by Tonya Kappes
“Yeah, I remember.” My brow cocked.
“Your fists were tight and you were ready for a fight.” He laughed.
“You knew how important Aunt Maxi’s property was to me.” Aunt Maxi had a place on the lake that I loved. “I could be living there right now and not have a single issue like this tube and knob if it weren’t for your daddy.”
“Your aunt is the one who priced it to him.” Patrick shot back and dragged his foot off the step. He tucked his hands in his pockets. “He took it and paid her.”
“She didn’t mean it.”
“Mean what? To sell? Then she shouldn’t have priced it.”
“She thought she was pricing it so high he wouldn’t take it.”
“She needed the money.” He shrugged.
“What?” I asked.
“She didn’t tell you?” He tilted his head.
“No.”
“It was the beginning of the economic crisis here in Honey Springs. She had all that property she rents and her house was her biggest debt.” He took a step back.
“Why didn’t she sell any of the rentals?” I asked.
“It was her only source of income and she knew she could live in one of those and have the debt of that big lake house off her back,” his words stung me.
“It was her dream house. My dream house.” Pepper licked my face like he knew that I was getting upset talking about the past.
“You’re going to have to ask her about all that. It was between my dad and your aunt. You’ve held it against me all these years.” He gazed at me with a half-smile. “So why don’t you let me have a look at the wiring and see what I can do?”
“Fine.” I was tired. I didn’t have the energy to fuss with him and the information he’d just shared with me was something I’d have to ask Aunt Maxi about because she never shared with me that she was in trouble.
He walked back up on the porch. As I unlocked the door, I was very aware he was standing there. He smelled the exact same as he did twelve years ago and that sent my heart into a tailspin.
I quickly rushed around the cabin and turned on all the lights to keep my head busy and away from my heart.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” I asked.
“If it’s going to taste anything like this morning’s, heck yeah.” He broke into a leisurely smile.
I turned away so the secret smile on my face kept just that. . . a secret.
“Here you go, Pepper.” While I was in the kitchen I placed Pepper’s water bowl and food bowl next to the table. I’d never owned a dog and wasn’t really sure what to do.
Dogs loved a warm cozy spot so I put Pepper’s dog bed next to the wood-burning stove and headed back to the kitchen to make the fresh pot of coffee. The coffee pot was the only thing I hadn’t gotten from Aunt Maxi’s storage unit.
While the coffee brewed, I tried to stay out of Patrick’s way and busied myself with feeding Pepper and throwing a few of his toys but kept a close eye on Patrick.
I’ll never forget the time I’d first seen him. He was standing on a ladder outside of one of Aunt Maxi’s rentals replacing a light bulb in the front porch light. He had on a pair of rugged blue jeans and a black shirt. His hairline was dripping sweat. When he noticed me staring at him from Aunt Maxi’s car, I tried to look away but my eyes wouldn’t cooperate with my mind. He was so good looking and I’d never seen a boy my age that looked like him. We were sixteen.
A couple of days later, I’d run into him on the pier at the bait shop. He asked if I wanted to go fishing with him and I did even though I didn’t know a thing about fishing. Good thing too. The hook stuck my finger and he kissed it, leading up to my lips and I was a goner. I ended up spending every single holiday off school and the next couple of summers with Aunt Maxi in Honey Springs. I was devastated when I’d heard his dad had bought my aunt’s dream house right from underneath her. Which I found out today wasn’t the case at all. Something I was going to be sure to ask Aunt Maxi about. I couldn’t help but wonder if my life would’ve been different if Patrick and I had gone through with our decision to run off at the end of the summer and elope. Something he’d obviously forgotten because he didn’t even bring that up.
“It looks like all of it’s going to have to be replaced.” He walked back into the kitchen with his brown tool bag in hand.
I took two mugs off the hooks on the wall and poured the freshly made coffee in them.
“How much is that going to cost me?” I asked, putting the mugs on the two-person table and sat down.
