Chapter 18 #2
“Have fun,” Gina said. “Oh! One more thing.” She reached into her purse. “You won’t have fun without this.” She handed Maren a credit card with the name Gina Smith on it.
“What? I can’t.” She shoved the card back at her.
“You can and you will. Besides, it’s a business expense.” Gina grabbed Maren’s hand and put the card into it.
“Really, it’s best not to fight her,” Nettie said. “You won’t win. I never have.”
“Thank you. Maren stared down at the card in her hand. “So much.”
“It’s what family does,” Gina said quietly. “Now get going.”
As they left, Maren caught Charlie shooting Gina a look of gratitude. Gina nodded once.
Maren and Colin followed Charlie back through the lobby, waving at Jodie on their way out. Charlie led them to a truck in the corner of the parking lot. They wouldn’t be taking one of Watchdog’s SUVs today. Way too high-profile.
“Nice truck,” Maren told Charlie.
“Thanks. It’s not mine though. It’s my fiancé Ben’s truck. He was a friend of Sean’s, too. He’s letting us use it for the day.”
“Well, make sure to thank him for me,” Maren said.
Charlie opened the back door. “I hope you don’t mind sitting in the back. It’s a little less conspicuous. Colin can sit next to me up front.”
“That’s fine,” Maren said. “I’m just glad to be getting out of the house.”
Charlie and Colin got into the truck. Charlie started the engine and then off they went toward Lyons.
It wasn’t far, only about fifteen minutes, and most of that was climbing back down the winding road off of the Watchdog property.
The guard at the gate waved them through and they took a right once they hit the main road.
“It’s a beautiful little town,” Charlie said. “I think you’ll like it.”
“Have you lived here all your life?” Maren asked.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m a transplant. I grew up in Ohio.”
“What brought you out here?” Maren asked.
She could see Charlie smile in the rearview mirror.
“Well, technically, a photograph. Sean had this photo of all his friends playing in the St. Vrain River when they were teenagers. They were just goofing around, shooting water guns at each other, doing dumb kid stuff, you know? Sean was the one who snapped the photo and it was a great picture of all the guys. His brothers. Shane, Bear, Waylon, Elias, Gabe. And then there was Ben.” Maren watched Charlie’s cheeks flood with pink.
“Your fiancé Ben?” Maren asked.
“One and the same,” Charlie said. “After I left the Swicks, Shane convinced me to move out here. He’d started working at Watchdog and said they were looking for bodyguards.
I wanted to see Lyons and the St. Vrain for myself.
Sean used to talk about it like it was paradise on earth.
He loved the river so much. So I told myself I was coming out for him, for his memory, to see the place where he grew up.
“But it was really for Ben, wasn’t it?”
“Well, I guess you could say it was both. But yes, Ben. Here we are,” Charlie said as they approached a cliff wall made of red limestone.
“The St. Vrain is at the base of that wall. We’ll find a place to park here in town.
Are you hungry? Do you wanna eat first or should we go shopping? It’s up to you.”
“I’m curious about this place you wanna show me,” Maren said. “Can we go there first?”
Charlie laughed. “Oh, a woman after my own heart. Well, if you’re hungry, that will actually take care of lunch. Well, at least dessert before lunch.”
“Oh, that sounds promising.”
Charlie pulled into a small parking lot in front of an older building. It looked like all the buildings in Lyons were from the late 1800s. It’s a charming little town, Maren thought.
They got out of the truck and approached the building. There was no big sign, but painted on the window were the words Do’s and Donuts.
“A donut shop,” Maren said, delighted. “I love donuts.”
“Oh, I know what this place is now. I’ve wanted to check it out,” Colin said. He laughed and looked at Charlie. “Good move.”
“Thank you,” Charlie said. “And it’s not just donuts, Maren. They have sandwiches, too.”
They had reached the door and Colin held it open for the women. “They’ve got something else that you’re not going to believe.”
The smells from the donut shop were fantastic—sugar and flour and grease. And coffee.
“I could definitely use a cup of coffee,” Maren said.
“Oh dang,” Charlie said. “We should have gone to Riversong first.”
“The coffee place?”
“Yes, the best coffee place in town.”
The woman behind the counter turned around.
She was wearing an apron with a French phrase on the front that read Va te faire cuire un oeuf and a name tag that read Simone.
“You know, I’m not even going to dispute that,” she told Charlie with a smile.
“Considering that they’re carrying my donuts and pastries now, there’s no way I’m going to badmouth them.
