2.

R OOSTER

"Well, what do we have here?"

I followed Devon's gaze and raised my eyebrows when I saw my sister standing in the doorway with a handsome young man that had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He had obviously taken this date seriously, considering his pressed button-up shirt, slacks, and shiny dress shoes.

Then I saw Madison, and my heart swelled to at least twice its normal size. She was wearing a wine-colored dress that I'd only heard about, matching strappy heels, and she had her hair styled in curls that floated over her shoulders. But the thing that melted me completely was the big smile on her face as she sniffed the bouquet of roses she was holding.

"Fuck. I can't hate him. She's too happy," I mumbled under my breath.

I realized that Devon had somehow heard me when he slapped me on the shoulder and said, "I've got this. You go do your thing."

I walked down to the end of the bar and ducked beneath the barrier to get out before I walked their way. The young man looked nervous, which said a lot about his understanding of the situation. I saw that the man behind him was just as shell-shocked as me as he stood there with his arm around who I assumed was his wife who looked ready to burst into tears.

"Roo, this is Jeremy. Jeremy, this is my big brother, Rooster."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," the young man said as he stuck his hand out to shake mine. He had a nice, firm grip, which I didn't feel the need to test, and I was impressed with his manners.

"It's nice to meet you too," I said honestly. I glanced over his shoulder and nodded at the young man's parents before I looked back at him and asked, "What are your plans for this evening?"

"We're going to dinner at Robertsons and then . . . um . . ."

"We can come back here and dance," Madison suggested.

He smiled at her and happily agreed, "That sounds fun."

"Okay," I said with a grin. "I'll reserve a table for you."

"I'm Richard Shiver, and this is my wife, Patrice," the man behind Jeremy said before he walked up and shook my hand. "We weren't sure what they'd want to do after dinner, but I'd appreciate it if you'd hold a table for us too."

"Of course," I assured him. "It's a short walk down to Robertsons if you guys want to hang out here while they have dinner."

Mr. Shiver looked at his son, and when he nodded, Mrs. Shiver said, "That sounds like a good idea."

"Y'all enjoy dinner but save room for dessert. That will be my treat when you get back," I offered.

"Thank you, sir."

"Thanks, Roo," Madison said before she took a few steps toward me and opened her arms for a hug.

I gave her a hug, and just before I kissed her cheek, I whispered, "You look stunning, Chicken Little. A total fucking knockout!"

When I pulled back, she was blushing but so excited that she was almost vibrating. She turned to her date and gave him a blinding smile before she asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Jeremy said before he turned toward the door and put his arm out to escort her out. Over his shoulder, he called out, "We'll be back in a bit."

"You guys have fun," Mr. Shiver called out to his son.

As soon as the door shut, I blew out a long breath and said, "I'm not ready for this shit at all."

Mr. Shiver burst out laughing and asked, "Is this the first time she's gone on a date?"

"Officially, yes. She's gone bowling and a few other places in a group vibe, but this is the first actual date. Nothing against your son because I'm sure he's a great guy, but I'm just not here for it. You know what I mean?"

"Will they be okay on their own? It's Friday night, and everywhere is really busy. I'm not sure . . ."

"Mads has had the run of this town since the day she was born, and I know every shop and restaurant owner on the strip. She's a local celebrity because she's got the best coffee in town and her chocolate chip cookies make you hear angels sing. They'll be safe."

"Back home, we couldn't just let him take off like this because there's no telling what might have happened."

"Did you move here recently?"

"We've been here about a month. I'm the new marketing director at Buffalo Lodge, and we bought a house in Pine Bluff Canyon."

I heard the words he said, but my brain interpreted them into simpler terms to mean, "I make bank, and we live in a mansion."

I didn't let myself show any outward reaction to that news. Instead, I said, "Welcome to Red River and to Mannin's. Have y'all eaten yet?"

"We were going to eat at Robertsons."

"You're welcome to have dinner at the restaurant, or if you'd like a more casual atmosphere, I can have them serve you in here."

"I think we'll go over to the restaurant and come back when we're done," Mr. Shiver said.

"Enjoy your dinner. I'll make sure there's a table waiting for you when you get back."

I watched as Mr. and Mrs. Shiver walked across the reception area to get to the doors that would take them to the restaurant section of the building and then sighed as I looked out the big picture window wondering why in the world I was so nervous.

"She's going to be fine," I heard Dianna say from beside me. I looked down and saw that her eyes were red-rimmed as if she'd been crying, so I put my arm over her shoulder and pulled her to my side. There were tears in her voice when she said, "She looked gorgeous, didn't she?"

