by Jinty James
“It’s a new coffee beverage, mass produced in a factory in Seattle.” Connor grimaced. “Fred Beldon doesn’t have a clue about coffee – or chocolate – but he thinks he does. And he thinks he’s going to get rich with that swill.”
“I guess you’ve tasted it then?” Suzanne asked.
“Yeah. He visited a lot of the coffee shops offering samples. My boss thought it might be good for business, and we all tried it.” His face split into a grin. “And it was so bad, my boss told us never to speak about it again.”
“If it’s so terrible, why is he sponsoring the competition?” Maddie asked.
Connor shrugged. “Money talks, I guess. And if there wasn’t a sponsor, the competition mightn’t have gone ahead or offered a prize.”
“One thousand dollars is an attractive sum,” Suzanne mused, “along with an entry into the nationals.”
“Yeah,” Connor agreed. “And like I told Maddie, I could really use the money right now. But it depends if my coffee is the best today.” He turned to Maddie. “You looked like you knew what you were doing.”
“Thanks.” She smiled shyly. “Suzanne and I operate a coffee truck in Estherville.”
“It’s one hundred miles from Seattle,” Suzanne put in helpfully. “Maddie makes the coffee, and I’m in charge of the register and making goodies like health balls. Where do you work?”
Maddie hoped Connor didn’t mind the inquisitive question.
“In a hipster coffee shop not far from here. I’m lucky my boss knows his coffee beans, though.” He lowered his voice. “I’ve heard some coffee shops have decided to carry the MochLava because the owners will do practically anything to improve their bottom line – but they don’t realize just how bad the stuff is.”
“Now you’ve got me curious.” Suzanne’s eyes sparkled.
“Taste it and see for yourself.” He motioned to the silver vat.
“Come on, Mads.” Suzanne’s strawberry-blonde ponytail bounced as she headed over to the vat.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Connor chuckled as Maddie passed him.
There were paper cups next to the bubbling vat as well as a long-handled silver spoon.
Suzanne ladled a large spoonful into a cup, then handed it to Maddie. “Drink up.”
“You first.” Maddie doubtfully eyed the liquid concoction. It didn’t smell like good coffee – or chocolate – should. But she had to admit, she was a little curious.
“Ready?” Suzanne held up her own cup, and gently tapped it against Maddie’s.
“Okay.” Maddie took a tentative sip, her eyes widening as the mocha slid down her throat.
Yuck.
Suzanne swallowed, then blinked. “I don’t know if this is better or worse than one of Claudine’s mochas.”
Maddie stifled a giggle. Claudine was their nemesis and owned a coffee shop in Estherville. She was always stopping by their coffee truck and making snarky comments, while Maddie and Suzanne wondered how she stayed in business with her terrible coffee and curmudgeonly personality.
Luckily, there was a trashcan next to the mocha vat and they dumped their semi-full cups into the receptacle.
“Is it that bad?” A soft voice asked from behind them.
“Yep,” Suzanne admitted cheerfully as they both turned around.
A slim girl who appeared to be in her early twenties blushed under their scrutiny, as if surprised at her own courage at asking the question. Maddie recognized her as a fellow competitor – she’d had one of the stations at the back of the room.
“Want some?” Suzanne held out the ladle to her.
“Oh no.” The girl shook her head. “I believe you.” She reminded Maddie of a startled deer.
“I’m Maddie.” Maddie smiled gently.
“And I’m Suzanne,” Suzanne chimed in. “Maddie’s the one competing and I was in the audience.”
“I’m Ellie,” the shy girl replied.
“I love your earrings,” Maddie said, leaning forward as she admired them. Small pink and gold fairies dangled from the girl’s ears, and combined with her white blonde hair complete with wispy bangs, she could almost pass as a fairy herself. Somehow, Maddie suspected her hair was that shade naturally, not skillfully applied in a salon.
“Thanks.” Ellie looked pleased at the compliment. “My little sister said I should wear them for luck.”
“How do you think you’ve done so far?” Suzanne asked curiously.
