Espresso Your Love (The Coffee Loft Series: Fall Collection)

16. Ryan

16

Ryan

Seeing her this morning is killing me. Her blonde curls cascading down her shoulders. Her blue eyes looking straight into my soul. She’s concerned though, and she has every right to be. I was a coward and ran off instead of telling her what was wrong. I could have told her exactly how I felt right there amid the crowd. I could have pulled her in for a kiss like I wanted to in the hay maze.

But after the incident, I can’t shake the feeling of impending failure. If I can’t guarantee her safety then how can I pursue more? The closer I get to her, the more dangerous it is. So I have to stay away. And now that the festival is done, it should be fairly easy to do just that.

Luckily, Ashley isn’t at the register when I place my order to go. If Cassie filled her in, she’d definitely be asking me questions, and I don’t want to answer any of them right now.

As soon as my order is ready, I take it and go to my cruiser. Not that I ever wish for crime, but I hope it’s a busy day to keep my mind occupied with other things. Maybe another round of missing gnomes or cornering a chicken in a bakery. Bring it on, Meadowbrook. I’m ready for the small-town crime.

When I get to the station, I’m immediately pulled into a meeting. Chief Dobbs is standing at the front of the room, and most of the officers in the precinct are here. This must be big.

“I called everyone in today for a serious matter. It’s been brought to my attention that we have a problem in the precinct.”

I look around wondering what this could be about, but not even a whisper fills the room.

“That problem is with our newbie, Ryan Hayes.”

All eyes shoot to me.

“Ryan, you were in charge of the Autumn Festival security, and we had an issue there, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Care to explain?”

I clear my throat. “We followed a group of teenagers who were acting suspiciously. It ended up being harmless. They are in a band and tried to connect their phone to the sound system at the stage and blew a fuse.”

“I heard how you handled it through Lawson and Mitchell,” he pauses, then smiles. “And the festival went without a hitch.”

The room breaks into applause.

“You did a fantastic job running point on the security for this event, Hayes. We wanted to give credit where credit is due, with a little dose of hazing for the new guy.”

A few slaps on the back cracks a smile from me. I chuckle and shake my head at their antics. “Thanks, everyone.” I feel my face heat up under their applause.

With pats on the back and some congratulations, the meeting turns into casual conversations. Officers filter out as we all get back to work. I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me at my desk. I’m hoping to get called out, but I guess the paperwork will take my mind off of everything too.

About an hour into it, Cecilia calls me over the phone.

“What can I do for you?”

“We got a call saying there’s someone suspicious at your house. Figured you might want to be the one to head over there.”

“Sure, Mitchell and I are on our way.”

Mitchell starts grabbing his gear as soon as he hears his name.

“C’mon, Max.” I grab my gear, and we head out to the cruiser.

“Did she say anything else?” Mitchell asks me as we get inside.

“That was it.”

“Hopefully nothing serious.”

We pull up to the house, and there are two figures on the porch. The bright sun is blinding.

“Can we help you?” I yell out.

They both jump and turn around.

“Ryan Matthew Hayes, don’t you ever scare your mother like that again.”

“Mother?” Mitchell starts laughing.

“Mom, Sadie, what are y’all doing here?” I walk up to them and hug them both.

“I missed my son and couldn’t wait another day to see you. We figured the Autumn Festival would be a good day to come visit.”

“That was yesterday.”

“What? No, it’s today.” Sadie looks through her phone. “Oh no, it was yesterday. I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Nonsense, that just means we get to spend more time with Ryan since he’s not working the festival. Right, honey?”

“I just started my shift, but I’ll be home for dinner.”

“Perfect. We’ll stroll around town and see you then.”

I hand them the keys to the house and go back to work.

Surprisingly, work goes by quickly, and I get my huge stack of paperwork finished before my shift ends. The anticipation of my mom and sister being here helped.

“It’s me,” I say as I walk through the door.

The house is filled with the aroma of my mom's famous homemade lasagna and my sister’s freshly baked bread. She’s been on a sourdough kick, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she traveled with it. Both of them are in the kitchen with Italian music playing as they dance and cook. Sadie, a little less dance and a little more wobble with her almost-due baby belly.

“You’re just in time!” my mom calls out, straightening her apron. “It’s almost ready.”

“Good, I brought my appetite.” I open the backdoor to let Max out. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

I walk down the hallway to my room to unload my gear and change clothes. I let Max back inside and take off his harness.

“You did good today, buddy.” I scratch him behind his ear, and his tongue hangs out of his mouth. “Now, it’s time to relax. Let’s get some food.” He jumps up and licks my face. “Okay, boy. C’mon.”

I walk through the kitchen to refill Max’s water bowl. “This smells amazing. I’ve missed your cooking, Mom.”

“While I’m sad to miss the festival, I’m always happy to make my boy one of his favorite meals.”

“Me, too.” I notice Sadie rubbing her stomach and wincing. “Let me take over. Go put your feet up.”

“Not you too! I’m fine, promise. Just trying to get him to move. He’s been sitting on my ribs.”

“All right,” I laugh, leaning back against the counter. “But don’t say I didn’t offer.”

She turns to me and sticks out her tongue. It’s nice to see she hasn’t lost her spunk.

As I set the table for dinner, Sadie and Mom fill me in on the happenings in Birmingham—the very simple everyday life sort of happenings, and I reminisce on the calls I’ve had to report to.

