Page 94 of The Harborer
Hailey piped up. “What if Luanne moves into Amy’s place and Cade moves into Shane’s place?”
Amy gaped at her. “Where are Shane and I supposed to live?”
Hailey’s eyes shifted to her brother-in-law. “Hey, Charlie.”
He turned toward her with a smile. “What can I do for you, Hailey Bailey?”
“Didn’t you tell me the Freemans are thinking of selling the Loose Moose?” The Loose Moose was an adorable miner’s bungalow Charlie had restored for the owners, who lived out of state and used it as a short-term rental. Hailey had stayed there when she’d first landed in Fall River. It wasn’t big, but it was a single-family home on Bowen Street with a yard, and it had more room than either Shane or Amy’s apartments. In other words, it was the perfect size for a couple.
“Yep,” Charlie confirmed. “They’re tired of being long-distance landlords. Why? Know someone who wants to buy it?”
Hailey jerked her chin first at Shane, then at Amy. “Maybe.”
Shane whirled on his barstool and stared at Amy, his eyes bright. “Ilovethat place,” they said at the same time.
Dixie bobbed her head, and her hoop earrings danced. “There! See what happens when we put our heads together? We just solved three problems at the same time.” She brushed her palms together in dramatic fashion, as if she’d orchestrated the whole thing herself, and Amy let go a whoop of laughter.
Chapter 31
Coffee for Life
The lab techs finishedcombing through Mountain Coffee ten days later and gave Amy the green light to reopen. Her kiosk at the resort was such a hit that she and Leo Cantrell struck a deal where she’d stock it and he’d supply half the manpower needed from his own staff. Luanne became the half on Amy’s side of the deal, working part-time at Silver Summit while she continued serving at Miners. She liked working at the tavern because she’d done it for so long and because it kept her closer to Cade, whose new digs above the general store were only a block from the tavern.
With those pieces neatly in place, Amy had been free to focus on her shop’s grand re-opening, happening in ten minutes.
Shane had insisted on helping her this morning, and his calm presence dulled some of her jitters. It was quite possible she was as nervous today as she’d been the first day she’d opened.
“How does this thing work again?” Shane held the apron upside down and stared at it with an adorably puzzled frown. He knew how to tie on an apron. They both knew he was doing his best to distract her, and she wasn’t about to destroy the illusion by calling him on his sweet, clumsy act. The man would never win an Oscar, which was fine by her. She preferred genuine over deftly deceitful any day.
She swiped the garment from him, ordered him to turn around, and cinched it around his trim waist. “What if no one shows up?”
“They’ll show up. That new blend is the talk of the town, and everyone’s dying to try it. Anyone who has to drag their ass out of bed at dark-thirty in the morning won’t be able to resist getting themselves a high-octane boost from a coffee called ‘Hazmat.’”
Amy released a giggle that took some of her tension with it. Shane had that effect on her, and it didn’t hurt that he reminded her of the new product she was rather proud of. After coming up with the new special blend for Silver Summit, she had worked with her vendor to create two more blends for Mountain Coffee: Hazmat, reminiscent of the hazmat teams who had gone through her store, and Radioactive, for those who believed the hazard the lab personnel had been there for was, in fact, radioactive. Instead of downplaying the devastating sight of white-suited workers going in and out of her café, Amy had decided to lean into it.
Flavor so bold it has to be delivered by a special crew.
Mountain Coffee, the safest place in Fall River.
Today she would know whether her marketing was a genius move or an unmitigated disaster.
She tied Shane’s apron and spun him around. “I can’t believe you still don’t know how to tie an apron. Why are you working here again?” He was still on administrative leave, and while he was climbing the walls and ready to return to his real job, he’d confessed he hoped the investigation wouldn’t wrap up untilafterthe election in ten days. If the news was bad, it could annihilate the sheriff’s bid, and Shane didn’t want that.
He looked down at her and flashed her a boyish grin. “I’m doing it for the perks. You feed me coffee and pastries, and you let me do this.” He pecked her lips. “I also have an excuse tonotunpack boxes by myself.”
That was probably for the best.
They had moved into the Loose Moose three days ago, and they were still trying to sort what went where, what duplicates they could toss, and who got which side of the sink. The Freemans had agreed to a lease-to-own, a win-win for both sides. The arrangement let the Freemans off the hook for maintenance and repairs, and it bought Shane and Amy time to line up their takeout financing while putting their stamp on the home. Assuming her business stayed afloat and Shane was reinstated—Sheriff Chesterton insisted it was only a matter of time—a bank would be more inclined to take a chance on them.
She looked up into twinkling brown eyes with a plea in her own. “Would you please unlock the doors? I’m afraid to look out there and see that the sidewalk’s deserted.”
“Sure.” He gave her another peck and left her standing in her office, where she wrapped her arms protectively around her middle. Only a few seconds had ticked by when he called out, “Sweetheart, you need to come see this.”
Oh no! Had someone spray-painted graffiti on her wall? Egged her windows? Set fire to a bag of pooh in front of her door? She tore from the office and came to a screeching halt.
Hand on the latch, Shane glanced at her over his shoulder. “Are you ready for this?”
She peered beyond him and gasped. Rubbed her eyes and looked again. A crowd was gathered outside her store, their breaths rising into the dark morning like tiny cloud puffs. Someone— Holt Gunderson—slapped the glass door and hollered, “Better let these folks in or we’re gonna have a riot on our hands.” Then he laughed his ass off.