“I don’t know.” Ellie shrugged. “I didn’t think there would be so many competitors here, but my boss said I should enter.”
“What sort of beans did you use?” Now it was Maddie’s turn to be inquisitive. She knew that to be a competitor today, you had to have won a barista competition, and be somewhat experienced.
“An Ethiopian blend,” Ellie replied. “I love the mellow sweetness and—”
“Ethiopian is one of my favorites.” Connor appeared.
“Really?” Ellie looked surprised.
“Yeah.” Connor smiled at her. “I’m Connor.” He held out a hand to Ellie.
After a second’s hesitation, Ellie shook his hand. “Ellie.”
“Where do you work?” Connor asked.
“At Hannon’s,” Ellie replied. “You probably haven’t heard of it – it’s just a small place.” She seemed to have trouble taking her eyes off his muscular tattooed arms and his nose piercing.
“Are you serious? I go there all the time when I’m tired of making coffee for myself.” He furrowed his brow. “I haven’t seen you there, though.”
“I haven’t seen you there, either.” Ellie blushed as if she thought she was being too forward. “But I’m usually in the back, making the orders.”
“Yeah.” Connor nodded. “The way that place is set up, you’d have a hard time seeing the barista. Where I work is different – the boss wants all the hipsters – and wannabes – to see the coffee being made in front of them.”
“What ...” Ellie swallowed. “What’s your favorite drink at Hannon’s?”
“A long macchiato topped up.”
Ellie’s eyes widened. “Were you there yesterday afternoon? At four o’clock?”
“Yeah.” He grinned.
“You’re him. Not many people ask for that specific drink.”
“You made my coffee yesterday?”
Ellie nodded.
Maddie wondered if she and Suzanne should give them some time alone. It looked like a potential romance was brewing.
But before she could tactfully withdraw, a man in his forties with dark brown hair and a grumpy expression on his face came up to them. He wore a gray shirt with mid-blue buttons rimmed in gold, and black trousers.
“How much longer do you think they’ll take to tabulate the scores?” He jerked his head toward the judge’s table, where the three judges appeared to still be discussing the results of round one.
Connor dragged his eyes away from Ellie and looked at his chunky functional watch. “Probably not too much longer, Brad.”
“I hope not,” the newcomer muttered. He cast a distasteful glance toward the vat of mocha. “Have any of you tried that – slop?”
“Yep.” Suzanne shuddered dramatically.
Maddie nodded.
“More fool you,” he replied. “Everyone who appreciates coffee in this city knows not to touch Fred Beldon’s stuff.” He eyed Maddie and Suzanne skeptically. “I guess you two aren’t from around here.”
“We’re from Estherville,” Maddie replied.
“Where?” He frowned.
“Estherville,” Suzanne said loudly, as if he were hard of hearing. “It’s one hundred miles away.”
“Oh. That explains it.” His brow cleared, as if immediately dismissing them from contention.
Maddie was taken aback by his rudeness. So far, everyone she had met had seemed friendly – even the elegant competitor at the next station to her hadn’t been rude like this man. Everyone apart from the judge, Margot Wheeler ...
&n
bsp; “So how do you think you did?” Connor filled in the silence as he addressed the other man.
“I should get into the second round, no problem,” Brad replied. “This isn’t my first competition, that’s for sure. And—” he tapped his second top button which was a darker blue than the others “—I’m wearing my lucky shirt.” He smirked. “How about you?”
“I hope I make it to the second round,” Connor replied, “but I think there’s some stiff competition today.” He glanced at Maddie and then at Ellie, his gaze lingering on her.
“As long as the judges are fair, I shouldn’t have a problem,” Brad continued, a swift scowl marring his face as he glanced at the judge’s table.
Maddie blinked, not sure if she saw the frown or not.
“Look.” Suzanne nudged her.
Maddie followed her gaze. The three judges got up from the table and headed toward the entrance.
“Do you think they’re going to post the scores now?” Suzanne asked hopefully.
