Page 7 of There’s Trouble Brewing

“Who’s the boss around here?” The older woman squinted, her sharp eyes narrowing in suspicion. “I’m guessing it’s not you,” she barked, hands on hips. “You tell your boss Birdie Jackson is here to see him right now.”

Emily admired the other woman’s determination, but she wasn’t going to give into her demands. “If you have a problem, you can tell it to me,” she said, hoping to defuse the situation before it got out of hand.

“Tell you? I hardly think so,” Birdie snorted.

Emily sighed, thinking of a hundred other places she’drather be. She’d always had a way of attracting the angry ones. “Look, you know?—”

“Thank you, Emily, but I can handle this,” Mark said, coming up from behind her to deal with the older woman.

Birdie gave a huff that could’ve powered a windmill. “I’m here to tell you we don’t want you in this town.”

“Well, that’s a new one,” Mark muttered. “What do you mean by that?”

“You think we need another coffee place around here?” Birdie’s voice rose with anger. “We’ve got Belinda’s cafe already.”

“The one on Main Street?” Mark questioned.

Birdie nodded with a glare. “The Dream Bean has been here forever, and now you want to move in and steal Belinda’s customers.”

“Well, that’s all the way across town,” Emily commented, remembering the location from her notes when she went over the details with Mark.

“I picked this spot on the Waterfront for that very reason,” Mark added. “And I’ve talked to Belinda about this already, and she’s fine with us opening our coffee shop over here.”

“Isn’t that convenient,” Birdie said, unconvinced. “Taking all the tourists away from the Dream Bean.”

Emily’s frustration boiled beneath her composed surface. What was it with this woman? Why did she seem to think she had a right to get involved in their business? She was tempted to tell the other woman just that, but she was smart enough to know it was better to not make things worse. She decided to keep her irritation in check. “Look, we’re not trying to cause trouble. All we want?—”

“I don’t care what any of you want,” Birdie cut Emily off. “Don’t think you can fool anyone around here with your foreign beans and fancy coffee drinks.”

“Miss Jackson, that isn’t what we’re trying to do. We simply want to provide delicious drinks in a fun and friendly atmosphere.”

“Humph, if you say so,” Birdie snorted. “Just know, I’ll be watching you,” she declared with a wag of her finger as if she had a score to settle.

Emily couldn’t help but notice that Mark kept his easy smile intact. “He should get a medal for patience,” she thought to herself.

Birdie turned with a flair, heading for the door in dramatic fashion.

Once the older woman was gone, Mark laughed, a sound that shocked Emily. “You get used to Birdie,” he said, nudging her with a reassuring elbow.

Emily shook her head with skepticism. “Do you?”

“She’s just part of the town’s quirks,” Mark told Emily with a shrug. “At least that’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

She wanted to argue with him that outbursts weren’t something to accept at his place of business, but then she reminded herself that she was only there temporarily. It was none of her concern, and she should stay out of the politics of the town.

“We don’t want you.” The words echoed in her mind, stubborn as the woman who’d said them. A couple of weeks, she told herself, and she’d be able to head off to another location to train baristas at a new Brave Badge.

She fought back a sigh, pretending not to see Mark’s amused expression as she clapped her hands. “Let’s get back to work.”

Before Emily knew it, it was closing time. She busied herself putting away the last of the ingredients when Mark joined her and leaned against the counter. “Survived another day, huh?”

Emily shrugged. “If you can call it that.”

Mark rubbed his chin as if thinking before he asked, “You up for going with me to J’s?”

Emily furrowed her brows together in confusion. “What’s that? A bar? Do I look like I need a drink?”

Mark laughed with a shake of his head. “No, it’s the local diner. I figured burgers might be a good reward for making it through the first day of training.”

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