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“No problem. You want me to hit up Rita’s?”
“Yeah. Vanilla latte for me, black coffee for Troy, and— Crap. I don’t know what Donny likes.”
“Black coffee,” I say absently.
“Great. And whatever you want, of course.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Alyssa throws some bills down on my desk. “I’m taking it out of petty cash.”
Is that kosher? I don’t ask. I just take the money and head out of my cubicle, down the stairs, and through the glass doors, nodding to reception.
“Oh, you got the job!” the receptionist says.
“I guess I did. Coffee girl.”
I don’t mean to sound self-deprecating. It’s just kind of how I am. I’m truly thrilled to have the position, even if it means I’m using my criminal justice degree to get coffee.
Hey, if I’m the coffee girl, I’ll be the best damned coffee girl out there.
Rita’s Café and Coffee Shop is right across from Ava Steel’s bakery. The rich fragrance of fresh bread wafts toward me. I got up early and skipped breakfast. One of Ava’s almond croissants sounds heavenly. I take a quick detour and walk into the bakery.
Ava herself is at the counter. “Hi, Callie. What are you doing all dressed up today?”
“I’m working for your aunt and cousin at the city attorney’s office. Out on coffee duty.”
“Sorry. I don’t serve coffee. Only bottled natural spring water.” She smiles.
“I know. I actually couldn’t resist the smell of the fresh baked goods. I’d like four almond croissants, please.”
“Coming up.” Ava pulls four of the delicacies out, wraps them in tissues, bags them, and hands them to me. “Enjoy.”
“Uh…aren’t you forgetting something?”
“I’m sorry. Did you want something else?”
“No, but how much do I owe you?”
“Oh.” She blushes until her cheeks are nearly the color of her pink hair. “Gratis.”
I shake my head. “I insist on paying.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it—not after all your family’s been through.”
My jaw drops. I don’t know whether to yell at her or hug her. I’m equally insulted and uplifted. I open my mouth to insist upon paying, when Brendan Murphy opens the door and walks in.
“Well, good morning,” he says jovially. “How are the two loveliest ladies in Snow Creek?”
Without thinking, I look around the bakery. No one else is here.
“I mean you, Callie. You and Ava.” Brendan chuckles. “What are you dressed up for?”
“I work here. I mean, not here at the bakery. At the city attorney’s office.”
“Oh, hey, that reminds me.” Brendan turns to Ava. “Talon still doing okay?”
Ava nods. “Last I heard. My dad’s still in Grand Junction with him. Mom came home last night.”
“Donny heard this morning,” I add. “All’s good.”
“Thank goodness.” Brendan shakes his head. “It’ll never feel like we don’t have to look over our shoulders in this town. I’m not sure I like the idea of you working alone here,” he says to Ava.
“I’m not alone. Luke’s in the back. Maya will be in later.”
“Still…”
“Ava, I need to get back.” I plop my credit card on the counter.
“Please, Callie. My treat.”
I can argue this until sundown, but not in front of Brendan and not when Alyssa is expecting me back with coffee. “Okay, thank you so much. But next time, I pay. Okay?”
Ava smiles. “Okay.”
“See you, Brendan.”
He nods as I walk out the door and across the street to Rita’s.
Rita’s is hardly bustling, though the sheriff and one of his officers sit at a table in front, sipping coffee.
“Hi, Sheriff,” I say.
“Hello, Callie. You look nice.”
“Do you have anything on the Talon Steel case?” I ask.
“We’re looking into it.”
I nod. “Thanks. I can’t believe it happened.”
“Neither can any of us.”
I wave goodbye, head to the counter, and place the coffee order.
And I wonder, for the first time since we moved here twenty years ago.
Is Snow Creek safe?
Chapter Forty-One
Donny
The judge granted my requests for continuances into next week, when Mom returns. Or if she doesn’t, I need to be up to speed by then. Since they’re all misdemeanors, no problem. Hell, I’ve tried multimillion-dollar corporate cases. A few traffic mishaps won’t be any issue. I probably could have shot from the hip today, but I wanted to get back to the office.
To dive into the databases.
To find the best way to get Brendan out of his place for a few days and get the bar closed.
Yeah, I’m really going to do this. I, Donovan T. Steel, attorney at law, am going to manufacture a crisis for Murphy’s Bar.
I like the Murphys. Always have. So yeah, I feel some guilt here. But my first allegiance is and always will be to my family.
The Steels, who took my brother and me in and gave us a life we never imagined. No, it didn’t erase what happened to us those few months prior, but it gave us a lot we wouldn’t otherwise have.
A knock on the door jars me out of my thoughts. “Yeah? Come in.”