Pepper jumped into my lap and laid down as though this was something we’d been doing a long time. I ran my hand down his fur. My heart soared. I think I’d just felt the first bit of instant gratification pet owners talk about when they talk about how much unconditional love their pet gives them.
“Let me do some numbers. I think I have a lot of the things lying around the shop. I’ll get back to you.” He picked up the mug and took a sip. His eyes pierced the steam rolling out of it. “Tell me about your marriage breaking up.”
“What?” I nearly choked on my coffee.
“I want to hear what happened.” He leaned back in the ladder chair. The legs creaked as he crossed an ankle to rest on his knee.
“We met in college. I got a degree in marketing and like you said, the economy was crap, so I decided to go to law school with Kirk. He was a brilliant student and a much better lawyer. He’s handsome, suave and says all the right things.” I dragged the pad of my finger around the edge of my mug. “And he also can’t be monogamous.”
“Oh.” His brows lifted.
“So, a year has gone by. He had to pay me alimony and that’s about to run out in a few months so I thought I’d better get my act together.” I patted the table. “I took a barista class and a few cooking classes. I realized how much I loved it and I’m pretty good at it. Better than I am at being a lawyer. So I came to visit Aunt Maxi and saw how the boardwalk was going to be brought back to life and I said why not?”
“And here you are.” He reached his hand over and put it on top of mine. A shiver of delight followed his touch. “You’re just as pretty today as you were twelve years ago.”
I dragged my hand out from underneath his and smiled.
Six
The cool morning air invigorated me. Pepper not so much. He shivered over to the bush, did his morning business before he ran back up the steps to the front door.
“Poor baby.” I picked up the shivering little fellow and took him back into the cabin. I sat down in front of the potbelly stove to warm both of us. “Four o’clock comes early, doesn’t it?”
Pepper curled up in my lap. As much as I wanted to sit there and warm by the fire with a hot cup of coffee with Pepper tugging on my heartstrings, I knew I had coffee to brew and casseroles to make.
“I let you sleep in while I got my shower.” I talked to him as if he really understood me with his big eyes staring up at me. “Do you want to stay here or go with me?”
He raised his head, tilted it with perked up ears.
“Do you want to go bye-bye?” I asked in a kid voice that I never knew I had.
He jumped down and darted toward the door.
“I’m going to have to get you a little doggie coat.” I turned down the stove, knowing it’d keep the perfect temperature in the cabin even though the weird spring weather was so unpredictable in Kentucky.
I grabbed a blanket that was a perfect thickness for the basket and took a quick look around before I grabbed my phone, sticking it in my back pocket.
Pepper was a little hesitant after I’d filled the basket with the blanket and put him in. I patted him so he’d lay down and I tucked the edges of the blanket around him. The reflectors of the bike danced in the moonlight across the pavement of the country road as I took it much slower than normal.
I’d yet to master bike riding since I’d been back, and adding Pepper made it even sketchier, but Pepper stayed still. The frogs croaked along the ri
ght side of the road where just beyond the tree line was the lake. The crickets chirped their harmonious song between the frogs’ chorus. A beautiful melodic sound that could only be heard at this hour of the morning.
The sound of the rubber of the bike tires whizzed along the road with the flashlight spotlighting my way.
“Good, boy,” I repeated over and over until I saw the ramp of the boardwalk.
A sigh of relief swept over me realizing I’d made it with Pepper. The tires rattled and bumped over the wood planks along the boardwalk. The lake was still and calm underneath the full moon. Briefly I stopped and pulled the bike to the edge of the railing.
Pepper sat up in the basket.
“Look at that view.” My voice broke the silence that hung in the air. “This is one of the things I love about Honey Springs, Pepper.”
His little round black eyes stared at me.
“And I love you.” I reached down and picked him up, giving him a kiss on top of his head before I put him on the boardwalk and let him walk alongside me as I pushed the bike.
