I blink. Twice. “We put money in the fridge?”
“No, but we put the pies there.”
I’m not sure what my face does, but Dottie laughs again.
“We take payment in pie?” I ask.
“And cobbler. Sometimes cake, but not often, which I’m happy about. Don’t tell Birdie I told you, but she needs a bit of Crisco in her buttercream. It’s just a little blah. And that’s why she lost the blue ribbon three years ago at the Honey Creek Bake-Off, but I’m not telling her that.”
I rub a hand down my face.
Dottie cackles.
“Taking payment in pie is . . . It’s ludicrous,” I say because I don’t know what else to say.
“It’s delicious. Especially the gooseberry . . .” Her voice trails off.
My brain short-circuits, and I wonder how I ended up here.
Only a month ago I was on the precipice of having everything I’d always wanted. My career was taking off. I was being considered by one of the most prestigious clinics in the world, thanks to my solid track record and work ethic. I was engaged to a girl I’d started dating in college. Everything was lining up.
And now, here I am. Unemployed. Single. And hoping that the universe smiles on me and I can salvage what’s left of my life. Somehow.
I remind myself that not all is lost. I still have a shot at Montgomery Farms. I think.
I follow Dottie’s gaze to the doorway.
“Well, Sophie Bates,” she says. “What brings you by this morning?”
The fog in my head clears as I watch the woman walking toward me.
“Well, if it isn’t Holden McKenzie,” she says, twisting her gingerbread-colored hair into a messy knot on top of her head.
I lean against the counter and take her in. The apples of her cheeks host a constellation of freckles, and her chin is punctuated by a tiny mole a little to the left of center. She’s exactly like I remember her . . . only all grown up.
She sets her sights on me. The corners of her lips curl toward her golden-brown eyes. There, embedded in the veneer of innocence, is the unmistakable glimmer of mischief that has always been her trademark.
“I heard there was trouble in town,” she says with a wink. “Had to come and see it with my own eyes.”
“What? Are all the mirrors in your house broken?”
She bites the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “Fair enough. How have ya been, anyway? It’s like you forgot we all existed over here.”
“Eh. Been better. Been worse. You?”
“Same.”
We exchange a grin like you only can with someone you’ve connected to on an organic level before the world makes you jaded and changes you. I haven’t felt this in a long time.
Seeing her brings back memories of long, carefree days in the sun. Hours lying along the banks of Pine Creek and listening to music. I’m struck with things I thought I’d forgotten, about nights watching movies cast onto the side of the library and wondering what she would do if I ever kissed her.
I never found out.
And now I kind of regret that.
“Did you ever get my gold chain out of Pine Creek?” I ask.
Her brows shoot to the ceiling, too, as she remembers one of the last afternoons we spent together and how I ended up losing more than my chain in the waters of the creek.
At the same time, we both start to laugh.
“You jumped in there willingly,” she says.
“No. You dared me.”
“That hardly makes anything my fault.” She shakes a finger my way as she comes to a stop on the other side of the counter. Her laugh fades, but she’s left with an easy smile. “But for your information, we did find it a few years later, buried in a sandbar. You didn’t come back, so we pawned it.”
“Well, that was nice of you.”
“Bought us a couple of bottles of strawberry wine.” She looks up at Dottie and sobers her face. “That we were too young to have. I know.”
Dottie holds her hands up, shaking her head.
Sophie laughs and leans against the counter. She props her chin on her hand. Her eyes shine.
Sophie was my best friend every summer. As we grew up, so did the chemistry between us. Summer was never quite long enough for the spark to ignite, but I’ve always wondered what things would’ve looked like if I didn’t live fifteen hundred miles away. I’ve thought about her through the years. Anytime Pap mentioned her, I’d dig a little to see what the girl who’d held my fascination for a large chunk of my life was up to.
“What are you doing in here today, anyway? Just coming by because you missed me so much?” I tease.
I cock a brow and steel myself against the coy, and adorable, look on her face and thank God I’m now immune to this woman’s magical powers. I think.