by Lynn Cahoon
Ted shook his head. “No need for that. I’ll drop them off here with their assignments and you can tell them where to go. They aren’t here to socialize.”
“I thought it might be nice for them to understand what we do here.” I tried again.
This time he turned and all of the handsome had vanished from his face, replaced by barely controlled anger. His words came out low and hard. “Look, do what I tell you, okay?”
I took in the empty coffee shop. Luckily, Toby had arrived early for his shift, allowing me to handle my council liaison duties for the week. I heard his footsteps behind me.
“I get it. No party, just deliver them to the work sites.” My voice came out almost as hard as Ted’s. I’d worked with bullies before. The type was all sweet and nice as long as things were going their way, but cross them, and you saw the real person.
“Everything okay?” Toby asked, oh so casually. If he’d been at his deputy job instead of working part-time as a barista for me, I’d imagine his hand would have been resting on his gun holster, just in case.
Ted’s face changed as he sized up Toby, the friendly mask slipping back on. “Just clearing up a difference of opinion. See you in a week for our follow-up meeting.” He nodded to me. “Call me if you have problems.”
He turned without waiting for an answer and left the shop.
My shoulders sagged. “Pour me a double with chocolate and whipped cream.” I smiled at Toby, who still watched the man through the windows.
“That’s a piece of work. You wouldn’t believe how many women get caught up with men like that. All pretty on the outside, but inside, he gives our gender a bad name.” Toby waited until Ted got into his car and peeled out onto Main Street before he started my coffee.
I slipped onto a bar stool. “He works with vulnerable women all day. I imagine he’s got his choice of people to make feel like dirt.”
“Well, he’s not doing it here. You aren’t meeting with him alone again.” Toby put the steaming mocha in front of me.
“Thank you, white knight, but I’m fully grown. I can take care of myself.” I sipped the creamy delight and murmured my pleasure. “This is amazing.”
Toby laughed. “You’re too easy. I’m serious about that piece of crap. Make me your assistant for the project. I bet he won’t try to bully me.” He started a pot of coffee. “Besides, you’ve got a lot on your plate right now.”
“That’s an understatement.” For some reason, many months ago, I’d promised to host Thanksgiving at my house. As the day neared, I wondered if I’d been drunk at the time. My vision of a small family-like get-together was already up to ten confirmed guests. I’d never hosted ten people, let alone on a holiday. I think I’d overstepped my party comfort level. I focused on my barista. “You decide which of your girls you’re bringing to dinner?”
Toby grinned. “Not yet. It’s a big step, spending a holiday with someone. Tends to bring out the worst in my dates.”
“You mean they think you’re actually committing?” I laughed.
The bell chimed and several of Toby’s customers from the cosmetology school scurried in. He nodded in their direction. “Something like that.”
“I’ll be in the back for an hour or two if you need help.” I picked up my cup and slipped around the counter for the office-slash-storeroom. I had to review last month’s accounting, transfer money, and write up the notes from today’s Business-to-Business meeting for the council. I’d rather be reading. Aunt Jackie had taken on most of the administration side of the shop, doing day-to-day orders, bank deposits, and marketing, but she insisted I review her work, sign the checks, and make the big decisions … when she let me.
“It’s a matter of checks and balances. That way I can’t run off with your hard-earned cash,” she’d told me when I grumbled.
It was closer to three hours before I finished. Glancing at my watch, I had just enough time to grab a quick dinner at Diamond Lille’s before the interns showed up and I needed to escort them to their work assignments. Ted’s insistence on no first-day get-together had made my day shorter, at least.
I dialed my cell.
“What trouble are you in now?” Greg King, town detective and my personal boy toy, answered on the second ring.
I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn’t appreciate the gesture. “Can’t a girl call her beau without him thinking the worst?” Besides, I hadn’t called him for help since the drain had stopped up last week.
“Sorry, it’s been a slow day.” Greg’s deep voice warmed me. “I thought you were too busy for me today.”
