Page 12 of This Memory (Moose Village #3)

Brystol

The bell above the toy shop door rang, and I glanced up to Harper walking in, carrying a flower arrangement.

“Is that for the apple festival tomorrow?” I asked, making my way around the counter.

“Yep. I made a display for you, one for Aurora, one for Cadie, and one for Lorie for the coffee shop.”

Smiling, I took the arrangement with apples skillfully placed throughout and brought it to the counter. “It looks great, Harp.”

“How’s business?” she asked, as she joined me at the counter.

“Busy. I swear there must be a few hundred extra people here on Main Street alone today. We’ve been so busy, my mother was here helping out earlier.”

Harper looked around. “What happened to Jen?”

“She’s on break right now. I think I might have to hire a couple more people, especially once we get closer to Christmas.”

Harper bit her lip, glanced around again, then leaned in closer. “How are you feeling? ”

I had told her, Aurora, and Cadie I was pregnant. I’d made them promise not to utter a word to anyone. The only other people who knew were my mother, Evelyn and Denny, and Gavin, whom I hadn’t seen since last weekend.

“Fine. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least not yet. I’m about four weeks now. I go to the OB in another four weeks. Evelyn is excited about that.”

Harper smiled. “I’m sure she is. I’m glad you’re feeling okay. This early on, most women wouldn’t even know they were pregnant. When does the morning sickness kick in, if it does at all?”

“From what I read, between four and six weeks. But I feel normal, so I don’t think I’ll have any issues with it.”

Harper raised her brows. “Don’t jinx yourself.”

I waved her off. “Are you going to be able to swing by the bakery later and help Cadie? Sounds like she has a lot of baking to do.”

Laughing, Harper replied, “I am. I think Aurora will be meeting us there, as well. She’s bringing a bushel of apples from her uncle’s orchard.”

“Oh man, nothing like fresh apples. I can’t wait.”

The bell rang again, and we both looked over to see customers coming in.

“I better get back to the flower shop. Let me know if you need any help with anything.”

Walking her to the door, I welcomed the customers before turning back to Harper. “Don’t start treating me like I’m fragile. I want to be treated like normal.”

“You say that now but just wait.”

She opened the door, and I followed her out. “Oh my gosh, it’s freezing out here! ”

Harper shook her head. “It’s going to be a cold winter.”

I looked up at the gray sky and frowned. “Hopefully, it won’t be overcast tomorrow during the festival.”

She followed my gaze. “You can hope, but there’s a chance of rain.”

With a groan, I called out goodbye to Harper and headed back into the store to help my customers.

The apple festival was one of my favorite events held in Moose Village.

Main Street was closed to through traffic, and booths were set up with different vendors.

Some sold crafts, but most sold food, any kind of food you could think of incorporating apples.

Battery Up Bakery had a booth, of course, and when we walked into the bakery later that afternoon, Cadie was covered in white powder nearly from head to toe.

“Did you play in the flour?” Harper laughed as Cadie shot her a dirty look.

“Ha ha,” she replied. Her brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and even that was dusted with flour.

“What happened?” I asked, setting my bag down and walking over to get an apron from the many hanging on the wall. Someone had cut old rolling pins down and fastened them to the wall as pegs. It was so cute, seeing all the aprons hanging on them.

Letting out a huff, Cadie replied, “What didn’t happen? Opal got sick, Katherine had to run errands, and Chelsea’s at the store because we ran out of butter.”

I glanced over to Lucas Miller, who was the FBI agent assigned to watch over Cadie until she was able to testify at the trial of her ex-boyfriend’s Mob father. “How come Lucas isn’t helping?”

He raised a single brow. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re a capable man with two good hands. Get in here and roll some pie crusts, man!” I said as I winked at him.

Cadie smiled at Lucas. “Ignore her, you’re fine.”

“I can help if you need me.”

Cadie gaped at him. “Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind at all.”

With a pep in her step, she rushed over and hugged him, getting flour on his suit. “Can you help Brystol peel apples then?”

With cheeks red from embarrassment, Lucas nodded. “I can do that.”

He took off his jacket and hung it up. Harper handed him an apron, and he approached the same table Cadie had directed me to. Heavy-duty apple peelers were attached to the edges of the wooden table. I pointed toward them. “Choose your weapon.”

Lucas looked them over. “Red, pink, or silver. I’m going with the silver one.”

