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Ana is straightening up her stall, organising the many cakes and cookies that her students and their parents alike brought in for the school’s bake sale. The hall is buzzing with light-hearted conversations, laughter and an all-round happy vibe that has a permanent smile stretched across Ana’s face.
“Hey!” she cries, slapping at Kati’s wrist when she sneaks up to the stall and attempts to steal a chocolate muffin. “Those aren’t free.”
Kati pouts. “Awe, c’mon, I’m starving! Michael stole my sandwich, even though I clearly labelled it, and all this food is like some sort of punishment.” She looks up at the ceiling, hands clasped in a praying motion. “Why, God? What have I done to deserve this?”
“Didn’t you take Stacy’s yogurt the other day?”
Her friend sighs, rolling her eyes as though this is something she’s explained multiple times. Actually, it kind of is. “I thought it was mine! How was I supposed to know I left my yoghurt – the exact same one – in my car?”
Ana shrugs, trying (and failing) to hide her smirk. “Still not getting one of those muffins. Jeremey made those. Do you know how hard it was to get him to actually participate in this? He’d flip if he saw you stealing them.”
Kati casts her eyes around the sea of people swarming around the hall. “I don’t see him here.”
“Nobody ever sees Jeremey. He just appears.”
Kati laughs, shaking her head. “Your students are weird.”
Ana pokes her in the chest, tutting. “My students are lovely!” She quickly glances around, checking that nobody else is in earshot before adding, “Okay, well, they’re a little weird but sweet too.”
Kati gives her a look – that same one she gives her whenever Ana reminds her that she actually adores this job – and smiles. Her eyes flicker back down to Ana’s stall, sighing. “At least your kids bake. Half my stuff is shop bought.”
Ana chuckles. “I’m pretty sure most of this is too. Parents just take the cakes out of the original wrappers and try to pass it as their own, like they think I’ve never shopped at Walmart.”
Kati snorts, opening her mouth to say something when her eye lands on something – or, rather, someone – over Ana’s shoulder. Her eyes widen and a smirk stretches at the corner of her mouth. “No way.”
“What?” Ana frowns, spinning on her heels to follow Kati’s line of sight and gasping when she notices a familiar face making his way through the crowd of people, heading straight towards them. He looks uncertain, almost lost, but the moment his eyes find Ana a smile breaks out across his face.
Ana feels herself smiling back, heat rushing to her cheeks and her heart fluttering uncontrollably in her chest. Crap.
She hears Kati snickering behind her and wishes she could reach back and punch her.
“Miss Flores!” Buck says, cheerful as ever, and gestures his head towards the plate of cookies he’s carrying. “I’m a bit late, I know, but Christopher only mentioned the bake sale last night.”
“Oh, it’s just Ana, please.” she tells him, on autopilot, before focusing on the rest of what he said. “Don’t worry about it, most parents don’t usually bother bringing anything anyway.”
Buck looks personally offended by this revelation, scowling down at the cookies in his hand like they were somehow responsible. Ana has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from cooing at the pure adorableness of this man.
“Well,” Buck shrugs, handing the plate over, “I like to do my bit to help out the local community.” He says it as though he’s doesn’t literally travel overseas to fight for this whole country. “They’re just snickerdoodles. The recipe is from Eddie’s abuela so, if you don’t like them I’m not to blame. Although, if I’m being honest, I can’t name a single thing she’s cooked that I don’t love.”
Ana smiles, heart swelling at the look of admiration that crosses over Buck’s face at the thought of Eddie’s abuela. She places the cookies in a spot left on her stall, impressed by how delicious they look and ignoring Kati’s knowing smirk before she turns back to Buck.
“Eddie’s abuela? Isabel, right?”
Buck looks confused for a moment before realisation hits him and he seems to be almost guilty. Ana feels bad, worrying she said something wrong. “You know her. Of course. Sorry, I forget that she helps out when I’m away.”
Ana’s heart aches for him, the pain of leaving behind his family evident in his expression. “She’s a lovely woman, Christopher adores her.”