I had whined at dinner Sunday night about my crazy week. I leaned back in my chair. “So now I’ve got some time. You want to buy me dinner and I can tell you all about my not-slow day?” I grinned then added, “Before Toby rats me off?”
“Oh God, what now?” He chuckled.
“Buy me dinner and I’ll tell you.” I grabbed my purse. “I’m leaving the shop now. And don’t worry, I didn’t start anything.”
“Now why would I think that?” I heard him mumbling on the other end. “Esmeralda just stepped into the office. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“See ya.” I said to the dead line. Esmeralda was the town dispatcher and fortune teller. The woman thought she had a direct connection to the other side and had brought me messages from beyond the grave multiple times. Even without me paying for her advice. Maybe she was like a drug peddler, and the first message was free. Except I’d been given several and still hadn’t warmed to her style of advice for my life.
Walking through the shop, I waited for Toby to finish an order. “I’ll be back at five, then after I walk the interns around, I’ll take over.” Toby and I handled the shop by ourselves on Tuesdays so Jackie could have the day off. She’d come in to help serve during the Business-to-Business meeting but had left soon afterward to prepare for a night out in the city.
“No worries, I’m good.” He grinned at the shop filled with women who were watching his every move.
“Man whore.” I slipped around him and headed to the door. I had to admit, Jackie’s hiring Toby had been great for business. Toby seemed to like playing barista. It gave him a softer side than his regular part-time deputy gig where he worked under Greg. Besides, like me and most of the other townies, living in South Cove meant cobbling together enough part-time jobs to keep us financially solvent. I had a nest egg from the inheritance Miss Emily had left me, but I still felt like I needed to keep that separate, just in case.
Before I knew it, I’d walked the two blocks and was in front of Diamond Lille’s, the only full-service diner in South Cove. Bill’s bed-and-breakfast served, well, breakfast, for his guests. Coffee, Books, and More, my shop, had a good selection of treats to go with your drink order. But if you wanted real food, Lille’s was the only option.
To my surprise, Greg leaned against Lille’s brick façade waiting for me. I stretched on my toes and kissed him, his soft lips curving into a smile. The man could kiss. Must be why I kept him around. “I half-expected you to call off when you said Esmeralda showed up.”
He put his arm around me and led me into the diner and toward the last empty booth. Even early, Lille’s was hopping. “His Honor, the mayor, wanted to know if I’d found out anything on his new buddy Ted. I told him again that the police department wasn’t his personal private investigation firm.”
Slipping into the booth, I frowned. “He’s looking into Ted Hendricks? Why?”
Greg shrugged. “Who knows with Marvin? He’s always looking for the angle. Seriously, I think the only reason he gets reelected is he has dirt on most of the voters. They’re scared not to vote for him.”
“Well, he didn’t make friends today at the business meeting.” I went on to tell him about my morning, only stopping to order. Fish and chips weren’t the healthiest option, but I hadn’t had lunch, and Emma and I had run early that morning. A run that still wouldn’t make up for me being gone late tonight. I’d be paying for my
long day in sad, puppy-dog glances all evening.
“Darla must be hot. I swear, she starts planning the holiday festival as soon as the summer one ends.” Greg sipped on a soda, scanning the room. A habit that used to annoy me until I realized it was just his cop nature, checking out any possible problems. My ex used to do the same thing, but he was looking for hotter-than-me chicks to ogle. It wasn’t that Greg didn’t see other women; he just didn’t care if they saw him.
“Well, if the mayor winds up dead, I’d knock on her door first.”
Carrie, our waitress, slid our plates in front of us. “There you go, guys. Anything else?”
“Nope, I’m good.” Greg’s mouth almost watered as he took in his plate of chicken tamales. He glanced at me. “You?”
I picked up a French fry, crisp to perfection with just the right amount of salt, and sighed as the taste hit my mouth. Carrie stared and I shook my head, answering Greg’s question.
Greg chuckled as she walked away. “You do know how to appreciate food.”
