𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 | 𝘾𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 | Balancing motherhood and adulthood is difficult, but Kay embraces the new challenge with love and care. When Noah James barrels into Brian's life, that challenge shifts, and the happy couple...
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**Brian**
"Trudy!" I called out the name of the customer I helped, placing her extra large caramel latte on the counter. The small older woman approached me with a smile, reaching for her cup. She said something, but I couldn't hear. My head was somewhere else.
From the second I saw Noah's name on our order list, I couldn't stop thinking about him. He was like a dark shadow creeping up on the back of my head. It wasn't like I was in hiding; I was naïve to think I could just run away from my problems. Kay helped me believe that wasn't the option and wouldn't solve anything. But hey was someone I couldn't meet to talk things through. There wasn't a way to open that door to my past, let him look inside my life, then find closure within our fallout.
I ran from Noah James. He showed me a needle and told me I'd be fine. It wasn't, couldn't do it, and I knew quickly that type of drug wasn't for me. But that didn't stop him from bringing me a bottle every night, cheering me on at my band's shows as if he was my biggest support system.
He was a leech who latched onto my life and tried to drag me down with him. After Katerina died, I knew I had to get away.
"Oh, Brian?" Trudy passed a hand over my face. I blinked at the woman, shocked that she was still there. Honestly, I thought she would've walked away now. She wasn't a regular, but I'd helped her enough to know she bought a drink, thanked us, then left.
Tonight, she stayed, She smiled at me, dipped her head to one side, and with one finger, she pointed at the treats displayed on the tray Rianne neatly assembled.
Nervously, I laughed and scratched my head. "Hey, Trudy, did I miss something? Did you want something else?"
"Mhm." She nodded, holding her cup with two hands. "I asked for the chocolate chip cookie," she pointed at the one on the center of the tray, "the young woman over there said I had to buy one or I'd regret it."
My brows lifted. Glancing behind me, I looked at Rianne, who stood by the coffee machines, completely oblivious to what was happening. She hummed and bobbed to the music as if she were lost in her own world.
It made me smile. She'd been here since the morning, left to go home for two hours, only to come back to help close. I swore I'd hire more employees to help, but she and Shawn were okay with the shift. Today. I knew it wouldn't be a forever thing.
Yet, even with the hectic shift, she still found a way to sell to the customers.
"Brian," Trudy cleared her throat, "can I have the cookie?"
"Yeah." I quickly turned back to Trudy, shooting her a large, weak smile. "I'll ring it up and—"
Her brows pinched together. "You charged me for it with the latte." She pointed at the cup, then showed me her receipt. And yup, just as she said, there was a charge for a misc. dessert on there.
