“Would you?”
I paused. “The Poet of yore might not have. But I’m the new and improved Poet. Poet 2.0.”
“The Poet of yore was pretty great,” Salem said. “But Poet 2.0 has no fear about speaking her mind, and that’s a good thing.”
I smiled at her. “She’s finding her voice. At least with those she loves.”
Salem smiled back at me.
The bathroom door opened, and Hadley waddled out and sat in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “What are you making?”
“Banana bread,” I said. “For Brooks.”
“Ah, the male equivalent of flowers,” Salem said with a nod.
“Sweet,” Hadley said. “Whose recipe are you using?”
“Whose do you think?” I asked with a laugh.
“Muddy,” both of them said at the same time.
“I was going to text and ask if you and your mates wanted to meet at the Copper Mule tonight for barbecue,” I said.
“Mates?” Salem snorted.
“Seemed appropriate,” I said. “Husband.Husbands. Wow, still throws me for a loop.”
“Barbecue sounds great,” Hadley said, pulling out her phone. “What time? I want to tell Declan.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Five? Is that too early?”
“For Cas and Declan. They won’t be done and showered until at least six-thirty,” Salem explained.
“Well, then the three of us can go early,” Hadley said. “I won’t last until six-thirty. Wade put fried pickles on the menu with chipotle aioli dipping sauce.”
“Oh, yum.” I lifted the mixing bowl and poured the batter into the loaf pan. The oven was at temperature, and I shoved the loaf pan into it and set the timer.
“We have a few hours,” Salem said. “What are we going to do to occupy ourselves?”
“You’re going to help me,” I said.
“With what?” Salem asked.
I grinned. “My business presentation. For the bookstore.”
“So you can present it to Lucy and then the bank?” Hadley asked in excitement.
I shook my head. “Lucy already gave me her approval. Muddy pre-empted my asking by spilling the beans. This is just for the bank.”
Hadley and Salem looked at each other. “Mr. Perkins.”
“Who’s Mr. Perkins?” I asked.
“The man in charge of business loans,” Salem said. “He’s kind of . . .”
“Quirky,” Hadley said.
“Eccentric,” Salem added. “He’s a strange mix of modern affinity and old-world nostalgia.”
