by Renee George
Her upper lip curled in disdain. At least, that’s how I read it. She gazed pointedly at my mid-section then glanced down her svelte form.
“Why not,” she said, pulling the pie across the counter. She picked up a fork from the silverware cups, scooped some pie up, and took a big bite. “Good.” She sniffed, as if she’d had better, but was being polite. “I’m lucky,” blondie said, taking another bite. “I can just eat and eat, and it never goes to my hips.”
Oh, look, she shifts into a bitch. What a surprise.
I grabbed a pen and calculated the cost of the pie on a pad near the register. “That’ll be $4.78.”
Billy Bob pulled out his wallet. “It’s on me, Chav. Bethany is the Arkansas vulpes representative on the council. I’m showing her around town today.”
Vulpes meant she was a fox. And here I was hoping she was a werecow. But no, a fox! Could it get any more cliché? Ugh. And the way she fawned over Billy Bob, I swear if Bethany had been full of sunshine and rainbows they’d be shooting out of her eyeballs and her ass. She squeezed his arm harder and leaned closer to his body. “Thank you, William.”
The pen in my hand snapped. William? William! Seriously? My temple throbbed with my quickening heartbeat. I couldn’t believe she called him William. Nobody did that. I could see his own smile falter, but he turned up the charm. “You’re welcome, Bethany.”
So beguiling. So handsome. So frustrating! Ack! I snarled. The noise started in my chest and rumbled through my teeth and nose.
“Did you say something, Chav?” he asked. I swear I heard laughter in his voice.
I gritted my teeth. “Nope.” I wanted to bite him and not in a sexy way.
He patted blondie’s hand, the one permanently attached to his arm. He nodded to me. “Bethany will be leading the talks on therianthropic acclimation and normalization for new community members.”
When I didn’t respond, because a) I didn’t care, and b) I didn’t care, he added, “Bethany, this is Chavvah Trimmel. She used to be an integrator, but she’s now a welcome addition to the town.”
“Trimmel. Are you related to the mayor?” Bethany asked.
“He’s my brother.”
“Chavvah owns the restaurant with Sunny.” Billy Bob gestured to Sunny.
“Sunny Trimmel,” I said. “My sister-in-law. Married to the mayor. My brother.” Just in case Billy Bob forgot she was married.
He smirked. “Chav and Sunny will be making all the vegetarian food for the banquet on Saturday night.”
Great. I had been outed as an outsider and then relegated to mere caterer. “Did you want anything to go?” So you can just go, I mentally added.
“No,” he said. “Just… Well, it doesn’t matter.” He waved his hand. “I’ll see you around.”
He turned on his heel, Bethany double-timing her steps to stay glued to his side. He didn’t even stop to say bye to Sunny. Huh.
The lunch crowd dwindled, giving me space and time from Billy Bob’s visit. I took pleasure in scrubbing the counters, as long as I didn't look too hard at the scars on my hands. Through some of the toughest times in my life, I've always been able to smile. My mother said I was a happy baby—the easiest of all her kids. I was the monkey in the middle between my two brothers, but since I was the only girl, it was easy to feel special. I used to be a happy person. Damn it. I am a happy person.
I am a happy person.
Staring at the spaces between my fingers, I let my hand go out of focus as I rubbed the counter in a circular motion. I forced my lips into a smile.
“Earth to Chav.” Robbin Clubb, the local bookstore owner, was standing at the end of the counter with her wallet out. Next to her, Sharrall, her cousin, a were-mountain lion like Robbin, waited patiently for me to attend them.
Rushing over, I smiled and rang up her order. “Two hummus salad sandwiches with micro-greens and herbed soy cream cheese with two bags of home-fried sweet potato chips.”
I was always surprised how many carnivores really loved our vegetarian food.
“Thanks, Chavvie,” Sharrall said.
Robbin and Sharrall exited just as Ed Thompson, owner of Doe-Run Automotive and my friend Ruth's husband, walked in. He was a handsome man, even if a bit soft in the middle. I imagined Ruth’s pies had a lot to do with the extra fluff. He had blond hair, the color of beach sand and dark brown eyes. They were wide and large, but not so much he looked like an alien. Typical for weredeer.
