Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Maya
Staring into my mug of herbal tea, I wondered—not for the first time—if I should start drinking coffee. I mean, everyone does it, right? How bad could it be?
I wrinkled my nose, remembering the bitter taste from the last few times I’d had the same thought and tried it.
At least you can dump a bunch of flavored creams and sugars into it to make it taste better .
Yeah, but if I was going to do that, why not just drink the creams and sugar? I made a mental note to look up if I could pour sweetened condensed milk into a cup of hot water. Now that sounded delicious.
Why not? You’re an adult. You can do what you want .
I sighed and put the tea down.
The whole point of the tea was that I was trying to be kinder to my body. Less supplements, more natural stuff. Like…vegetables. And whole grains. And herbal tea blends I made myself from the herbs I grew on my back porch.
Or used to.
The back alleyway behind my shop didn’t get any sun, so I’d moved my herbs to the front window of The Garden Shop , so at least they acted as advertisements. Sorta.
What kind of person, walking down Main Street, would stop and say, “Wow, look at the size of that mint and lavender! This store must really have it going on!”
Besides me, I mean.
The bell over the front door rang, and I lifted my head, settling my expression into a welcoming smile.
“Morning, Maya!” called out my favorite customer. How could I not love someone named Rosemary, even if she calls herself Ro? Ro stops in The Garden Shop each Monday morning to buy herself flowers for her classroom. And not roses, but interesting, exciting arrangements. About a year ago, she’d given me carte blanche when it came to choosing flowers, and I adored pushing my creativity to create beautiful combinations for her.
Who wouldn’t love a woman who buys herself flowers?
Today, however, was a Saturday, and she was here to pick up something even more exciting. At least, I thought it was more exciting, because of what it represented. The four huge azaleas in my back room were for her back garden, and one of the first orders for my new landscaping business.
I’d sacrificed a lot to make sure it wouldn’t be my last.
She bounced down the center aisle, her cheery smile matching the yellow dress I knew she’d made. Made ! As if she wasn’t cool enough already, she paid super-close attention to clothing trends and sewed a lot of her own stuff and always looked amazing.
“So, what had you looking so thoughtful?” she demanded.
I blinked and glanced around. Had Ro been spying on me? “What do you mean?”
“I stopped to admire your mint and lavender and saw you staring down at your mug like it had the answers to life, universe, and everything.”
Ha! This is why RoRo was my best friend. She was also the type of person who would stop to admire herbs in a window. I smiled, although I knew it wasn’t the brightest.
“Just tired. I was contemplating making myself a drink with caffeine. I think black tea has more caffeine in it than coffee, doesn’t it?”
Ro planted her elbows on my counter and leaned over it. “Does it? If it does, I’m going to start drinking it. I wonder if I could mix it with coffee?”
“Like hot water and a tea bag, then you pour coffee in there?” I wrinkled my nose. “That sounds disgusting.”
“Yep, but it would keep me awake. Do you know how exhausting a class full of ten-year-olds can be? Especially after lunch when I’m full of carbs?”
As the teacher for the combined third and fourth grade classrooms at Eastshore Isle Elementary, Ro had her hands full. But…
I planted one hand on my hip and faked a stern look. “You wouldn’t be so tired if you didn’t stay up till midnight reading.”
“Oh, that reminds me!” Ignoring my censure, Ro dug around in the bag at her hip. “I finished another one.” She plopped the paperback on the counter and pushed it toward me. “Elves. A human girl with new powers, saving the world yadda-yadda, get this: She’s powered by orgasms.”
Well, color me intrigued.
I couldn’t give Ro grief about reading when she passed all the best books to me.
I picked up the book and flipped it over to read the blurb. “How many peens?”
She snorted. “The standard one. But there are a few different guys.”
Hmmm acceptable . “I mean, obviously I’m going to read it.” I slid it under the counter. “I’m just in my monster fudger era right now. I like them…interesting.”
Ro straightened, a smirk turning her plump lips positively naughty. “ Interesting ? Like guys with two peens, or it vibrates, or it has?—”
“Ridges.” I had a toy I was particularly fond of.
My friend waggled her brows. “Like orc cock? Maya Locklear, are you a fan of the orc cock?”
Oh shit, I’d walked into that one, huh?
