Page 45 of Zeke

While Zeke is in the shower, I tell Country that I’ll be heading over for the morning drive-by at the bakery and to let everyone else know it’s taken care of—which means he’ll tell Zeke. He looks slightly disappointed that I don’t ask him to come along, since we’d been doing pairs before. But I want time to make my move, and I can’t do that if the focus is on Country and Julia.

I ride into town and pull up outside the bakery. I see Kira look up hopefully at the sound. As much as I like to think it’s for me, I get the feeling Zeke has been showing up a lot more than I realized. I hope I’m not too late.

“Morning,” I say as I walk through the door, the bell tinkling.

“Hi, Eli,” Kira says with a smile that sends my heart skipping a beat. “Been a while. How have you been?”

The “been a while” hits me hard since I’m already worried about how my absence might have affected my chances with her.

“Can’t complain,” I say, leaning over the counter. Julia is there, and she gives me a wave with a neutral expression. “Hey, Julia. Things going good with the job?”

“Amazing,” she said, a true smile coming over her face. “I never thought I’d have a job like this in my life, and it’s… it’s just great. I can’t believe I waited this long.”

She seems to be warming up to me, which is a huge change from how she was just a week ago. She pretty much hated everyone in the club, but no one more than Eden, Zeke, and me, since she blames us specifically for her brother’s death. She’s not giving me death glares or ignoring me, which feels like progress.

“That’s awesome.” I turn back to Kira. “And what about you? How have you been?” I reach across the counter, push a strand of hair behind her ear, and watch her blush.

Maybe I’m not too late after all.

“I’m okay,” she says with a little grin. “Julia said you guys found the creep who was following you?”

“We think so,” I say. “Doesn’t mean there aren’t more, which is why I’m here to make sure you’re safe.”

“Eli,” Kira’s dad says before she can respond, coming out of the back room with a tray of jelly donuts—my favorite. “Good to see you, son. Things been okay with y’all?”

“Pretty good,” I tell him.

“That’s good to hear.” He slides the tray into the display case and stands, wiping powdered sugar from his hands onto the apron he wears. “I’m actually really glad to see you. I know you’re the smart techie guy.”

“That’s me,” I say with a bit of a laugh. It’s true. I’m not the most advanced, but I’m savvier than pretty much anyone else I know.

“Well, I’ve been wanting to get the bakery online,” he says. “I don’t know what kind of page or accounts I need, but I figured you’d be the guy to ask.”

“He really just wants like an Instagram or something like that,” Kira says. “Somewhere he can post our stuff and people can follow and like it.”

“Oh, we can do that easy,” I say. “I could even set it up for you right now if you have your phone.”

He looks excited as he digs it out of his pocket, and we spend a few minutes choosing a username and bio info. Then we go around the bakery, taking photos of the décor and some pastries, posting them all so he has a bunch of pictures ready to go.

“And you’re going to want to use hashtags,” I tell him. “That’s how people will find you that don’t already know you.”

“Hashtags?” he says in confusion, and Kira giggles.

“I can help him with that,” she says.

“And I’d encourage your customers to follow you,” I say. “The more followers you have, the better the algorithm works in your favor.”

“Okay,” he says with a hint of confusion and anxiety, and I know he’s worried about all this new information.

“It seems like a lot, but it gets really easy really fast. I promise,” I tell him.

“All right, boy,” he says with a smile and a shake of his head. “I’m trusting you on this.”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “I’ll be around to help whenever you need it, and I’m sure Kira can help when I’m not around.”

She nods, and her dad reaches over the counter to shake my hand. “Thanks for your help. Really.”

“Anytime,” I say. I’d have helped him out anyway since he’s always been good to us, but the fact that it might get me in Kira’s good graces and get a little more of her attention is a great bonus. “Listen, here’s my number. Just give me a holler if you need anything, any help at all. I’m glad to be of service. Don’t go abusing the privilege.” I give Kira a covert wink, and she giggles.

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