Maddie watched as Margot Wheeler pulled off a large sheet of paper from her clipboard as she walked out of the room.
“Maybe,” Maddie replied, not sure if she wanted to know what her score was. What if she didn’t make it to round two? She and Suzanne had closed the coffee truck today in order to make it to Seattle in time. What if all her weeks of preparation – and nerves – had been in vain?
But spending time with Suzanne – and Luke – would never be a waste of time. And Trixie had seemed interested in the practice sessions, too. The memory of Trixie’s pouting today when Maddie had dropped her off at her mom’s place on the way to Seattle flashed through her mind. It had definitely been a pout, despite Trixie being a cat, not a human.
“Maybe we should go and check it out,” Connor suggested.
“Good idea.” Suzanne smiled, flicking a glance toward the door the judges had just exited.
Ellie nodded.
“Sure. Why not?” Brad agreed.
They trooped through the door. Tacked up on the wall was a list of names.
Maddie’s heart accelerated. Now she would find out if she’d made it through to round two.
“Yes!” Connor sounded gratified. “And look,” she heard him say to Ellie, “you’re in round two as well.”
“Go and see.” Suzanne nudged her.
The others made room for Maddie to study the scores. Each contestant’s name, their badge number, and their scores were posted in order from the highest rank to the lowest. The competitors who had made it through to round two were highlighted at the top of the page.
Maddie Goodwell. Round Two.
Her heart stuttered and she blinked, making sure she hadn’t misread the chart.
She’d made it to the next round – and right now she was in third place overall!
Out of the three scores for her espresso and again for her latte, only one judge had marked her quite low. But the high marks from the other two judges had propelled her to the second round.
Her gaze drifted down the sheet, and she noticed that everyone seemed to have low marks awarded to them for both drinks, from Margot Wheeler. The scores from the other two judges were higher for everyone else, too.
Except ... her elegant neighbor, who had worn the badge with the number three on her blue and silver designer outfit, did not have such low marks from Margot Wheeler. Overall, her score was only one point lower than Maddie’s but the difference between her two high scores and one low score wasn’t as noticeable – her high scores weren’t as high as Maddie’s but her low score wasn’t as low as Maddie’s.
Maddie frowned at the anomaly – did it mean anything?
“Just as well,” she heard Brad growl behind her. He sounded as if he were grinding his teeth. “But there’s no way I should be in eighth place.”
Her eyes scanned the scores once more. His badge number was twenty, and she saw that Brad had made the last spot for round two.
“Oh, good.” The elegant woman who had been her neighbor during round one, glided up.
Maddie stepped aside so she would have plenty of room to study the scores, although Maddie knew she’d placed fourth.
“Yes, I thought so,” the elegant woman continued, a small smile touching her lips. She turned to Maddie. “How did you do?”
Maddie pointed to her name above her neighbor’s. “I made it to the second round.”
The sophisticated woman looked surprised for an instant, then smiled. “Congratulations. I see I just came in after you.” She gestured to the badge marked with a three on her lapel, then held out her hand. “I’m Diana Swift.”
“I’m Maddie,” she replied, shaking the other woman’s hand.
“Do you work as a barista?” Diana Swift asked curiously.
“Yes,” Maddie replied. “My friend and I run a coffee truck in Estherville, one hundred miles away.”
“That sounds very enterprising,” Diana Swift responded. “I only entered this competition as a way to get into the nationals. I’m starting my own chain of coffee shops, and the flagship store will be right here in Seattle.”
“Wow,” Maddie murmured, admiring the other woman’s ambition. She and Suzanne had spoken about expanding with another truck, but had decided the time wasn’t right yet. Diana Swift only looked around five to ten years older than Maddie.
“I have the finance in place and yesterday I signed the lease for the first store,” Diana Swift continued. “But a spot in the nationals will instantly give me credibility and will be a great selling point to customers.”
Maddie nodded. She’d been so focused on practicing – and alternately being flustered and enjoying Luke’s company in her coffee making sessions – that she hadn’t really thought that far ahead. She’d just concentrated on her performance today.
