For some reason, the cantankerous man's words stung. Blinking, she looked up at him, trying her best to hide the hurt in her eyes, but Herman saw it.
His gaunt face and beady eyes softened a bit before he continued. "This ain't no type of place for you. Hayden and Joel will take care of you."
"I hardly know them," she argued. "I knowyoubetter than them."
"Yes, well, Joel seems to want to look after ya. And who Joel looks after, that means Hayden will too. Hell, you may even get Vic to pop back into town to see ya. You'll be much better off with them boys looking after ya."
She averted her eyes and just nodded, knowing it was pointless to argue at this point. "Thanks for everything."
To her horror, she could feel her eyes sting, and it surprised her. Fighting the feeling back, she gave him a firm nod and began to turn away.
"Just cuz you'll be living elsewhere doesn't mean Blanche and I won't want the occasional company," Herman called out.
This time she allowed a smile to break through her defenses and nodded as she opened the front door. "Sure, I’ll call Blanche soon. Maybe next time I can make a pot roast for you."
Herman's eyes sparkled in eagerness at that.
Stepping outside, Sapphire was surprised to see both Joel and Hayden leaning patiently on the front of the truck, looking curiously at her.
Tilting his head, Joel gave her a smirk that made his cobalt blue eyes sparkle. "Did you say pot roast?"
Chapter twelve
"Itlookslikeablob," Hayden grumbled, staring down at his latte.
Crossing her arms, Sapphire looked to Joel, who was standing right next to Hayden on the other side of the counter. He was also staring at his latte design in thoughtful silence.
"I think mine looks like Mickey Mouse."
Sapphire narrowed her eyes at the two. "They're hearts," she said evenly, injecting every bit of contempt into her tone.
Joel barked out a laugh as he took out his phone to take a picture of her attempt, while Hayden's grey eyes danced in amusement as he sipped his blob art.
Annoyed with them both, Sapphire turned away from them and began removing the portafilters fromthe beastand emptying the used grounds into the trash. Today, Julie had gone home early, leaving her to run the shop for the last few hours and close. A few minutes ago, the sound of heavy boots coming down the stairs heralded the two men's arrival.
"So, you think Francisco is going to put up the twenty grand we're asking?" she heard Joel ask over her shoulder.
Not turning her head, Sapphire slowed her movements in order to hear Hayden's response.
The clanging of the bell at the door drowned out the man's deep reply, and Sapphire cursed inwardly even as she put on a smile for Mrs. Oberlin who walked in.
"Hello, darling," the older woman called out to her as she crossed the dining area to the counter.
Joel and Hayden, who were now standing to the far left of the counter near the wall, both nodded politely at their business neighbor.
"I'm having a few of the women from my church come by in a few minutes, darling, and I wondered if you could make me a dozen medium lattes with skim milk. Please put mocha in six and caramel in the other six."
"Of course." Sapphire typed in the woman's order just as the bell rang again. Glancing up, she saw two more regulars walk in. They were from the dry cleaners and the post office down the street. "I'll be right with you," she called out before getting to work on the orders.
Damn, and she really wanted to hear what Joel had been talking about. But as she placed half of the dozen orders in a to-go box container, she could see that Joel and Hayden were now standing by the windows deep in conversation. Why would they be talking about twenty thousand dollars?
There was something more to these men. Something more than just owners to a coffee shop or bar.
Sapphire handed Mrs. Oberlin her order and began taking the next customer's order, only allowing herself a quick glance at the two of them in the corner. Wearing their usual heavy leather boots, jeans, and t-shirts, Sapphire couldn't help but think of the tattoos she had glimpsed scattered across Hayden's broad chest. Hadn't she seen the color outlines of tattoos pressing against the sleeves of Joel's shirt once? Tattoos, motorcycles, running a bar, and talking about large sums of money all sounded so dangerous. But here they both were sipping coffee and staring lovingly at their bikes they had parked out front. Not very dangerous-like at all.
It didn't take a lip reader to know that their conversation had now moved on to the topic of their bikes. From Joel's reverent expression toward the deep plum and chrome of his machine, it was safe to say he loved that bike. And besides, dangerous men wouldn't come to the rescue of a girl they didn't even know, much less let her stay in their home and give her a job, she reasoned. And dangerous people wouldn't not-so-subtly ask if they could get it on the pot-roast she promised an elderly couple.
But they definitely had the capabilities for danger. Taking the order of the last customer, Sapphire glanced up at the two men. Sunlight poured in from the windows highlighting their broad backs and narrow waists. She recalled how the bikers that night at the motel had fled while the remaining one cowered before them. Yeah, they certainly had the potential for danger—she just wasn't sure if that was necessarily a bad thing when it came to them.