“I wish I had Amy’s metabolism.” Amy, my best friend, could participate in a hot-dog-eating contest, have dessert afterward, and still fit into her surfing bikini. I had to run most days to stay out of my “fat” jeans.
“I like you curvy.” Greg’s voice dropped and I felt him staring at me. “Amy’s built like a stick.”
I laughed. “Don’t tell her that. She’ll find a stick to hit you with.” Amy had been a little sensitive around men lately since her breakup with Hank the Loser a few months ago. Greg and I both hoped she realized that Justin, her surfing buddy, was a much better match. We’d gone out with the couple on several double dates since the summer but Amy was still hesitant to give her heart away.
We ate in silence for a few minutes, then Greg paused. “Hey, did you see some kind of accident out in front of your shop today?”
I swallowed and cocked my head toward him. “Not an accident.”
“About ten?” Greg pushed his plate away, all business now.
“Ted, the mayor’s friend, almost hit Marie Jones as she darted across the street.” I held my hand up to stop him from talking. “She ran in front of him and the car stopped in time. So no accident, no need to report. I bet Marie’s a little shaken up by the narrow escape. Why? Who told you?”
Greg picked his fork up again. “Small town, who didn’t tell me?” He peeked at me sideways, then added, “Oh yeah, my girlfriend.”
I pursed my lips together, trying not to smile. “Like I said, no harm, no foul. Besides, Marie was the one who didn’t watch for traffic. If anyone had been hurt, I would have called nine-one-one.”
“If you say so.” He shook his head. “I didn’t take you for a blame-the-victim kind of gal.”
I felt my eyes widen. “I’m not blaming …” Then I saw his body shaking. “You’re messing with me, King. And I don’t appreciate it.” I slapped his shoulder for emphasis.
“You’re too easy of a target.”
I took a sip of my iced tea and checked the big black cat clock on the diner’s wall over the hostess stand. “You’re the second man to tell me that today.”
This time his eyes widened and I grinned. “Toby said the same thing when I only wanted a mocha after dealing with Ted the Jerk.”
“Wait, you didn’t tell me you had a run-in with this guy. Maybe I should look into him, for the safety of our citizens.”
I grabbed my purse and leaned over the table to give him a kiss. “Slow your roll, big guy. Nothing happened. Besides, Toby already agreed to take over further contact as the liaison from South Cove’s business community. I think he wants to take care of the issue. I gotta go.”
“Sure, eat and run. Leave me with the check.” He tucked a wayward curl behind my ear. “Maybe I’ll stop by later?”
“I’ll close at nine. You want to drive me home?”
He kissed me. “I’ll be the one in the police cruiser.”
“Either bring your truck or I’ll walk.” I paused at the table. Last summer Toby had made me ride in the backseat of his cruiser because the two of them were concerned someone was trying to kill me. Which apparently had been true. Still, silly me, I wasn’t a fan of the backseat of a police car.
He grinned. “Just seeing if you were listening.”
I turned around and waved over my shoulder. “Don’t be late, Detective.”
By the time I walked back to the shop, the ten interns had arrived. They had a bus that would bring them to South Cove for each shift and then transport them back to the Work Today office in Bakerstown. I threw my purse in my office, introduced Sasha Smith, our intern, to Toby, and rounded up the other nine to do a quick tour of the town as we dropped people off. First stop, Antiques by Thomas.
Josh was standing guard in his doorway when I introduced him to Kyle. The man almost had a heart attack. Kyle’s black leathers and pink spiked hair made him look like the ruffians Josh had railed about in each of the business meetings since he’d arrived. “You can’t be serious.” Josh pointed a finger at me. “If one thing goes missing …”
“Look, man, I’m not a thief. Just unemployed.” Kyle held his hands out to his sides. “You can frisk me before I leave each day. I need this placement. And I dig old stuff. My pops put a bunch of this stuff out in the garage before they put him in a home.”
Josh’s bargain radar went off, and even I could see the wheels turning in his mind. “We’ll work something out. Come on in, Kyle.”