“Looks like you’re settling into the small-town life pretty good, big brother,” Sadie says as she sits down and lets out a big sigh.

“Are you enjoying it here, Ryan?” Mom asks.

“The people are great. Max and I are getting in a good rhythm here.”

“Any Lorelais, hmm?” Sadie wiggles her eyebrows at me.

“Who’s Lorelai?” Mom looks at me. “Have you met someone?”

Of course, this topic has to be brought up. I squint my eyes at Sadie.

“There are no Lorelais here,” I respond, dryly.

“I’m sure there’s some single pretty women here. In fact, we saw a couple while we went to the market,” Mom says as she serves the food.

“And at Coffee Loft.” Sadie smiles.

“Oh, that barista was so cute! What was her name?” Mom asks innocently.

“Ashley?” I ask.

“Yes, she was such a sweetheart!” Mom smiles.

“I knew it! I told you she could work there.” Sadie points at me.

“No, it’s not Ashley. I mean, Ashley works at Coffee Loft, but I don’t like Ashley.”

Mom smiles at me, knowingly. “Well, then who do you like?”

“Mom…” I look at her trying to telepathically get her to let it go.

The doorbell rings. Perfect, I’ll have to give a big thank you to whoever it is for saving me.

As I open the door, a small silhouette stands on the porch. Cassie is illuminated by the dim light on the doorframe. “Hey, Ryan.”

“Uh, hi. I thought you were gone until tomorrow?”

“No, it was just a quick day trip.”

“Oh.” I glance over at my mom and sister who are staring at me, waiting for me to tell them who’s at the door.

“Are you busy? I can come back.” She starts to turn, but I grab her arm.

“No, I—”

My mom pushes into my arm. “Well, hello there! I’m Margie.” She holds out her hand.

“I’m Cassie, a pleasure to meet you.” She shakes Mom’s hand.

“Ryan, we don’t want to be rude, now do we? Invite the girl in for dinner.” She gives a single nod of her head and then walks to the table.

“That’s my mom,” I tell Cassie quietly. “You don’t have to come in for dinner.”

“We don’t want to be rude, now do we?” She gives me a sly grin and pushes past me.

When I said, “Bring it on, Meadowbrook,” this is not what I meant. I sigh and shut the door.

I follow Cassie into the dining room, my eyes on her the whole time. She walks into my home like she belongs here, probably partially because it has the same layout as hers, and partially because she has this confidence about her.

“Mom, Sadie, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is my family.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you. I don’t mean to barge in—” Cassie starts but is interrupted by Sadie.

“Oh nonsense, we’re happy you’re here. Right, Ryan?” Sadie looks pointedly at me, hiding her smirk behind a napkin.

“Yes, delighted,” I say as I walk to the kitchen to make Cassie a plate.

“Ryan was just filling us in on his new life in Meadowbrook. It’s such a cute town.”

“Yes, it is. I’ve lived here my whole life so I may be a little biased.”

“I’m sure your fondness for this community is well placed. The town has been very welcoming to Ryan being here.”

“What do you do, Cassie?” Sadie chimes in.

“I’m an event planner,” Cassie answers proudly. “We just had our Autumn Festival yesterday, which Ryan was Head of Security for.”

“Mm, so you two worked together on it. How wonderful!” Mom exclaims. “Is that how you met?”

“We met at Coffee Loft actually. My first day here in Meadowbrook.”

Sadie squeals, and I give her a sharp look.

“Sorry,” Sadie giggles. “I just love Coffee Loft.”

“I don’t know how long you're staying, but if you’re here tomorrow, stop by. My best friend’s family owns it, and I’ll get you something, my treat.”

“You’re so sweet. We might just take you up on it,” Mom replies to her.

All through dinner, Cassie keeps up the conversation with them, answering their never-ending questions. She fits in so effortlessly here. A flash of images plays in my head from more dates to monthly dinners at Moms with Cassie by my side to me dropping down on one knee and asking her to be my forever…

My heart aches knowing she can’t stay here. Knowing we can’t have that. I can’t have that. There’s risks with this job. As much as I want what my parents had, I willingly can’t bring her into the possibility of losing me.

“I must be going; I have a long day tomorrow.” She thanks them for the meal. “I hope to see you two at Coffee Loft?”

“We wouldn’t miss it!”

“Ryan, maybe you can sneak a quick break and meet us there too?”

“I’ll try my best, Mom.”

I walk Cassie to the door. “Sorry you got roped into dinner here.”

“They’re wonderful people, Ryan. I see where you got it from.”

I run my hand through my hair and chuckle. “I’ll walk you home?”

“I think I can manage crossing the lawn.” She starts walking down the stairs.

I start to close the door then reopen it and walk onto the porch. “Wait, what did you come by for?”

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ears. “Well, I got the Mercer wedding. They were impressed at the meeting today.”

I walk down the steps and hug her. “Cass! That’s amazing!”

Her jasmine perfume envelops my senses. I want this moment forever—my arms around her back, her curly hair fluffed into my face.

“I know! I think I’m still in shock. I just got home and wanted to tell you.”

The dim streetlights reflect off her blue eyes, and I’m mesmerized by her.

“Thank you for telling me.” My voice comes out deeper than I anticipated.

“Thank you for being excited.” She pulls away and walks backwards towards her house.