Lovebird Café Box Set

by Dylann Crush

  “That’s not true and you know it.” Liam stood, knocking the plastic chair backward.

  “Sit down,” Harmony growled, already scrambling to set the chair upright.

  “Mr. Rogers”—even the sheriff smirked at the name—“how about you give me your version of events?”

  Liam focused on a spot between his sneakers. The silence drew out, making me wonder if the kid had fallen asleep.

  “Liam.” Harmony elbowed him in the side. “Tell the sheriff what you told me last night.”

  He didn’t look up. “I was messing around down by the river and came across Rodney and his friends.”

  “And?” Harmony pressed.

  “And they were teasing some kid, pushing him around in a circle and calling him names.”

  I bristled at that. Like hell my nephew was going to be one of those kids. Rodney slumped in his seat, arms crossed over his stomach like he’d just finished a twelve-course meal. My elbow collided with his ribcage. He sat up. That was more like it.

  “Who was it?” Harmony asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe a sixth grader?” Liam briefly glanced up at Rodney who narrowed his eyes, barely shaking his head from side to side.

  My elbow not-so-gently nudged his side again. “What?” Rodney asked.

  “Let him tell his side.”

  “Can we get this over with?” Rodney asked, sprawling back across the chair again.

  “Son, tell us what happened next,” Sheriff Sampson said.

  “So I told them to leave the kid alone, but they didn’t listen.”

  “And?” the sheriff asked.

  “And I figured if I didn’t get them to leave the kid alone, someone was going to get really hurt.” Liam looked up, made brief eye contact with his mom, and looked back at his feet. “So I told them I knew where there was something really cool.”

  “The fireworks?” the sheriff asked.

  Liam nodded. “I didn’t know there would be pot there. I figured if they got distracted by the fireworks they’d let the kid go. But then they told me if I didn’t shoot them off with them, that they’d say I was the one who stole them.”

  “Liam.” Harmony let out her son’s name on a whoosh of air. “Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?”

  “Um, because he was stoned?” Rodney piped up.

  I flicked him on the back of the head for that stupid remark.

  Liam continued. “We took some of the fireworks down by the river and while we were setting them out we found a baggie with some joints.”

  “How in the world did you even know what those were?” Harmony’s lips pursed together.

  “Mom, I’m thirteen. I know what a joint looks like.” He spread his hands open.

  “If we could stick to the facts…” the sheriff suggested.

  “So they wanted to smoke one, and I said I wanted to leave. And they told me if I didn’t do it with them they’d track that kid down the next day and finish what they started with him.”

  “That’s so not true.” Rodney lifted his foot and set it down on his knee. “I mean, really, why would my friends and I do something like that?” He looked around, like he was wondering how stupid we’d have to be to believe what Liam said.

  “Regardless of how it happened, you both broke the law.” Sheriff Sampson shuffled some papers into a stack on his desk.

  “But you heard what Liam said.” Harmony moved to sit on the edge of her seat. “I know we’re new in town, but I promise, he’s never done anything like this before—”

  “I appreciate you speaking for your son, Mrs. Rogers. But we have rules to uphold around here and with summer coming, I can’t afford to have these boys running loose all over town.”

  “Um, I have an idea about that.” I saw my chance to jump in and seized it. “I actually spoke with Rodney’s mom about this last night.”

  “You did?” Rodney scowled at me.

  “What if I could guarantee the boys would be busy this summer?”

  “How do you propose to do that?” the sheriff asked.

  “Yeah, how do you propose to do that?” Harmony echoed.

  “I’ve got a few projects I could use some help with. I want to clear out the practice track I set up a long time ago. Plus”—I made sure I caught Harmony’s eye—“I was thinking the boys and I could work on a build out. So you can give your business idea a shot.”

  Her eyes warmed for a moment, causing my gut to twinge in a weird way I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  “But, Mom.” Liam grabbed her arm, pulling her attention away from me. “I thought I was going to get to go back to California for part of the summer. You said I could go stay with grandma.”

