.” A pause as he studied the handle of his cart. “Charlie, I apologize. I most definitely didn’t want to cause you, of all people, any pain or grief. I should have been…more careful. And I will be.” I wanted to ask him for coffee sometime or a meal. I wondered what he and Jill might be doing for the holidays. Somehow, that felt out of bounds now.

He nodded and continued past me down the aisle. “Right. Well…thanks.”

That hadn’t been how I’d hoped our first conversation would go. I stood between the jars of marinara like my feet were fused to the floor, dumbfounded and attempting to recover. I’d only wanted to know more about where I came from and maybe reach out to a portion of my family, the only portion left. Yet I’d screwed it all up, allowing my emotions to invite an impulsive conversation. Alone on the aisle, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hoping my heart rate would slow. I walked on, trying to remember what my day looked like and what I needed to accomplish next, but a heaviness wrapped itself around me. I went through the motions of the rest of my workday and sat quietly on my couch afterward, until Kyle arrived from her shift.

She kissed my cheek from behind the couch, and I smiled at the scent of her watermelon hair. “Don’t move. You’ve had a hard day. I got dinner.” It was after nine p.m., but I’d waited for Kyle to eat. Not that it had been hard. My appetite had apparently left to make room for exponential amounts of guilt.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said softly, turning as she walked to the kitchen with purpose. Her hair was piled on top of her head, more disheveled than I’d ever seen it. It made me think of her day and the variety of patients she’d taken care of. It made me want to rub the back of her neck and take the stress away.

“I’m making waffles.” She smiled at me. “I saw this morning that you have a waffle maker and, well, I’m a pro.”

“Waffles?” I asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever had waffles for dinner.”

She’d already found a mixing bowl and moved around my kitchen in blue scrubs like a damned professional. “Well, you’re about to learn why they’re considered comfort food. You have a bad day? You eat a waffle. That’s just how my life works.”

“I’m intrigued.” I leaned over the back of the couch. “Do you take yours with syrup or no syrup?”

Her adept hands went still and she placed the measuring cup of flour on the counter. “This is the most heartbreaking question you’ve ever asked me. People don’t eat dry waffles, Potter.” The serious expression on her face said that she did not come to play when waffles were the subject.

“I’m sure some people do.”

“The most menacing of individuals, maybe. Villains in superhero movies. People who hate dogs. No one likable.”

“Thank God I have you, the waffle empress, to guide me.”

She met my gaze. “Thank God. Now sit and relax. I got this.”

I sat at one of the counter seats with the green cushions Lindy had made for my place by hand when I moved in. “I will sit, but it will be right here so I can ogle my— you while you create waffles in my kitchen.” Whoops. Had she caught that little slip of the tongue? I did my best to play it off, smooth operator that I was not.

She lobbed me a curious side-eye. “What were you just about to say?”

“Nothing.” Were my cheeks pink? They felt warm and were thereby traitors. Dead to me.

“You said my , which generally speaks to possession, if my English classes served their purpose.”

I frowned, such an actress. “I’m confused. What was it I said again?” That’s me. Lost as to what Kyle could possibly mean? Innocence abounded. Don’t mind me, ma’am, I’m new to this kitchen .

Kyle placed a hand on her hip. “You almost said I was yours, and you know it.”

“But I didn’t finish the thought, so it’s not out there.”

She came around the counter, eyes wide. “It’s definitely out here. You can’t put syrup back in the bottle, Savanna.”

“You’re getting a lot of mileage out of that condiment tonight.”

“Don’t deflect. Do you want me to be yours?”

I was at a loss. I impulsively wanted to say yes and tie an official bow around this thing we had going, but impulsivity was what got me in the doghouse with Charlie. “I don’t know what to say.”

She relaxed. “Say you’re hungry and that you can’t wait to taste this amazing waffle about I’m about to make you.” I loved the casual quality of her look tonight. Home from work after a busy day. Makeup faded, all but gone, still in her scrubs and tennis shoes. That weightless flutter in my chest hit that was unique to Kyle and the effect she had on me.

“I don’t know whether it’s the waffle or the show that has me more excited.” I held up a hand. “That’s a lie. I do know.”

She reached over, found my hand, and pressed her lips to the back of it.

“What was that for?” I asked. Just being around her was the salve I needed tonight. I wasn’t thinking about the confrontation with Charlie or what was going to happen at the store. Kyle had a way of whisking me away that had me grateful and surprised.

“I just like you,” Kyle said, heading back to pour the batter. “And maybe one day I’ll tell you my super-secret technique for the best waffles ever.”

