Page 79 of A Seer and Present Danger

“It was Aggie’s shift, but I couldn’t get her on the phone. Or Shelly. Think they called it quits?”

I smiled. “No, I don’t think so. Shelly likes it here. Aggie…Well, I don’t know about her, but I bet it’s just the cell tower being down. We still got the land line?”

“Working last time I checked.”

“Then we’re good. Plus,” I waved a hand toward the dining room, “it’s not like we’re overrun with customers right now.”

He smiled, but it was tired. “That’s good.” He yawned. “It’s been a long night.”

“You’ve been here since last night? Buzz. You are going to fall asleep and griddle yourself to death. Go home.”

“Who’s gonna cook, Pipes? Someone’s gotta cook.”

“Me.” I pulled my shoulders back and gave him a pointed look. “I know the menu inside out, we aren’t going to have hardly any customers in this storm, and if it gets busy—which it will not—I will switch to the easy stuff. Sandwiches, pies, fries—and tell folks that because of the storm we’re out of everything else. Or that our grill is down.”

“Naw,” he said around another yawn. “You don’t need to do that. I got this.”

“Okay, compromise. How about you go nap in your office, and I’ll keep an eye on things for an hour or two? If we get in some big orders, I’ll come get you.”

He rubbed his palm over his face, then let his hand fall to his lap. “You’d do that?”

I chuckled. “Yes.”

“You’ll handle cooking and serving?”

“There are two people out there, Buzz. You just handled the cooking and serving and the dishes for hours and you’re only half awake. I’m going to be fine. Go. I’m getting tired just looking at you.”

He pressed against his thighs and levered up. “All right. Don’t let the power go to your head.” He waggled his eyebrows and held out the key ring with keys to the storage areas, the fuse box, doors, and more. “Last chance to change your mind.”

“For the love of burgers, Buzz.” I pocketed the keys. “Go. Sleep. I’ll make you a sandwich when you wake up.”

He lifted a hand over his shoulder as he shuffled out of the kitchen back to the tiny office where he handled the paperwork. It only had a desk and a chair in it, but I’d seen the sleeping bag he’d stashed in the corner. I figured it wouldn’t matter that he would be on the floor. He’d probably be asleep before he got the bag unzipped.

I did a quick ops check of the kitchen. Everything was clean and in good shape. Buzz had all our sides and extras cut and ready in the refrigerator and freezer. The desserts were good to go too.

He really did run a tight little ship here, and even though this was temporary—very temporary—I was excited to be able to call it my own. Well, to call it ours, for a few hours.

“I do want to be a partner in the business, Buzz,” I said, trying out the next conversation I wanted to have with him. “I’d like to be a bigger part of this. I love the Blue Owl. You’ve made it a home for me. I want to buy in and keep it going.”

That sounded good. Maybe after he got some rest, we could talk.

And maybe he might actually say yes.

I thought about what my life would look like if I were co-owner of the Blue Owl and it made me smile again. I didn’t have to look into the future to know what my heart wanted.

I headed out to the floor to see if my two customers needed anything.

Charles was halfway through the biscuits and gravy, a crossword puzzle book open on the table next to him. I refilled his coffee and water, agreed that the gravy might be a little salty and maybe we could adjust it for next time, then headed over to Gail.

She sat alone at the same table where she and Kenny had sat just a few days ago.

“Hey there, Gail. Can I get you anything else?” I took a peek at the future, and it was still blank. I wasn’t going to panic about it. It might be a side effect of the storm or maybe some kind of magical thing was happening in Ordinary that was blocking my signal.

Gail looked up from her almost empty glass of cherry cola. “Uh, I suppose some more cola?” She wasn’t wearing makeup, and her eyes were a little red like she’d been crying and had cried herself out. Her tone was softer too.

“Sure. Would a sandwich hit the spot?”

I couldn’t see the future, but there were no plates on the table. I had a feeling she’d been sitting here nursing the cola for some time now.