Page 28 of Coffee Shop Girl
His pristine certainty. The unwavering confidence that couldn’tquitebe labeled as arrogance, but almost. The fact that he always had a point—and one that worked well—made me want to throw a coffee mug at his head. I stalked upstairs, annoyed with Maverick, although he’d done nothing wrong. Except be right, exist, and make points that poked holes in my fragile denial.
I stuffed that away and turned my thoughts back to the shop. The decision of whether to keep Ellie and Lizbeth couldn’t be put off. I’d certainly done an admirable job of avoiding it the last couple of days, however. No matter how I looked at it, the fates of the girls and the coffee shop were entwined. Dad’s dream had to live or die, and so did the girls’ chances at a better life.
No, this wasn’t just Dad’s dream anymore. It was mine now. I’d inherited it. I couldn’t fix a lot of things, like the fact that he’d never meet his grandchildren, see me work as a real estate agent, or walk me down the aisle of what would be averychic wedding.
But I could let his dream of the Frolicking Moose Coffee Shop live on.
Lizbeth and Ellie were curled up on the bed. A book filled Lizbeth’s hands, while Ellie watched a movie on my laptop. Ellie looked at me with glazed eyes, then turned back to the screen.
Lizbeth yawned. “Hey Bethany,” she murmured, turning the page with a little sigh.
“Holding up okay?” I asked.
“Ellie’s bored.”
A lusty picture of a man and woman graced the front of Lizbeth’s paperback. “Should you be reading that?” I asked.
Lizbeth waved a hand. “I skip the sex scenes. Sounds horrendous.”
A laugh bubbled out of me, easing my tension. Ellie eyed me again, then returned to her movie. A survival show set in Alaska, of all places, with treacherously steep mountains and snow everywhere.
I sincerely hoped she wasn’t taking notes.
My phone chimed, drawing my attention back to the text I’d sent in my office. First, I’d taken Jada’s advice and called Kin—his full name was Kinoshi, taken from his Japanese parents—but he didn’t answer, so I’d followed up with a text. His reply came in now.
I can meetup tomorrow night. Let’s hit Carlotta’s and catch up. And yes, I can give you some legal advice. Dinner’s on me.
My stomach curled a little.Some of the sweet, meddling ladies in the town had been attempting to get me to date Kin forever. He was kind, from around here, and wouldn’t get in the way of whatever I wanted to do with real estate, but he was also utterly ... boring.
Outside, the sound of someone yelling floated through the window. Ellie darted over, abandoning the laptop on the bed.
“There’s a boy that plays on the edge of the reservoir a lot,” Lizbeth said as if she read my mind. “He looks like he’s Ellie’s age. She’s been stalking him.”
Ellie flipped her off.
“All right, eleven-year-old,” I said, ruffling Ellie’s hair. “No flipping the bird unless it’s to Jim. And that boy is Devin. His mom is Millie. She owns the hair salon up here, and he’s a great kid. You want to meet him?”
Ellie hesitated, not tearing her eyes away from Devin, then shook her head. She remained at her perch, looking out, chin stacked on her two hands. Lizbeth had already been reabsorbed into her book. I slipped into the bathroom, wound my hair into a high bun, splashed cold water on my face, and prepared myself to return downstairs.
“I can do this,” I whispered, psyching myself up. “I can face him for another two hours with him sitting there, sucking up all the gravity in the room with his massive shoulders, and not crush on him.”
Too late for that. I was way too lost in Crushland.
“Or feel deep shame over the fact that he almost offered to cover my grocery bill.”
I winced at my own reflection.
The $35,000 limit on Dad’s business credit card was just a couple hundred away from being totally maxed out. Scratch that. Eighty-five dollars from being maxed out now that I’d charged our groceries to it. Horror that Maverick had felt obligated to pay for my groceries sat like cold water in my veins. As if the other morning hadn’t been embarrassing enough. Not being able to buy them food? What other expenses were there?
School supplies?
Clothes?
If I lost the Frolicking Moose, what then? It was all I had left except an almost-college degree and mountains of debt. Shoving that aside, I stepped back into the attic. I’d know better tonight, after dinner with Kin. Lizbeth had sunk so far back into her book that she didn’t notice me return.
I paused in the doorway.
“If you change your mind, Ellie, let me know. Devin is really sweet and loves to be outside. And if you want to come downstairs and play some board games, feel free.”
