Page 13 of May 11

"Sure. I'll get it for you." She whirled around, walked to the counter, opened the glass container, and reached for one of the plates.

Her body heated. Without looking, she knew he gazed at her.

She returned to the table and set it in front of him. "Whenever you're ready to pay, I'll meet you at the cash register."

Making her escape, she went behind the counter and back to cleaning out the grounds in the maker. There was only an hour to go until closing. Tonight, it was her turn to lock up the shop.

It would be the first time the responsibility fell on her shoulders. Not bad for only working a week.

"I'm going to finish the to-go order." Brooke glanced at the clock. "A woman named Erica will pick it up in fifteen minutes. Then, I'm getting out of here."

"No problem. I'll cover the floor." She searched for her other co-worker and found her at the register. "Dania, you need to watch the clock."

Dania glanced above her head. "Oh, shoot. Thank you."

Dania had to leave early on Fridays and take her daughter to gymnastics. Brooke took her niece swimming at the city pool down the street on Mondays and Wednesdays. It was Cora's job to fill in the gaps and be there when they needed her. So far, she'd worked five days straight and would have the weekend off.

Amazingly, she enjoyed keeping busy during the day. It kept her mind off all the losses she'd experienced recently.

The tears stayed locked up during the day now. Though at night, they often slipped out.

She had to keep going. One day at a time. Her focus remained on finding her brother. That's what kept her looking ahead instead of behind her.

The driftwood hanging on the door handle tinkled. She looked up to find more bikers arriving. She recognized one of them as Brooke's husband. Sure enough, Brooke forgot everything she was doing with the to-go order and rushed to her husband.

Cora read the order and finished it for Brooke.

Having never had a job before, she enjoyed the almost factory-line work of helping run the coffee shop. It was a busier job than she'd originally thought. She hadn't had time to show customers the old picture of her brother.

But that also had a lot to do with not wanting to bring her personal life to her job. That was something she hadn't foreseen happening. She thought it would be easier.

Instead, she planned to spend her weekend exploring the area and showing her brother's picture around in her free time.

"I'm so sorry." Brooke squeezed beside her. "I'll finish up the order."

"I've got it." Cora shut off the steam wand. "Go ahead and take care of your family."

Brooke waved her hand. "Maverick came over to grab my car and pick up Skye at the school. The others are talking to Wire and will probably leave any minute."

Dania hung up her apron and stepped over to Cora, slipping a keychain into her hand. "At four o'clock, kick everyone out."

Brooke laughed, shaking her head. Cora understood the instructions and smiled. There wasn't a mean bone in Dania's body. Her boss would probably sit down and talk with any customer who wanted to stay longer.

"Call if you have any problems." Dania backed away. "You've done great this week. I'll see you on Monday."

"Thank you." She beamed, feeling happier over the compliment than she'd expected.

Working was a boost to her confidence. She only wished she could call home and tell her mom about the people she worked with or tell her dad what went on in the coffee shop business.

She swallowed hard. To know she could never call home and talk to her parents was a hard reality to accept.

Never was so final. At twenty-one years old, she hadn't experienced never before.

The other customers left, one by one until only Wire remained in the corner of the shop.

She glanced at the clock. Only ten more minutes until she closed.

Wire nursed the cup of coffee, having already finished the muffin. Granted, she also enjoyed sitting down and taking her time to enjoy a coffee, but others had come and gone in the amount of time he stayed.

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