I felt my cheeks heat, but figured I could hide it before I started to blush—my skin was dark enough, she might not even notice. I reached for my tea and sipped it as I began to turn. “Your plants are in the back, I’ll?—”
“Answer the question, Maya!” Ro’s tone was positively gleeful. “Have you started seeing someone?”
I choked on my tea.
Once I remembered how to breathe again, I glared at her and wiped the spilled liquid from my green t-shirt. “I’m—I’m not seeing anyone. I was talking about books , RoRo!”
My friend merely hummed and danced around the edge of the corner, looking stunning in her sundress and heels, as always. “Because if you were interested in orcs, I know of a few?—”
“Oh my gosh , stop,” I sputtered, plunking my tea back on the counter. “I can’t date. I’m too busy. Books are fine.” Books, and my special toy, which happened to be shaped like an orc’s you-know-what.
I mean, a girl can dream, right?
“I’m just saying.” With a mischievous wink, she slipped her arm through mine. “There’s plenty of them around.”
She was right. Last year, Eastshore Isle opened its arms to orcs and other displaced monsters. Our new mayor, Sakkara, was married—no, wait, Mated , that’s what orcs call it—to one of Ro’s coworkers, and there were a lot of other prominent orcs around Eastshore.
And of course, a pair lived upstairs, above my shop.
Now I was blushing for real, and I turned Ro toward the back room in an effort to hide it.
Last night, because of my curiosity, I’d almost been busted. But I couldn’t regret it because seeing Memnon was always worth it. I was kinda pissed I wasn’t wearing my contacts so I could see him properly, because damn , that was one hot male. And despite the fact that he lived over my shop, I rarely got to admire him.
He was reclusive, and grumpy as anything, and apparently that was like catnip to me. I wanted to pin Memnon down and lick him… But I couldn’t let him know I’ve been sleeping in my back room. He would have to be in contact with our landlord, and if the landlord found out the truth about me…
I was not going to lose my shop.
Hoping to turn Ro’s attention from orcs in general and my upstairs neighbor in particular, I pushed open the door to the back room. “Roll this rock in front of it,” I commanded her, nudging a large decorative rock with my foot. “Sandra isn’t in until ten, and I want to be able to hear the bell if anyone else comes in.”
“Oof,” she complained as she followed my instructions. “You keep rocks around for fun?”
“I found it near the nature reserve—there’s a piece of land for sale along the creek—and I thought I could use it as a center piece in a landscape design.” I was only half paying attention as I pulled tools off one of my red wagons. “Hasn’t happened yet, but it’s been useful as a doorstop.”
“Maya Locklear, geology thief,” RoRo intoned seriously. “Stealing rocks from?—”
“Oh, shut up,” I huffed, finally unearthing the wagon. “No one cares. I heard the owner was some old geezer in Atlanta, and his heirs just want to get rid of the property. It’s right next to the preserve, so I hike there a lot.”
“I’m just teasing you.” Ro stepped up beside me and bumped my shoulder with hers. “So what have you got for me?”
“Ready?” I took a deep breath, then turned her toward the back shelves to present her with her new babies. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
“Oh, they’re perfect!” Ro rushed to fuss over the azaleas. “The color is the perfect pink, just like I imagined. You’re sure these four are healthy?”
“As healthy as I could find.” She was paying me a hefty fee for these beauties. “I can’t carry all of them, so that’s why I got the wagon. If you can help me get them off the shelf, I’ll wheel them out to your car.”
As she stepped up to help, Ro grunted, “Girl, you have got to get some help. Strong help. Sandra is sweet and all, but you need an employee who can actually lift and tote and dig holes and whatever else you need.”
Don’t I know it.
I was too focused on lowering the azalea into the wagon to waste breath on answering, but as we wheeled it through the shop and out the front door, I pointed to the Help Wanted sign I had tacked on the front glass window.
“Reasonable pay, heavy labor,” Ro read. “Well, you don’t mess around.”
“I do need help,” I announced, my hand in the small of my back as I straightened. “Sandra can man the store, but I’m going to need help with the actual landscaping. If I have to do it all myself, it’ll take months.”
“True,” Ro sighed, taking the wagon from me and wheeling it to the back room. “Now that you’ve won the council contract for the new landscaping in the park, you’re going to be golden. I know you’ve wanted that for a long time.”
