A New Leaf (Hemlock #1)

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Finn

“Well, it’s day one of Charlie’s Coffee Journey, and I brought you your first drink,” I say, nudging the cup towards her with my index finger.

“Oh. I thought you forgot about that.” She seems taken aback, but I’m a man who never goes back on my word.

I tilt my head. “Charlie, there’s absolutely no way I could forget about this.”

Despite her poker face, that compliment had a definite impact on her. The pinkish hue on her cheeks says so.

I clear my throat. “Sorry it took so long, though. The shop has been extremely busy. This town really loves their coffee.”

“How many times has Dan visited?”

My jaw drops. Dan comes in three times a day, at minimum. He’s probably keeping me in business. “Are we talking about?—”

“Yes. You know exactly who I’m talking about. I know, you know. The dude must have a caffeine addiction,” she says, her soft laugh echoing through the store. I swear my heart briefly stops beating in response to hearing her laugh.

I’m stunned. “Wow. Everyone really knows everything about everybody around here.”

“Oh, I’m aware. I keep to myself and, against my will, I still know more than I’d like to,” she says with a grimace.

I shake my head. I’m definitely not in the city anymore. “Well, you'll have to get me up to speed on the town's . . . unique residents.”

A small smile touches her lips as she nods. “Sure. I can do that.”

Charlie looks equally ready to garden or to go work on a wartime assembly line with her denim overalls and a red bandana wrapped in her hair. Her outfit gives her the appearance of a plant lady version of Rosie the Riveter.

I always did have a thing for her during my high school history class.

What can I say? Strong women make my knees weak.

Charlie eyes the cup like it has a contagious disease. “Do I have to drink this? Like, right now?”

“Yes. Drink up.”

“With you here watching me?” Her eyes are wide with revulsion.

I dip my chin, raising my eyebrows at her. “Yes. I need to watch your facial expressions to see if you’re lying.”

She scoffs. “I have never lied a day in my life.”

“THAT’S A LIE, FINN!”

We both startle and look towards the backroom where Marnie just called Charlie’s bluff.

“DON’T LISTEN TO HER!” Marnie continues.

I cast a knowing smirk Charlie’s way. “Busted.”

Charlie mutters under her breath, “I need to reduce her hours.”

“I thought she already quit?” I question.

Her head tilts with a hint of sass. “I fired her. There’s a big difference.”

“I thought you were reducing her hours . . .” I trail off.

“This is not the hill you want to die on today.”

I let out a laugh, unable to contain my amusement. Her expression is indignant, and she’s standing with one hand resting on her hip, looking like she’s ready for an all out battle.

She’s irresistibly charming.

Slowly, I nod my head, agreeing with her. Because that’s what you do when you don’t want to battle a woman who knows her way around a golf club.

Plus, I want to keep my kneecaps intact. I kind of like them.

Although fleeting, her expression softens briefly until she looks down. Deep brown eyes narrow with repulsion at the harmless coffee cup before her. You’d think she was about to swallow cough medicine. Carefully, she picks it up and the way her soft pink lips wrap around the edge of the cup hypnotizes me.

Just as I suspected, she scowls. “This is disgusting. I thought you were trying to convince me to like coffee, not hate it even more.”

“I forgot to mention the first cup is the control. So, it’s just a classic black coffee. It should get better from here.” I shrug. “At least I hope so.”

She lifts her chin to me. “Well, I don’t have high hopes. You can have this back and get it out of here, thank you very much,” she blurts out the last words in a single breath. Setting the cup back down and sliding it in my direction, she crosses her arms and lifts her chin in defiance.

This woman makes me laugh. She’s cute, feisty, and keeps me on my toes.

I like it.

When I eye the cup, a grin tugs at my lips. “And what am I supposed to do with this? I made it for you.”

Realization blankets her face as it dawns on her that I came here for her, and only her.

Her body slackens a bit. “Oh. When you put it like that, then I’ll just take it. Maybe try to tolerate it.” Her inhale is sharp as she nods. “You know, kind of like exposure therapy?” She grasps the cup and holds it close to her chest.

My eyes work hard not to focus on the cup settled between her breasts. Because I’m a gentleman, I steal a brief glance and file the mental image of her away for later.

I clear my throat, propping both hands up on the counter in front of me. “You’re going to dump it down the sink as soon as I leave, aren’t you?”

Her nod is curt. “Bingo.”

A laugh rises out of my chest, and I shake my head. “Charlie, what am I going to do with you?”

The moment those words leave my mouth, a flush of pink blooms across her round cheeks. I swear, she must have no idea how beautiful she truly is.

Charlie reminds me of that cute girl next door that you’d have a crush on growing up. A special type of beauty radiates from her. It’s more than just surface level, it’s soul deep—a beauty you can feel from the inside out.

“Hopefully not subject me to any more terrible coffee, but that doesn’t seem to be in my future if this cup is where we’re starting.” She grimaces, shaking the cup.

“Fine. Give it to me.”

She hands the coffee over, and I take a sip.

Her forehead creases. “You just took a sip out of a near-stranger’s cup. I could have the flu, or strep, or mono! Or another illness!”

My head tilts to the side as I raise my eyebrows at her. She’s wrinkling her nose at me, glancing from the cup to my face.

“Charlie, do you have the flu, strep, or mono? Or another illness that you’re so, so worried about?” There’s noticeable humor in my tone, so she knows I’m only teasing her.

She swallows, thrusting her chin forward. “No, but?—”

“Then I have nothing to worry about.” I wink. “I have to get back to the shop before Frank takes over and makes everyone his minions. He can be a very persuasive pup.” I shrug.

At the simple mention of Frank, Vera saunters over to me, her tail wagging with happiness. After a quick ear scratch, I give Vera one of Frank’s treats from my pocket. I don’t miss the way Charlie’s eyes soften at this simple gesture.

