20. Sage

20

Sage

“ D on’t forget this!” I grabbed Avery’s pink lunchbox off the passenger seat, holding it out the window to her.

“Thanks, Mama,” Avery said, wrapping a tiny hand around the handle.

“Have a good first day, sweetie. I’ll be back to pick you up later.”

She gave a small nod and a quick smile, then turned to run up to the fence where her friends were already waiting at the playground. First grade was a big step from kindergarten, but she hadn’t been scared. My little girl was fearless and so beyond excited that she’d barely slept at all last night.

I liked to think that she got it from me, but I couldn’t say I was exactly brave all the time. There were too many moments in my life that I’d stayed quiet and let the worst happen.

Heading out of the U-shaped parking lot after drop-off, I headed toward Bell Buckle Brews for my shift. I’d be off by the time Avery got out of school, so I didn’t need to worry about her pickup situation today. Most days during the school year, I could get off around the same time she was released, but on the occasional day that wasn’t possible, I’d either have her go to a friend's house after or I’d use my lunch to pick her up and bring her to the cafe. At least, that worked for kindergarten. First grade was a whole different ball game.

A few minutes later, I pulled into my usual parking space out front of the cafe and headed inside. As the cowbell above the door sounded, my phone dinged in my back pocket, but I ignored it until I passed through the back doors to clock in.

With school drop-off, I got in a little later than I usually liked to, but I didn’t want to drop Avery off at the crack of dawn just to get a head start on some pastries. I already dropped her off about forty-five minutes before the first bell. Thankfully, her teachers didn’t mind, seeing as a lot of parents dropped their kids off early so they could head to work as well.

The beauty of working in a cafe meant I could bake and cook things all day—it didn’t all have to be done before opening. Sure, we might run out of things, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if a customer had to wait ten minutes for a specific baked good to be done in the oven. We had a variety of items to choose from anyway.

That was the nice thing about places like Bell Buckle—life didn’t move too fast to where people couldn’t wait a few minutes for their food. In the city, though? That would cause havoc and a bad Yelp review.

Thank goodness for small towns.

I slid the baking sheets full of assorted items into the ovens in the back, my wrist slightly twinging with the weight, but I ignored it and headed to the front to deal with the register and other opening duties.

My fingers worked to tie a knot with the strings on my apron as my phone buzzed again from my jeans. Remembering I had ignored the text from earlier, I pulled it out to check who it was.

An unknown number sat in the message field of both text messages, and I clicked it to read them. This time, it was a different number than the one that texted me during my date with Callan.

Unknown: You’ve been ignoring me.

Unknown: You know who this is. I know what game you’re playing.

My fingers froze, clutching my phone like my grip might keep the fear away and erase what was on the screen. If this was him, how was he texting me? Did he get someone to smuggle a burner phone into the prison? There was no way he could be out. He still had just under two years left of his sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

I didn’t know if a minute passed or ten, but a knock on the glass caused me to jump out of my spiraling thoughts. My hands retracted from my phone like it might bite me, the device landing on the counter with a clang. My eyes shot to the window, my heart beating out of my chest. My whole world had frozen with the terror that crept into my mind at the thought of him being free. That he might be able to find me and Avery.

Oakley stood outside the window, her hand lifted in an eager wave as a smile creased her cheeks. She pointed to the handle on the door and I realized it was locked.

Shit. How long was I standing there for?

Leaving my phone where it landed on the counter, I rushed to the door to let her in.

“Good morning,” Oakley said as I held the door open for her.

“Morning,” I replied, checking both ways on the sidewalk and across the street before closing the door again. The damn cowbell dinged with the movement, making me flinch. I never hated the thing as much as I did right now.

“You okay?” she asked as I turned to her, wiping my palms on my apron.

“Better than ever.” I pasted on a grin.

Her eyes narrowed slightly like she knew I was lying through my teeth. I was a baker—not an actress. “You’re never late to opening Triple B.”