Amy stood out on the steps of City Hall and welcomed her intern, Cat, with open arms. The small girl who couldn’t be much older than nineteen peeked back at me, eyes wide when Amy led her, chattering, into the building. I waved, and a couple of the group members chuckled.
A few more stops, and I had three left. The Glass Slipper, South Cove Bed-and-Breakfast, and South Cove winery. As we passed by The Glass Slipper, I tried the door. Locked.
Mindy, the woman assigned to the shop, glanced at me. “I can wait here.”
“Why don’t you walk with us? I’d like the company.” I peered into the shop window but couldn’t see anyone or any movement. “I’m sure Marie’s just running late.”
“If you think it will be okay. I don’t want to get in trouble.” Mindy was the oldest of the group, close to fifty if my guess was correct. I wondered how she’d gotten into the training class. None of my business, I chided myself.
“Come on, I’ll talk to Marie if she’s upset. You were here on time, she wasn’t.” I smiled and put my hand on her shoulder. “Besides, it’s a nice walk to the winery.”
We stopped at South Cove Bed-and-Breakfast, where Bill Simmons along with his wife, Mary, waited on the porch to meet their charge. The young woman whom we dropped off had been greeted like she was returning home from a long trip rather than starting a job. That was the thing I loved about South Cove: most people were warm and welcoming. Maybe it was their nature or they just knew the benefits of being friendly in a tourist town.
The three of us walked up the hill to Darla’s. She met us at the barn where she started tours and where on weekends, she usually hosted a band and wine tastings. The woman was still steaming.
“I can’t believe Marvin pulled this stunt.” She shoved a broom at the man who was her intern. “Go into the barn and sweep out the floor.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The man’s drawl was deeply Southern. I hadn’t heard him speak one word on our walking trip. I raised my hand to stop him.
“Hey, Matt? Where are you from?”
He grinned. “Georgia, ma’am. Followed a girl out here to the land of sunshine and never wanted to leave.”
Darla watched him walk into the barn. She shrugged. “Could be worse, I guess. At least he’s easy on the eyes.”
Mindy laughed. “He’s the sweetest thing. He had the entire bus rolling during the trip here. He’s quite the comedian.”
“Well, I could use some humor around here. Today’s been kind of a downer.” Darla shook her head. “I guess I shouldn’t
complain, at least she’s letting me help. But, Jill, you don’t know what she wants to do.”
I didn’t want to ask. “It’s bad?”
“No, it’s amazing. I wanted her idea to be horrible, but if she can pull this off, it might be the best festival we’ve ever had.” Darla groaned. A voice called from the barn.
“Ma’am, did you know you had something on the stove?” Matt’s deep voice called out from the barn.
“Crap, I have chili warming up.” Darla turned and trotted back to the barn, leaving us alone in the driveway.
Mindy and I turned back to the road and the short walk back into town. “I’m making chili and corn bread tomorrow night for my son. He’s visiting from Washington.”
“How many kids do you have?”
Mindy smiled. “Just the one. His father, well, he wanted a namesake more than he wanted to raise kids. We divorced last year.”
“You sound like you would have liked more.” I hadn’t made up my mind yet on if I wanted kids, not to mention how many.
“Sometimes, what you want isn’t what you get.” Mindy’s words echoed Marie’s statement earlier in the day.
When we arrived back at The Glass Slipper, the door was still locked. Several people milled around the door, checking their watches. I knocked hard on the door.
“Don’t bother,” a short woman said to my left. She held up her phone. “I just got a text from Marie. She’s ill and cancelling tonight’s class. She says we’ll get another week added to the end of the session.”
Mindy seemed deflated. I put my hand on her arm. “Why don’t you come over and help me in the shop today? I’ll sign your time card.”
The look she gave me was so filled with gratitude, I almost teared up. “We get a stipend for each night we work. I needed the extra money to buy the groceries for tomorrow.”
We walked across the street, and the students from the cancelled class followed us. The woman with the cell phone laughed. “I’ve wanted to check out the coffee shop for weeks. I guess Marie’s cancelling class is the right excuse.”
