by Tess Rothery
“Joey. This is Karina. I hear you have the day off.” Karina Wyandotte sounded desperate, dramatic, and excited.
Despite knowing Karina could sound like that for the most foolish reasons, Joey felt her pulse increase. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, necessarily, but you and I need to talk. Are you at home? I can come over.”
“Yes, fine…” Joey sat up and glanced around her. The place was clean enough for Karina.
“Fine. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Ten minutes was enough time to decide between white, ivory, or blush for her imaginary wedding dress, so she dropped back down, closed her eyes, and let herself dream.
Karina let herself in and strode to the armchair like she was running from something.
Joey sat up, shocked. Karina hadn’t been over before, much less let herself in.
“What’s going on?”
“Do you have any coffee?”
“Um, yes, of course.” The apartment was a studio, one wall of which was a kitchen. Joey took the few steps necessary and filled the kettle with water and the French press with beans she had ground that morning.
“Sit down, you’re making me nervous,” Karina ordered.
“I can sit down or make coffee. You’re going to have to pick one or the other.”
“Ugh. Fine.” Karina turned the chair to face Joey. “Let’s take care of the Taylor Quinn situation now, while we can.”
Questions tumbled in Joey’s mind, fighting with the happy dreams of Clay Seldon for primacy. She was pretty sure Clay was the ex everyone had said was living with Taylor, but she wasn’t going to hold it against him.
“We both have the day off. How often does that happen?”
“Rarely.” The kettle was taking forever to boil, Joey tapped the side of it with her pointer finger and wondered if Clay liked girls with painted nails. Kitchen work meant hers were rarely painted. “What exactly do you want us to do today? I thought you just wanted to try and keep Ernie Baker from getting an apartment?”
“That’s definitely on the list, but we could do anything, anything at all. Remember, she’s a man-stealing homewrecker who doesn’t deserve Hudson East.”
Finally, the kettle whistled. Joey filled the French press and set her watch for four minutes. “But I don’t want to do anything crazy, Karina. I mean, nothing we could get in trouble for, right?”
Karina sighed, exasperated. “What kind of trouble are you avoiding? Arrest? Sure, we can avoid that. I’m not here to get a record.”
“Okay, so what are you talking about then?”
“Hudson is done with me, obviously,” she sneered. “And I wouldn’t take him back if he begged. But, darling, you are a hot piece, did you know that? I say we get him to take you out. He’d do it. He’s never been able to say no to a pretty girl or a sad girl. You’re more than pretty—prettier than Taylor, if you ask me. And though you’re not sadder than her, God bless the person who ever is, you did just lose a couple of friends to murder. Let me give you a makeover, then we’ll hunt him down and start to turn his head.”
Joey pinched her mouth. This she would have loved yesterday. And every single day before yesterday. But today?
Her mind did a compare contrast, vector graph of Clay and Hudson. Clay was new. Clay represented hope. Hudson was the one she’d had a crush on for most of her life. “I don’t hate the idea. But how do we find him? How do we make this work?”
Karina poured out a plan to track Hudson down while Joey poured the coffee. Eventually it was Joey’s turn to talk again. “But, why limit ourselves to Hudson? I met Clay this morning,” her face warmed nicely as she said his name.
“Oh, did you!” Karina’s eyes sparkled. “And you want to go in for both at once?”
Joey shrugged, embarrassed. “If Taylor can date around, why can’t I?”
Instead of answering, Karina picked up her phone. She poked around, and when someone answered she said, “Hey Sissy, we need an appointment for Joey Burke. Yes, right?” Karina laughed. “I agree. The sooner the better.” There was a pause. Joey shifted uncomfortably. “Perfect. See you in an hour.”
“Who knows,” Karina turned her conniving smile back to Joey, “maybe we can hook that policeman too.”
