More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [34]
“Hi, Addy,” she called out once they were closer to the stand.
The older gray-haired woman behind the counter smiled broadly and walked around to give her an enthusiastic hug and Aidan an inquisitive look.
“And this would be?” Addy asked as she shook Aidan’s hand.
“Aidan. I’m Elizabeth’s new bartender.”
Once again, Addy’s look was speculative as it passed from Aidan and back to her, but she ignored it. “What do you have for me today?”
Addy grabbed her hand and nearly dragged her over to the counter. “The goat cheese is out of this world today and the husband just finished up a batch of mozzarella,” she said and motioned to the samples spread out on the table.
Elizabeth first tasted the goat cheese. Creamy, with a full-bodied flavor. She scooped up another bit on a cracker and offered it up to Aidan, who had come to stand beside her.
He opened his mouth and she popped it in. After chewing, he nodded emphatically. “That’s good.”
Next, they sampled the mozzarella. Still warm from the vats where it was prepared, the cheese had a rich creamy flavor, milder than the goat cheese and with a firmer consistency. She smiled at Addy to show her approval and said, “I’ll take a dozen each of both these cheeses if you have that many. Only, I’m not headed straight back to town. I could pick them up tomorrow….”
Addy waved off her suggestion. “Not to worry, luv. My George has to pop into town during the morning, so he can drop them off.”
“Thanks so much. In the meantime, we’ll need something for a picnic lunch. How about the…” She glanced over at Aidan and waited for him to make the selection.
He shrugged, seemingly unsure at first, but then he pointed to the goat cheese.
“Great choice,” she confirmed, and Addy quickly wrapped up a round of the cheese in some grape leaves, dropped it into a bag, and passed it to Aidan to carry.
“You two have a nice day now,” the older woman called out as they returned to the car.
Aidan tucked the bag into the space behind the front seats that arguably passed for a back seat. It brought a memory to Elizabeth of her and Dani crammed onto that narrow leather bench as young girls while her family did the hedge veg together.
She was smiling as she eased behind the wheel and Aidan must have noticed it, for he said, “Penny for your thoughts.”
“Only a penny?” she teased, starting up the car and steering it back onto the main road.
Aidan examined her face carefully, wondering what had put that enigmatic smile there. It was a smile filled with pleasure, but also with a hint of…nostalgia. Surprisingly, he knew the thought wasn’t one about him, although how he could read her that well, he didn’t know.
Or maybe she was just acting once again. She was the Sparrow after all. Or at least, that’s what he forced himself to remember.
The next stop was barely a few miles away: a farmhouse where the yeasty aromas of fresh-baked bread wafted all the way to the roadside. As before, there was a stand and this time, a few other patrons were already lined up for the homemade wares.
Just as at the other location, the older woman behind the counter was clearly pleased to see Elizabeth, but then again he told himself, why wouldn’t she be glad to see someone who was probably a good customer? Although, as with Addy, there appeared to be something more personal there, which was confirmed when at one point, the two women stepped to the side and Elizabeth eased her arm over the older women’s shoulders.
A more serious discussion obviously ensued. Definitely one that wasn’t about the assortment of breads and rolls the woman had for sale. At the end of the conversation, the two exchanged an emotion-packed hug before returning to the stand where the woman placed a number of different rolls in a brown paper bag.
Elizabeth paid her, grabbed the bag and handed it to him. “So I’m the bag man, is that it?”
She grinned at him