Heaven's Kiss

“Well…”

“You have friends here, Luc. Blessing folks would love an opportunity to wish you happy birthday and share in your special day, especially after all you’ve done for them in that clinic.”

“I guess I’m not really into sharing,” he muttered, embarrassed by her soft remonstrance.

“I wonder why that is.”

“Why what is, Dani?” Miss Winifred waltzed through the door, her face beaming. She glanced from Dani to Luc, then shrugged. “Thank you so much for minding the store, my dears. I’ve had a word with Furly and the rift is mended. I’ll make a special note to watch my cantankerous tongue from now on, you can be sure.”

Her curious stare moved from Luc to Dani, then back to Luc, her forehead pleated in a frown of contemplation.

“Have I missed something?”

Dani shot to her feet. “Not a thing, Miss Win. Luc’s going out to a patient’s house to drop off some medicine. I’m going to show him the way. I popped three meat pies in the oven to warm. Hope you don’t mind?”

“Of course not. Are you headed out to Gordon Potter’s?”

Luc stood, shook his head in disbelief. How did these women know this stuff?

“I’m hoping you are because I made a banana loaf for him today. I don’t make them often, but yesterday Dr. Darling mentioned something to the druggist about a refill while I was in there. I meant to phone him.”

“We’ll take it.” Dani prodded Luc with her elbow. “Won’t we, Doc?”

“What? Sure.” We? He’d intended to make a quick trip out, to drop off the pills and something to eat for the man who shared his birth date. He hadn’t intended the whole town to get in on the act. “I’d also like you to box up that small chocolate cake. I’ll take it along too.”

“Is it Gordon’s birthday?” Miss Winifred checked a large white calendar on her wall and nodded. “Yes, it is. I’d forgotten that. Thank you for thinking of it, Luc. Gordon loves chocolate. Just let me write on it, okay?” She picked up a tube of bright yellow icing and wrote across the cake. “There now.”

“Hey, Doc, why don’t you pick up that milk and those salads from the store and meet me back here? It will take a few minutes to wrap up those pies so they don’t get cooled off on the way out.”

“No, it won’t. I have—”

Dani began coughing loudly so that the rest of Miss Winifred’s words were drowned out. He didn’t need his medical degree to know it was a fake cough.

“Go ahead, Doc,” Dani said huskily, patting her chest. “I’ll meet you back here. We’ll take my truck. The road out there isn’t great.”

And what was new about that? Luc wondered. None of the side roads around Blessing were in great condition.

“Fine. It will only take me five minutes,” he warned.

“That’s great.”

He glanced from Dani to Miss Winifred, trying to decipher the strange looks passing between the two. It was no use. He’d never been good at figuring out that unspoken stuff. He pulled open the door and stepped outside.

By the time he returned to the Blessing Bakery, considerably longer than five minutes had elapsed. It was as if everyone in the small grocery store had conspired to delay him by chatting about the most inconsequential things. Luc shoved open the door, and stopped short when Dani’s head popped up and Miss Winifred stopped midsentence.

“Are you ready?” he asked when no one said anything.

“Ready?” Dani frowned.

“Of course she is, Lucas. We just got gabbing and lost sight of the time. I’ll pack those pies into my new Styrofoam boxes and they’ll stay warm as toast.” Miss Winifred bustled away, humming a little tune as she worked in the back room.