The makeover was painless. Her hair couldn’t go too short because she liked to be able to put it all up in the kitchen. But when Sissy was done, it looked cleaner, neater, healthier. It didn’t hurt that she gave it a non-permanent color wash, just a deeper brown to make her fair skin look ever so slightly more ivory. Then Sissy did her eyebrows, and threading hurt far less than tweezers had ever done. Another stylist at the salon did her face. The fake eyelashes that made her eyelids feel heavy seemed a bit much, but she couldn’t deny they looked amazing paired with a “natural” face and red lip.
“I feel like I’m going out somewhere fancy,” Joey laughed as she left with Karina.
“You are. My closet.” Karina lived in a large house half a mile outside of town. It had once been a derelict, but Karina had bought it for back taxes and during her two years of dating Hudson, he had helped her fix it up, like an HGTV show.
Kind of like she was doing with Joey.
That said, the clothes in Karina’s closet, though they were about the right size, were not right at all. Karina had a miniature hourglass figure, and though Joey was also shorter than average, that was all they shared. A decade in the kitchen meant Joey was what she liked to call “cuddly sized.”
“Well, that’s a wash.” Karina stared at Joey in one last dress that she couldn’t zip up the back but still managed to be loose in the bosom. “You do have something nicer than bleach spotted t-shirts and jeans, right?”
“Sure. I’ve got something.” Just barely, but she did.
“Good. Put something together for later tonight, and we’ll conquer Hudson. You’re ready?”
“Sure.” The plan was simple enough, as far as Joey was concerned. She just had to show up on time and let Karina throw a tantrum with her as the subject. Apparently, the makeover and Joey’s big brown eyes would do the rest. The part Joey wasn’t sure entirely of was Karina’s ability to get Hudson to the right place at the right time.
Karina gave her a big hug and then pushed her out the door. “Okay, get out of here then and don’t mess up your face or your hair. I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you.” They had walked from her apartment to the salon and out to Karina’s house. She wondered how she was going to keep her face and hair nice on the two-mile walk back. As the wind whipped her expensive new hair on her way home, she didn’t care. Karina was a madwoman, and nothing was going to come of her plan. Right before she turned onto Main Street, she peeled the fake eyelashes off.
Clay worked for Taylor at Flour Sax.
Perhaps today she’d take up quilting.
Chapter Twelve
Clay whistled his way back to what he called his work-live space. Joey Burke was a doll. An absolute doll. Dark and mysterious.
Taylor was a dishwater blonde.
Joey was petite and soft where Taylor tended to be tall and hard.
Maybe this Joey was exactly what he needed to get over his broken heart.
Not that he was looking for the next love of his life, but he wouldn’t turn it down if Joey was as great as she seemed at first glance.
Joey had been quick to give him her number, so he suspected the interest was mutual.
He’d wait a day then text. Dinner at Berry Noir should be a good way to start things. Followed by who knows what. He’d find out.
Taylor was hard at work in the shop looking dishwatery, tall, and wearing the unflattering polo shirt everyone had to wear at Flour Sax now. She looked tired. Pretty, but tired. A little sympathy tugged at his heart. He wanted to feed her and send her to bed. But since he couldn’t, he pushed her out of his mind.
Yup. He needed someone new to think about, and the pretty, dimpled face of chef Joey fit the bill. He tried to keep her in
mind as he made his way through Taylor’s store and up to Taylor’s apartment.
He was just settling into his armchair with his laptop to get some work done when he got a text from Taylor. “Team building tonight. Loggers. Everyone needed. Flour Sax is buying.”
He responded with a thumbs up.
He didn’t hate going to the bar with the team. Willa was a dear old girl who treated him like a favorite son. Roxy was a firecracker and only ten years older than him. He’d considered taking her out on more than one occasion and still thought, if he got stuck in Comfort forever, a man could do worse than Roxy Lang.
And then there was Taylor. Sure, she looked a bit worn out today, but who wouldn’t with all she had going on? She could use the night out more than all of them put together. A burger to fill in the hollows of her cheeks, a drink to get her to relax. If there was music, he’d get her out on the dance floor and show her team building.
It was always fun to be the only man in a group of women at a bar.