Besides, there was the whole matter that she might be a witch. Ever since she had turned twenty-seven a couple of months ago, the book she’d bought as a child, Wytchcraft for the Chosen, had predicted that a witch came into her full powers at that age. So far, that hadn’t happened. But with every full moon after that birthday, she’d discovered the ability to cast a new spell.
Now, she was able to cast the Tell the Truth spell and the Escape your Enemy spell.
The next full moon was in two days’ time ...
“That sounds very impressive,” Suzanne grinned as she joined them. “Hi, I’m Suzanne, Maddie’s friend and business partner.” She shook hands with Diana Swift. “I’d love to visit your coffee shop when you open.”
“I’ll invite you both to the grand opening,” Diana promised. “Do you have a business card?”
Maddie and Suzanne looked at each other.
“Not yet,” Suzanne replied. “But we will.”
Maddie didn’t think they needed a business card in Estherville, where a lot of people knew who they were and the quality of the coffee they served. Since they were parked in the same spot six days per week, at the town square, their truck was easy to find.
“A business card is essential if you want to be taken seriously,” Diana Swift told Suzanne. “Here, take one of mine.” She plucked a white and silver card from her designer purse. “Call me early next month. I should have the exact date of the opening by then.”
“I will,” Suzanne promised, placing the card in her purse. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you in round two, Maddie.” Diana smiled, then headed down the hall to the main section of the hotel.
“I’m starving,” Suzanne declared. “Let’s get something to eat.”
“I don’t think I could manage anything right now,” Maddie protested, her stomach clenching at the thought of having to compete in round two. At least she’d made it this far. “But I’d love to sit down for a while.”
“Then let’s go.” Suzanne’s ponytail bobbed as she set off. “I spotted a café near the elevators.” She looked at her watch. “We’ve got over an hour before you have to get back here for the next round.”
Maddie followed h
er friend, hoping the café wouldn’t be too crowded. Luckily, there were a couple of tables vacant, and Maddie sat down in a steel chair as Suzanne scanned the menu.
A low hum of conversation filled the space, punctuated with the occasional clatter of cutlery.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Suzanne asked, waving the menu toward Maddie.
“Just a glass of water,” Maddie replied. Although she loved drinking coffee as well as making it, she didn’t think she needed any caffeine right now, even though the floral scent of coffee beans wafted through the space.
“Oh, look,” Suzanne whispered, staring at a corner of the café.
Maddie followed her gaze.
“Isn’t that Fred Beldon, who’s sponsoring the competition?” Suzanne’s voice was hushed.
“Yes,” Maddie replied in a low voice.
“I wonder what he’s doing here?”
“Getting something to eat?” Maddie could see that the blustery man had a big plate of food in front of him.
“Does he really think his mocha drink is going to take off?” Suzanne crinkled her brow. “It tasted pretty bad.”
“I know.” Maddie nodded. “But if he has the right connections ...”
“And enough money,” Suzanne added. “Look at Diana Swift. She’s opening a chain of coffee shops but you’ve beaten her in the competition.”
“So far,” Maddie said cautiously. “There’s still round two.”
“And you’ve got a great chance of winning,” Suzanne said encouragingly. “You’re coming third right now.” Her eyes glinted with curiosity. “Do you know who’s in front of you?”
“Ellie is coming first, and then Connor,” she replied, a smile on her lips.
“No way!” Suzanne giggled. “That’s awesome, except it’s not you in first place. Do you think they’ll—” she glanced around and lowered her voice, although none of the other customers seemed interested in their conversation “—get together?”
“Who knows?” Maddie replied diplomatically, although she was secretly hoping they would. The combination of the big tough guy – although his appearance seemed to belie his personality – with the delicate looking Ellie mightn’t seem to be a good match at first, but Maddie remembered the way the two of them had looked at each other when they’d realized that Ellie had been making Connor’s coffee – for how long? Weeks? Months? Even years? It was like a fairytale romance.