  Turner cleared his throat. “I was thinking a summer program would work, but if you’re willing to take charge of both of them, I’d be okay with that instead.”

  “Seriously? You expect me to spend my summer hanging out with Kid Rogers? No thanks.” Rodney unwrapped a stick of gum and slid it into his mouth.

  “Son, I suggest you think long and hard about your options here. If your behavior continues like this, I’d have no problem sending you somewhere else to spend the summer working with some colleagues of mine instead.”

  Rodney’s eyes grew wide and he took a visible swallow.

  Turning to Harmony, I put a hand over hers where it rested in her lap. “What do you think?”

  She turned away from her son. “I thought you were only going to be here for a few days, maybe a week at the most?”

  “The thing is”—I glanced around the office, not sure I wanted to have this conversation in the present company—“can we talk about this later?”

  “Okay.” She slipped her hand out from under mine.

  “So are you boys in, or should I get some summer detention program set up for you?” Sheriff Sampson slid his gaze from Rodney to Liam and back to Rodney again. “I hear the pig farm out on County Road 87 could use some help unloading the swine trucks this summer.”

  I almost laughed. Jeff and I had worked that shitty job the summer before he…the threat of laughter fell flat. Suddenly the heat, the closeness, the feeling of history pressing down on me was too much.

  “I need to get some fresh air.” I stood and stumbled to the front of the building before the past caught up to me.

  Free from the stifling heat of the office, I leaned against the building. I’d been so eager to find a solution to the current problem that I’d overlooked one major obstacle to making this work. I hadn’t considered what staying in Swallow Springs for a summer might do to me.

  The door to the office swung open. Harmony came out first, followed by Liam and Rodney. She handed me an envelope and gave me a tentative smile. “Looks like you’ve got yourself two free laborers this summer.”

  I said, “Great,” but what I meant was shit, shit, shit. So much for leaving the past in the past. I was about to fall headfirst into mine.

  14

  Harmony

  “I couldn’t believe he offered.” I poured Frank a fresh mug of coffee, without grounds, thank you very much, and slid the carafe back on the burner.

  “About Dustin…” Cassie stood on the other side of the half-wall of the kitchen. “You know he and Robbie have some bad blood between them, right?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I can tell. You’d think after all these years they would have figured out a way to get past that.”

  Cassie worked a rolling pin over the homemade pie crust she was making. “I think Robbie is in a good place now. Though Lord knows, it’s taken long enough. He blamed himself for so long for Jeffy’s death.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. Talk of my cousin Jeff always took me to a sad place. I’d only been in grade school when the accident happened. But my mom and Aunt Karen had been so close. When Jeffy died it seemed like a light went out for our whole family, not just those who lived in Missouri. I’d felt it growing up, too—the loss. The heartache surrounded every kind of family event…the face missing from the Chr
istmas card pictures…the missing signature on birthday cards. No one felt his loss as much as Robbie, but the rest of us missed him, too.

  “So are you telling me Liam shouldn’t spend the summer working with Dustin?” I asked. “Because it sounds like he can either do that or work at a pig farm.”

  “A pig farm?” Cassie scowled. “They can’t make him do that. What law says juveniles have to shovel slop when they’ve committed an offense?”

  “He needs to do something. If he thinks he can cause that kind of trouble with no kind of consequence…” My voice trailed off. This was exactly the type of thing I’d been trying to avoid by moving to Swallow Springs. Liam had always been a good kid. But the older he got, the harder it was to keep him insulated from the wrong type of kids—the ones who went looking for trouble. The first time he’d been approached by one of the older neighborhood boys—one who I knew for a fact was dealing drugs out of a third-floor apartment in our complex—I knew we had to make a change.

  So much for bringing him to a safe, small-town community. Maybe he’d be better off if we’d moved in with my parents. Granted, their active adult community might have some rules around having a thirteen-year-old living there full-time.