He went back to work not thinking about escaping from Comfort or about romancing Joey. Just happy that he had something fun to do for the night. One day at a time. It was usually the best way to take things and rarely failed for Clay Seldon.
Well, it had failed once.
Just that time he’d decided to wait it out and see if Taylor really meant she was selling their place and moving.
But it usually worked out just fine.
The evening atmosphere at Logger’s wasn’t much worse than for lunch. The crowd was bigger, which was always nice. And everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Taylor smiled at her little crew. She had been inspired by her outing with Hudson and Boggy. Willa, the dear who had come out of retirement, had a parent living at Bible Creek Care Home. Maybe, just maybe, Willa knew something about Leon and Cricket that could crack the case.
Seated next to Clay, who looked unusually happy and young tonight, Willa looked tired but happy. She wore a quilted vest, all Flour Sax fabrics, over her Flour Sax polo. Her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose as she read the menu boasted a beaded chain. The shadows under her small dark eyes made Taylor think she’d better get on with her plan.
“Where are we at with guild business right now?” Roxy didn’t look at the menu, instead focusing her attention on Taylor. “I know they had some big quilt hop scheme, but I hadn’t heard anything much about that recently.”
“The only thing on schedule right now is the Cascadia Quilt Expo.” They had a big—very big—event coming up. Taylor had a to-do list as long as her arm, since bringing the expo to town had been her idea.
“Are we going to talk about it on the show?” Roxy was always good for reminding Taylor she could weave their various business ventures together.
“Bad idea.” Clay jumped in. “We need to focus on evergreen content. Nothing time sensitive. Play the long game on YouTube. The highest earning videos are still Laura’s work.”
It pinched a little to hear him say that, but it was true. Taylor’s mom’s videos were still more popular than hers. “You’re probably right. But maybe we can do a Facebook live or one of those other things that disappears after a while.”
Willa yawned.
“We need to get this lady a Coke before we lose her.” Clay dropped an arm around Willa’s shoulder.
“Back again?” Suzanne was still on shift and welcomed Taylor and party with some surprise.
Taylor shrugged, “When something’s working…”
“A Coke for my dear friend.” Clay patted Willa’s shoulder where his arm was resting. “And a PBR for me. Ladies?” He indicated it was Roxy and Taylor’s turn. Taylor also had a Coke. Roxy also had a PBR.
“Ready for food order?” Suzanne asked.
“Not yet. Give us a few.” Taylor eyed Loggers’ entertainment options. She really wanted to get Clay and Roxy off doing something so she could have Willa to herself. The pool table was busy, but there were several dartboards.
“I really want us to have a little fun together tonight.” Taylor shut her menu. She’d have a burger and fries. It didn’t need a lot of thought. “A meal together, conversation, maybe some darts. Something to remind us we have each other. It’s been a hard couple of weeks in Comfort.”
“Fellowship.” Willa nodded at her. “You ought to come to Bible Creek Methodist on Sunday night. Prayer and singing and potluck. Very good fellowship.”
“Do you bring your marmalade cookies?” Clay asked like a child.
“Sometimes.” Willa rolled her eyes at Clay. “Move your arm. You’re crowding me.”
He gave her shoulder a squeeze and then released her. “I’ll come if you bring the cookies. And I bet Roxy would, too, am I right?”
Roxy smiled indulgently. “I do like the marmalade cookies.”
Willa’s face brightened. “If that would get you two in church, of course I’d make them.”
Taylor looked around to see if Suzanne was coming back with their drinks, but she was nowhere to be seen. She happened to be looking when the door swung open and Joey Berk and Karina Wyandotte walked in.
They didn’t seem to be together as they took seats at either end of the bar.
Suzanne made it back with their drinks and took their food order.
“Service here is slow,” Clay said. “How about some darts?”
Taylor could have kissed him for reading her mind. The thought warmed her a little. She missed kissing him.
“I’m in. Willa?” Roxy stood.
“No, no. I’m worn out.”
