Page 17 of Life, Love and the Pursuit of Happiness

They both stared at Delilah for a long moment before giving her a final squeeze and saying, as one, “We just want to help.”

Which was all well and good, but another speed bump in Delilah’s journey to be independent and private. Once again, Delilah realized that she was being undermined by niceness.

Dammit!

Stu and Barb left with her last two cinnamon rolls. An experimental apple honey oat mix with cream cheese frosting.

Which was ironic because no sooner had they left the premises than Sally Dawson of Sweet Thangs, a bakery and ice-cream shop, arrived with a bone to pick with her. Well, a cinnamon roll, not a bone. And there was not a cinnamon roll to be had.

“What’s this I hear about you trying to run me out of business?” Sally asked right off, hands on hips.

Sally was about the same age as Delilah, but looked like a teenager with her brown hair cut short in a pixie style and freckles dotting her makeup-free face. Despite her youthful appearance, Sally had three young sons she was raising alone since her soldier husband had been killed in Afghanistan.

“Huh?”

Sally gave her a fierce scowl, then laughed. “Just kidding. I’ve been hearing raves over your cinnamon rolls, and just wanted to make you an offer. If you’d like to sell them at my bakery until you get the diner going, I’m game.”

“You would do that for me? The competition?”

Sally laughed some more. “Not really competition. We would be partners. I’d only charge a little percentage for profit at my end, but once your diner and motel open, I would expect you to put out some brochures for my bakery. Maybe even sell some of my products. Hey, you could offer Continental Breakfasts to motel customers. Just basics. Croissants, pastries, cinnamon rolls, with coffee and tea.”

“That sounds good, but it’ll be a while before the motel is ready.”

“And my offer to sell your cinnamon rolls in the meantime?”

“I’d love to do that, but I’m not sure how much time I’m going to have. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be working for Bell Cove Treasure and Salvaging. I need to earn some extra cash to complete my renovations here.” That wasn’t quite a lie.

“Really? You’ll be working with Merrill Good, that hot Navy SEAL?” Sally grinned, exposing one slightly crooked incisor, which was oddly attractive.

“I don’t think he’s a Navy SEAL anymore. Besides, how do you know he was a SEAL? They don’t go public with that, do they? Maybe he was just Navy.”

“Oh, he was a SEAL all right. My husband was Delta Force, and, believe me, I can recognize one of those bad boys at fifty paces. Doesn’t matter if they’re Green Berets, Deltas, SEALs, Rangers, or whatever. Badass to the bone.”

Okaay. Merrill is a badass. Well, I knew that, didn’t I? Just looking at him makes my toes curl. “Um . . . if you think Merrill is so hot, maybe you should make a connection. Or . . . have you already?” For some reason, that idea bothered Delilah. A lot. She wasn’t sure why.

“Not a chance! One military man was enough for me. When . . . or if . . . I ever get involved with another man, he’s gonna be safe and boring. An accountant, maybe.”

Delilah was the one to laugh now.

But not for long.

“I understand you have a daughter. How old is she?”

Well, that was quick. The Bell Cove grapevine at its best, just like the prison grapevine, or gossip networks everywhere. The juicy tidbit was passed on today by Ina Rogers, Delilah presumed. “A little girl. Magdalene Jones, or Maggie.”

“Magdalene, what an unusual name. Pretty.”

“My family has a warped sense of humor. Biblical names for the women, but bad women of the Bible, not the saintly ones. Like Mary Magdalene, Delilah for me, my grandmother is Salome or Sal, and my mother was Jezebel, or Jezzie. There was probably a Bathsheba early on.”

“I love it! My husband had been certain we’d have all boys, they run in his family, and he wanted to name our boys Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Unfortunately, we never got around to a fourth son, a John, before he died.”

Delilah sensed Sally’s pain over the loss of her husband, even though he’d been gone for several years now. But she didn’t want to add to her grief by asking questions about his death. Instead, she remarked, “So, your sons are named Matthew, Mark, and Luke?”

“Yep. Luke is about the same age as your Maggie. Maybe they’ll become friends, although I must warn you, he’s a terror on a dirt bike.”

“Maggie is more into the movie Annie, although she might become more adventuresome once she’s here and out of doors more often.” That was another thing Delilah would have to add to her lists. Buy Maggie a bicycle.

Sally didn’t ask her about Maggie’s father, or where Maggie was at the present time, which Delilah considered a blessing. There were only so many secrets she wanted to dole out at one time.