"When did she grow up?" I asked.

"You're handling this better than Clark."

"I am?" I looked around for her husband and asked, "Where is he?"

"I had to tie him up and stuff him in the closet so he didn't sneak around behind them to make sure they were okay."

"He was really going to make sure the guy was a gentleman so he could report back to me and let me know if I needed to go on a killing spree or not."

Dianna laughed. "That too."

◆◆◆

ROSIE

Rather than calling out a greeting, the young woman behind the counter smiled at me. It was only my third day here, and I'd already made a new best friend.

Of course, she didn't know my name, and I didn't know hers, but she understood me in a way that some people who had known me my entire life didn't.

Since I was young, I'd been fully convinced that coffee was the fuel for life. Anyone that argued with me didn't have an opinion I cared about or the self-preservation to keep that shit to themselves.

Luckily, I didn't even have to fork anything over for my coffee since they could just add it to my room tab, which made this coffee shop so much better than other places where I had to remember things like PINs and how to count to ten. And since I didn't need to carry around any currency, that meant I didn't need pockets, which also meant I didn't need to wear real pants, which actually meant that I didn't have to get fully dressed before I showed up for the magical bean juice that helped kickstart my way back to being human one sip at a time.

I walked over to my new favorite table - and I could say it was my favorite because yesterday I spent three hours there and the day before, I sat there for four. I planned on spending as much time as possible there today because the surroundings were perfect for my writing. For some reason, the environment helped me focus on the stories and characters that I was bound and determined to move from my journals to my laptop in the hope that at least one of them would take root and give me inspiration.

Just like I had done for the last two days, I propped my elbows on the table and stared out the window at the beautiful scenery and watched the people pass by on their way to whatever adventures they had planned for the day. By the time my second mug was empty, I was somewhat coherent. I loved that every time I stood up to get more, the cheerful young woman had another dose of goodness ready for me by the time I got to the counter.

I finally got settled in to work and blocked out the rest of the world with my earbuds even though there wasn't anything playing through them. I appreciated the fact that if you were wearing earbuds, people assumed you were listening to something and might leave you alone. I hadn't charged the things in forever, but I kept them with me all the time for things like grocery shopping and trips to the gym.

My sister Fallon had accused me of wearing them like armor against the possibility of . . . gasp . . . interacting with people. I thought that was overly dramatic but pretty accurate, even though I'd probably never admit that to her because she just loved to be right.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approaching my table and looked up to find the barista smiling down at me. I glanced at the clock on my computer and was shocked to see I'd been working for more than four hours. My stomach growled loudly when she set down a plate with a sandwich and a handful of chips.

"Oh! Thank you, but I didn't order . . ."

"You should have!" She tapped the charging cord I'd plugged in when my laptop battery started getting low and said, "This charges that brain, but you've gotta charge your other brain too."

I laughed and said, "I guess I got lost in my story."

"What story?" she asked as she sat down across from me.

"I'm writing a book."

"Cool. What's it about?"

"It's a romance."

"You can tell me about it while you eat."

"I don't want to take you away from your work."

"We've been closed for an hour."

"Oh!" I looked around, realizing that I was the only one left in the cafe, and grimaced. "I'm sorry! I can go."

"No way! You've got to tell me about your book! I like romance books."

"You do?"

"I can read!" she sassed, highly offended for some reason.

"I didn't assume you can't read, but I thought you'd probably be more interested in making your own story instead of reading someone else's with you being so young."

"I like you."

I burst out laughing before I said, "I like you, too, and not just because you make magical coffee. You seem like a pretty chill girl."

"I am," she said proudly.

"How long have you been working here?" I asked.

"I was born here."

"In this coffee shop?" I asked sarcastically.

The young woman giggled and said, "No! I grew up here. My parents built the cabins and opened the resort before I was born. I'm a partner in the business now."

"You're Mads?" I asked, remembering what Dianna told me the first day I arrived.

"I'm Madison Mannin," she said as she extended her hand across the table.

I shook her hand and said, "Rosie Jacobs. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You're staying for a while, huh?"

"I plan to."

"We should hang out."

"Okay. What do you like to do?"

"I like to watch movies and other stuff."

"Like what?"

Madison looked down at her hand and said, "I like to get my nails done and get pedicures."

"I haven't been to the salon in ages!"

"I have an appointment this afternoon. Do you want to come?" I did and told her so and then smiled when she hopped up and said, "This is so cool! I'm gonna go tell Dianna that I made a new friend and you're coming with us."

"What time are we leaving and where do you want me to meet you?"

