Chapter 19 #2
Liz pulled the door of The Percolation Station open and stepped inside, the aroma of coffee triggering her pleasure centers and calming her thoughts rapidly.
God, she loved this place. Not only the smell, but the feel.
The way the atmosphere felt calm yet invigorating.
The soft lighting that highlighted the cozy tables and the pictures of the old train station.
The enthusiasm Gwen had for helping people, whether it was getting their regular order or helping them figure out what they wanted.
The pleasant buzz took a detour into her lady bits when she spied the customer currently under Gwen’s care. Unless there was another guy on crutches whose presence made Liz’s hormones go haywire, Carson was already here.
Liz thought yet again of running. Of calling the whole thing off and going back to working solo on Arnold’s business. But she was too slow.
Gwen zeroed in on her, the grin on her face nearly doubling.
Crap.
Knowing she’d lost whatever slim chance she had of turning tail, Liz shoved down her misgivings and took a steadying breath.
Right. You can do this.
Sliding a smile in place, she forced herself to the counter. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” Gwen said, her eyes darting from Liz to Carson and back again.
“Hey,” Liz said to Carson.
“Hey.”
Gwen’s eye roll was nearly a complete three-sixty. Liz wasn’t sure how she didn’t get dizzy. “Please.”
“What?” Liz darted her eyes to Carson, who shifted on his crutches.
“The two of you are back together again, and all you have to say is ‘hey?’ And why didn’t you tell me? I mean, I knew it would happen, but I thought I’d at least get a text about it.”
“Whoa.” Liz held up a hand. “One, we are not back together—”
“Yet,” Carson interjected, reaching over and giving her hand a light caress.
It was just enough to make her train of thought jump the rails of denial and deflection she was used to traversing. Right. Get off the murder train, Liz.
“We’re still getting to know each other again,” he continued. “But who knows where we’ll be by the end of the day.”
“Hopefully snuggled up together by a fire with some hot chocolate.” Gwen let out a sigh as hearts practically floated above her head.
“Uh, right.” Liz blinked away the image, slightly frightened by how much she didn’t hate that idea.
“Sounds good to me.” Carson winked at her then turned to Gwen. “But we don’t want to hold up the line, so can I get a Foamy Engine and…” He squinted at Liz. “A Choo Choo Chai.”
Liz wrinkled her nose. “I hope that chai is for you.”
“No. It’s for you.”
“It’s too sweet.”
“Maybe. But you’re way too bitter.”
Gwen snorted while someone behind them whistled. “I have missed you two so much,” Gwen muttered. Liz shot her a glare, to which Gwen shrugged. “What? He’s right. You are,” she added before turning away to make the drinks.
Carson nudged her off to the side with one of his crutches. “You were right. This place is fantastic.”
“Yeah, well, the owner leaves something to be desired,” Liz muttered, still scowling at her friend. Not five minutes into the charade and Gwen already sided with Carson.
“Never would’ve thought to do something like this with the old train station,” Carson continued, scanning the building.
Liz followed his gaze. Exposed beams ran the length of the vaulted ceilings giving the place an old-timey feel, and pictures of the town through the years adorned the walls. “Yeah, they did a great job.”
“Okay, you two. Have fun!” Gwen slid the cups toward them, her grin firmly back in place.
Liz swiped the cups off the counter, sniffed them, and took a swig of the Foamy Engine. “Ahh. Perfection.”
“Hey! Get your hands off my coffee.”
Liz kept eye contact with Carson while she took another swig, then licked the lid of the takeout cup for good measure. “My coffee. Your chai.” She held the chai out to him, studied his crutches, and frowned. “How were you planning on carrying this, anyway, genius?”
“Well, I was hoping someone would be a good person and carry it for me, but apparently, I don’t know any good people. Only ones who steal other people’s coffee.”
Liz sighed. “Fine.”
“Great.” Carson smiled and held out a hand. “Give me my coffee.”
“No.” Liz cradled the coffee closer to her. “I meant, fine, I’ll carry your drink. Not give you my coffee.”
