Chapter 3

The people who work in my businesses are incredibly good at their jobs, and my presence is rarely required. I hired Shay Winterlock when she moved to Fate's Falls. The Brew was relatively new back then, still in its first year of operation, and only a coffeehouse at that time. In the beginning, I worked in the business full-time. Didn't matter that I, the owner, was on-site and technically the manager. Shay quickly assumed the role. She saw ways to improve operations and forged forward without permission or assistance, tweaking things to make them more appealing, efficient, or profitable. She's a doer whose decisions always have a positive effect.

Fifteen years later, I still drop in at The Brew a couple days a week, but spend most of that time in the kitchen or back office. Shay and Dela keep the customer-facing side running like a well-oiled machine. My bulky presence behind the counter tends to be more of a hindrance than a help.

Today's visit isn't about offering to help or staying out of the way.

Mid-afternoon is a steady time. A continual but light flow of customers, nobody in a hurry, generally speaking. There are three people in line when I enter through the front door. A shapeshifter named Trace from the outpost, Razbunare, a vengeance demon who I'm sure is here to soak up Dela's presence more than he's here for the coffee, and Lexi, the little witch who owns Every Witch Way, an online sex-toy business that's earning a tidy residual income for many of Fate's Falls residents.

I give them all a casual wave as I pass, then head behind the counter toward Shay, where she's cleaning an espresso machine as if the equipment needs plague-level decontamination. "Did we have another malfunction since you called this morning?"

There's not much Shay can't handle without me, which is why I cut my call with Natalie short this morning, when Shay called for a second time. Our usual tech wasn't picking up when she tried him. She was this-close to asking one of the larger customers in line to carry the possessed piece of equipment out to the back alley.

"No. The new guy you got came by and fixed it. No problems since." The straight-lipped expression on Shay's face suggests there is a problem, even it it's unrelated to the earlier mechanical issue.

After a decade and a half, I'd say we're more than employer and employee. Friends on a level that includes mutual trust and concern, but not close enough to socialize or share our internal stuff. Not close enough that I feel comfortable asking what's wrong, even though it's obvious something is. Maybe she'll talk to Dela later. They seem to have become good friends since Dela moved to town seven months ago.

A glance over my shoulder confirms Dela has the customer traffic under control. Clearing my throat to prepare for the uncomfortable reason I'm here causes me to huff in a distinctly Minotaur way.

Shay's attention snaps up to my face. "You okay, boss?"

"Yes. No. I hope so."

Her green eyes open wide, all traces of irritation gone from her face. "This is a first. You're not one to hang around in the gray zone. I take it there's some way I can help, but you hate being in a position to ask for it."

"Exactly."

She waits a few beats, grinning when all I manage to get out is another bullish huff of breath. "You're going to have to tell me. I'm not a mind reader."

"But you are a seer, and that's the help I'm here to ask for."

Smile, gone. Green eyes, shuttered hard. "Then I can't help you."

"I know you don't like to use your magic?—"

She cuts me off with a raised hand. "Remove the words ‘like to' from that sentence. I don't use my magic. Period. By choice—my choice."

If anyone in town knows the reason Shay turned away from magic, I've never heard about it. "I apologize for overstepping." Seems like my day for that. Another damn huff escapes while I'm rubbing the back of my neck. Embarrassed as I am that my bullish nature is getting the best of me, the involuntary response appears to take the edge off of Shay's intensity.

"Let's finish this conversation in the office," she says, then cranes her neck to see around me, toward Dela. "I'll just be a few minutes."

"No problem," Dela says, as cheerfully as always.

Shaking my head at Shay, I wave off the opportunity of a private conversation. If I can't say it to her out here, it should probably remain unsaid, as my request should have. "No need, thank you. And I sincerely regret asking what I did. I've got something important coming up, and I'm in unfamiliar territory. Guess I just wanted a cheat code, to make sure I'm on the right path."

Shay gives a small laugh. "There are no cheat codes. Even if I used my powers, I might not get the answer to whatever your specific question is. I never know what part of someone's future I'll see when I touch them. But if you want to talk, run your concerns past me, I'll give you my unbiased opinion. That's a skill I'm always willing to share."

My turn to laugh now. Interesting as Shay's unbiased opinion about my situation might be, I'm not going there. "Appreciate it, thanks. But it's probably best I let things unfold however fate intends."

"Wise choice. No point fighting fate."

With every cell of my being telling me my mate will soon be part of my life, I couldn't agree more. All I can do now is wait and hope Natalie feels the same way.

* * *

Two days later