Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Eddie took him to the store to get supplies.”
“I hope Eddie has a good back. He’s going to be carrying that dog.”
“He can handle it. Did you grab some breakfast?” I asked, knowing Eddie left a spread before he headed out.
“I did. I also caught Mackie on the counter eating a pancake. I put him back in the cage. With the pancake.”
“Sucker,” I said, giving her a squeeze. “And that’s coming from someone who already gave him some of the hash browns.”
“I know you don’t want to give me all the details, but are things… happening?”
“That’s why it’s quiet around here. Huck and the older club members are out making sure this is all over. And you’re going to be cutting ties with the supplier at Vital Greens.”
“Happily,” Rue agreed. “That was what I wanted to do from the beginning, but Marco made sure I knew that wasn’t an option.”
“I know it might be a pain in the ass to find a new supplier, but you don’t want any kind of connection to people who are smuggling shit into the country.”
“Agreed. There are plenty of other options.”
“Do you mind keeping the store closed today? Maybe tomorrow too? Just so we can concentrate the area we need to cover for protection until this is all over.”
“I could use some time off. I can put a post up online. Traeger might be a harder sell,” she said as we moved back into the kitchen. “He has so many orders coming in and needs access to the kiln.”
“About that,” Traeger’s voice greeted us as we moved inside.
He was in the process of scrubbing the coffee pot. But, seeing his chance to talk to Rue, he set it down and rinsed the suds off his hands.
“About what?”
“The kiln. You see, when I heard from Teddy, it was clear I really needed to scale up. I, uh, rented a space that has the juice for two larger kilns. An office in the back, a bathroom, and a large front room with enough space for tables and wheels.”
“Plural?” Rue asked.
“Well, Teddy suggested that I make my business work for me even when I am not actively making pottery myself.”
“You’re opening a studio,” Rue said.
“I am.” Traeger looked close to bursting. “I know that I should have told—”
“Shut up,” Rue cut him off. She broke away from me and ran toward her friend, wrapping him up in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you! This is amazing. I mean, I am going to miss your coffee horribly. It’s going to be a real nightmare. But this is so great. You’re going to be so successful.”
“Thank you. I think I can probably teach your man how to make the coffee for you.”
Your man.
I liked that more than I could have expected.
“I’m up for the job,” I agreed.
“Good, because she’s hopeless with a coffee machine,” Traeger said, going back to his washing, then making a fresh pot. “That’s something you need to know about her.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“She needs carbs when she’s stressed out. And you have to remind her that she cannot keep trying to take Calatheas home. She can’t handle them. Then she gets sad when she kills them.”
“Hey, I’m standing right here,” Rue grumbled.
“And she never remembers to take her car in for an oil change.”
“I can handle that.”
“And she—”
“I’m going to go feed the tortoise,” Rue said, shooting us small eyes as she picked up the platter, then moved outside.
“You’re good for her,” Traeger said when she was gone. “But I was ready to shove you into my kiln for what you did to her.”
“Two murder threats in one morning,” I said, reaching for coffee mugs. “I must have a hell of a girl, huh?”
“You do. The best. But it seems like you already know that. But know… I will keep a kiln ready if I need to.”
“You should talk to Claudia. She’s got some good plans. The two of you could link up and make sure my body would never be found.”
“Good idea,” Traeger said, smile soft. “Her coffee is really not that hard to make. She just can’t get the hang of it. You will. Then you will be her daily hero.”
“That’s the plan,” I said, suddenly thinking about forevers. This time, with no secrets between us.
Rue - 7 Days
The shop was closed longer than expected, with Kylo and me just dropping in to care for plants here and there.
Part of it was the club still trying to clean up the power vacuum that Marco’s death created.
The other part was, well, that I was having too good of a time to sacrifice even an hour of it to work.
I loved my shop.
I needed the income from it.
But with a pending deal with Teddy, I didn’t have to worry so much about the daily sales reports. At least for the time being.