Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
So even if the reality didn’t live up to that hype I’d created, I would be thankful for his existence. Without it, well, I didn’t even want to think about what would be happening. Especially now.
Everything had changed.
From now until forever.
And the only thing that mattered was staying free.
With or without Nave’s help.
Taking a deep breath, I forced my thoughts aside as I pulled open the door to Deja Brew—a cute little coffee shop in a small strip mall just outside the main area of town. It was surprisingly heavy on cameras for such a small place, so I found myself ducking my head as I moved inside.
“Hey! Give me one sec,” a voice called from the back as I made my way to the counter.
“Take your time,” I called back, taking a chance to look up at the menu, searching for the cheapest options.
“Alright,” a woman said, coming up from the back, her black apron splattered with flour. Tall and pretty, she had her light green hair pulled up in a top knot, and her tank top let her tattooed arms be on full display. “What can I get ya?”
“Can I get a small oolong tea and the small chocolate croissant, please?”
“Absolutely. Is it as muggy out there as I imagine it is?” she asked as she moved to start making my drink.
“Probably worse.”
“Ugh. It was pretty bad when I came in here at, like, five. I stood in the walk-in for a few minutes to cool off. I’ve had the air set to ‘meat locker’ all day since I’ve had to have the ovens on.”
A large tea dropped down in front of me, making my brows knit.
“It’s literally just water. The tea is the tea, no matter what size you order,” she explained.
“Thank you.” I shot her a warm smile. I could use any small wins I could get. My morale was hanging on by a thread.
The woman—Shale, her name tag said—waved that off as she moved toward the dessert case. “So, are you here for the… beach?” she asked, glancing at my get-up.
I didn’t know there was a beach.
But I wouldn’t mind seeing it.
That, at least, would be a safe place to visit for me.
“No. I’m just passing through, really.” It wasn’t a lie. “I was hoping to connect with an old friend. But I have no idea how to find him.”
“Oh, yeah? Who are you looking for? I can’t claim to know everyone in town. But I’ve met a lot of them.”
“His name is Nave,” I explained.
“Nave?” Shale asked, popping up to look at me with a raised brow and a more appraising look.
“Yeah, I knew him a long while back when he was… passing through my town. He mentioned meeting up if I ever passed through his. But I lost his number.”
Okay, that was a lie.
There had been no way for him to give me his number.
In retrospect, I was pretty sure that was why he’d mentioned the name of his hometown so many times. Back then, I thought it was just homesickness making him say it so often. And maybe that was part of it. But now I thought it was so that he was sure I could never forget it.
“You lucked out. He moved back to town a few years ago. And he can almost always be found at the same place.”
Shale walked up to the counter, putting the brown pastry bag down, then tapping in the order.
I reached for the cash and passed it to her.
“Where’s that?” I asked, keeping my tone light and breezy, not wanting to come off as some crazy ex or stalker.
“The Henchmen clubhouse.”
Shale passed me my change.
“On the main strip,” she explained. “Long, low building. Big fence. Tons of bikes. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you.” The smile was genuine and I just hoped she didn’t see the relief in it.
“Of course. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you. Both of you,” she added with a little smile toward my purse.
“Sorry,” I said, wincing. “It’s too hot to leave her in the car.”
“Don’t be. I would bring my dog in here every day if I could. She’s not walking on the floor or anything. I don’t mind. Can I get a peek at her?”
I was quick to unzip the bag, and Edith was just as quick to pop her tiny head out.
“Oh. My. God. She’s so precious.”
“She is. I mean, she’s incredibly high maintenance, but the cutest thing ever.”
“Okay. Hold on,” Shale said, scurrying over toward the case again. When she came back, there was another pastry bag, seemingly full. “Doggy cookies. She clearly deserves all of them. On the house.”
“Thank you. She will love them.” Edith’s nose was already wiggling as she sniffed hard.
“Hope you can find Nave. He’s a good guy.”
I was praying that was true as I made my way back to the car, setting Edith down on the passenger seat with one of her fancy baked cookies before opening my own bag. To find Shale had given me the full-sized chocolate croissant.