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Always a pleasure.
I blinked repeatedly to control my emotions and turned around, pretending to deal with my coffee maker. Cleaning it would make me feel better and accomplished.
“Are you okay?” April’s always cheerful voice was careful. The blue tips of her hair matched my mood. The new color suited her.
“I am. Thank you.”
“If you need to go to the kitchen or do whatever, I can handle things here. Go take a breath outside.” Grateful for her sweetness, I nodded, accepting the reprieve she was offering.
I stepped onto the sidewalk without a defined direction. I walked a couple of stores down, not seeing what was displayed. My stomach was even queasier than before, and I took in some deep breaths to calm it down. I was about to come back to Beans when I felt my skin tingle. Not in a good way.
I looked around, unsure as to why I was suddenly cagey, when I saw a man standing on the other side of the street. His gaze was fixated on me, a creepy look on his face, making me shiver in disgust.
There was something familiar about him, although I was sure I didn’t know him. His smile at me was sleazy, and it broke me out of my musings. I trudged faster to the coffee shop, almost bumping John Cross, a nice—albeit grumpy—old man who became one of my favorite regulars.
“Whoa, young lady. What’s with the rush?” He held me by the shoulders as I looked around for the man, getting distraught rather than relieved to realize he was already gone. Something about him left me upset for no other reason than my gut telling me to be careful.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Cross. I was just distracted.” I gave him my calmest smile, which didn’t seem to convince him. He didn’t call me on it, though, for which I was grateful.
“I could go for one of your pies if you have them.”
“I sure do. Please, come in. I’ll get it for you in no time.”
We walked into my shop again, and he went straight to what I started calling “Mr. Cross’s stool.” My hands felt clammy as I tried to serve him. April, being a lifesaver, sensed my discomfort and seamlessly took my place in serving the old man.
I didn’t know if it was the after-effect of talking to my mother or seeing that creep outside checking me out, but the few contents of my stomach were making a comeback. I hastily left the common space and ran to the bathroom in the back, vomiting inside the toilet way more than I remembered ingesting.
After a while of finally just retching, I brushed my teeth with a spare toothbrush and tried to get rid of the smell in the bathroom, which only made me feel nauseated again.
I traipsed to the cash register as if everything was fine. There weren’t a lot of patrons at the time, and the few who were didn’t seem to notice anything. Except for Mr. Cross and April. She looked worried, whereas he appeared to be suspicious.
“Everything okay, lady?” He pointed his fork at me. “You look green.”
“I’m fine. My stomach is just a little upset. Thank you for caring.” I was indeed thankful for them both. With Benjamin being away, and after the call from hell, I needed that glimpse of fondness.
He puffed and resumed digging in his pie. “My Daisy was just like that.”
“What do you mean?” I headed closer to him and sat down on a stool April and I kept for ourselves behind the counter.
“My wife, Daisy. She was just like that when she was pregnant. She’d turn green, and nothing would stay inside her stomach for long.” April gasped behind me, and I went from green to white. Oblivious to my distress, he went on. “I’m so grateful she gave us our kids. But I always felt useless when she was pregnant. I’m sure your man will feel the same way.”
“I’m not pregnant,” I argued weakly, but it came out more like a question than a statement.
He gave me a look that did nothing to hide his disbelief. He shook his head and grumbled about young people who always thought they knew better.
It was a good thing I was seated, because my knees trembled out of control when I started to consider the probability of his guess.
Was he right? And what did that mean for me and Benjamin?
I was tired, moody, and I was bound to snap at someone just so I could have a partner to spar with and release my frustration. I was more than ready to go back to Holy Water and see Isabella again. I needed my fill of her to calm me down.
Thankfully, Mia and I were going home after days of dealing with private jobs and a useless investigation for the government. We thought we had a new lead on the heroin shipment, but it was another failure.
We stopped at a gas station by the road, and Mia went to the convenience store to buy us some snacks. I was fueling my car when a truck loading two horses stopped nearby to do the same. I lifted my chin in greeting, not in the mood for conversation.
Mia was taking her sweet time.What the hell is taking her so long? Is she baking the candy?I was starting to get as restless as the guy’s horses. “Are they fine?”Why am I talking to this person?
“I think so.” The man seemed as surprised as I was at my question.
