Page 34 of Ghostridden
I checked the time.Oops. I needed to meet Carson like now, so I snapped pictures of all the articles with my phone—no flash, ofcourse—and closed the folio carefully. I found Jerry in the fiction section, in front of theFa - Fishelf. He was thumbing throughBehind Time, Jake Fields’ third book, and, in my opinion, his best.
“Hey, Jerry. Thanks so much for opening up for me and sharing all the information about Avi.”
He smiled warmly at me. “My pleasure.”
I flicked a finger at the book. “Book club making its way through Jake’s work?”
“What?” He chuckled and shelved the book. “No. Just nostalgic, I guess.”
“Yeah. His last book wasn’t really up to his usual standard, was it? Hope the next one’s better.”
His eyebrows shot up. “His next—”
“Sorry, I’ve got to run. Thanks again, and I’ll definitely be coming by during regular hours.” I grinned and ran my finger along a row of book spines. “I love the company.”
I hurried out the door and down the street. Luckily, Isaksen’s was only half a block away, so I was still a couple of minutes early. I didn’t see Carson’s shiny car at the curb, and when I walked into the bakery to the cheerful accompaniment of tinkling bells, I didn’t spot him inside either.
Instead, Taryn stood at the register, leaning over the counter as she smiled up at a tall, red-haired woman in a sleeveless T-shirt that exposed some serious arm definition, her pale skin liberally sprinkled with freckles. An Asian man with his long black hair caught up in a ponytail backed through a swinging door, a tray of glistening miniature fruit tarts in his hands.
His smile was nearly as bright as the lights in the display case where he deftly unloaded the pastries. “Welcome to Isaksen’s. You must be Maz.”
I blinked. “Um, yes?”
Taryn looked over at me and burst out laughing. “The look on your face. Don’t worry. I told them both about you. Jae-Seong isn’t psychic.”
He gave her a glare of mock outrage. “How dare you! I’ll have you know I aced my History of Tarot test precisely because I could read Professor DeHaven’s mind.”
“Yeah,” drawled the red-haired woman. “Couldn’t be because you stayed up half the night studying before the final.”
He sighed dramatically. “Nobody appreciates my talents.”
“Iappreciate them,” Taryn said. “And Maz will too when you make him one of your signature Vietnamese coffees.” She turned to face me. “Maz, these two goofballs are Haley and Jae-Seong Isaksen. They own the bakery.”
“Took over from our parents,” Haley said. “Who are now off traveling and enjoying their retirement.”
“And we,” Jae-Seong said, “enjoy them not looking over our shoulder and micromanaging everything from the decor to the sourdough starter.”
Taryn patted her ample hip. “I owe much of my padding to their work, especially since they never charge me for anything and it’s hard to resist a poppyseed scone or giant cinnamon roll when it’s free.”
“We owe your pop more than free baked goods for life,” Jae-Seong said. “If it weren’t for him, our folks would never have found us and made us a family.”
Taryn grinned. “He is good, isn’t he?” She smiled at Haley. “Will I see you for dinner tonight?”
“Definitely.” Haley leaned over the counter and planted a kiss on Taryn’s lips, lingering just long enough that their relationship was not in the least in question. “Jae-Seong’s doing the bread prep tonight, so I’m free.”
“Excellent.” Taryn pointed at Jae-Seong. “Remember. Vietnamese coffee for Maz.” She lifted her nose in the air. “You can put it on my tab.”
Jae-Seong laughed and tossed a blue and white striped napkin at her, which she snatched out of the air. “Get out of here, woman. You’re distracting my sister.”
She laughed and faced me. “Maz, I’m glad I ran into you. The delivery company will be dropping off Oren’s effects tomorrow sometime between eight and noon. Will that be convenient?”
I screwed up my face. “I’m not sure? I’ve just started at the Manor and I already bugged out on your dad this morning to check on something in the library.”
“Don’t worry. He’ll understand.” She dug her phone out of her purse. “How about this? I’ll have them text you when they’re ten minutes out. If you’re just at the Manor, you can be there to meet them, no problem.” She winked. “Dad’s not as much of a cruel task master as he looks.”
“Are you kidding? He’s like a cross between a tall, shaped-up Santa and everybody’s favorite uncle. I find it hard to believe he’s ever said a cross word in his life.”
She chuckled and patted my arm. “Trust me. He uttered plenty of cross words when I was a teenager. Dad and Pop both did, because I dearly loved to test boundaries. Still do, in fact.” She fluttered her fingers at Jae-Seong, blew a kiss at Haley and headed for the door just as Carson stepped inside. “Morning, Carson. Slumming?”