“We will head down that way when you need to go for a walk.” I nodded toward the other end of the boardwalk when Pepper and I stopped under the awning of The Bean Hive. The wooden front door had the cute bee logo made out of the coffee bean and coffee cup. I’d fallen in love with it the first time I’d seen it.
The bell dinged when I unlocked the door and walked in. Pepper ran in like he knew exactly where to go and what to do. He rushed around smelling different things and ran back to me just as I flipped on the light.
“Were you making sure no one was in here?” I bent down and ran my hand down his silver fur. He wagged his tail in delight. “I need to bake some homemade dog treats.”
That was a wonderful idea. Not only for Pepper, but for the Pet Palace. I’d even thought I’d call Louise and let her know that Pepper and I would love to volunteer just like the other women.
The first thing I did when I got to work was flip on the industrial coffee pots. The night before, I’d get everything set up for the next day so if I were to run late, all I had to do was flip a switch. I preheated the oven and looked at the one not working. I should’ve told Patrick to come by and fix it today. If I saw him on the boardwalk, maybe I’d say something.
Either way, I made a plan to thaw the assortment of muffins I’d made over the weekend and frozen for the morning’s selection while I used the oven to bake the lunch casserole.
Today was going to be a little on the chillier side of spring, so I decided to make the standard chicken noodle soup and stuffed pepper soup. Both would be paired with a fresh baguette I’d gotten from the bakery in town a couple of days ago and needed to use before it was past its shelf date. Plus soup was a good happy, cozy food that I wanted to take down to Alexis for lunch. A peace offering, even though I wasn’t Aunt Maxi. I didn’t want to get in the middle of their argument, but Aunt Maxi had to have a good reason to want to raise the rent. I just hoped she wasn’t in trouble like she was the last time I was here, twelve years ago.
While Pepper made himself at home, finding all the little bits of food that I didn’t get up with the sweeper, I took the muffins out of the freezer to thaw and the ingredients for the soups out of the refrigerator.
It wasn’t that I’d gone to culinary school or pastry school, I hadn’t, but I knew a coffee shop with some good country cooking added to it was a perfect combination when I’d decided to open The Bean Hive.
Chopping had always been my favorite part of cooking. It was a legal way to take my anger out on Kirk after I’d found him in our office with a client of ours that’d been newly divorced.
I’d made the pepper soup that night as well and I chopped the heck out of the celery ribs and onions remembering how I’d felt. After I’d gotten all my ingredients ready to combine and cook, I grabbed the large red kettle from the top open shelving in the kitchen. The lid fell to the ground.
Grrrr. Grrrr. Pepper jumped up and ran to the door.
“It was just me, Pepper,” I called out into the front of the shop.
Arf, arf. Pepper’s bark got deeper and deeper with each growl.
“You can’t bark at everyone walking on the boardwalk.” I rubbed my hands on the towel that was tucked in the belt of my apron and walked through the kitchen door. “Get down from there,” I scolded Pepper.
He was standing on top of the café table barking at the window. His legs stood firm, his growl grew deep. He didn’t budge.
“Are you okay?” I’d heard many times how someone had adopted a dog and didn’t really get to know the dog for a few days, only to return it. Maybe Pepper wasn’t the kind, sweet dog I thought would be good for the coffeehouse.
Pepper only responded with more deep growling. I walked over to the door. The sun was just popping up and was the only movement I could see. The rumble of a speed boat engine caught me off guard. I checked my watch. It was already six a.m. A tad bit early for a fast boat.
I flipped the hanging sign on the door to open and unlocked it. Off to the left of the walk-out pier, a boat sped down the lake. The morning clouds parted, the sun popped up just as the speed boat rounded the curve in the lake, the silver strip on the back of the boat sparkling.
Pepper was standing at the door wagging his cute tail and acting normal again.
“That was a boat.” I picked him up. “You’re going to have to get used to boats if you’re going to hang around here.” I put him on the floor and headed back to the kitchen to turn the kettle on simmer so the soup would be ready in time for lunch.
