Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
She turned and looked at me. “I’d love that.”
Smiling, I replied, “Sounds good.”
Setting her drink down on the counter, Adelaide looked up at me. My heart felt like it could easily pound right out of my chest.
Then she laughed. “Why does this feel so weird?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
She brought her hand to my chest before she reached up onto her toes and kissed me quickly. “Talk soon?”
“Talk soon.”
Adelaide smiled and then headed toward the front of the house. She stopped at the door and leaned against it, turning to face me again. My eyes dropped to her soft pink lips, and I nearly groaned when she ran her tongue over them. I forced myself to look into her eyes.
“You better go before I throw you over my shoulder and take you upstairs to my bedroom.”
Her eyes widened while her cheeks darkened a bit.
“As tempting as that sounds, I’m thinking your dad might get mad at you.”
I nodded. “You’re probably right. Bye, Addie.”
She stepped out of the door and glanced over her shoulder at me. “Bye, Gannon.”
Adelaide made her way down the sidewalk to the black Jeep that was parked in front of my house. When I saw it, I blinked a few times and then laughed. What were the odds we both had Jeep Wranglers?
I watched as she got into her Jeep and then drove off. Her family’s home wasn’t very far from mine, half a mile at most. When I couldn’t see her vehicle any longer, I turned to head back into my place…only to see my neighbor standing on her porch. She waved, but she lived too far away to comment, thankfully. I waved back and quickly went inside.
I shut the door and stood there as I let the past few minutes settle in.
I brought my hand up and rubbed at the tight sensation in my chest. “Adelaide is back home. Fucking finally.”
Adelaide
“It’s so lovely to see you!” Mrs. Walters said as I poured a cup of coffee for her and her husband.
“It’s nice to be back,” I replied. “Do you both know what you’d like for breakfast?”
“The usual.” Mrs. Walters picked up her cup and took a drink.
Mr. Walters rolled his eyes. “She hasn’t been back to the grill in years, Jean. How in the hell is she supposed to know what our usual is?”
I tried not to laugh while Mr. Walters continued to scold his wife.
“Well, I forgot, Tom.” She looked up at me. “I’ll take the number four special. Two eggs over medium with a stack of pancakes.”
I nodded. “And for you, Mr. Walters?”
“The same thing, but I’d like blueberries on my pancakes. They say they help with the memory. Jean, you should have her put some on yours.”
Mrs. Walters huffed. “No, thank you. I don’t care for blueberries.”
“I’ll go ahead and get this started for you,” I said as I spun on my heels and walked over to the computer to enter in the Walters’ breakfast order.
Afterward, I checked on the other three tables my mother had given me today. She clearly thought I could only handle four tables. It might have been eight or so years since I’d last waited tables, but it was like riding a bike. Once you learned how, you never forgot. After tending to everyone’s needs, I headed to the back and looked at the inventory in the stock room, making a list of items for my mother to order.
“Order up, Adelaide!” my father called out.
As I made my way over to the pass through from the kitchen the dining area, I spotted Braxton, Brody, and Gannon walking into the restaurant. My heart did a little jump in my chest when my gaze met Gannon’s. He smiled, and I returned the gesture before walking over to grab the order.
Palmer popped up from where she was restocking some items behind the counter. She had offered to come in and work for my folks today since they were down two waitresses. One was on vacation while the other was nursing herself back from a broken leg. I had also volunteered to come in after hearing my parents mention that they needed someone to cover their shifts. After all, I had come back to Seaside to help and that was exactly what I was going to do. The last thing either of them needed was any added stress.
Palmer followed my gaze, taking in our brother and his friends. “They still come in all the time, mostly for breakfast.”
Turning to her, I asked, “Do you work back here that often?”
She shook her head. “No, but I do know the three of them try to meet for breakfast at least two or three times a week.”
“Just like old times,” I said with a soft chuckle.
“What do you mean?” Palmer asked as she refilled a customer’s empty coffee cup at the counter.