“Ugh, so difficult.”
“That’s what you get for ordering for me.”
“I was trying to be chivalrous.”
“Try harder.”
With a sigh, Carson accepted the chai and took a sip. “Hmm, that’s pretty good.” Handing it back to her, he gestured toward the door. “Shall we?”
At her nod, he crutched ahead and held the door for her. A gesture she normally did for other people because it was the decent thing to do, but this time, for some ridiculous reason, the fact that Carson did it for her made her feel oddly tingly.
“Okay,” Carson said, once they were outside. “So far, so good.”
“What?” Liz took a sip of her drink, only to recoil at the taste of chai. Crap. Wrong drink.
“Well, since we’re sharing drinks…” Carson reached out and snatched the coffee out of her other hand and took a long swallow.
Liz wanted to protest, but she was too busy watching his Adam’s apple. Had his Adam’s apple been that sexy back when they were dating?
“Good job, by the way,” Carson said, handing the coffee back to her.
“What?” Liz tore her gaze from his neck and back to his eyes. Not that they were any better. Stupid, sexy eyes.
“I don’t know if you saw, but I spotted at least three tables of people nearly falling out of their chairs trying to listen to us. I have no idea if they’re in on the pool or not, but either way, our plan is off to a good start.”
Right. The plan.
Get your head in the game, Liz!
Liz craned her neck and glanced through the large picture windows.
Sure enough, she immediately spied Rachel, one of the librarians, at a table with several other similar-aged women, all of whom were tapping furiously on their phones.
Over in the corner, Merv from the feed store and his brother-in-law, John, were busy consulting their phones while scribbling on a piece of paper.
A piece of paper that was whisked away by Merv when they glanced up and caught Liz looking at them.
There was also the women’s group from the Baptist Church over on Allen Street, who were all going to have serious cricks in their necks if they didn’t stop darting glances over their shoulders.
Reminded of how good her own neck felt, Liz rolled her shoulders.
Carson jutted his chin toward her. “How’s it feeling?”
“Better. Thanks.”
“No problem. It might not be a bad idea to work on it again today.”
“Oh. You don’t need to do that.” It really did feel much better. Although she still needed to schedule a full body massage with Stephanie soon.
“But imagine how many tongues will wag if they see me giving you a massage.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Another Carson massage and messing with people? Yes, please. Liz gave the customers inside The Percolation Station one last look before turning back to Carson. “Did you have any luck figuring out who’s behind the pool?”
Carson sighed. “Nope. I think Arnold knows something. He clammed up and put on some evasive maneuvers when I asked him about it.”
“Well that’s not suspicious at all.”
“Agreed. Same with Agnes. They definitely know about it, but I don’t know if they know who started it. Same with Matty. I talked to him last night, and he definitely would’ve leaked something like that faster than a sieve if he had any clue who started it.”
“Oh, I believe that.” Matty had nothing but good bones in his body. And no filters.
“Even asked Davis about it this morning. He gave me a ride when I told him where I was headed,” Carson added. “Said parking would’ve been a bitch.”
“He’s right.” Something she would’ve warned him about if she was thinking straight.
“But either he’s out of the loop or a great actor because he said he knew nothing.”
“Hmmm.” As much as she didn’t trust Clem or Maya right now, she’d bet Davis was clueless.
The poor guy had enough on his plate without getting involved.
“Yeah, nothing on my side, either.” Liz wasn’t sure how ethical it was to involve her niece in investigating the situation, but twelve-year-old girls were nothing if not industrious.
Especially when there was the promise of a shopping spree on the other end of the deal.
“Well then, I guess there’s nothing left to do but give the people what they want.” Carson’s grin was accompanied by a wicked gleam in his eye.
“Right. The people.” Liz tried not to focus on the way his expression was revving her seriously underused engine, and instead on their end-goal—messing with people.
Something she felt entirely comfortable with given the circumstances.
Exhaling any lingering misgivings, she smiled back.
“Alright, then. Let’s get this party started. ”