“Late?” It was just seven-thirty when I last checked the clock.

“It’s fifteen past opening,” she stated hesitantly.

Swallowing the tremor that was building with my inability to lie, I said, “Must’ve lost track getting the food ready.”

Oakley nodded slowly as I passed her, heading back behind the counter. She followed, eyeing my phone where it laid face down on the counter. I swiped it away, stuffing it in my apron.

“Typical order?” I asked while maintaining eye contact. Avoiding looking at someone was the telltale of a lie, right? Or was it the opposite? I should’ve glanced away, made it seem natural. How the fuck would I make something look natural when I was so obviously lying that I was okay? I was freaking the fuck out.

“Yep,” she answered in her typical cheery voice, but it sounded skeptical.

Fuck. I should’ve blinked.

I turned around to prepare her and Lennon’s coffee order.

“Is something burning?” she asked from behind me.

“Burning? No. I never burn anything,” I said, my voice coming off a little too airy.

“Sage? Do you have something in the oven?”

My eyes bulged out of my damn head.

Fuck.

Leaving the coffee to do its thing, I rushed through the door to the back, finding the room clouded with smoke.

This was not good .

I ran over to the oven, switching it off before opening the door. I yanked a mitt off the counter, slipped it on, and pulled the tray out.

Even through all the smoke, I could see every pastry was blackened to a crisp. It was all ruined.

Coughing filled the room from behind me and I turned to see Oakley waving a hand in the air as if it could do anything against this amount of smoke. “Are you okay?” she asked, doing her best to cover her mouth and nose.

“Fine,” I croaked as the air stung my eyes.

“Is there a window?”

“The door,” I said as I put my foot on the lever of the trash for the top to pop open. I angled the tray, all of the wasted food sliding into the bin with a thud.

The back door to the cafe creaked open as Oakley propped a chair against it to keep it open.

I surveyed the room, thankful that the only damage was smoke and a few burnt pastries. I didn’t burn the place down, but I still felt guilty. It could have been way worse. He wasn’t even in front of me and he was affecting me this badly.

I squeezed my eyes shut as if that could keep the overthinking at bay.

“Come outside with me,” Oakley said from her spot by the door. “Your eyes are probably on fire with all this smoke.”

I followed her command, heading after her out the back. I leaned against the brick building, needing the support.

“Can Penny come in to cover your shift?” Oakley asked, standing a few feet from me.

“I’m not leaving work because of some burnt pastries.”

Oakley tilted her head in a disbelieving manner. “This isn’t just some burnt croissants or whatever the hell was in that oven. Something’s on your mind, and I think you need a day off.”

I shifted my attention on the asphalt to her. “I can’t afford a day off.”

“PTO?”

I sighed. I did have PTO, but what if I needed it for a sick day for Avery?

“Come on, Sage. Take some time for you.”

I scoffed, adjusting my stance against the wall to lean my butt against the back of my hands where they sat folded behind me. “And what? Sit at home instead? Pass.”

“Come to the bar with us.”

“Us?” But who would watch Avery?

“Lettie, Brandy, and me. We weren’t planning on it, but they’d never pass up an excuse to day drink.”

I could, though. “I don’t know, Oakley. It was Avery’s first day of school today. I want to be there for her.”

“And you will be. But you can’t be the best mom you can be if you don’t take care of yourself first. You don’t even have to drink if you don’t want to. Just come have some girl time. We’ll find someone to watch Avery. I’m sure Charlotte would love to. ”

I gnawed on my bottom lip, hating the idea of not being there for Avery. Now with these texts, I couldn’t be sure if we were even safe, and leaving her felt like the worst decision right now. But if Charlotte was watching her at the ranch, she might be safer than if she was at our house.

What if he knew where we lived?

I shoved the thoughts away. I couldn’t let him have power over me, not anymore. I wouldn’t put our lives on hold any longer for him.

“Okay.”

Oakley’s answering smile could’ve blinded me if it wasn’t for the sting of smoke still burning them.