Free With Every Breath by Niecey Roy Page B

Jaden, then sat down across from her. “So, why the unplanned visit?”
    Jaden lifted a pastry for a bite. “Mia. She sounded stressed on the phone and was very evasive when I asked her about it.”
    Hillary sat down across from her. Watching Jaden bite into the roll, she said, “She’s always stressed these days.”
    Jaden chewed, her mouth an explosion of nostalgia. She hadn’t had a kolache since high school. “This is amazing. Have they always been this good or has it been too long since I’ve eaten one?”
    “If you can’t remember then it’s been too long.” The pride in her face was adorable. “It’s a new dough recipe, but I also Hills-upped my fillings.”
    “These are the best I’ve ever had.” She went in for another bite. “Mmm. I’m not exaggerating. Just don’t tell your grandma. She’d throttle me.”
    Her eyes warming, she said, “You’re probably right. She’s still the reigning Kolache Queen, but she didn’t enter this year. I’m in the finals.”
    “Will it even be a competition with you there?” Jaden licked her fingers and eyed the remaining roll. Of course she’d eat it, who knew when she’d enjoy another one of Hillary’s masterpieces? She picked up the roll. “So will your grandma crown you when you win?”
    With a laugh, Hillary placed her hands on the tabletop and stood. “Nothing so glamorous. It’s a ribbon, but she’ll award me with if it if I win.” She glanced over her shoulder, and said, “You should stop by the ceramic shop while you’re here. Grams would love that. She’s always asking about you.”
    “Really?” Jaden plucked a napkin from a ceramic basket in the middle of the table. “I should. I always loved going there.” Wiping her hands, she smiled. “Not that I was any good at it.”
    “Hey, we still have a shelf dedicated to our ceramics in her shop. You can pick Mia’s ceramics out pretty easily—hers aren’t crappy like ours.”
    “Don’t tell her that or she’ll get a big head.”
    She turned with a mug of coffee in one hand and a glass of iced water in the other. “So you came all this way—do you still think there’s something wrong with Mia?”
    Heaving out a sigh, Jaden tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “She’s overbooked, but I don’t think that’s it. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something going on with her and David.” She leaned back into her seat when Hillary set the coffee cup down. “Or maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know.”
    Hillary produced a straw from the front pocket of her apron and handed it to Jaden. “Well, if her and David are fighting, she’d keep that to herself. He’s an ass—we all know it. But Mia loves him. At least, I think she thinks she loves him.” She rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling and sat down. “At least he’s working now.”
    “A year—it’s a record.”
    “I really don’t know why he waited so long to join his dad’s insurance agency. It’s not as though he had to apply to get hired. Instead, he was unemployed for a year, stayed home and ate cheese puffs and watched the sports network all day.”
    “I don’t know why she puts up with him.” It was exasperating. Mia was a strong, self-sufficient woman who took care of an overgrown, spoiled man-child. “He left on a business trip yesterday.”
    “He’s a crop adjuster or something to do with farm insurance.” She waved her hand. “I can’t remember.”
    Jaden sucked water through the straw and washed down the drink of coffee she’d swallowed. It was stronger than she was used to, and she didn’t normally drink black coffee. “Mia mentioned a night out at the cabin. We should go out there tonight and tell her to meet us. She mentioned the wedding reception she’s at is over with at eleven, so we could have the cabin, snacks and drinks all ready by the time she got there. Drinks, campfire, music.” Ever since Cole mentioned the cabin yesterday, Jaden couldn’t get the place out of her