Scent of a Nightmare, page 5
“You got a cat!” I exclaimed, surprised.
Grandma sighed heavily and pointed to her right ankle. “Unfortunately. He’s the reason I am wearing this.”
I grinned. “Oh, he’s so... fat...”
The cat was half the size of Waylan. Well over eleven pounds of pure cat treats. She grunted as she held him under the armpits. He was not amused in the slightest.
“That’s Cat. He was named Sir Archer, but we just call him Cat now.” She grinned as Waylan set the cat down hard and pet his head aggressively. He sat offended, but not enough to attack, almost like he was expecting this his whole life.
“I tried to get you to get a cat my entire life.” I shook my head at her.
“Well... It has been lonely around here.” She said sadly.
Ouch, but rightfully fired.
I nodded and looked at Waylan. She was dressed in her clothes that I laid out for her. I was ready for the day too. I even managed to brush my hair and run a straightener through the wavy parts, but now it sat in a low bun. I wanted to attempt to look semi cute today. Not like it mattered, I had zero intention on seeing Tate again.
Except now... Grandma needed me to leave.... I could go get Waylan a cake pop... I could get a coffee... then I could take her to the lake... or a playground...
It is safe. A voice played in my head.
“Wanna go get a cake pop?” I asked Waylan.
Her face lit up when she heard me.
“Oh... you met Tate Adams.” Grandma raised a grin at me. She didn’t see him walk me home last night.
“Tate?” I played dumb, but she crossed her arms.
“Cadence baby... I may not have seen you in six years, but I know when you like someone. I raised you for seventeen years. I know everything about you.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“It’s not like that. I can’t... I just met him. He just walked me home last night. I think he did it out of pity.” I said and my cheeks flushed.
“Well, he certainly is nice to look at.” She shrugged.
“Grandma!” I screeched.
“What? You cannot say otherwise. You’re grinning because you know it.” She pointed at me as she leaned against the counter.
Waylan played with the unamused fat cat.
“He... ok he’s handsome.” I started.
Fucking devastatingly gorgeous actually.
And insufferably flirtatious.
I was thankful he wasn’t here to hear. His ego would be soaring.
CADENCE
WAYLAN AND I MADE IT to the coffee shop. She held my hand the entire time and only tried to run away three times. That was a record for us. Usually at this point I am carrying her with sweaty armpits and have the need to go home.
The little shopping centers were packed and I pulled my baseball cap farther down my head to mask my face from the crowd. I felt cute today. I had on a pair of one of my favorite black jean shorts and a pink t-shirt. I matched Waylan to me and I felt like we were adorable with our matching black baseball hats and pink shirts.
The coffee shop was just as busy as the shopping center when we got there.
“Mommy!” She tugged my arm hard and pointed at the pastry case at the front of the store. There were cake pops that looked like the ones Tate sent me text of earlier. We stood in line, and I felt a little more confident not seeing anyone I knew. The paranoia of everyone watching us left me and I picked Waylan up so she could see all the cookies that were in the case. She looked at the sweets, but my eyes trailed to look at the gorgeous man. He was leaning over the coffee bar and laughing with a few other men who wore vacation shirts. They said something and he fist bumped them while they grabbed their iced coffees from Tate and left the store. Tate turned to the espresso machine. A few other employees stood behind the registers ringing in orders.
“Tate! It’s eight fifteen!” The one girl with a few facial piercings and pink colored hair yelled at him from behind the register. He nodded at her and headed towards the back of the store. I watched him move behind the bar. There were a few other employees that were walking from the back of the store and taking over making coffee.
My heart sank as we moved up in the line and the girl behind the register looked like she was going to ring Waylan and I out.
Waylan grabbed my face and turned it to the pastry case. She was pointing at the google eyes on the cake pops.
“Wook momma. They are happy.” She grinned.
“Yeah, they are, baby.” I said and blew a raspberry on her cheek.
“Hey, momma!” She giggled and pushed my face from her cheek.
We took a step forward and then his voice carried through the cafe.
“Cadence?” Tate’s voice caught me off guard as it filled the room around us. I looked up and noticed that Tate was now behind the counter at the end of the bar like a ninja. I didn’t even notice him down there as we made eye contact. His dark brown eyes met mine and he smiled widely at me. If it was possible to melt from a single look, this was it.
This man made me stupid. Utterly and drastically dumb because when my brain kicked in and started to work again, my instincts came alive. My face reddened by him calling my name and then panic struck again.
He was saying my name... loud...in a busy cafe.
Waylan wiggled in my arms, and I set her down. We pushed through the busy line, and I pulled my baseball hat down lower as I made eye contact with a group of girls that were the same age as me, standing by the bar. They were trying to get Tate’s attention. One girl wore a bikini top and tiny white cotton shorts as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. It dripped onto the counter in a small puddle, and I cringed at it. She was pressing her large tits out as she leaned over and called his name.
“Tate.” She said loudly next to me.
He winked at me as he handed me a coffee and a pastry bag.
“Hey Cadence.” He told me. “Give me a sec.”