“Anywhere?” he asked, indicating a nearby booth.
“Sure, Ed.”
Jo Jo was in a back booth, legs up on the bench, folding napkins and filling salt and pepper shakers. Our Jo Jo used to hang with a rowdy crowd, but over the last several years, he’d really matured into a responsible young man. I really didn’t know what Sunny and I would do if it weren’t for his help. Still, I wasn’t sure if Ed would approve of the tattooed and pierced young man, especially since it appeared Jo Jo was dating Michele, one of Ed’s older daughters.
I crossed the restaurant and smacked his size twelve combat boots hanging off the side of the padded bench. “Feet down, Jo Jo. You're on break, not at a day spa.” I nodded to where Ed sat. “Besides, you got a customer.”
My young friend scrambled up when he saw Ed and straightened his half-apron before walking over to take the deer-shifter’s order.
Speaking of spas…oh, what I wouldn't have given at that moment to be at a day spa. There wasn't much I missed about living in California, but I did miss the pampering. I supposed we could drive to the city for a girl’s day, but the restaurant required constant work. I looked at my bright red, shapely nails and had to admit, Dolly, who owned the local beauty shop, gave a mean manicure.
Mike Rogers, the owner of Grizzly Hardware, and yep, you guessed it, a bear shifter, walked in, his shoulders rounded forward, his mouth set in a grim line. He looked around for a second, spotted his target and headed straight for Ed. His dark brown hair was disheveled, and he held his meaty hands in tight fists.
Jo Jo yelped with surprise as Mike shoved him aside. I grabbed Jo Jo to stop him from getting involved then put myself between the nineteen-year-old and possible danger. My pulse sped up, and the voice I’d been hearing since my kidnapping, said, Keep calm. You will not be harmed.
The voice had kept me sane, kept me strong. It had been a coping mechanism according to Sunny and her pop psychology, a way to not be alone during the darkest hours of my life. Mike looked ready for a fight, and he’d probably triggered my imaginary friend. The voice seemed to pop up during times of extreme stress, pain, or fear. Right now, stress and fear were featuring prominently in my emotions. I was sure Ed could take care of himself, but I’d seen Mike lose his cool before.
At the town council meeting, he was one of the few people who wanted to tell the Tri-Council about Sunny being human. In fact, she was the only human in town, or at least, the only non-shifter. Since she was psychic, I didn’t really know for sure if she was like a normal human. Since the baby, her gifts had been more miss than hit. Luckily, Mike had been voted down, but I didn’t trust him not to blab. Babe and our town could be in a whole lot of trouble if the powers-that-be found out Sunny wasn’t a therian. Damn it.
“You need to take this outside, Mike.” I waved my hands. “Whatever this is.”
“Ed here has recommended to the street vendors to get their hardware supplies at ACME in Lake Ozarks. He’s been telling people I’m price gouging.”
Ed didn’t bother to stand up. “You’ve marked your prices up significantly this past week, Mike.”
Mike’s full cheeks puffed up red. “What business is it of yours?”
“I’m one of the town liaisons for the Tri-Council, and I told you two days ago that if you didn’t lower your inflated prices, this would be the result.”
“I won’t have you tearing down my good name, Ed. I won’t have you damaging my business reputation.”
Ed turned his gaze up to Mike. “You’ve done that to yourself.”
<
br /> Mike tried to lunge for Ed, but I got between them, barely holding him off, and thankful he hadn’t thrown a punch.
“Get out of here.” I pushed harder against him, glad that Sunny had ducked into the kitchen. This man is a coward. He will not act. The voice in my head tried to reassure me, but I didn’t want to take the chance. “Leave now before I call the sheriff.”
Mike leaned in, his finger shaking as he pointed to Ed. “I’ll see you rot for this, Ed Thompson. You haven’t heard the last from me.” He eased up, turned around, and walked out angrier than when he’d walked in.
“Holy crap.”
“I’m sorry that happened here, Chav,” Ed said.
“Me too,” I told him. Fights in Sunny’s Outlook were bad for business. Not to mention, my sanity. “Jo Jo, finish taking Ed’s order.”
