Page 86 of Just For Her

She stabbed a gravy-covered carrot with her fork and catapulted it in her cousin’s direction. It landed right on his cheek. Once the absurdity of the moment passed, Tove exploded into laughter. She didn’t know what else to do with so much attention on her.

Chapter 25

Itwasduringtheearliest of September when Kayla felt the brunt of having two jobs.

She wasn’t getting paid for the gift shop work, though. Something she felt in her bones when she woke up early after a long evening of waitressing, only to go downtown to help Trudy with the shop and learn as much as she could about the business.

Some of her coworkers had learned about her purchase. Those who kept their questions to themselves were now distanced from her. The others outright asked her where she got that kind of money. Pressure came down from management, probably on behalf of co-owner Nils Fredriksson, who was deep in the middle of wedding planning on behalf of his oldest son. When Kayla declared it wasn’t anyone’s business but hers, that shut most people up. Including her manager, who shrugged and said he was just the messenger.

None of this affected her shifts. She was still doing most of the dinner rushes and weekend brunches after proving herself those past few months. Occasionally, a Fredriksson who recognized her popped in and expressed surprise she was there – before promptly treating her like “the help.” They also remained, by far, the worst tippers.

Once tourist season slows down, I’ll have to talk about my hours.She liked the steady money but knew it wouldn’t last. With Trudy moving out of town after New Year’s, it would be up to Kayla to run the shop, or at least pay for the right kind of help at barely above minimum wage. Because, oh hell, she had seen the numbers and knew she couldn’t afford to pay anyone much more than that.

She often found herself in full autopilot mode while waitressing. Which was why she didn’t immediately recognize the woman sitting in the far corner of the patio.

“Hi! Uh…” She took a step back when Tove looked up at her. “Wow. Awkward.”

“Trust me, I know.” Tove removed her sunglasses. Had she changed her hair recently? Or was that the result of the sunhat protecting her scalp? Either way, the soft ringlets of dark hair pressed against her cheeks highlighted a jawline that Kayla had not paid enough attention to while dating Tove. “I wanted to talk to you. Privately.”

“Uh…”

“I know. Not here. This was where I figured I might find you at this time of day.”

“You could have texted me. Unlike you, I haven’t blocked my ex.”

“Call me old fashioned, but I like to do these things face to face.”

“Look, if what you want to tell me is to leave you alone, no problem. Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours.”

“What if that’s not what I wanted to talk about?”

Kayla bit back what she had wanted to say next. “All right. Should I bring you something, or are you heading out after telling me where to meet you?”

“Sounds like you’ve been through this before.”

“There’s a reason your cousin Oskar doesn’t come around here anymore. He doesn’t like taking no for an answer.”

“Yeah, well, Oskar’s a piece of shit.”

Kayla slapped her hand over her mouth before she burst into laughter. “Okay, okay…” She lowered her hand and recollected herself. “What do you want?”

“I’ll get the Rockberry Cider, and I guess an order of the fries to go with it. Don’t worry about me while you work. Meet me down by the riverfront once you’re on break, though.”

“My break is in an hour and only lasts twenty minutes.”

“What I need to say will only take twenty minutes.”

Kayla sighed into her POS pad. “All right. By the way, I also lied about liking the cider they serve at the country club. Tastes like ass.”

“Figured as much. Any other confessions?”

Kayla finished punching in Tove’s order. “Nope. I’m busy.”

More diners filed onto the patio, where Kayla currently roamed for the rest of her shift. Although Tove was always in her peripheral, Kayla was distracted enough by families and groups of friends that she didn’t think twice about taking her ex her order, leaving her the bill, and collecting a nice tip. There had been no need for that last bit, but Kayla knew that Tove’s pride probably didn’t let her do anything but tip well.

When Kayla’s break arrived, she donned her sweater and stepped out to the riverbank. She found Tove sitting on a bench, right near where the ducks paddled around in the river. Her sunhat was askew and her sunglasses were perfectly centered on her face.

“All right. I’ve got fifteen minutes,” Kayla said when she sat next to Tove. “What’s up?”

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