My cheeks reddened as I sat Waylan on the counter. She pulled the cake pop from the bag and started eating the sprinkles. I took a sip of the coffee and found that it was exactly the way I drink it. Sugar and cream with a little bit of coffee. It was pretty good. It tasted like a graham cracker.
“Tattte.” The girl whined next to me.
I could smell her desperation and I cringed harder.
He turned to her, and I tried not to watch them.
He leaned away from the counter as she flipped her hair again.
“What’s up Brex?” He asked her.
“What are you doing after work?” She flirted while her friend leaned over too.
“I have plans.” He said, wiping his hands on a white rag and then dropping it into a bucket on the floor.
I snorted to myself. This girl was acting desperate, but I was curious what she was asking him. They seemed to have known each other.
“A group of us are going to that new bar called Rocks later. You should come too.” She drew a circle onto the counter, and I glanced over at them. I pretended I was busy fixing Waylan’s hat. Tate and I made eye contact, but he didn’t look away from me. He wasn’t even giving this girl the time and day. The girl noticed and scoffed.
“Well, if you get bored babysitting.... We’ll be there. Paisley will be excited to see you, she misses you.” Brex said as she looked me up and down. I felt a little self conscious and a little... jealous? Was that what this hot sinking feeling was? It was hitting me like a ball of fire in my gut. I took a sip of my coffee and ignored her.
I can’t be jealous of someone that wasn’t even mine.
He wasn’t anything to me.
I wouldn’t even be here in a few days.
“Mommy. Can we go play?” Waylan asked as food coloring from the blue cake pop smeared all over her teeth.
I laughed at her. “Yes Waylan. We can go play. Let’s thank our friend Cake Pop Man for the snacks.”
She turned to Tate. He was ignoring Brex as she pouted at him and her friend was elbowing her.
“I am busy Brex.” He dismissed. “Also, I require shoes in my store. Please be respectful and wear them next time or don’t come back.”
The look he gave her was not the playful Tate that I only met. This one was dark and serious. I sipped my coffee; glad I wasn’t that girl. He was showing resentment towards her, and I would hate to be on the other side of that look.
She rolled her eyes and then snorted at me as she left the store with her coffee and shoes in her hands. He walked over to me, and the resentment look left his face.
“Thank you Pops.” Waylan called to him.
I choked on my coffee at her words and corrected her. “Cake pop man.”
Tate laughed at her and then she grinned a blue teeth smile. She was going to call him pops from now on. There was no changing it now. He laughed and that was all it took.
“So, what do you think of the cake pop, pretty lady?” He asked Waylan.
“Good, Pops.” She gave him a thumbs up.
He chuckled. “What’s your name?”
“Waywen,” she said.
“Waylan.” I corrected her.
“That’s a beautiful name. Do you know it means courageous fighter?” He told her as he handed her a damp napkin. She wiped her face and dropped it on the floor.
“Yeah.” she lied. I snorted; she had no idea what that even meant. I bent down and picked the napkin up and Tate took it to throw it away for me.
“What should I name this cake pop?” He asked her.
“Happy cake.” She said.
He grinned that beautiful smile and for a moment the thought of him taking me on the counter hit me again.
Fuck.
I have to stop thinking of that.
It’s highly inappropriate.
But.... Intriguing...
Fucking stop Cadence.
Tate looked at me and I was thankful my thoughts were mine alone to hear.
“What are you two up to?” He asked.
“We were going to check out the park at the elementary school before lunch time.” I said. “Did you want to come?”
I asked like an idiot before thinking it through.
Of course he couldn’t, he had to run a store.
He grinned at me. “Yes.”
I sucked in a breath in surprise. “Really? You can just leave?”
“Perks of owning the place, especially when your store manager actually shows up for their shift.” He yelled loudly to a girl that was making lattes. She rolled her eyes at him.
“Well, if you would fucking fire me, I could collect unemployment, but apparently you hate me.” She responded as she frothed some milk and glared at Tate. “Fire me when you get back, please.”
“Oh Mindy, you would miss me. You will never get a better boss.” He responded.
She rolled her eyes. “I guess.”
She looked at me next. “Please push him into the lake for me.”
I snorted at her. “If his ego gets any bigger, I might have to.”
Tate chuckled and I melted.
Waylan grew anxious and wiggled off of the counter. Tate grabbed a few items and then ducked under the ledge of the counter at the far end. He nodded to us to follow him through the back exit. He held the door open for us and I brushed past him. His chest and arm rubbed against the side of me, and the woodsy scent of spice and coffee filled me.
He smelled like comfort and excitement. He made me feel hot and safe at the same time. It felt like we had known each other our whole lives. He shut the door behind us.
“Off to the park?” He asked.
Waylan jumped up and down. “Yes! Come on Pops! And Momma!”
“Pops.” I snorted. “I’m sorry about that.”
“I’ve been called stranger things.” He told me as Waylan tugged my hand. I finished my coffee and tossed it into a garbage can next to me as we headed out.
We cut across a few parking lots of the businesses around us and made it to the other side. The elementary school was five minutes in the opposite direction of the coffee shop and ten minutes from my grandma’s house.
