for 1:00 p.m., our guests should start stirring soon.”
“You’re right,” Ivy said, letting her hands linger in his. “It’s been so nice spending the morning with you.”
“Someday, it will be like this every day,” he ventured, imagining the future that lay before them. “I’m not rushing you, though.”
“And I appreciate that.” She gazed up at him, seemingly in no hurry to leave.
Bennett liked that, and he could have taken all her time, but she needed to tend to her business. He pulled back. “I’ll send you upstairs with a second cup of coffee.”
“You’re an angel.”
“Why, yes, I am,” he said with a wink. “Your angel, Ivy Bay.”
She pressed her hands against his chest. “That makes me feel pretty safe.”
A warm feeling filled him, and he tucked her hair behind her ears. “As long as I’m around, you are. I know you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and everyone else under this roof, but I like to watch out for you and lend a hand—when you’ll let me.”
“I like the idea of partners moving together through time. Sometimes we dance together, sometimes apart, but always together at the end of the dance.”
Bennett twirled her around and swept her into his arms. “Like that?”
Ivy smiled. “Just like that.”
Behind them, the coffee pot beeped. Bennett gave Ivy one last hug before pouring a large cup for her and pressing it into her hand.
“I’ll be back soon,” Ivy said, carrying her cup toward the door. “And don’t let that bacon burn.”
Bennett picked up his spatula and watched her go. He put on another batch of bacon and drained fresh coffee into a tall, insulated vacuum flask. They would need regular, decaffeinated, and the house specialty with vanilla and cinnamon.
The back door banged open. Bennett looked up; he made a mental note to fix that door. “Hey, Mitch.”
“With the big party here, I thought I’d bring the pastries early.” Mitch carried in two large pastry boxes.
“Not surfing today?”
“I’m still feeling a little beat up.” Mitch glanced around. “You’re on breakfast duty?”
“Ivy is getting ready, so I thought I’d pitch in.”
Mitch slid the baked goods onto the long counter in the center of the room. Shifting from one foot to another, he touched his bandage. “That accident sure made me do some heavy thinking.”
Bennett was grinding the next batch of coffee beans. When the noisy racket stopped, he prepared the next pot and tapped a button. “About what?” he asked, shifting back to the bacon.
Mitch ran a hand self-consciously over his spiky blond hair. “Life.”
“That’s a big little word.”
“Yeah,” Mitch said, snagging a slice of crisp bacon from a plate. “I’ve lived my life as a big kid for a long time.”
“I don’t know if I’d agree with that. You’re running two businesses that you started. You had to grow up fast.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Mitch eased onto a stool. “I’ve been letting fear keep me from having honest, adult relationships. What happened to me as a kid isn’t who I am.”
Bennett listened. “Coffee?” he asked.
“Sure. I’ll have another.”
Bennett poured a cup for Mitch and sat across from him. “Sounds like you’ve been doing a lot of work with your therapist.”
“He’s a good guy with a lot of insights,” Mitch said. “Seems what I’ve been feeling isn’t uncommon for people like me who were knocked around as kids. He also said I’m very resilient.”
“I would agree with that,” Bennett said.
“When I came to after almost being hit, I had some troubling thoughts.” Mitch touched the bandage over his eye again. “I realized I don’t want to die without living life. I don’t want to miss out because I’m afraid of being hurt—or hurting someone else.”
“Being aware of that potential is a huge step.”
Mitch nodded. “I also wanted to be honest with Shelly about how my folks treated me. We talked about my fear that I could fall into the intergenerational abuse trap.” He quirked his mouth to one side. “I know, big words from me, right?”
“You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for.” Bennett had tried to imagine what it might have been like to have grown up as Mitch did. Besides the physical abuse, never hearing encouragement or reinforcement and being inundated with hateful, debilitating messages must have been devastating for him. Seeing how far Mitch had come made Bennett admire him even more. “So you’re planning on telling Shelly?”
“I already did,” Mitch said with a small smile. “That was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. It was that night