The near and the dear ones

 It was good catching up with KC. Mercer met KC's girlfriend Millie (they'd spent most of the holiday with her parents) but after Christmas, they asked if he wanted to join the rest of the gang at the Coffee Shop after hours. Maddie wanted to celebrate her engagement to Boone even if it was a foggy and misty night.

Naturally, Boone made the food, omelets, and French toast with lots of fruit. The menu might have been small, but it was tasty and included plenty of good coffee.

Mercer chatted with Harley and Rain along with a few people he hadn't seen in ages, like Brooklyn who was no longer at the University. She'd somehow ended up with the horse stable out in Plattsmouth, against her parent's wishes, and she was making a go of it.

"So what about you and Cade?" Brooklyn asked. After all, she wasn't with her boyfriend from the University anymore who was a teammate of Izzy's ex-boyfriend. 

"Oh, you know, some things just can't be set in stone," he shrugged.

Brooklyn understood. "But you two were so cute together."

It gave Mercer a chuckle. He'd never thought the two of them cute. Although, he'd been sad a lot of Christmas even if he came home to spend time with his Mom and Dad. He felt so alone and wished he was back at the University keeping busy.

He'd even had a checkup with a specialist in Omaha who had been there since the beginning of his epilepsy. Mercer checked out fine, which kind of shocked him. He knew he had to be thankful for that, but he was cautious of his diet. It was mostly a plant-based diet, with no processed foods. 

Still, he wondered how it would be if he were with Cade. What else would have gone wrong? 

Just as he was thinking of leaving early, he knew no one would miss him, in waltzed Rafe with Ruby. Oh, they had news to tell everyone. And they both seemed to be past having enemies, at least at the moment. 

Ruby would have a baby in late August. They both might as well have been walking in the clouds. Mercer smiled but felt a little sad. He doubted Rafe said much to him, but he gave Mercer a hug soon enough. 

"You'll always be this baby's uncle," Rafe told him. 

Mercer tried to smile, but suddenly he felt a lump of raw emotion in his throat. He could not speak.

"It's not because of Cade, you were always a better brother to me than Cade ever was," Rafe looked him in the eye and put his arm around Mercer. 

 Rafe yelled to Maddie to get out the pie. He was buying pie for everyone.

No one knew where Cade might be, and Mercer wouldn't ask. He wanted to pass on the coconut cream pie, but he was served first.