Chapter 37

37

Grady

Sue and I are playing fetch at the edge of the lake while the sun sets on our little campsite, and I keep checking my phone.

The last text I got from her was a picture with the caption SOS .

She managed to blow up a bubble waffle maker, and I don't know what she used as batter, but it might've been liquid fire.

The Duh-Nuts Instagram account has a picture of a gorgeous bubble waffle cone filled with pink soft serve, so I can only assume Bailey took over from there.

My entire family—from Cooper to Pop to Georgia, who counts as family because of how long she's worked for me—all texted individually today to assure me that Crow's Nest was running a healthy business and we should consider adding a tea service once a week to up our game.

All of them.

Same message.

Even from Cooper, who's still on the road.

"Duh-Nuts is doing good," I tell Sue.

He rolls his eyes, like Duh, Grady. All that free publicity plus BUBBLE WAFFLES AND ARTISAN SOFT SERVE .

Or he might have a booger in his eye. He's gotten to where he can almost lick his eyeball like he can lick in his own nose, so who knows?

Either way, artisan soft serve is just wrong.

He suddenly lets out an excited Maa! and takes off for the path that leads to my little campsite, and a minute later, he's herding Annika into the clearing.

My whole body lights up like a neon sign. "You made it."

"I'm a disaster."

She slumps into my waiting arms, and Sue circles us, maa ing like he's trying to tell Annika every last one of my sins and a few of my redeeming qualities.

"You smell like heaven."

"I showered four times to get the smell of smoke out of my hair. The fire alarms went off and all the shops on either side of us had to evacuate too. The entire Volun-told Fire Department showed up, and then the mayor, and then Honey freaking Wellington and all of the paparazzi. Mama almost tripped trying to get out. And then, when we got the all-clear, the whole damn town showed up and our old gym teacher helped Bailey make everyone bubble waffles and we ran out of soft serve and now we have fifteen— fifteen —orders for specialty cakes the weekend after school starts and three have to be perfect, but the other twelve literally told me that they'd never know the difference if I bought a dozen cakes from Walmart over in Snyderville and jacked the price up and sold them as my own and who does that ?"

" Maaaa! " Sue says indignantly on her behalf.

It's so fucking good to have her back where she belongs. "Want me to make it all better?"

"Yes."

"Hungry?"

She tilts her hips into me. "Yes."

"Me too."

I toss her over my shoulder, and she laughs—or maybe sob-laughs, but she also slips her hands down my pants and scrapes her nails over my ass, so I duck and carry her into my tent and toss her on the air mattress.

She bounces and laughs and quickly wipes her eyes.

"Whoa, what's this?" I settle next to her and touch my thumb under her lashes, where there's still moisture from her tears. "Aw, Annika."

"Shut up and make it better," she whispers.

She grabs me by the ears and pulls my face down until our lips brush, and fire erupts in my veins.

"I love kissing you," I murmur against her mouth.

"We waited too long," she whispers, still softly rubbing those silky pillows against the rough stubble around my mouth. " I waited too long."

I should've shaved. "You're worth it."

"We should have memories, Grady. We should have memories of making out in a canoe on the lake and almost getting caught under the stands at the stadium and coming in last in the voting for prom king and queen because we're so not prom king and queen material, except someone would've nominated us just to watch us lose."

"We have memories." I brush my lips over her cheek and along her jawline. "We have my favorite memories. You were my whole high school experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"But we could've been more . I was just too afraid."

"Are you afraid now?"

"No." She sucks my lip into her mouth, and my eyes drift shut while I lose myself in her.

Her skin.

Her eager mouth.

Her lean, strong legs.

She tugs at my shirt until she's sliding her nimble fingers over my chest and around to scrape down my back.

I shift to reach between us, and the mattress bounces her up, and our noses bonk.

"Oh, shit," I grunt. "You okay?"

She tips her head back and laughs while she rubs her nose. "Yes. You?"

"Didn't feel a thing," I lie, mostly because I'm more interested in getting back to kissing her.

She twists to her side and puts her elbow into the mattress, and the mattress flips me up.

"Crap," she mutters.

But she's smiling, and her smile makes me smile.

"Race you naked," I say.

I push to sit, and Annika topples into me. " Aaah! "

" Maa! " Sue agrees as he charges into the tent.

"Sue! Out!"

" Maa! "

I reach for him, but he dodges me and leaps onto the air mattress too, and I slide right off the damn thing while Annika shrieks and dodges the goat's hooves.

I leap up as something flaps at my ear.

"Bird!" Annika yells.

Sue leaps for it. " Maa! "

I duck away from the bird and reach for Sue again as a loud pop! erupts at the head of the mattress.

"Shit," I mutter again.

Annika's curled into herself laughing so hard she's crying, hovering in a corner of the tent away from the bird and behind my goat, and this is not what I had in mind.

And that was my good air mattress.

I finally manage to wrangle Sue out, and the bird follows, aiming an indignant chirp at all of us while it takes to the dusky skies.

I lean over and peek in the tent.

Annika's clutching my pillow to her chest and still giggling.

"I gotta tie up my goat. Strip, and I'll be there in two minutes."

She tilts her head to smile at me, and I grab my backpack to dig out Sue's leash.

Except it's not in my backpack.

Dammit .

"Gotta dash up to my truck," I call to Annika.

"Mm-kay," she replies.

"Feel free to be naked when I get back."

I dash up the path, Sue on my heels, and ten minutes later, I'm back, panting. Dusk is falling heavily now, with the trees becoming dark shadows and the leaves overhead rustling in the late evening breeze. I fire up my phone's flashlight and use it to tie Sue to the nearest tree, then crunch over the leaves to the tent.

"Hey, beauti—oh."

Annika's still curled around my pillow.

She clearly moved at some point, because she's in nothing but a lace bra and matching panties, but she's also passed out cold.

She's sleeping so hard she's snoring.

Not half-hearted snores like last night either.

She's a gone full lumberjack.

It's fucking adorable.

And worrisome.

She went from rolling with laughter to passed out cold in under ten minutes.

She needs help.

Not the teach her to bake kind of help either.

She needs hostile kitchen takeover help.

I was thinking I'd just spend the next few weeks baking double and delivering her everything she needed, but that won't work.

I can't run her bakery and mine at the same time. Not while we're supposed to be in the middle of the rivalry of the century.

But I know people.

I know lots of people.

People who can help.

"You sleep," I whisper while I pull my sleeping bag over her. "Sorry I didn't think of this sooner, but I've got your back, Annika. Just hang in there."

Her life's going to get easier very, very soon.

I'll make sure of it.