Mission: Imbrewable – A Frothy Fiasco (The Coffee Loft Series: Mountain Brew Collection)

Chapter 11

Luke

For the rest of the hike, that nuclear kiss hangs between us like the proverbial elephant in the room. Once we’re back at camp, Kaylee pleads exhaustion and goes back to her tent to rest while I ponder my new partner and my attraction to her. It’s not wise to get involved with her when I’m leaving as soon as we identify the poachers. Shoving those worries aside, I scribble down some notes in preparation of calling the General with an update.

Ping!

Reading the notification on my phone, I chuckle. Apparently, Kaylee isn’t as tired as she said she was.

Kaylee: See updated suspect list with additional observations.

I scroll through the list, snickering at several of her comments. Partnering with Kaylee is a breath of fresh air. I’ve never had this much fun on a Grayson Security assignment before .

Old Man and Basset Hound. Too arthritic to accomplish hike. Observe comings and goings in case he’s teaming up with a fitter partner. Possible mule.

Yellow Galoshes. Determine if she owns any other footwear. Galoshes not appropriate for hike.

VW Bus Gang. Have never left their campsite. Continue to monitor.

Richie Riches. Highly suspicious. Are they funding their lifestyle by poaching the plants? Continue to monitor.

The list goes on and on, with updates beside every name. This woman is thorough. At least she eliminated Man with Fishing Rod . Her comment: Observed actually fishing. Vacated camp this afternoon. Remove from suspect list if he doesn’t return.

Me: You aren’t resting, are you?

Kaylee: Nope.

Me: Where are you?

Kaylee: Liz and I are hiding out behind the shower building, tracking Yellow Galoshes .

Laughing, I type in my response, imagining her and Liz on their little stakeout. Maybe I should purchase binoculars for my new partner.

Me: Is Yellow Gladiolas engaged in superstitious activity?

Wincing, I read the autocorrects that I didn’t notice before I hit Send.

Kaylee: I don’t think she’s a witch. Autocorrect fail? (raised eyebrows emoji) (confused face emoji) (thinking face emoji)

Oops! Before I can text a correction, my phone pings again.

Kaylee: She’s collecting rocks. That’s what all those pockets in her cargo pants are for (frowny face emoji)

I type carefully, using a minimum of words this time.

Me: Delete from list

Kaylee: Not enough evidence to remove her

I chuckle.

Me: See you at 6

Kaylee: Can’t wait for the yummy dinner! (face savoring food emoji)

I’ve never heard MREs described as yummy. I bought some assuming I was going to eat by myself. However, they’re easy to fix, filling, and Kaylee seemed game to try one. If dinner is a bust, I’ve got fixings for s’mores for dessert.

~*~

“Winston, here,” the General replies on the first ring.

“I’ve got an update,” I say, without preamble.

“What did you find out? Is your romantic interest involved with the parsley gang?”

For being a crusty former military man, Winston sure is invested in everyone’s love life. “First off, she’s not my romantic interest,” I say, my voice sounding huffy to my own ears. Memories of that smoking hot kiss jar my brain, reminding me that I’m not being truthful with my boss.

He snorts.

“Second, if you met Kaylee, you’d know that she’s not part of any gang, parsley or otherwise. ”

“So, that’s negatory?”

“Yes. No. You know what I mean!” I say, not mentioning that the klutzy barista would probably find a way to destroy the plants if she was part of the parsley gang. “She’s joined forces with me,” I add.

“Joined forces? As in she’s now your partner?”

“Correct. I’ve enlisted her help.”

A gleeful laugh echoes over the line. “You’ve fallen for her! My, my, what an interesting development.”

Like I said, Winston is a hopeless romantic, and he takes every opportunity to play matchmaker. Two of our Grayson Security team have recently gotten married, in part due to Winston’s meddling. My heart lurches. Am I next?

Ignoring his suggestions about Kaylee and my alleged romantic involvement, I change tack to a topic I know he’ll latch onto. “Kaylee’s truly helping. She’s created a suspect list and we’re investigating every one of them.”

“I already like her! But that sounds like something you should have done from the beginning. ”

Ouch! He’s not wrong. I let my infatuation with Kaylee distract me from the mission almost from the very beginning.

“So, what’s your strategy?” he rasps.

Glad that I at least have a fully formed plan to give my boss, I begin, “Since it’s impossible to go undetected in the spartan terrain near the plants, rather than do a stakeout on the mountain, we’re going to monitor the comings and goings and possibly track a suspect up the trail to see where they’re headed. The theory is that once the poacher collects the plants, they need to deliver them quickly to the buyer. We’ll tail after anyone whose been seen hiking up the mountain then leaving the campground shortly afterwards.”

“Reasonable plan, considering the area you’re working in. Is there any sign that the plants in the patch you found have been disturbed?”

“Not so far. Kaylee and I hiked up there this morning and the patch looked the same as it did yesterday.”

“Roger that. Keep me posted,” he instructs. “I’ve got Gabe monitoring back channels for any chatter about procuring rare plants. I’ll let you know if he hears anything,” he says, then hangs up.

Chuckling, I stare at the blank screen. Winston is not a man of flowery words or excess praise, but I expected a little more feedback than this. No doubt he’ll drill me more about my romantic interest in my new sidekick on the next call. Maybe he’s as distracted by this brewing romance as I am...