That, at least, manages to bring that gorgeous smile back to Buck’s face. “He does.” He chuckles. “We all do. She’s amazing. Taught me all the recipes in her cookbook when Eddie and I were engaged, said she had to make sure I fed them well because Eddie can’t cook to save his life.”
That’s a surprise; Ana had Eddie pegged as the sort of dad that could do everything. She stifles a laugh at the image of him struggling to cook.
In all honesty, she never would have expected Buck to be any good at cooking. She guessing that was bad of her to assume, though; just because a guy is in the military shouldn’t mean he doesn’t do housework too.
It makes her wonder what else this man can do.
Buck seems to have finally noticed Kati stood behind the stall and looks apologetic for a spilt-second before he reaches his hand out with another one of his signature smiles. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met? I’m Buck, Christopher Diaz’s dad.”
Kati catches Ana’s eyes as she takes Buck’s offered hand, poorly concealing her amusement. “Hi! You’ve been the talk of the school lately, nobody realised Eddie was married.”
A bark of laughter, deep and joyous and unfairly attractive, escapes Buck and his smile grows impossibly wider. “Oh, God, really? I’m not that interesting, I promise.”
“Oh, I beg to differ.” Kati smirks, causing Buck to laugh again. “How long have you and Eddie been together?”
Ana watches Buck, interested in his answer just as much as Kati. She hadn’t asked when they met because she didn’t want to pry, but she can’t deny that she hasn’t wondered about it. All she knows is that they met in Afghanistan. Buck’s whole expression softens at the thought of his husband, a fond smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he thinks back.
Ana can’t help but feel slightly jealous; she wants someone to get that look on their face when they think about her.
“Man, it must be coming on six years now? It took a while, we’re apparently both very oblivious.” His eyes glint with amusement at the memory, shaking his head as he glances down at his feet. “Actually, uh, Shannon – Christopher’s mother – was the one who made us both realise. I think Eddie’s whole family were convinced that we were already dating. That was a fun Thanksgiving.”
It sounds like a whole story, one that Ana wishes she could hear more of but doesn’t quite have the courage to ask for more details. In all the time Christopher’s been going here, Eddie hasn’t once mentioned Christopher’s mother so she’s always had the impression that it might be a touchy subject. She’s actually pretty surprised that Buck brought her up, without sounding bitter and anything but grateful.
Who knew that two people could have such a past together? Buck and Eddie clearly do.
Her train of though is cut off when a phone rings and Buck scrambles to answer it, holding a finger up to Ana and Kati as he takes a small step back to let a few people browse the stall.
Ana tries not to listen in on his conversation as she serves them but she can’t help it. She’s only human!
It’s hard to make out what he’s saying but his voice is soft and sweet and Ana has no doubt in her mind that he’s talking to Eddie.
“Yeah, I’m here now.” he says, absently twiddling the ring on his finger with a dopey smile on his face. He chuckles at something Eddie says, shaking his head fondly. “You idiot. Okay, I’m on my way now. Tell Bobby I said to chill out, I’ll get his top firefighter there within the hour.”
He’s quiet for a moment before he ducks his head and Ana notices a light blush spreading over his cheeks. He nods, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, I love you too.”
He hangs up, sliding closer to the stall once more.
“Hey, I’ve gotta go. My husband needs a lift to work. So much for being a hero, huh? He can’t even remember to top up the gas in his truck.” He’s rolling his eyes again but there’s not a hint of malice in his words, just affection. Ana smiles.
“No worries,” she tells him, waving him off, “thanks again for the cookies!”
“Don’t mention it.” he says before he’s slipping through the crowd once more, a man on a mission.
Ana sighs, watching him go, before she slumps against the stall.
Kati laughs, patting her on the back. “You’ve got it bad.”
“Tell me about it!” She groans, gesturing in the direction Buck disappeared off in. “The guy’s perfect; tall, handsome, sweet and he bakes!” She reaches out to take one of the snickerdoodles, taking a bite out of it and holding back a moan. “They’re delicious!”
“Hey, if I can’t steal food neither can you!”
Ana rolls her eyes, shoving the rest of the cookie in her mouth. “Shut up.”