Page 13 of Meant for Me (Magnolia Bay #3)
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M agnolia Blossom buzzed, and not with the typical pleasant banter of small-town folk waiting for their mid-week breakfast.
Zoey held the diner menu in front of her face, despite having the entire thing memorized—and despite the fact she didn’t need to spend a penny on any of the items listed—and twisted side to side on the bar stool at the counter.
Linc and Amelia had still been asleep when she snuck out of the house a half hour ago, hoping to nab one of yesterday’s discounted muffins from Elisa.
She hadn’t caught Elisa up yet on—well, anything, really, except a brief highlight of yesterday’s events.
Her friend’s response last night had only read “eight a.m.” with a string of exclamation points and shocked face emojis—which was only fair.
Zoey winced as she ran her gaze over the laminated breakfast options listed in Times New Roman.
It was time to face the music in the form of a short blonde in an apron.
The plus side was it would give Zoey the chance to see how fast the Magnolia Bay gossip waters had started churning.
The last thing Amelia—or Linc—needed was to blindly walk into a rumor mill.
Unfortunately, it seemed like word had traveled faster than Zoey’s mini-SUV.
“I heard the girl is as blonde as a Barbie.” Two middle-aged women sitting on the far end of the counter bent their heads together, but forgot to lower their voices.
Ha. False.
“Well, I heard she’s goth.” The brunette with curtain bangs shook the ice in her cup. “With tattoos!”
Definitely false. Zoey scrunched her nose, considering Amelia. On second thought…maybe give her a few years.
“Maybe she’s a vampire.” The second woman with tight curls projected spooky into her voice.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” The ice rattled again. “We’re much too far south for vampires.”
Oh, brother.
“Regardless, poor girl.” The brunette slurped from her cup. “Imagine having to come stay with your father for the first time—and that father is Linc .”
Zoey narrowed her eyes. What was that supposed to mean?
“Yeah, he’s hardly Mr. Rogers.” The curly-haired woman laughed. “He’ll probably have her doing pushups for punishment.”
From the booth nearest the counter, Mrs. Peters, the local librarian, sniffed loudly where she sat with her assistant, Harper, and the Second Story bookshop owner, Sadie. “Well, I’ve never. All this gossip is very unladylike.”
Zoey mentally agreed.
The older woman cleared her throat. “So what have you two heard?”
“Mrs. Peters!” Harper scolded with a chuckle. “I haven’t heard anything, personally—probably because of all your no-talking signs posted around the library.”
Sadie piped up, her voice holding genuine surprise. “It’s just shocking. Linc , with a kid. No one has ever even seen him date.”
“Seriously. Much less parent.” Trish, her long red hair tied in a low ponytail, stopped by their table, topped off their coffees. “I’ve only seen him make kids cry.”
“He’s just intimidating.” Sadie shrugged. “It’s not really his fault.”
Trish giggled. “Well, intimidating or not—I’d co-parent with him in a heartbeat, if you know what I mean.”
Grr . Zoey narrowed her eyes. She was this close to standing up and?—
A plate clattered in front of Zoey. She lowered her menu to find a steaming waffle, complete with a pat of butter and a side cup of syrup.
Elisa.
Zoey grinned. “And I was just hoping for a muffin. Let me guess. Bribe?” Normally she’d turn down pity food she couldn’t afford, but she had to admit, this smelled amazing.
“You’ll tell me all the details anyway.” Elisa leaned forward and rested her folded arms against the high counter, her shoulders hunched in her apron. “Your text last night was cryptic, to say the least.”
Zoey reached for a fork. “It was late. I was tired.”
“Obviously.” Elisa pulled her phone from her pocket and read out loud.
Zoey
Magnolia General has a sale on desk lamps.
I’ve been craving Doritos for six hours.
By the way Linc just found out he has a daughter.
Zoey mumbled around her waffle melting in her mouth. “All facts.”
“At least you gave me some heads-up. You’ve been pretty quiet since leaving the Blue Pirogue.”
“Just been busy trying to get this catering stuff going. And fighting with my insurance company.” Zoey forked another bite of breakfast. All true. Just not the full story. Should she tell her she was living with Linc?
Elisa put her phone in her pocket. “So, how is Linc? What’s his daughter like?”
“Both impossible questions to answer.” Zoey squinted at her friend. “Hey, do you have any milk you aren’t going to sell? Like, old milk?”
“I’m not giving you expired milk just because you’re on a budget.” Elisa reached into the mini-fridge under the counter and poured a cup. “I take it there’s been no further word on the claims check?”
“Nope.” And she was refusing to panic about it. Thankfully, there were brand new things to worry about instead—like her best friend becoming an insta-dad. “I’m sure I’ll hear something this week.”