“I want to know now.”

“No way,” she said, waving my Teflon spatula. “There’s an order to things. First, you have to try one.”

It was only another three minutes until the entire kitchen smelled like a street fair in spring. My mouth watered and I realized I was much hungrier than I’d realized. My appetite was back and ready to break down the doors to get to that waffle. Two minutes after that, Kyle expertly plated mine, along with maple syrup in a small ramekin she must have found in the back of my cabinet.

I studied the fluffy waffle on the square blue plate. “I had no idea how hungry I was.” I picked up the ramekin. “And the presentation is four stars.”

“Who pours from the bottle?” she asked with a scoff. “Only the best for your first waffle à la Kyle.”

We took a bite of our waffles at the same time. The warm crispy outside gave way to the soft, buttery middle while the sweetness of the syrup offered the perfect balance. I had to work to keep my eyes from rolling back in my head, but I did hold them closed a minute.

“And?” Kyle asked.

“Busy right now,” I said with my mouth completely full. I didn’t care. “Come back later. But leave more waffles.”

“My work here is done,” she said, and placed a kiss on the side of my head. I opened my eyes to see her head to the couch with her plate. “This okay?”

“Eating on the couch. I applaud it.”

“I just don’t want to break any house rules, or you may not invite me back.”

“I think you found a surefire way through that door.” I indicated the waffle on my plate, but it was honestly so much more. I followed her to the sitting area of my living room and took a seat close by. “You called this comfort food for my rough day. Is this the kind of late dinner you indulge in when you’ve had a rough shift?”

She looked thoughtful, her perfect brows dipping as she studied her plate. “I think that’s safe to say. And for a while there, I had a lot of difficult shifts. Covid caused a lot of staffing shortages, and to this day, the big cities, especially, are doing everything they can to offer the same level of care. Nurses had it worse than us, but it was hard to be everywhere at once, and I often would come home feeling like I fell short.”

“How do you not let that drag you down day after day?” I gave my head a mystified shake.

“If you find out, let me know. I used to be better about leaving it all at the hospital, but over time, it crept in. The grief, the second-guessing, the sleepless nights. I forgot all of my self-care in the midst of long hours and trying to keep my head above water.” Her voice had lost some of its energy, as if she’d drifted off somewhere dark. “I allowed myself to feel all the things I’d held back, and they became this tidal wave that overtook me.”

I let her words settle, causing my heart to squeeze uncomfortably. I couldn’t imagine carrying that kind of burden over a decision I made at work. If I ordered too many watermelons, nobody died. If I had to let an employee go for cause, their family would recover. “And now?”

“It’s a balance. I’m still climbing my way back from what happened. The lawsuit. The loss of my young patient. The obliteration of my confidence.” She met my gaze. “It’s been a true journey of self-discovery and repair.”

“Kyle.” I slid over close to her and took her hand. “So, what’s the solution?”

She took a deep inhale. “I don’t ever want to be an automaton. I’ve worked with a few of those. But I also can’t let my emotions cloud my judgment. Every day, I’ll search for the right mix of logic and humanity.”

“You’re a smart and brave person. I admire you.”

She looked away, vulnerability peeking through. It was rare for her, but I was catching more and more glimpses of her softer side, which I liked very much. “Thank you. That means more to me than you will ever know.”

“Now I’m going to scarf the rest of this waffle and probably crash. I was hoping you would crash with me.”

She leaned her head back on the couch and turned it in my direction. “Now you’re spoiling me. I can’t remember a time I was this tired.” She paused. “We’ve never just…slept.”

I stared at her, finishing what was left on my plate. I would need another one of those someday soon. “No, no. We have to,” I said, pointing at her with my fork.

“And we can.” She savored the last bite of her waffle, then carried my empty plate to the sink. “Our first chaste night. Look at how grown up we are.”

“Just don’t get used to it.”

“Have you met us?” she asked with a wink. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

The weight of the day settled. We moved wordlessly to the bedroom and slipped beneath cool sheets, sleep tugging gently.

I turned off the lamp next to my bed and reached for Kyle, who wrapped her arms around me. “Tomorrow will be better,” she said and kissed me softly.

I placed a hand on her cheek, searching her features in the pale pool of moonlight that crept in. “I think so, too.” She’d swooped in and taken care of me that night, a foreign feeling, but one I could certainly get used to. Sleep must have claimed me shortly after. I remember my eyelids growing heavy, my thoughts sharpening then dulling, and the edges of the world spreading out until they were gone.

Peace .

With Kyle’s arms around me, I slept in peace.

Comforted, cared for, and falling in love.