"Three o'clock. Meet us on the front porch," Madison said as she waved toward the door.

"Okay. I'll be there."

"I'm going to go to my apartment, but you can stay here as long as you want, okay?"

"Thank you. Are you sure it won't be a problem?"

"We're friends. I trust you."

I looked around and knew that it probably wasn't a good idea for her to leave what, in essence, was a random stranger inside her business and said, "What if I'm a thief or something?"

"Well, if you steal from me, you won't be my friend at all and I'll have to tell Roo."

"The man that owns the bar?" I asked.

"He's my brother, and he's mean to people who aren't nice to me. Stealing isn't nice."

"I agree. Stealing is horrible."

"So, promise me you won't steal anything, and I'll let you stay."

"Actually, I need to get back to my cabin anyway, especially if we have an appointment in a few hours. I haven't even showered yet."

"You should do that. Your hair looks wild." I put my hand up and realized she was right. When I left the cabin this morning, all I could think about was getting my first cup of coffee and didn't even look in the mirror. Madison grimaced and said, "Sorry. That was rude."

I laughed and said, "Well, it was honest."

"I know better than to say things like that, but sometimes I can't help myself."

"Honey, welcome to the club. That's a problem I've had my entire life."

◆◆◆

"Mads should be a Hollywood star. She's not meant for this small town," Dianna said as we watched Madison walk towards a back room with the aesthetician for her wax, facial, and an eyelash extension touch-up. "The girl needs an entire crew for makeup, and with the amount of clothes and shoes she has, she could probably use a wardrobe trailer."

"I was very much the same way when I was twenty-one," I admitted. "It helped that my mom was all about makeup and girly things, but I had my Dad to help rein us in and balance us out. Otherwise, there's no telling what all we would have done."

"She used to be content with Roo painting her nails and toes, but then her teenage hormones kicked in along with a great big dose of too much television and movies, and that wasn't quite enough anymore. Now she's got a weekly appointment here and won't miss it for almost anything."

"It's funny that she calls you and your husband by your first names."

"Clark?"

"Is that Roo's first name?"

Dianna laughed as she shook her head. "Oh, no. One of us should have explained. I am not Madison's mother, but Roo is her brother. He also happens to be my ex-husband and the father of my oldest child, Kerrigan. Clark is my husband. The four of us - Roo, Mads, Clark, and myself - are business partners. Roo runs the bar, Clark runs the restaurant, Mads has the coffee shop, and I take care of the cabins and the guests."

"Oh. She said her parents . . ."

"Madison's father died when she was about five, and her mother died six years ago when she was fifteen."

"So she's your . . . You work with your ex?"

"Yes. We were friends before we got married and luckily remained friends through the divorce. I was a waitress at the resort when I met Roo, who had worked there his entire life just like Madison. After we got divorced, I met Clark who had just come to work as the chef, and we hit it off instantly. We got married about a year later and had two children, Clara and Conner."

"You're right. That's a unique working relationship, but it's great that all of you get along so well and can make it work, not just with the businesses but with your personal lives, too, especially since you're so close to Madison."

"I've known Madison since she was born since Margaret was like a second mother to me. When she got ill, she made arrangements for Roo to be Madison's guardian with the understanding that I'd take on a parenting role, too, and be there to help him."

I winced and asked, "Was it a long illness?"

"Luckily, it wasn't. Margaret had some ongoing health issues that were perfectly normal for a woman her age, but she unfortunately couldn't kick them."

"Her age?"

"Roo has a brother and sister who are at least fifteen years older than him. Margaret used to joke that he was her oops baby when she was thirty-seven and in the middle of raising teenagers. Then, when Roo was a teenager, she had what she called her ‘oh shit!' baby. Madison was born when she was fifty-two."

"Damn."

"Yeah. She thought she'd missed her period because she was hitting menopause. Turns out it was Madison."

"My mom would keel over at the thought of having a baby at her age. I can't even imagine."

"Yeah. Well, Roo and I were twenty-nine when we had Kerrigan, and then I had Clara and Conner when I was thirty-two and thirty-three. I still want one more, but not nearly as much as I want to sleep through the night."

I burst out laughing and said, "That's not what I want to hear. I'm considering having a child myself, and I'm thirty-four."

"Margaret proved that it was never too late. That's for sure," Dianna said with a laugh. "It was a learning experience for all of us, believe me."

"I'm going to call my mom and tell her about Madison's mom just to hear her flip out."

"Most women have an almost visceral reaction to the thought of being pregnant in their fifties."

I shuddered dramatically before I sarcastically said, "I can't imagine why."