“Are you going to that bar later?” I asked him, knowing the answer. I wanted to pry into his life outside of the coffee shop. I was curious who Paisley was to him and how he knew Brex so well.
“Fuck no... Oh I’m sorry.” He covered his mouth.
“It’s ok. It’s not like she’s never heard that word before. In fact, that was her third favorite word last year. Mom of the year here, someone pulled out in front of me, and I called him...” I beckoned him to lean over so I could whisper to him, but then I realized how close he was to my face. My breath hitched into my throat. “Fucking dingbat.”
He laughed at me and then shook his head at me. “That’s funny.”
“She said it for days because I laughed at it.”
“I would have laughed too.” He admitted.
“I won’t lie, I was surprised you came back today.” He added.
I looked at him from under my hat. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He ran his hand through his perfect hair.
We made it to another neighborhood that was less extravagant as the lake house community I grew up in. These houses were smaller and there were apartments and other vacation homes that tourists usually rented out in the summer.
“What do you do outside of the coffee shop?” I asked Tate.
He brushed his hand against mine and I resisted the urge to lace my fingers through his. I had to remind myself this was the second or third time I met him.
“I like to run, and I play in an adult soccer league. It's just for fun. A group of guys made the league last year.” He told me.
“So, you are an active guy. Gotta run off those cake pop calories.” I said, pretending to pat his stomach.
He tensed at me touching his abs and laughed at me.
My face heated and I couldn’t believe I did that.
What the actual fuck is wrong with me?
He shook his head at me. “I don’t actually like pastries, I like savory foods more. I can’t even make the pastries. I can’t cook for shit either. My landlord’s daughter in law makes them and I throw them in the oven. She makes the dough of the pastries and then we freeze them. She comes in once a month and replenishes the freezer. She’ll bring a new batch for the week of Fourth of July soon. I just covered the cake pops in the icing. I can ice the shit out of a cake pop though. That’s how I managed to make a cake pop for Waylan. In hopes you would come back, that is.”
I stiffened at the mention of Fourth of July.
That was a big deal around here. They had block parties for the entire day. It was the start to end of my life before Waylan... six years ago.
“Cade?” Tate asked as he touched my hand.
I felt my skin pale.
“Did I say something wrong?” He asked.
“Uh... no I was just thinking of something I forgot to do.” I lied.
He nodded; not sure he looked like he believed me.
We made it to the playground and to my relief there were only two other kids there. Waylan pulled away from my hand and ran to the play gym. Tate walked to a picnic table and sat on the top of it. I climbed next to him and we sat close to each other. He leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him. I watched Waylan play with another girl on the playground they were running and acting like the ground was lava. I criss crossed my legs and my knees touched his legs. I figured he would pull away, but he didn’t. Instead, he pressed his knee against mine and all I pictured was kissing the man.
Cadence. Stop.
Get it together. You are worse than a horny teenager. His knee is touching you, not his naked body...
Heat flushed my cheeks and the urge to pull away from him was immense, but I didn’t want to.
“What do you do for fun? Besides being a mom?” He asked me as he leaned forward and looked over at me. His neat hair was falling out of its styled gel, and I resisted another urge to run my hands through it again.
I coughed and looked back at Waylan. She was swinging now.
“I love to cook.” I told him. “I wanted to go to college and become a head chef at one of those big restaurants in New York City.”
“Why didn’t you?” He asked me as he smiled at Waylan laying on her stomach on the swing pretending to be an airplane.
“I got pregnant.... And life got complicated.” I admitted. We were treading in dangerous territory.
“Has it always just been you two?” He asked. “Is it just you two now?”
I knew what he was asking. He wanted to know if Waylan’s father was in the picture, but I refused to let him know anything about Waylan’s father.
“Yes.” I responded with a lie. “Her father wasn’t ready to be a dad and I didn't want her to feel that rejection. So, I raised her.”
“Wow.” He said. “You had to have been really young when you had her.”
I nodded. “Yup. She was the light to my dark time. She is everything to me.”
He nodded. “I can tell by the way you look at her.”
My hand rested on my knee and his hand touched mine. Our fingers touched and I looked away from Waylan to Tate.
I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to know what it was like to have his mouth on mine. I wanted to know what it felt like to be wanted by him. I just wanted to lace his fingers through mine, but I couldn’t. This was too fast too soon. He would think I was a lunatic.
Thank God he could not hear my thoughts.
It didn’t stop the fantasies though. The thought of him kissing me. His hands on me. Running my hands through his perfect hair...
I wanted to fall into a quiet space with just him and... nope not going there.
Stop Cadence.
Pull
it
back.
I moved my hand and broke the stare to look back at Waylan. She was sitting on a slide and waved at her new friends that were leaving the park. I pulled my phone from my pocket and noticed that it was after noon now.
“Shit.” I muttered. Tate crossed his fingers in his lap as he looked over at me. Goosebumps rose up my arm and I wanted to crumble at his stare. My thoughts were unfocusing as I tried to think about how late it had gotten. I still wanted to see my grandpa.