You did well, sister.
Thanks, I told my imaginary friend. Everything is good now. You can get out of my head.
The dinner crowd hit hard about five-thirty. The omnivores and herbivores seemed to really like our Thursday specials of avocado and cucumber spring rolls and the roasted veggie wraps. The soup of the day was split pea, and the scent, thick and sweet, clung in the air. The soup made a great dipping sauce, too.
I'd be a happy-tired at closing time when I cashed out the drawers. Especially since the restaurant needed new drains and pipes. The old drains kept flooding, and it was a pain the ass to keep the sump pump running all the time—not to mention the extra cost on the electric bill as a result.
Yep, the Jubilee was good for business. The whole town felt a real sense of pride that Tri-State Council had decided to hold their annual mucky-muck celebration in Peculiar.
I glanced at Sunny, who’d just delivered an order to a table of four. There were times over the past couple of years when I had debated on whether I should bring her to Peculiar from California. I’ll admit, seeing her and my younger brother Babe so happy made me simultaneously thrilled and nauseous at times, but I know I made the right call.
I really hoped she could get through the week without making waves with the visiting therians. The town might have accepted her as an official member of the community, but it didn't mean the outsiders would. For now, I hoped we could keep Sunny’s “humanness” a secret. The only way to truly tell a shifter was the see him or her shift. Sunny would need to stay hidden somewhere on the last day of the Jubilee when the full moon occurred—and every therian shifted whether they wanted to or not.
“Chavvie?” Jo Jo interrupted my train of thought. “Can I get off a little early tonight?”
“Got a hot date?”
“No.” He blushed an amazing shade of pink. “It's just…well, I'd like to get a few groceries before I go home. Maybe show off my new mad cooking skills tonight.”
His dad had been sober going on nine or ten months, but the kid was in a constant state of worry whether Brady would relapse. They lived on a property close to Judah’s cabin where Sunny and Babe now lived. I’d taken over the tiny apartment above the restaurant. Sunny had made a good start of making it livable before she moved out. I’d gotten rid of all the old furniture and replaced it with a more coastal design or what Ruth liked to call modern beach rustic.
Jo Jo had stayed with me for a month while Brady had gotten sober. Now that he wasn't under my feet in the tiny apartment I called home, well, I missed the boy. I understood his fears about his dad, so I let him off the hook.
“Yeah, I can close by myself tonight.” Sunny only worked token hours in the afternoon, now that she had a baby to take care of at home. But with Jo Jo gone, it was going to be a much longer night than I planned.
Jo Jo stood up, the top of his head nearly four inches above mine. He kissed my cheek. “Thanks, Chavvie. You're the best.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I told him. “Go peddle your charm where it might do you some good.”
Ed Thompson finished the last sip of his coffee, put a dollar on the table, and limped to the cash register.
“Did you hurt yourself, Ed?” I asked as he counted exact change for his lunch.
“Just a catch in my step is all. Weather's gonna turn bad, I think.”
It was the beginning of July, and the weather in Missouri fluctuated day to day, so I didn't have to be a psychic to predict it, I just knew change was inevitable. They had a saying in the state that went something like, “If you don't like the weather, stick around five minutes, it'll change.”
“Do you think you could look at my car, Ed? It keeps making a clicking noise.”
“Sure, Chav. Bring it on over anytime.”
“If I get it to you tomorrow morning, when could you have it done?”
“Could be a timing problem. Unless it’s something that I have to order parts for, no later than Friday.”
“Sounds good.”
Ed nodded, and with a wink and a smile, headed out. The doorbell jangled again, three men walked in. The first man had short brown hair, about two weeks overdue for a haircut, so it curled over his ears. He was tall, well built, and his green eyes shined like peridots framed by thick dark lashes. The second of the men was thin and wiry, nice-looking in his own way, with blue eyes, red hair, and freckles. The third, a dark blond with brown eyes was built like an Olympic swimmer with a broad chest, narrow hips, and long, muscular arms. All three came to the register.
“Can I get you gentlemen a table?” I asked.
“No,” said the man with pale green eyes. “We need some sandwiches and coffee to go.”
