“You don’t know anything.” She recalled how well things went with Tanner yesterday at the farm, and her determination to hide in the coffee shop to avoid him was a solid plan. “Besides, I have no more pull than anyone else. If the school wants him, they should ask him.”
“That’s what I told them, but they figured he’d never agree, so they’re searching more viable options. But then I told them my sister used to date him, and—”
“And nothing. Tell them to call the farm and ask for him. He’ll either do it or he won’t. It won’t make a difference if I ask him. In fact, based on his behavior toward me the last time I saw him, I’d say I’d harm more than help your chances.”
“Come on. I promise to pull straight A’s for the rest of the year. I’ll even pretend to study more.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.” In that moment, Mary-Beth realized why her mother had used that exact phrase so many times.
He stood there for a moment staring at her. “Ooooooh, you still have a thing for him. Is this one of those sappy movie situations where you never got over the guy?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. He means nothing to me. He’s been out of my life forever.” She mixed her latte and headed for the back office so she could get her stuff to open up for the morning. She had trouble tying the apron with her shaking hands.
“You do. You so still like him. Great. Is that why you came back after college? For him?”
“No, for the family. To help Mom when she was sick. Besides, I love Sugar Maple. I belong here.”
“Good for you. I want nothing more than to get out, so help me. If you don’t have any feelings for him anymore, then prove it. Go ask him for me.”
“I don’t have to prove anything.” She unlocked the front doors, even though she wasn’t due to open for another fifteen minutes. “Besides, I’m the last person who should ask him. I might have accused him of being a coward.”
“You might have? The way I heard it, you did everything but accuse him of being a traitor to Sugar Maple. Oh wait, you did that, too.” Andy snagged his backpack from the stool at the front counter. “Go apologize and ask him. For me. Mary-Beth, seriously, this means everything to me. It’s my dream to play college ball, and with his coaching, connections, and name, I’d have a real shot.” He leaned his head on her shoulder. “Please? For your favorite brother?”
She gulped a huge swallow of hot latte that burned going down. “I don’t think—”
“Don’t you always tell me that pride is a sin and it’s going to cost me more than I want to pay in life? Didn’t you make me apologize to Nathan when I called him a wannabe water boy after a game? Are you going to be one of those parents? The kind that doesn’t lead by example but just manipulates and orders me around? Are you going to be Mom?”
“That’s a lower-than-low blow.” That was the one thing that drove them both nuts about their parents, and she’d vowed always to be honest and parent with facts, not guilt trips or twisting of circumstances. “If anyone else ever asked me this, I’d tell them to get lost. You know that, right?”
He nodded but didn’t say anything.
That’s when she saw it: the honest pleading from his eyes, the this-means-everything-to-me head tilt. How could she squash his dreams because her own never came true? “Fine.”
He set the ball down on the counter and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight. A foreign act from her teenage sibling. “That’s amazing. You’re the best sister—I mean parent—ever.”
She shook her head. “I said I’d try. I doubt he’ll do anything as a favor to me, but you’re right. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I want to parent the right way. Now get to school before I change my mind.”
He bolted outside, leaving her with the realization she had to face the one person she never wanted to see again to humble herself by apologizing for what she’d said, despite the fact that she’d meant every word. Tanner McCadden was a coward for running off and never returning home, and nothing he told her could change that truth.
Stella entered the shop with her hand out, ready for her free cup.
“Oh no, not today. You’ve got to pay.” Mary-Beth grabbed a spoon and the tin cup, ready to concoct the perfect apology beverage for Tanner.
“What?” Stella scratched her cheek. “Okay, here.”
Before she could reach into her pocket Marry-Beth said, “Nope I don’t want your money. I need you to watch the store for about an hour.”
“Um, okay. But Knox is on his way over to talk to you about the coffee segment for his show, remember? You agreed to be the next segment, and then Jackie will be after that so she can be the final big show.”
“Oh, right. Well, tell him I need to reschedule.”
“Why don’t you tell him?” Stella shot back.
“Because he likes you. He won’t be mad if you tell him. Everyone will be happy.” Mary-Beth stared at the empty cup. “This is important. I need to do something for Andy.”
“Everything okay?” Stella asked, settling into a seat.
“Yeah, I just need to make the perfect cup of coffee before I go ask someone for a favor for him.”
Stella chuckled. “Well, I’m sure the Coffee Whisperer won’t have a problem with that. Maybe Knox should start filming now.”
Mary-Beth stood frozen, thinking, analyzing, stressing.
“What’s wrong?”
She dropped the spoon into the metal mug with a loud clank. “For the first time, I have no idea what to make for someone.” With her hands in her hair, she walked circles around the small kitchen area. “Maybe it’s because I’m mad at him. Maybe it’s because I’m forced to do something I don’t want to, for someone I care about. Maybe I can’t bring myself to do it.”
“Do what?” Stella asked.
“Ask Tanner to coach high school football. It could mean a full scholarship for Andy. I can’t do this.” She stopped and faced her challenge. “I have to, though. Maybe—”
“Maybe you still love him even after all these years and that’s why you can’t make him a cup of your coffee. You don’t want to face rejection again.”
That was Stella, always ready to tell you the cold, hard, lie-to-yourself realization that was your truth.
Chapter Six
Tanner sat on the front porch, so exhausted he didn’t bother to rock in his favorite front porch chair because it would require too much energy. He blinked at the streaks of first light across the early morning sky. The sounds of nature nearly lulled him back to sleep, but his mom’s stirring inside warned him that work would begin soon. When the screen door opened, he growled with protest and tipped his hat to cover his face. “Not yet. I need five more minutes.”
A cup of coffee shot in front of him, and his mom knocked the hat back off his head. “Forgot how tough farm life could be, didn’t you?”
Frogs croaked, as if echoing his mom’s observation. He lifted his arm and groaned from the tightness all the way through his biceps, around to his deltoids, and up his neck. “I work out. I’m fit. I eat right.”