Pepper seemed to have calmed down after whatever had rattled him. He seemed to notice I was baking something especially for him. I combined the low sodium peanut butter, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and milk in a big round glass bowl. Instead of rolling out the dough in the kitchen, I took the bowl, a dog bone shaped cookie cutter, and stuck the rolling pin under my arm along with my red silicone spoon and headed out to the front just in case someone came in.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee floated in the air. The muffins had thawed. I placed them in the tiered glass case on display with some of the fresh cut flowers I’d gotten from the Farmer’s Market in town.
With a fresh cup of coffee to get me started, I put some kibble in a bowl for Pepper along with some fresh water before I rolled out the dough and made several dog bone treats and placed them on the cookie sheet.
The bell dinged over the door and in came Mae Belle and Bunny. Each one was out talking the other.
“Good morning, ladies,” I called and watched with a close eye on how they were going to respond to seeing Pepper.
“Is that Pepper?” Mae Belle asked when she noticed him right off.
“It is,” I said. Pepper didn’t once take his head out of the bowl. “I adopted him from Pet Palace last night.”
“Louise never stops. Every animal, including po’cats will have a home if it were up to her.” Bunny joked. “I loved working in his kennel.”
“I loved playing with him.” Mae Belle nodded.
“Only because he kissed you and that’s all the kisses you’re getting.” Bunny winked at me as she tried to get Mae Belle’s goat.
“You can come in here anytime to get those kisses,” I teased back. “How do the shops look this morning?” I asked about their daily walkthrough.
“I was surprised to see Alexis was in the bookstore so early.” Bunny nodded toward Mae Belle. “It does show she’s taken a vested interest in keeping the store up-to-date and ready for the grand opening tomorrow.”
“She’s in there because she knew we were going to say something at our town council meeting tonight,” Mae Belle said. “Roxy, are you coming to the town council meeting?”
“Anything to do with the growth of Honey Springs, count me in.” I bagged up a couple of the blueberry muffins and filled a to-go cup of coffee. “What would you ladies like to eat this morning?”
“What type of muffin is that?” Mae Belle point
ed.
“That’s a raspberry cinnamon twist. I got the raspberries fresh at the farmer’s market. Very good.” I recalled the smell of them when I made them. “It pairs well with the full-bodied coffee.” I gestured over to the coffee bar where they could get their own.
“I’ll have that,” Bunny spoke up.
“Make it two.” Mae Belle walked over to the coffee bar.
I put two muffins on a couple decorative antique saucers with a couple pats of butter and a butter knife with the cutest honey bee adorned on top. I placed each piece I’d found at Wild and Whimsy on the table where the two women were going to sit.
“Do you mind if I run this down to Alexis?” I asked holding up the bag and coffee.
“No, honey, you go on.” Bunny flung her hand for me to leave. “We’ll watch the place for you.”
“Thanks.” I patted my leg. “Come on, Pepper.”
Pepper rushed over to the door with his little tail wagging and danced on the pads of his paws. It’d warmed up a few degrees outside since I’d been out. It was a perfect time for me to let Pepper go potty and to give Alexis that peace offering.
The door to Crooked Cat was slightly open. I knocked it open a little more with my elbow, careful not to spill the coffee.
“Alexis?” I called into the shop. “It’s me, Roxanne Bloom from The Bean Hive.”
Crooked Cat was still just as I remembered. The bean bags had been replaced by newer ones. The brick fireplace stood in the middle was still the focal point with comfy chairs and big rugs. The dark shelves seemed to go on for miles and miles with beautiful books lined up. The children’s section had the small furniture and the puppet stage with a big sign that listed the times of the next puppet shows.
In the back of the store was my favorite section of all. The banned books. Aunt Maxi always said that Alexis liked to cause problems when it came to banned books and how Alexis loved to let everyone know to buy the banned books first. I remember Alexis had a big stamp that read BANNED and she stamped each one on the inside along with a smiley face.