As I spin on my heels to leave her store, I call out, “See you tomorrow! Same time, same place. Don’t forget to put your game face on, champ!” Her sound of disapproval makes me smile and gives me the fuel I need to get through the day.

There’s a full-blown grin on my face as I walk down the street back to Dark Side Brews. When I look ahead, I see that Frank is now patiently waiting outside for me as he receives ear scratches from strangers passing by. My walk begins to slow the closer I get to my dog.

He has a random, bright purple shoe that I suspect belongs to a small child in his mouth. It only took him two hours to steal something that’s not his. Then again, he’s probably got a collection of items hidden in some corner of the shop.

I stop in front of him, giving him my stern I’m not fucking around voice. “Frank, drop it.” His ears perk up at the sound of my voice, and his nub of a tail begins to wag. “No, Frank, now is not the time to be happy to hear me. You stole a poor kid’s shoe. Drop it.”

Frank whimpers and reluctantly drops the small purple shoe to the ground. I search to see if there’s anyone nearby who has a kid with a missing shoe. About two stores down, I notice a dad with a stroller and a small child with one bare foot.

Swiftly, I hurry down the street to catch up to him before he gets too far.

“Excuse me, sir? I think you dropped this.” I smile, holding out the shoe.

Confusion is written all over his face until he looks down at his daughter in the stroller. “Oh, thanks, man. My wife would’ve killed me if I came back with another missing baby shoe. For some reason, this little one keeps kicking them off.” He chuckles.

“Ah. Well, I can’t blame her. Sometimes you just need to rock that sock life. Also, sorry that it’s a little soggy. My dog was keeping it safe . . . in his mouth.” I wince.

“No worries at all. Your dog was just helping to break them in,” he jokes. “Thanks again, and thanks for saving me the extra twenty dollars for another pair of shoes.”

I smile. “Anytime. Have a good one!”

Heading back to my shop, I begin venturing down the dangerous road of thinking about the future. When the dart landed on Hemlock, pointing me to where I’d be opening my new business, I was a bit worried about moving to a smaller town. When I moved out at eighteen for college, I’d only been drawn to bigger cities—basking in the busy atmosphere with so much to do and being surrounded by thousands of faces daily. I never saw the same person twice, which always kept things fun and interesting.

Until it didn’t anymore.

Since I’ve moved around so much, it’s always been easy to compare one city to the next. It struck me that I haven’t compared Hemlock to any other city I’ve been to before. Maybe it’s because it’s still so new? Maybe it’s because it has a unique quality?

Or maybe it’s because of a mysterious brunette woman working a few doors down from me.

After flipping the café’s sign to “Closed” and locking up for the evening, I feel like I can finally take a breath again. Since opening, we’ve had a constant stream of customers, and it’s tough to keep up with the demand.

My feet lazily shuffle to my back office. I rub my aching lower back, which is feeling the strain and fatigue from being on my feet all day. All I can think about is collapsing onto my soft, comfortable bed.

Originally, my idea was to work shorter days at the café and let the staff run the show. But getting to know the town and its interesting inhabitants has been a lot of fun and, time after time, I find myself having stayed far later than I planned. Today, I got caught up in a story from an older gentleman who told me he saw BigFoot in the Calapooya Mountains in the eighties. He was so animated while telling his story that my whole shop had paused to listen to him. With how engrossed everyone was, you’d think it was an open mic night.

Not even a month in and more ideas to expand the offerings of my coffee shop are simmering in the back of my mind. Maybe hosting events such as book clubs or even open mic nights? The passing thoughts about future possibilities have stopped me in my tracks.

I smile to myself because this is a good sign. This newfound hopefulness and optimism for what lies ahead is a feeling I want to hold close to my heart.

Trying not to get too far ahead of myself, I flick off all the lights in my shop, with getting home back on my mind. I’ve overstayed my welcome here to the point that I’m becoming borderline delusional with bone-deep fatigue. Briefly checking the clock, I notice it’s 8 p.m. already.

Definitely way too late to be here, considering we closed a few hours ago.

I whistle for Frank as I grab my keys and head out the front of the store to lock up. As I step outside, a refreshing cool breeze sweeps over me. Frank’s nose tips to the sky as he sniffs, the wind tousling his fur. After I double-check the locked door, we make our way to my car when the orange glow of a shop’s light catches my eye.

My feet carry me a few steps closer down the street. Charlie’s store appears to still be open. The warm light of A New Leaf reflects on the wet pavement outside, practically beckoning me to go in there and give her a visit.

I glance down at my dog, keeping my voice calm and even so he doesn’t get too excited.“Come on, Frank, let’s go make a house call, shall we?” His nub of a tail wags, and he prances behind me with such joy that you think he’d stolen someone’s wallet.

I could be wrong, but I think Frank may have a crush on Vera, the sweet, lazy-as-a-sloth golden retriever.

The breeze picks up a bit, making it an even chillier fall night. Buttoning up my jacket, Frank and I continue making our way down to A New Leaf. I can’t help but soak in the quiet stillness of the town at night. The trees are lined with glowing twinkling lights, there are no cars on the road, and everything feels peaceful. You’d never guess that it was bustling with people just a few hours ago.

Upon arriving at Charlie’s storefront, I gently tap on the window with my knuckle, patiently waiting for her to appear. Not seeing any hint of movement, I tap on the window again.

Still nothing.

Thinking she just forgot to turn the lights off, I pull out my phone to send her a quick message.

I’m looking down at my phone and typing out a text as Frank and I begin to walk away. We both stop when we hear the clicking of a door being unlocked. When I turn around, a modern-day Rosie the Riveter is ready for battle with her trusty 5-iron golf club clutched in one hand and a vining plant in the other.