Smiling, I tossed him an apple. “Know how it works?”

He grinned. “I do.”

We briefly worked in silence before I asked, “Where are you originally from?”

“Austin, Texas.”

“Texas?” I asked.

He laughed softly. “Why do you seem surprised?”

“Well, for one, you don’t have an accent, and I figured everyone in Texas talked with an accent, and two…well…you don’t look like you’re from Texas.”

Raising his brows, he asked in a very heavy southern accent. “Why, what does someone from Texas look like?”

I couldn’t help it, I grinned. “So, you hide the accent, then?”

He nodded. “Where do I look like I’m from?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the suit you wear all the time, but I would say New York City, Washington, D.C., or Boston.”

Lucas flashed me a bright smile, and I couldn’t help noticing how handsome he was. “I live in Boston. Well, right now, my home is Moose Village.”

“How do you like it here? Do you ever get any time off, or do you have to follow Cadie around night and day?”

“I do get some time off. I don’t go far, but I get a few hours here and there.”

“Once you finish peeling them, use those apple wedgers to core and cut them, please. These are for the pies,” Cadie said, as she glanced over at Harper. Then she rushed over to her table. “Oh, you’re doing the crust wrong, Harp!”

“What do you mean? This is how my granny taught me to do it.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Cadie in her element was like seeing a whole new side of her.

Lucas and I peeled and sliced so many apples that I swore I could do it in my sleep.

Once we finished that task, Cadie tasked us with making more pies.

We talked about Lucas growing up in Texas on a cattle ranch, and the fact that I grew up in Moose Village and hadn’t ever been out of the state of New York.

“Not even to Boston? The ocean?” Lucas asked, as he leaned back on his stool, taking a short break .

“Nope.” I popped my P and shrugged. “It’s not because I don’t want to. I would love to travel, but I never found the time. I started working at my family’s toy store when I turned sixteen, went to college, came straight back, and started learning the ropes about running the store.”

“That’s the one thing I noticed about a lot of the stores on Main Street, they’re passed down within the families.”

I nodded. “Yeah, a lot of them are. Small-town charm.”

He nodded. “I guess so.”

After we finished the last pies, I looked up to see that Kian had shown up at some point during our pie-making marathon.

“Thank you, everyone, for all of your help!” Cadie said with a wide smile. “We got everything done for the festival tomorrow.”

I took off my apron, and Lucas took it and hung it up along with his. He made his way back over and smiled. “It’s late. Would you let me walk you back to your place or car? I’ve got about an hour break.”

“Did you make Kian an honorary FBI agent?”

He laughed. “No, believe it or not, there are two of us here. I work most of the time, but I do get an occasional break now and then.”

I had walked over with my friends and could easily return to my car on my own.

It was, after all, Moose Village and relatively safe.

But a part of me liked the idea of spending more time with Lucas.

He was fun to talk to, and attractive…even though I wasn’t the least bit attracted to him that way.

Besides, he lived in Boston, and at some point, he’d be returning home.

“Well, I walked over with Harper and Aurora. ”

“Then we’ll all walk back together. It’s dark out, and I’d feel better if you three weren’t alone walking the streets.”

Smiling, I turned to Harper. “Mr. Miller would like to walk us back.”

“I appreciate that, but Declan should be here any minute. I figured he would just give us all a ride.”

Turning to Lucas, I said, “I’d love some fresh air after smelling apples for the last few hours.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Then fresh air you shall have.”

I grabbed my coat and said goodbye to everyone while Lucas spoke to Kian.

Cadie walked up. “Thank you so much for helping tonight.”

“It was my pleasure. If you ever need an apple pie made, don’t call me. I don’t want to see or smell an apple for the next few months.”

Laughing, she pulled me in for a hug. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Lucas motioned for me to head out first, so I waved again and started out the door. It was a chilly evening, so I quickly zipped my jacket.

“You didn’t have to walk me, you know. I could have grabbed a ride with Harper and Declan.”

He smiled. “I wanted to spend more time with you. I find you very interesting, Brystol.”

I felt my entire body warm at the compliment. “I find you interesting as well, Lucas.”

“What do you like about running a toy store?”

“Well, at first, it was just a job, and I didn’t really look at it as anything else. Then, once I fully took over the store, it became something different. ”

“What do you mean?”

