Page 2 of Maple Mountain
“Without focusing my attention on men and dating,” I blathered on, “I’ve learned to appreciate other things in life.The finer things in life.”
Poet raised her brows.“Such as?”
“Um ...Let me get back to you on that.”
“Ah ha!There you are!”Hadley pulled out a gallon of milk and a jar of olives and waddled over to the couch.She set them both down onto the scarred wood coffee table.“Should I put another log in the stove?”
Poet eagerly nodded while Salem shook her head, her red hair sliding off her shoulders.“I’m boiling.”
“I’mfreezing,” Poet whined as she hunched lower in her cowl-neck green sweater.
“Switch places with me.”Salem rose from the chair that was closer to the wood stove.
Mildred let out a sigh of contentment which made me smile.She and I were tied at the proverbial hip.It was hard to know who was whose emotional support animal.
“How you doin’ there, champ?You’re looking a little droopy,” Salem said to me after she and Poet moved to their new seating arrangements.
“Did you get any sleep at all?”Hadley asked.
“A few hours,” I said.“But I couldn’t stretch out on those airport lounge seats.At some point, I moved to the floor by a window while I waited for the red eye.I’m just glad I was able to fly out.”
“You know what else isn’t fun?”Poet asked with a wry smile.“Having to be the one to come get you at the ass crack of dawn.”
“At least the roads were clear,” Hadley said as she finally got settled on the couch.“A few more weeks into winter and I doubt Brooks would’ve let you drive at all.”
“He’s already had snow tires put on my car.”Poet beamed.“Is it wrong that I love that he wants to put me in a safety bubble?”
The three of them giggled.
“All right, everyone dig in,” Hadley said.
She picked up a bear claw and plopped it onto a plate.She then unscrewed the jar of garlic stuffed olives and shoved a few into the Bavarian cream.
“What thehellare you doing?”I demanded.
She looked at me in confusion.“Eating?”
I pinched my nose.“That makes me want to vomit.”
“Don’t say vomit,” Poet said, hastily covering her mouth.
I pointed to the bear claw.“You’re not actually going to eat that ...”
“Watch me,” Hadley said, her blue eyes sparkling in defiance.She took a huge bite and chewed for a moment.“Oh, that hit the spot.Try it.”
She held the bear claw out toward me.
“All set, thanks,” I snorted.“No wonder you went to the hospital for indigestion.”
“Hey, it got you on a plane, didn’t it?”Hadley winked.“Sorry for the scare, by the way.”
“I’m just glad you and the baby are okay,” I said.
Salem pointed to the bear claw.“I want to try it.”
Hadley set the bear claw onto the plate and gave it to her twin, who took a greedy bite.
Her hazel eyes widened.