It was, frankly, a dream come true.
A lot of landscaping firms had bid on the job. I wasn’t the cheapest—I couldn’t afford to be—but in my proposal, I played up the fact that I was the only Eastshore Isle resident who wanted the job. I knew the Town Council was big on supporting our community, and it worked.
I loved running my shop, but I was finally— finally —going to have the opportunity to get my hands really dirty. I’d gone to school for landscape architecture, and after years of saving money for equipment and tools, I was going to be able to do what I loved.
Assuming I could get some help.
“The contract starts next week,” I confessed as we loaded the third azalea into her trunk. “If I don’t get help soon, I’m going to have to start advertising on the mainland, which means I’ll have to offer higher rates, which is going to be a problem.”
I’d already cut every single expense I could spare, and some I couldn’t, to afford to pay another employee.
We were pulling the fourth and final azalea from its shelf, and I was lecturing Ro on their care, when it tipped sideways, spilling fresh dark dirt all over her sundress. “Oh, shit!” I blurted.
To her credit, she didn’t react, but helped me lower the pot into the wagon before straightening and frowning down at herself. “Well, it was probably stupid to wear something cute to garden in anyhow. You’re always more practical.” The way she winked took the sting out of the words. “Can I go wash my hands?”
“Of course!” I pointed her toward the small bathroom in the back while I hurried to bring the last plant out to her car.
When I returned, I expected her to be out by the counter, but she wasn’t. Oh well, I had to return the wagon anyway. But when I stepped into the back room, I winced to see Ro peeking her head around a pretty decorative screen I’d set up along the back wall.
The screen which, despite my attempts at camouflaging it with a few hanging planters, hid my bed.
Ro was frowning, glancing between the bed and me, as she came back around it. “Maya, what’s going on? I saw a toiletries bag in the bathroom, but this… It looks like you’re sleeping here?”
I sighed, caught. “The bathroom is perfectly fine, and I can take—well, not baths, not showers, but I can clean myself fine. And I can wash my clothes in the slop sink.” I pointed. “And I know it’s a little weird to sleep in my back room, but there’s electricity, and the air conditioning will keep this place cool in the summer, and I think?—"
“Whoa, whoa.” Ro patted the air as she stepped closer, as if trying to decide if I needed a hug. “Are you okay? You’re really sleeping here? Like…full-time?”
Oh crap. I suck at lying, so I just sighed again and told her the truth. “I need to save money, so I sold most of my furniture. I found the cot at a flea market on the mainland, but the air mattress and foam topper make it much more comfortable.”
“So you’re…you’re not living at your apartment any longer?”
“I can’t afford both rents,” I admitted quietly, not able to look her in the eye. “I need the money…” To pay the new employee. “Until the job is complete and the government checks start rolling in.” Then I’d be able to use that money to pay my hypothetical future employee who hadn’t yet shown up to help.
Ro made a little noise of understanding, one that sounded pitying, and enveloped me in a hug. Despite the dirt on her dress, it was a great hug. Ro had huge boobs and gave the world’s best hugs.
“Is it your landlord?” she asked. “Is he gouging you?”
My “No,” was muffled, so I turned my head to answer. And so I wouldn’t suffocate. “My apartment lease was up. And the rent on this place is reasonable.”
“Didn’t you say it had sold? The owner was an ass, right?” She was rubbing my back.
“The old one was always charging me extra. He sold at the beginning of the year to some LLC in New York, I don’t know anything about it, but the new owner is totally chill. Hasn’t raised rent or asked for separate utilities or anything.”
Ro gently straightened. “You mean the way it’s supposed to be?”
“Yeah, but if he found out I was living here…” I sighed and pulled away, my lips curled ruefully. “Not good.”
“Um…yeah.” She winced and fussed with her hair. “I think it’s against regulations or whatever to sleep in a commercial building. I’m sorry, Maya.”
I scrubbed my hand over my face. “I’m not going to ask you to lie for me, because it’s not like I did a good job of keeping it secret. I just…I need the money.”
“I understand.” Smiling, Ro clasped my hand. “And I’m your friend, so you don’t have to ask. Now, how about letting me pay for all those gorgeous azaleas, and you can lecture me some more on how to take care of them?”
See? My favorite customer. She always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better.