“It was always important to me for obvious reasons. It was my family’s business, so I wanted to make sure it continued to succeed.

But once it became mine…it felt like a part of me in a way it had never been before.

I learned everything I could about toys, and I truly enjoy seeing the kids come into the store and watching their eyes light up. ”

“Do you want to have kids of your own someday?”

My steps faltered, and Lucas reached out for my arm. “Are you okay?”

I let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m fine. Sorry about that.”

We got to Memory Lane Toys and I unlocked the door and turned off the alarm before I motioned for Lucas to come in.

“I’d offer you something to drink, but…”

He laughed. “I don’t drink.”

My brows lifted. “Ever?”

“Oh, I’ve been known to knock back the booze, just not while I’m on assignment.”

I stared at him for a moment. “So even though you’re not with Cadie right now, you consider yourself on assignment still?”

“Of course. Just because I’m not with her in the same room, doesn’t mean that she’s not still my responsibility. I trust Kian, don’t get me wrong, but it’s my job to protect her, and that’s what I’ll do.”

Leaning against the counter, I smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was romantic, Mr. Miller.”

He tossed his head back and laughed. “I’ve never been accused of being romantic.”

The silence between us wasn’t awkward, and if it had been another place and time, I might have thought he’d be fun to go on a date with.

Lucas stepped closer to me, and I pushed off the counter. “Lucas, I have to tell you something before what I think what’s about to happen, happens.”

He quirked his brow. “Before I kiss you?”

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “Yes. That.”

“I’m listening.”

A nervous laugh slipped free, and I closed my eyes. “I don’t even know how to say this.”

“I’ve always found that the easiest way to say something is to just come out and say it.”

Looking at him, I nodded. “I’m pregnant.”

His eyes went wide with surprise. “Okay, that wasn’t what I thought you’d say.”

“It’s not my baby.”

A confused expression appeared on his face. “Um…what?”

“I mean, yes, I’m carrying the baby, but the baby isn’t mine. I’m a surrogate. My best friend can’t carry a baby, so she asked me if I’d carry her and her husband’s child.”

When he didn’t say anything, I nervously cleared my throat and said, “Yeah. That’s a real cock block.”

He laughed, and I smiled. “I think it’s amazing that you’re doing that, Brystol. But I’m not sure why it means I can’t kiss you.”

I chewed nervously on my lip before I asked, “You’d still want to kiss me?”

“I’d be a stupid idiot if I didn’t want to kiss you.”

Smiling, I looked away before meeting his gaze. “As sweet as that is, I have to be honest…I can’t start anything while I’m in this…situation. ”

It wasn’t a lie. I wasn’t interested in starting a new relationship with anyone. But if I’d wanted to be totally honest…I would’ve said I wasn’t interested in starting anything with Lucas because of a certain cop named Gavin Quinn.

Lucas took my hand, brought it up to his mouth, and kissed the back. “You’re an extraordinary woman, Brystol.”

I laughed. “You hardly know me.”

He winked, and I wished I felt something from that wink, but nothing happened. No heart flutter, no butterflies. Not a damn thing. “From what I do know, I can honestly say that.”

“Thank you,” I said quietly, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek. “That’s very sweet of you.”

The bell above the door rang, and both our gazes swung in that direction. Gavin was the last person I ever dreamed would be standing there.

“Gavin, what in the world are you doing here?”

His eyes went from me to Lucas, then back to me, his expression unreadable. “I’m working and I saw the lights on, thought it was strange.”

Lucas cleared his throat. “Makes sense with all the visitors in town.”

Gavin swung his gaze back to him. “Lucas. How are you doing?”

“Good, I was just ensuring Brystol got back to her car okay.”

Narrowing his eyes, he said, “Yeah, that’s what it looked like you were doing.”

I frowned. “Gavin, you have no right—”

“It’s okay, Brystol. Now that an officer’s here, I’m sure he can make sure you get to your car safely. ”

I turned to Lucas. “Thank you for such a great evening.”

He returned my smile. “It was fun. I’ll see you around.”

Nodding, I followed him to the door. Gavin stepped out of the way but didn’t attempt to leave.

“Enjoy your weekend, Brystol.”

“You too, Lucas.”

I watched as he started down the street, back toward the bakery. Once he was a reasonable distance away, I stepped back into the store, shut the door, and faced Gavin.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing, Gavin?”