“I can’t believe how many people turned out,” Piper said. “We’re about to run out of pie samples.”
Braden raised his hand in the air. “Yes! Leave them wanting more.” He flashed a smile at Piper. It was wonderful seeing all of their hard work come to fruition. “I have the feeling a lot of pie orders will be coming in over the next few days.”
“That would be wonderful,” Piper said, clapping her mittened hands together.
“The feedback has been terrific. Owl Creek has gone pie crazy,” Braden said, making a goofy face at Piper.
She swatted at him, chuckling. “You look like you’re five years old.”
“Aww, c’mon,” Braden said, placing his hand over his heart. “You hurt my feelings.” Piper rolled her eyes and let out a snort.
“Brrr. It’s so cold out here I feel like my feet are turning into icicles.” Piper began jumping up and down. “If I stand still for too long, I literally cannot feel them.”
“Why don’t we head inside? The pie is pretty much a wrap. There’s only that one little slice of apple left. Between the two of us, we could polish it off in no time.”
Piper giggled. “How many slivers have you eaten tonight? Wait. Here comes Mrs. Crenshaw. I happen to know she loves apple pie.”
He’d always loved the sound of her laughter and what it did to her face. It transformed her pretty features into radiant ones. Ever since his return to Owl Creek, Braden had been viewing his best friend with a whole new pair of eyes. Growing up she’d been a tomboy, running around with skinned knees and faded, ripped blue jeans. Now he imagined the men in town were tripping all over themselves to date her. His protective instincts kicked into high gear. He would run interference if he had to in order to protect Piper from anyone who didn’t have the best of intentions.
“Earth to Braden!” Piper was waving her hand in front of his face. “Where did you go just now? Our last slice of pie is history. Let’s go inside the diner before we freeze our tootsies off.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Braden said, grabbing some of the empty disposable plates while Piper cleared away the rest. “Race you to the door,” Braden said as he took off running toward the diner.
“No fair,” Piper called out after him. “You had a head start.”
“No sour grapes allowed,” Braden shouted, looking over his shoulder to see Piper gaining on him. In an effort to make sure she didn’t pass him, Braden attempted to sprint the last one hundred yards. Ever since they were little they’d been competitive with one another over the silliest of things. This would be no different. Suddenly, he hit a patch of icy snow and his legs slipped out from underneath him. He landed with a thud.
Instead of helping him up, Piper was bent over at the waist chortling with laughter. “This is what you get for being so full of yourself.”
“Seriously? You’re going to lecture me instead of helping me up?”
“I’m sorry, Braden. Are you all right?” Piper asked. She lowered her hand and with a grunt helped him to a standing position. Once Braden stood up, he let out a groan and massaged the back of his thigh. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, dusting snow off his pants. “My ego is just a little bruised. I do extreme adventures all over the world, but I can’t run in a little Alaskan snow?”
Piper linked arms with him. “Aww. You’re still a rock star, Braden. King of extreme sports and out of this world milkshakes.” She put a hand to her forehead in dramatic fashion. “Rescuer of damsels in distress.”
Braden chuckled. “You don’t need saving, Piper. If you put your mind to it, you could conquer the world.”
“Remember when we wanted to be superheroes? I used to love dressing up as Wonder Woman,” Piper said, reminding him of all the dreams they’d shared over the years. He hoped those days weren’t over. It would make him really happy if he and Piper could be a part of each other’s lives till they were old and sitting on their porches in rocking chairs. Just the thought of it made him grin. He could imagine Piper with salt-and-pepper hair and a few little crinkles around her eyes.
“Those were the days,” he said. “It felt like anything was possible.”
Piper turned around to face him. “It still is, Braden. If it wasn’t, I would have just given up trying to turn things around at the diner. Because of you I’m still fighting to save it.”
Once again, he was forced to stuff down feelings of guilt. Accepting Piper’s praise felt self-indulgent. He still felt unworthy of her compliments. He knew all too well she wouldn’t be praising him if she knew the truth. Which made him a fraud.
Piper led the way up the stairs, then pulled open the doors to the Snowy Owl. He heard her shocked exclamation. She stopped in her tracks and didn’t enter the establishment.
“What’s happening?” Piper turned toward him, eyes wide with shock. He quickly moved to her side so he could see what was wrong. Piper seemed to be in a state of shock.
The diner was packed to the rafters with customers. People were standing around waiting for seats while every booth and table was occupied. Even the counter seats were completely filled up. The staff was busy servicing customers and bustling from table to table.
“I think we’ve got a sellout crowd,” Braden crowed. The look etched on Piper’s face was priceless. She appeared shell-shocked. He lightly jabbed her in the side. “Smile, Piper. This is exactly what you wanted to happen.”
“I—I never expected this crush of people. It feels a little overwhelming,” she confessed. Braden gently pushed her over the threshold and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Just breathe.”
Jorge, looking a little frazzled, rushed over to them. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see two people in my life. We’re filled to capacity and completely out of pies. People aren’t just ordering slices. They’re buying whole pies and placing orders.” Jorge wiped a hand across his brow. “At this rate we’ll be filling requests all through January.”
Braden let out a celebratory hoot. “That’s amazing news.”
