Chapter 51

• Sadie didn’t say a damn word when Beau came in that morning. Just flicked her eyes up once from the dough she was rollin’ flat, then dropped ‘em like the sight of him didn’t stick in her ribs like it always did.
• He’d stood there ten minutes — big shoulders blockin’ the back door, arms crossed, hat tipped low like he was tryna make himself smaller for her eyes. Didn’t work. She didn’t flinch. Didn’t fuss. Didn’t look.
• When the lunch bell rang soft and the last old couple drifted out with a box of cinnamon twists, he stepped up behind the counter. Big boots thunked that fresh tile she’d threatened him over, voice low enough the hum of the coffeemaker nearly ate it whole.