Page 41 of Sawyer
Lele lifted her chin, determined not to show how much Tazzy’s attitude hurt. She’d hoped being in a new town would be different. She hoped maybe she could actually make some real friends for the first time.
She should have known things like that didn’t happen to people like her. There was no one to blame except herself. She’d been weak. She should have stood up for herself. Stood up for what was right. But there were only so many times you could stand up, only to get knocked right back down, before you figured out it was easier to just stay down.
Still, it would have been nice if Darling had been better than Elk Jaw.
She jumped when Tazzy slammed a frappe down on the counter in front of her. She had to give credit to the woman. Tazzy was one heck of a barista.
“Tazzy! What the heck?” Georgia said.
Saul growled out, “You need to step back, Taziana. There’s no call for that. You better believe I’ll be having words with Hutch.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Vivi said. “I’ll be speaking to him myself. And your brother, young lady, because I know Tripp Thomas will be appalled at such behavior. If I was any younger, I’d take a switch to you myself.”
Tazzy’s face flamed, and her eyes brightened with tears. And just like that, Lele was back to feeling sorry for her.
Trying to break the tension, she said, “Wh-what do you call this again?”
Lele stared at the drink in wonder. It was gorgeous.
Without looking at her, Tazzy answered her question. “It’s a Star Spangled Strudel Frappe. It has chocolate, cherry, and toasted marshmallow syrups, and it’s topped with a cherry pie strudel with cherries and pecans.”
Lele took a sip, and pure deliciousness flooded her senses. “Oh my gosh. This is amazing! Did you come up with this yourself?”
Still staring at the counter, Tazzy nodded.
Lele tried to break down the wall between her and Tazzy. “Do you ever have adult frappes? I make these boozy cherry bombs at Videotopia. They’re super cute, and I bet they’d look even cuter decorating the top of these frappes. I can give you to recipe if you like.”
Tazzy stared at her, shocked.
Lele cringed inside. Why couldn’t she ever freakin’ read the room? Why would Tazzy, who obviously hated her, want a recipe? “Sorry.” Lele shook her head, slipped off the stool, and backed into her big, hulking Daddy. “I was trying to help, but you don’t need any… sorry.”
She turned to Saul and pressed her forehead against his chest. His arms wrapping around her had never felt so good. And they had always felt pretty darn fantastic.
“I expected better of you, Tazzy,” he growled. Leaving an arm around her shoulder, he guided her toward the door.
“Wait,” Tazzy called after them. Her Daddy paused, but hedidn’t turn them around to face the counter. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I should never have spoken to you like that. I don’t know what came over me. Please, if you’ll forgive me, I’d love to get together here someday soon and learn that recipe. It sounds yummy.”
That was a nice gesture. Maybe she’d do that. Lele knew she blew up at customers from time to time. Well, okay, she didn’t blow up exactly, but if they could read her mind, they would be shaking in their boots.
Looking over her shoulder, she did her best to smile. “I’ll think about it. Thanks.”
As soon as they were standing beside the truck, her Daddy took her frappe from her and placed it on the hood of his truck. Then he kissed her, right there on the street.
“I’m very proud of you, Half-Pint. You are one of the most incredible people I have ever known. Most people would have thrown Tazzy’s peace offering back in her face. She’s not a bad person. I think she’s dealing with a lot right now, that’s no excuse, but it’s understandable.”
“Did you use to be her Daddy?” Yep. She said that. Just blurted it out right there on whatever street this was.
The shock bordering on horror that crossed his face almost made her laugh. “Fuck, no. Why would you think that?”
She sighed. Men.
“It doesn’t matter. What are we going to do now?”
“I have to go to my… office. I have a meeting I can’t miss. It shouldn’t take too long. Then, the rest of my day is yours.”
That sounded perfect. She’d love to look around Darling and see where he lived. She’d spied a cute Italian place on the way to Books-N-Brews that she’d love to check out, maybe for dinner.
Yes, the next week in Darling was going to be great.