  “I’m sure Dustin will keep him busy.” Cassie continued to work on the circle of dough on the counter. One of these days I’d ask her to show me how to make the kind of flaky, light, buttery crust she was known for.

  “I hope so. I’ve finally got a chance to do something I actually enjoy.” I glanced to where she stopped moving. “Oh, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work here.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” She blew a breath out, attempting to blow a chunk of hair out of her face. “I know what you mean.”

  “You’ve got to admit, the sooner I can get back to what I’m good at, the better of all of us will be.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Frank raised his coffee mug in my direction then took a sip. “You get a new kind of coffee, Harmony? Tastes different.”

  I didn’t acknowledge his question. “So you’re sure it’s a good idea to accept the free rent program?”

  Cassie shrugged her shoulders. “I think that would be great. You’re welcome to work here as long as you need to. Although, you might want to stop offering the customers kale smoothies.”

  “Why?” I’d only mentioned it to a few of the regulars—the ones who ordered a giant milkshake every time they came in.

  “First, it’s not on the menu. Second, Mrs. Clements took offense. She said you made her feel guilty for making unhealthy choices.”

  “What?” I racked my brain, trying to recall who Mrs. Clements was and what I might have said to her that caused such offense.

  “It’s okay. Let’s just stick to the menu from now on, okay?” Cassie set the rolling pin aside and lifted the perfect crust into a pie plate.

  “Sure. Sorry about that.”

  Frank leaned toward me as I walked past. “She could stand to work on her cholesterol, you know.”

  I knew he was only trying to make me feel better. “Thanks.”

  “You sure you didn’t try a new brand of coffee? This sure doesn’t taste the same.”

  “I’ll look into it.” I wasn’t about to tell him I’d given up on ever learning how to operate the giant coffee machine and had taken to mixing instant coffee in the back, one pot at a time. As I wiped down the counter, the bell on the front door jingled. Dustin. He was early.

  He slid onto the stool next to Frank.

  “Coffee?” I asked.

  Leaning toward Frank, he asked, “Is it safe today?”

  Frank shrugged. “It’s coffee.”

  I rolled my eyes. “One time. I serve up a cruddy pot with grounds one time and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  Both men stared at me, brows lifted.

  “Okay, maybe twice.” I snagged a mug from the shelf and filled it with the steaming brew. Setting it down in front of Dustin, I leveled my gaze at him. “You’re early.”

  “Just a few minutes. I had to come into town to talk to the sheriff.” He took a sip of the coffee. “It’s different today. You trying a new brand?”

  I executed another eye roll and vowed to practice with the coffee monster later. “What were you meeting with the sheriff about? Does it have to do with the boys?”

  “Yeah. Everything’s set. As long as they stay out of trouble through the end of summer, he’ll forget about putting anything on either one of their records.”

  “Can he do that? I mean, legally?”

  Dustin shrugged. “Don’t know. But if I were you, I’d be thankful he’s not pursuing it. Something like that, even in middle school, can stick on a kid’s record.”

  True. That’s why I’d been so worried about getting Liam out of LA in the first place.

  Cassie poked her head through the serving window into the kitchen. “If y’all want to head over now, I can cover things here.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. Frank was the only customer in the place, except for a trio of ladies who chattered away at a booth on the far side of the room. They’d finished their breakfast over an hour ago and hadn’t needed anything since then except refills.

  “Yep. You two go have fun.” She pushed through the swinging door while tying an apron around her waist. “I can’t wait to hear what you think about the space.”

  “Shall we?” Dustin motioned for me to lead the way.

  My mouth went dry. Dustin and I hadn’t been alone together since he’d rolled off the massage table and all over me.

  Naked.

  He wasn’t the kind of man a woman could easily forget. Especially after seeing him in the buff. Reminding myself this was a professional venture, two adults doing research for a business opportunity, I smoothed my hands over my apron and cleared my throat.

