Page 52 of Two Risks I'd Never Take Again

He dropped to his haunches, his tail wagging.

“Good boy!” I petted him. “Y’all have really been training him.”

Eli and Delaney blinked, and then she said, “We have. But why are you acting as if you like dogs all of a sudden?”

“Turns out, I sort of like well-behaved dogs.” I picked up my purse. “I’m going to go, so that y’all can do couply things and I can eat and relax before going to bed.”

Eli opened the front door. “Are you and Garrett coming for Christmas Eve dinner?”

“We are. I talked to your mom yesterday. She’s so excited about having an extra mouth to feed.” I laughed. “See y’all later.”

I climbed into the car and drove home. When I walked back into my apartment, I texted Garrett.I’m home.

Thanks for letting me know. I’ll see you in the morning.

Dang my heart for being so excited about that.

Chapter 17

Iflipped the open sign, and a familiar hand reached for the handle as I turned the lock. “Good morning.”

Garrett had been the first customer every day this week. The term customer wasn’t accurate because I never charged him, but he always dropped a tip in the jar.

He grinned as I hugged him. “Good morning. Now that I’m going to be a rancher, I need to learn to be up with the sun. I’ll be adopting your bedtime before too long.”

“It’s not so bad. Excited about the new job?” I hurried behind the counter and pulled his favorite out of the case.

“I am.”

I slid a doughnut across the counter and set a mug next to it. “I won’t get to see you in the mornings. You’ll be eating Ava’s breakfast and taking care of cows.”

“I’ll sneak over whenever I get a chance.” He broke the doughnut in half. “Have you decided what days you’ll be closed?”

“I plan to put a sign up today. Christmas Eve, I’ll only be open until noon. Then I’ll be closed for Christmas and the day after. I don’t want to stay closed too long because I’m closing again for the wedding two weeks later.” I filled a mug of coffee for myself. “I should probably hire extra help so that taking a break isn’t such a big deal.”

“That’s wise. You’ll exhaust yourself, trying to keep this place going all the time.” He nodded toward the door as it opened. “I’m going to settle at that table in the corner while you feed the masses.”

“Let me know if you need anything.” I smiled as firemen filed in. “Good morning, guys. What can I get for y’all?”

An hour later, the crowd had thinned a bit, but Garrett still sat at the corner table. He seemed preoccupied with whatever he had laid out in front of him, and I chose not to interrupt him.

The steady stream of customers made it hard to make it over to his table anyway.

As I was getting a fresh pot of coffee ready to brew, the door opened. “I’ll be with you in one moment.”

“No hurry.”

The familiar voice startled me, and I nearly dropped coffee grounds all over the floor.

With a forced smile, I turned and faced Deputy Gomez. “Hi.”

Not only was this man a reminder of the awful beating Garrett had suffered, but I was also harboring irritation for the implications Nico had made during the visit at the house.

“Welcome to Sweet’s. What can I get for you?”

He perched on a barstool not far from the coffee station. “I was out this way and thought a doughnut and coffee sounded good. Do you have any of that kind you made at the house?”

I tensed, hoping no one else heard his question. Out of context, it sounded like he’d been at my house. I didn’t want people to think that.

---