“Cream and sugar?”
The redhead piped up. “Yes, for me.”
“Only sugar,” the dark blond said.
“I’ll take mine black,” the green-eyed man said.
“And what sandwiches?” I pulled out my order pad and held up a pen, ready to write.
“Jackfruit burger with jalapeños.”
“Your California roll with extra avocado.”
“I’ll take the roasted red pepper panini with cream cheese.”
“Chips and a dill pickle spear all around?”
Each man nodded. They stood off to the side. I asked Jo Jo get the coffees, and I went back to the kitchen to make the sandwiches. Ten minutes later, I carried the order, wrapped and ready to go to the register.
The dark blond with the brown eyes leaned close. “Mmm. Those smell good.”
I put the sandwiches into a bag, added three servings of homemade potato chips and three baggies with a dill pickle spear each, napkins, and plastic silverware. Jo Jo arrived with three coffee to-go cups.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“Your name,” the blond said.
I looked up, startled by the question. He had the hint of a smile on his wide mouth, and I noticed tiny gold flecks in his brown eyes that almost glittered like…well, glitter.
“Chavvah,” I said. “Are you all with the council or just in early for the Jubilee?”
Brown eyes made some very direct eye contact, and his smile grew wider. “I’m Randy Lowry. My father is the head of the council. I’m just a humble handyman.” He pointed to the redhead. “That’s Hans Fisk. Council member representing the big cats of Arkansas.” He jerked his thumb at the good-looking guy with pale green eyes. “And that guy is Dominic Tartan. He’s a friend of Thomas Decker, one of the Missouri Reps.”
Dominic stepped up and held out his hand. “Enough about us,” he said when I gave his hand a shake. “I’d like to know more about you. Like when do you get off work?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. One, he was very cute. And two, I’d spent the last eight months with people seeing me as damaged goods. It was really nice to have a man look at me like a woman and not a victim. “Considering I own the place, not until it closes.”
“I’d love to have a drink or something if you’re interested.”
“Tartan!” Randy Lowry said grinning. “Dude. You stole my thunder.”
Dominic laughed, and I liked the ease of him. “Snooze, you lose, Lowry.�
�� He winked at me.
I shook my head and smiled. “Not tonight. I’m beat.” I took pleasure in his disappointment. God, how I wished Billy Bob were in the restaurant now! Oh, my God. I did not just think that. Ack! “But I’ll be available Sunday afternoon if you’d like to get a bite to eat down at Blonde Bear Café?”
Dominic grinned. “It’s a date, Chavvah.”
I cast a coy glance his way as he turned to leave. “Looking forward to it,” I said softly. He stopped, turned back, and smiled.
“I have a date,” I said out loud after they left. Suddenly, my stomach felt squidgy, and I resisted the urge to run after Dominic and cancel.
After seven, the place was nearly empty. I walked to Sunny, who’d put her feet up in one of the booths. I put my hands on her shoulders and rubbed. “Why don’t you go home, hon? It’s been a long day, and I don’t expect them to get any shorter this week. I’ll finish cleaning up.”
She reached across her large, ballooning breasts and patted my hand. “I suppose you’re right. Besides, I need to get home and empty these suckers before they explode.” She gave me a wry look. “Again.” She sighed. “I should have pumped before the dinner crowd, but we’ve just been too busy.” She handed me a wad of bills from her half-apron. “Some really great tips today.” She put her finger to her temple as if she were getting a vision. “I see new drains in our future.”
“Woo hoo.” I knew her visions had been scarce since giving birth to Jude. I think it bothered her more than she let on. “If you say it, it must be true.”
“You don’t have to say that.” She grabbed her boobs with both hands. “Noooo,” she whined.
I looked at her chest, it was hard not to, and damn, and the front of her pink top was soaked. “You’re leaking all over the place. You need to start wearing nursing pads or something.” She complained they gave her saucer-nipples.
She crossed her arms over her breast, making the milk flow harder. “I think that’s my cue to leave.”
I smiled. “Do you want me to call Babe to come get you?” The door jangled again, and my brother sauntered in as if on cue. “Speak of the devil.”