  “Let’s do it.”

  He quirked an eyebrow.

  My face flamed. Again. Why did I seem to lose whatever basic mastery I had of the English language in his presence?

  “I mean, let’s go.”

  His smile sent a fleet of butterflies through my stomach. “After you.”

  I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I’d been hesitant to invest much time in trying to figure out what I wanted to do in Swallow Springs. Clearly I didn’t belong in food service. No one would argue with me on that. But was I ready to invest the energy, time, and effort into building my own business?

  Cassie and Robbie had been encouraging. There wasn’t anything like the kind of place I envisioned within fifty miles of town. My mind raced with the possibilities. Yoga classes, an entire line of essential oils to choose from…and of course, all kinds of massage packages available. Creating a one-stop-shop for health and healing had been my goal since I first thought about becoming a massage therapist all those years ago.

  With my dream lodged in the forefront of my mind, I moved past Dustin, through the front door and across the street. He’d stopped by the city office to pick up the keys. If we liked what we saw, all I’d need to do was sign on the dotted line and the space would be mine.

  He turned the key in the lock on the front door. The space I was interested in was up a flight of stairs and took over the entire second floor. We traipsed up the stairs single file. Dustin let me walk ahead of him which might not have been the best idea. I’d worn another short skirt today. After the massage incident, I couldn’t help but think of him as more than a potential client, especially since I’d seen where those twisty tattoos led and couldn’t quite get the feel of his muscles under my palms out of my mind.

  The air seemed like it hadn’t been disturbed in quite a while, and a layer of dust covered the stairs. As we reached the second floor, I stepped onto the landing. The wood split underneath my foot. My knee went down as I slipped, banging hard against the wooden stair. Dustin’s arm went out, catching me around the middle and pulling me against him before I took him down with me.

  We bumped down a step or
two, coming to a rest with Dustin’s front pressing into my back.

  “You okay, Harmony?” He pushed up onto one arm, his other trapped underneath me.

  I mentally checked over all of my limbs. Other than what would probably develop into an impressive bruise on my knee, I seemed to be okay. “I think so. You?”

  “Yeah.”

  I lifted myself up to get my knee underneath me before I twisted around. Dustin hadn’t moved. His face hovered inches from mine. I was close enough to see the individual whiskers that made up the scruff on his cheeks and chin. Broad shoulders closed out the light, making my awareness focus in until it was just us. Just him and me, perched awkwardly, very close, on the narrow set of stairs.

  “You sure you’re okay?” His breath warmed my cheek. Or was that the heat being generated between us?

  His hips rested on top of mine. I became all too aware of every single point where our bodies touched.

  I lifted my gaze to meet his. Those green eyes swept over my face, resting on my mouth. I could lose myself in them, drift for days, get swept out to sea in the depths of Dustin Jarrett’s eyes. With his free hand, he brushed a piece of hair off of my cheek. It fell away. I instinctively turned my head, nestling my cheek against the palm of his hand.

  He wet his lips. My stomach tightened, anticipating the feel of his mouth on mine. If I was reading the signs correctly, Dustin Jarrett was about to kiss me. His head lowered, his mouth moving closer. He held my gaze. I couldn’t look away.

  And I didn’t want to.

  I closed my eyes, bracing myself, ready for the moment his lips would meet mine. It didn’t come. His finger traced my hairline. My breath stuttered, coming in short bursts. Breathe, dammit. I tried to focus on my breath. In and out, in and out.

  His finger continued to explore, sweeping along my jawline, igniting a heat deep in my core. Do it. I wanted that kiss. Couldn’t wait to feel the hard planes of his body pressed against me. His palm slipped behind my head, pulling me toward him.

  “I want to kiss you, Harmony,” he whispered.

  I nodded. I couldn’t have denied him, even if I’d wanted to. The pull was too strong.