“And you’re just getting home now? Where’d you go? Georgia?”

“Nope. Main Street.”

Mom cocked her head. “There’s nothing to do there in the middle of the night.”

“Ran into Kelly.”

“Oh? In that case, I guess you’re right on time.” She gave him a crooked grin. “I’ve got coffee made. I’ll pour us both a cup.”

“I’ll come inside.”

He sidled up to the counter next to her and took one of the mugs. “Did Dad already go to work?”

“Oh, yeah. You can still set a clock by him. Up at five. Out of the house at five-thirty on the dot.”

Andrew found that amusing, since not one clock in the kitchen read the same.

She slid a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. “You’re meeting him for lunch today, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’ll probably take a nap before I head over.”

She placed her hands on her hips. “Are you going to small talk me all morning?”

“What do you mean?” he said, but he knew exactly what she was eluding to.

“Are you going to tell me what you were up to all night with Kelly or not?”

He leaned his elbows on the counter. The news of them being together had probably beaten him home. The small town pipeline was swift, if not accurate. “We made a groom’s cake together. It was fun.”

“For Rusty Addams and his fiancé, I bet,” she said. “He’s marrying a real nice girl. He brought her to church a few weeks back.”

He took another long sip of coffee. “Yep. Kelly said he’s a doctor now. Hard to imagine.”

“A good one, from what I hear.” She moseyed closer. “Kelly’s a good one too. Y’all were baking all night long?”

“It’s a big cake.”

“There had to be some talking. Maybe good memories to think about together,” she prompted.

“Sure.”

“I don’t guess I should go hoping you might stick around and see where that goes, should I?”

“No.” He finished off his coffee and put the empty mug in the dishwasher. “If you ask Kelly, I think she’ll tell you that bridge was burned to a crisp. No fixing it.” Only he wasn’t convinced that was the case.

“Let me tell you this. If you still love that girl, don’t lose her again. Women don’t take kindly to getting their hearts broken.” She stepped right in front of him and poked her finger in his chest. “You might have a long row to hoe to earn back her trust, but it can be done. If it was real love all those years ago, it’s still there. I promise you that. Loving your work is not the same as having love in your life. If you love that girl…fight to get her back.”