in this lifetime.
Ben snatched his vibrating phone from beneath his pillow, grumbling as he glanced at the display. Four in the morning. He caught a whiff of the fresh coffee wafting in the air. That was one thing that would get his ass out of bed.
On second thought… He pressed his face to the pillow with a sigh. Would five more minutes really be that bad? Damn this bed was comfortable.
The bed dipped, then settled.
Prying open an eye, he glanced at Gabriel through his sleep-hazed vision—that sexy bedhead mess of hair, all that tan skin begging to be touched, and that damn manipulative dimple.
Okay, maybe there were two things that would get his ass out of bed this early. He raised his head from the pillow and sat up in bed. “Why am I so tired?” he signed, then took the mug of steaming coffee from Gabriel.
“You got a lot of sun yesterday. That can tire you out if you’re not used to it.”
He sipped his coffee, hoping the caffeine would jump-start him into his new morning ritual and help his brain catch up to the conversation. Yesterday… He hadn’t expected to spend more than a few minutes in the sand, just enough time to spur Wyatt on so he wouldn’t give up. But the look in the boy’s eyes had made Ben stay. He recognized that deep-seated grief. He remembered how lost he had felt and how much he had hated the world during that time when his own father had passed away.
Gabriel stroked his cheek, pulling him away from his thoughts. “It’s a good thing you didn’t burn.”
He nodded as he took another sip of coffee. The only reason he hadn’t cooked himself something fierce yesterday had been because of Gabriel’s always watchful eye. Midway during their sand construction, a shadow had cast across the structure. When Ben had looked up, there had been Gabriel, with a T-shirt in one hand and another bottle of water in the other.
Gabriel took his mug and set it on the nightstand. “C’mon,” he said, pulling back the sheets. Ben shook his head as Gabriel nodded.
“You need to get up,” Gabriel signed. “Nat wants you at the bakery to help with prep and I know you want to be there for that.”
Fine, three reasons to justify getting out of bed this early. With a smile, Ben rose from bed and got ready for his first full day of work as a free man.
Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling into the narrow alley behind the bakery and into a parking spot. The instant Ben saw the blue door with the painted frame, he hopped out of the SUV and waited by the entrance.
“She’s supposed to give you a key today,” Gabriel signed. With the aid of the light from his SUV’s headlamps, Gabriel inserted his own key into the lock.
Ben frowned as he made his way inside and toward the storefront, flipping on the various light switches. It wasn’t like Nat to be late. He returned to the back, finding Gabriel with his phone to his ear. After the various “okays” and “yeahs,” Ben figured deciphering the one-sided conversation would be damn near impossible. He suspected it would be either Natalie with a car issue or a business associate in crisis from a different time zone.
Gabriel clipped his phone back into his case. “Nat thinks she’s coming down with something, so she won’t be in. We can either shut down the shop today or run it ourselves. What do you want to do?”
Ben leaned back against the large table. “Is that really a question?” He bit back a smile as Gabriel scrubbed his face with his large hand.
“Okay.” With Gabriel’s easygoing nature, Ben was pretty sure he could ask Gabriel to do just about anything and would likely get an agreement without much of an argument. “Are you good on your own for an hour or two with all the prep? I’ve got to run a few errands. I figured it’s best to get it out of the way now before the shop opens.”
The prep work was as therapeutic for him as baking. He had been excited to share the work with Gabriel, but now, he was more curious than anything. Lowering his brow, Ben wondered how many places were open this early and what the heck Gabriel had planned for errands at this time. He cocked his head, waiting for Gabriel to continue.
“Home improvement place doesn’t open for another two hours,” Gabriel