“You can’t keep going like this, you know.” Elisa cocked one hip, her knowing gaze accessing Zoey.
She ignored it, shoveled another bite of waffle into her mouth. “I’m fine, really.”
“You should call your parents.”
“They’re evangelizing in a jungle.” Zoey rolled her eyes.
“They don’t exactly have cell service or a way to send me money.
” Not that they had much of that, themselves, living off church sponsors.
Zoey wouldn’t take money from them even if they offered—it would feel too much like stealing from a ministry. Other people needed help more.
Elisa frowned. “I’m worried about you.”
“I promise I’m taken care of until the check comes.
It’ll all be okay.” Though there was still the risk that Linc could ask her to leave now that Amelia was there.
Maybe she didn’t have to worry about telling Elisa where she was staying, because she might not be staying there long after all.
Somehow, last night’s porch convo hadn’t seemed the right time to bring that up.
Zoey poured the rest of the syrup on the plate, drowning her remaining waffle pieces and forcing brightness into her tone.
Too bad she couldn’t drown her problems in sugar too.
Made everything go down easier. “Just wait. In a few days, my biggest issue will be needing help moving into my own apartment.”
“If you say so.” Elisa wet a rag, began wiping the counter. “So, back to Linc—how’s he taking the news?”
“Like Linc.”
Elisa nodded. “Stoic? Unbothered?”
Actually not so much, but explaining otherwise felt like betraying his trust. Zoey lifted one shoulder. “We’re all still processing.”
Elisa’s brows lifted. “We?”
Oops. That sounded cozy. “Um…”
A small smile began to form around Elisa’s lips. “Uh-huh?”
Heart pounding, Zoey shoveled in her last bite of waffle, then pointed to her mouth while chewing. How was she going to get out of this one? “You know…he tells me stuff. We’re like a team that way.”
“I see.”
Zoey swallowed just as the bell on the café door clattered. She twisted around on her stool in time to see Linc and Amelia walk in, wearing dark T-shirts, jeans, and matching scowls. Oh no. Not yet. They weren’t ready for this morning crowd.
Especially Amelia…
The diner fell silent, save for a handful of gasps and the clanking of silverware dropping against a plate. Everyone stared. Whispers hushed. Sadie elbowed Harper. Trish froze with a coffee carafe in hand. The two gossiping women at the counter gaped.
Amelia’s eyes widened as she took in the people taking her in. Linc stopped short, his gaze darting around the room, expression darkening like a storm.
Not good, not good.
The last thing he needed to do was explode and prove all the gossipers right. Just because Linc had a reputation as being Mr. Tough Guy didn’t mean he wouldn’t be a good father. He deserved the chance.
So Zoey did the only thing she could think of. She hopped off her stool, climbed on the counter despite Elisa’s shocked protest, and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hey! Has everyone heard the big news?”
Dozens of eyes blinked up at her, a mixture of confusion and surprise. Except for Linc’s. His gaze held…concern? She shot him a reassuring wink. No reason to worry. She had this.
She cleared her throat. “Noah Hebert is running for mayor!”
* * *
Linc owed Zoey about a dozen bags of Doritos.
“Thanks for that.” He scooted over in the booth for her to take the seat next to him.
Amelia had immediately headed for the restroom.
She hadn’t wanted to come in the first place, had argued the whole drive there.
But they had errands to do, food to buy, school to enroll in—all the things Linc wasn’t sure how to accomplish.
Better figure it out soon, as school started next week.
At least she wouldn’t have to jump in midsemester.
If he knew anything about Magnolia Bay, though, he and Amelia had to face the inevitable gossip chain.
Figured they might as well get it over with over a sizzling plate of bacon.
Thankfully, after Zoey’s announcement about Noah, the diner erupted into whistles and cheers, and everyone forgot about them. Apparently, his friend was a shoo-in.
Which begged the question—why hadn’t Noah mentioned he was running for mayor?
Linc’s phone buzzed in his pocket. The Gone Fishing text group had been blowing up for half an hour.
Cade
Um, Linc, anything you care to tell us tonight at the pier?
Owen
What do you mean?
Noah
He has a kid
Owen
A KID?
Cade
I was going to let Linc tell it, but yeah
Owen
Man. I never hear the tea
Cade
Probably because you use phrases like that
Noah
Oops, I meant teenager, not kid. My bad
Linc
Looks like you guys already have it figured out. Catch a few for me
Noah
No way. You better show up!
Cade
Yeah, we need the real story, not the Magnolia Bay telephone game version
Noah
See you ALL at 7 p.m.