Clay took Roxy’s arm and walked with her to the other side of the bar. She didn’t need help walking, despite her limp, but she didn’t seem to mind.
The door swung open again, but this time Hudson entered, looked around, then joined Karina at the bar. He hadn’t noticed Taylor.
She didn’t want to think about what he was doing there with the insane firecracker he used to date.
“Uh-oh.” Willa clucked. “Those two used to be very much in love.” She also hadn’t missed the sight of Taylor’s almost-boyfriend meeting another woman at the bar.
“I’ve heard.”
Willa leaned forward. “Take some motherly advice, dear. You don’t have forever to make up your mind.”
“Sure…” Taylor tried to train her eyes on Willa and not keep glancing at the bar, but it was hard.
“Boys like Clay are a dime a dozen. Men like Hudson are rare. Don’t let him get away just because Clay is familiar.”
“Of course not…”
“I feel you dragged me out here for some purpose.” Willa rested her arms on the table.
“You see right through me.” Taylor sighed, and smiled apologetically. “Your mother still lives at the Bible Creek Care Home, right?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t even!” The yelling voice interrupted every conversation in the bar. Both Taylor and Willa turned.
Karina was standing at the other end of the bar now, teetering on a pair of stiletto heels, her face red as she screamed at Joey. “Don’t you dare pretend you have any feelings for Leon or Cricket.”
Joey’s face went pale. She seemed to wobble on her chair.
A blur of khaki passed as Clay ran to her side. He held out his hand as though he could keep Karina away. “Hold on, hold on, hold on. Calm down.” What he lacked in eloquence he made up with in sincerity. “Joey is minding her own business, and I suggest you do as well.”
Taylor was confused—did Clay even know Joey? She scanned the room. Roxy stood next to Hudson, nodding at something he was saying.
Hudson stood, and he and Roxy joined Taylor at the Flour Sax booth.
He lifted an eyebrow. Taylor shook her head, not knowing what was going on.
Voices were quieted and things had seemed to calm down when Karina shouted again. “She can’t have everyone in this town!” She flung herself at Joey and pulled her hair. Clay hadn’t gotten between them, but from the side, wrapped his arms around Karina, pulling her away.
>
“Should I intervene?” Hudson asked Willa.
“She’s your date,” the older woman spoke with disdain.
“Not a date.” He held up his hands in surrender. “She wanted some pictures for a memorial wall to Cricket. From when I was a kid. Said she’d buy me a beer to pay me for it. I told her she didn’t have to.”
“Sounds like a date to me.” Willa frowned.
“It’s okay,” Taylor soothed. “Hudson can accept a thank you beer whenever he wants.”
Hudson didn’t look as pleased with Taylor’s good attitude as she thought he ought to look.
“What set her off?” Taylor asked.
“You got me. As far as I know, Joey was just sitting there, drinking alone. She didn’t even say hi, and I’ve known her since grade school.”
“I wonder what men Karina thinks Joey is trying to steal…”
“Clay?” Hudson asked with a pointed look at Taylor.
“Who would she be stealing him from? I set him on the curb with a ‘free’ sign more than a year ago.”
Hudson gave her joke a half-smile, half eye-roll and checked his watch. “I have a busy day tomorrow and an early start or I’d ask if I could steal you from your party.”
“It’s a nice thought.”
“But she hasn’t drummed me for information yet,” Willa supplied. “And, sadly, she’s not going to get to tonight. I’m too old for bars. But if she comes to fellowship at church with me, I’m sure I can think of answers to whatever question she has about Leon. That is what you wanted, isn’t it?”
Taylor nodded.
“Hmmm.” Willa’s eyes narrowed. “Then come to fellowship. There are a few of us there who might know exactly what you want to know.”
Willa slid out of the bench seat and stood with a groan. “Taylor child, I know you need help, but I am giving you my two-week’s notice. Surely there’s someone young in this town who won’t mind standing all day and going to bars at night.”
“Let me walk you out.” Hudson offered Willa his arm, and they left together.
