TWENTY-SIX
Elijah
“I’ll meetyou guys outside in just a minute,” I say as I pass my mom my truck keys.
She nods, giving the two of us a knowing look and I wonder if she thinks I’m going to make out with Hartley or something right here and now. What is she thinking? I mean, there are kids in here for Pete’s sake.
I wait until they’re outside before I turn to Hartley and step closer, not wanting to be heard by any of the bakery customers lingering around.
“Are you alright?” I ask her as I grab my coat off the back of my chair and pull it on.
I don’t want to keep my parents waiting too long and I know that the more time the two of us spend whispering to each other, the more the town gossip will grow. I can’t just leave Hartley now.
She got really pale there, and I wonder what my mom could have possibly said to her to get that reaction.
“Oh, god. Did she bring up babies to you?” I ask with a groan when Hartley still hasn’t answered me.
“No. Wait, what? Babies?” she asks, sounding like she’s about to faint or hyperventilate.
“Shh!” I say, looking around to make sure that no one heard that. The last thing that we need right now is people going on pregnancy watch around here.
“Yeah, she’s really excited for us to get married and have kids. She told me to buy you a ring the last time she was here.”
I roll my eyes, letting her know that I thought it was a joke, but Hartley just stares at me like I’m insane.
“She knows,” Hartley says and she looks shocked and maybe a little nervous.
“Who knows what?” I ask with a frown.
“Your mom knows that we have been faking it.”
“What?” I ask, disbelief replacing my good mood. “Are you sure? What did she say exactly?”
“She said, and I quote, ‘that she’s glad that we figured it out and stopped pretending.’ She’s glad that we’re really together now.”
Hartley’s dark blue eyes are wide and anxious as she meets mine.
“Are you sure?” I ask her.
“Am I sure that she just said that to me? Yep, but how did she figure it out? I thought that we had them fooled.”
More customers come into the bakery and I know that I have to leave so that Hartley can go help them, but I can’t leave her when she’s so clearly freaking out over this.
“I’ll talk to her. Everything is going to be fine,” I promise Hartley as I lean down and kiss her cheek. “Congratulations again on your first day. I’ll text you what time for dinner tonight and I’ll pick you up. Okay?”
Hartley nods distractedly and hurries behind the counter as I head out the door.
My mom and dad are climbing into my truck and I jog over, taking my keys as I slip behind the wheel. My mom talks about how good the food was on the short drive to the Grove Trading Post, but I can barely concentrate. All I can think about is that my mom has known that we were faking it this whole time.
Nick is behind the counter when we walk in and he greets my parents as I take his place behind the register. There are a few people in the store and I help them find what they need as Nick packs up and heads out.
My dad heads into the back to look around the place and my mom comes and leans against the front counter across from me.
“Hartley told me what you said.”
“Hmm?” my mom asks, pretending not to know what I’m talking about.
“How long have you known that we weren’t really dating?” I ask her and she shakes her head at me.