Page 38 of When You Got a Good Thing (Misfit Inn 1)

~*~

Stone County encompassed two-hundred square miles of mountain and valley. Xander spent a lot of his time driving from one end to the other, answering calls, working cases. But at least two or three times a week, he liked to do a foot patrol of downtown Eden’s Ridge. To his mind, it was good to be a visible presence—not that the Ridge suffered from much in the way of crime to begin with. Beyond that, he just liked getting out from behind his desk or the wheel of his department cruiser to move.

Today was especially nice, with the weather warming on up to true spring and flowers nodding in the breeze from various pots and planters in front of the shops on Main Street. It was the kind of day worth grabbing take out from Crystal’s Diner and finding a bench somewhere to soak up some sun. That idea took on even more appeal as he spotted Kennedy striding down the sidewalk from the opposite direction. Her blonde ponytail bobbed back and forth with her purposeful stride—as close to Woman On A Mission as she ever really got.

Checking traffic, he crossed over to intercept her. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Her smile was quick and warm. “Well, you’ve just made my trip to town doubly worthwhile.”

“Yeah? What’d you come in for?”

“Job hunting.”

“Already? I’d figured you’d take a little more time to settle in.”

The smiled turned into more of a wince. “Well, things are a little dicey with the house and the rest of our property. It seems Mom has been robbing the trust that pays for it to hand out college educations. A lot of them. So we’re working on figuring the finances out and how we’re going to pay for upkeep. In the meantime, that means we’re all working girls. Hence, job hunting.”

“Success?” he asked, though he knew the answer from her faintly triumphant expression.

“You’re looking at the new bartender at Elvira’s Tavern. It may not be glamorous, but, it’s something I’m good at that’ll bring in a steady paycheck.”

“What happened to Denver?”

“He wanted to make me just a waitress. They’re short-staffed, apparently, but then I got behind the taps and worked some magic. He’s decided he doesn’t need to work every blessed night of the week. With me on board, he’s got more free time to woo Misty Pennebaker.”

Xander went brows up. “He tell you all that?”

“Oh no. The gossip portion of that was opining from Trish Morgan. I think I like her better now than I did in high school. Anyway, I have no idea who Misty Pennebaker is, but I hope she digs the strong, silent type, because Denver seems like a really good guy.”

Xander pointed across the street to the new-agey curiosity and florist shop. “Misty owns Moonbeams and Sweet Dreams over there. Relatively new to the Ridge. Been here maybe three years now, I think.”

As they watched, Misty herself emerged from the shop, a watering can in hand and what appeared to be a crown of daisies in her dark brown hair. Her long, flowing skirts swished as she bent to water the flowers rioting in profusion from the boxes out front. The flower child and the ex-biker. Now there was a romance he wouldn’t have called.

Apparently following the same line of thought, Kennedy muttered, “It’ll be interesting to be a fly on the wall for that one.”

“Yep.”

“Anyway, as of tomorrow night, I should be gainfully employed.”

“That should make Maggie happy.”

“Happy or not, she heads back to L.A. today. Since things are not awesome with the financial situation of Mom’s estate, she’s wigging. And her stress over it is stressing us out. It’ll be good to be down to just Pru and Ari for a little while.”

“You had lunch yet?” Xander asked.

“I have not.”

“Buy you some.”

“If it comes with your charming company, the answer’s yes.”

“Let’s walk on down to Crystal’s.”

Kennedy fell into step beside him. “Do they still have the grilled mac ‘n cheese sandwich?”

“Of course. It’s a diner staple.”

“It’s nice to know some things stay the same. I’ve been really surprised by all the new businesses in town. Main Street has a whole extra block than when I left, and it seems like a bunch of the businesses have changed over.”

---