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“Diet root beer.” Kate shakes her head. “You’re right. I love it.” She takes a sip and groans. “And it’s ice cold. Perfect. Thank you for being so considerate.”
Ignoring the way my body took notice of Kate’s groan, I come around the island and take her hand. “Want to go sit out on the patio or on the couch?”
“Couch, definitely. It’s just getting too hot out nowadays. I’m looking forward to November when the humidity goes back down.”
“Me, too.” I lead her to the couch, and we sit next to each other. “So, tell me about your day. What did you do?”
“Well, I worked, obviously. Then my kickball team had a game this afternoon, and now I’m here.”
I hold my hand up. “Let’s unpack some of that. Work first. I thought you were going to hire someone to work, so you didn’t have to work every day.”
“I did. Two people, actually. Josh, who is dating Chloe, who is my current employee, and Anna. Both are going to school but need extra funds. Grace… she does my books, says that I can afford to hire them both. So, right now, they are training with Chloe and I.”
“Wow. That’s great. Your shop must be doing well. I mean, every time I drive by or look over, the parking lot is full, so, of course, you must be doing well. Best coffee and bagels in the county.”
Kate’s shoulders pull back in pride. “Thank you. I think so.”
“So… kickball team?”
Laughing, “Yeah, kickball. Grace and I decided we needed to be doing something more than working and watching House Hunters. She found a kickball league. We are teammates on The Bad News Babes.”
“Kickball as in the game with the red bouncy ball that pings whenever you’re hit in the head with that you played in elementary school?”
“The same one. Although, some teams like the one we played today take it very seriously. Our team’s not one of those, but there are some serious players out there. I had no idea until Grace mentioned it.”
I’m thinking of all the ways we can incorporate Hooplas into this team sport. Maybe even coming up with our own team or at least sponsoring a team for the marketing aspect. “That’s pretty cool. Did you win?”
“Oh god, no. We suck. But we had fun.” She takes a sip of her diet root beer and puts the bottle back on the coffee table under a coaster. My mother would be proud. “What about you? How was fishing?”
“You know the old adage. A bad day of fishing beats a good day at work.”
“Did you ever catch anything?”
“Just some sun.”
Kate’s cell phone rings. “I’m sorry. I have to get that. It’s my alarm company’s ring tone.” She jumps up and retrieves her phone from her purse. “Hello?... yes… oh my god, okay… I’m on my way… thank you.” She’s looking for her shoes, “I’m so sorry, but I have to go. Someone broke a window of my shop and the police are there. I have to go secure the building. I’m so sorry, Hudson.”
I grab my shoes as well. “No reason to be sorry. We’ll take my truck.”
She stops. “What?”
“We’ll take my truck. You’ll need sheets of plywood and they’ll fit in the bed of my truck better than in the back of your SUV. I’ll grab my toolkit from the garage.”
“Hudson, wait. This is my problem. Stay and enjoy your evening. I’ve got it.”
I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and pull her to me so that our foreheads are touching. “Kate. I know you can handle this, but you don’t have to handle it by yourself anymore. I’m here. We’ll do this together, okay?”
I hear her sigh, and then she nods. “Okay. Thank you.”
Instead of answering her, I kiss her hard. I want to do more, but that’ll have to wait. “Pepper. Truck.” I call her, and she jumps up from her slumber in her bed by the patio door and runs to my truck.
“Why are we bringing her?” Kate asks as we follow the dog to the door to the garage.
I open the passenger door for Kate, and she climbs in as Pepper climbs into the backseat. I grab my toolkit and throw it into the bed, and then climb in. “We’re taking Pepper because at some point, I’m going to leave you at your shop to go get plywood at the hardware store, and I don’t want you to be at your shop alone.”
“Bark.”
Kate jumps when Pepper speaks and then laughs. “Okay.”