Plus, it’s true. My coffee sucks compared to theirs and my coffee is still really good. ”
Maren grinned. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m a coffee fiend. I can have a cup here and a cup over there probably too.”
“Well, good, then I’ll get your order started. How do you take your coffee?”
“Cream and sugar, please,” Maren said, and she looked over the pastries in the front case, which were lovely and fancy and very French as well. Behind the counter, in racks along the back wall, were a whole assortment of donuts, and boy did those look good too.
“Oh, along with my coffee, I think I’ll take one of everything,” Maren said.
“Ha.” Simone laughed. “I’ll take that as a huge compliment. What do you like though? Pastries? Donuts?”
“Donuts. A cruller, if you have one.” She examined the trays of donuts. “Oh, you do. Goodness, it looks like you have four different flavors.”
“I’ll get you one of each.” Simone had already turned to grab them. “Two are on the house.”
“Oh, thank you,” Maren said.
“You’re welcome. Now, how much axe time would you like?”
Maren frowned. “Axe…time?” She looked around the shop, trying to figure out what the woman might have meant.
It looked like a normal donut shop—tables and chairs, a couple people sitting down and eating.
Though she did notice a box that was labeled China Donations Here by the door.
It was full of mismatched dishes. Well, that’s a good way to recycle, she thought.
But it certainly didn’t answer her question.
“Yes,” Simone said. “Axe time. How long would you like to spend throwing axes?”
Charlie grinned, and so did Colin. “This is perfect,” he told Charlie.
“Axe throwing? Are you kidding me?” Maren said. “So you’re telling me that you can eat donuts and throw axes here?”
“Yup. It’s right through there.” She pointed to a door covered with a beaded curtain. “You’ve got the whole place to yourself at the moment, too.”
“Oh wow. How did you come up with the idea for this place?”
“I was getting divorced and I was angry,” Simone said.
“Then I had a donut to make myself feel better. But afterwards, I was still angry, and sugared up and I now I wanted to throw things. So I thought, how cool would it be if there was a place where you could eat donuts and throw things and not get arrested? Ta da!” She gestured around her place.
“Welcome to Do’s and Donuts. I’m still working on getting the plate-toss room up and running.
” She pointed to the box of dishes. “And I’m taking donations.
Each plate you bring in this week earns you one minute of smashy-smashy time. ”
“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant,” Maren said, clapping. “I’m sorry about your divorce, but I’m really glad you turned your anger into this.”
Simone took a bow. “Thank you. It’s fine to clap, but throw money, too. And by throw money, I mean how long would you like to throw axes today?”
“Half an hour, I guess?” She looked at Charlie and Colin for confirmation.
“Sounds good to me,” Colin said.
“We could do an hour if you want,” Charlie added.
“It’s my first time, so let’s stick to half an hour.”
“Sounds good. And what can I get for you two?” Simone asked.
“Your crullers are amazing, so I’ll take one of each,” Charlie said.
“BLT for me,” Colin said.
“If I can ask, what does your apron say?” Maren asked.
Simone stretched out her apron. “Va te faire cuire un oeuf. It means ‘go cook an egg.’”
“That’s cute for an apron.”
The woman gestured Maren close and dropped her voice. “It means ‘go fuck yourself’ in French.”
Maren laughed. “I love it.”
“Mmm, thank you. I find it comes in handy with certain customers.”
“I bet it does.”
They paid, then Simone pointed at the beaded curtain again. “Go on through. I’ll bring you your donuts and drinks in a few minutes. I’ve gotta make that sandwich first. Go have fun. Go, go.” She shooed them away.
“This is absolutely fantastic,” Maren said as soon as she crossed the beaded curtain. “I’ve never done this.”
The room reminded her of a bowling alley. There were ‘lanes’ with high dividers, axes at one end, targets at the other. She caught Colin and Charlie checking out the room, too, but in a different way. They nodded at each other.
Right. No windows, no one else here, and an emergency exit. Perfect for hiding me.
Stop it. This is your day out. Just enjoy it.
“You first,” Charlie said, gesturing toward the axes. “Go for it.”
“Thanks.” Maren picked one up and studied it. It wasn’t as heavy as she thought it would be. Of course, it was easy to develop strong arms when you were carrying a small child around all the time. “You guys had better stand back.”
“I think you’ll do fine,” Colin said.
“All right, it’s your head.” She laughed nervously.
She looked at the target across the long room.
She didn’t have a picture in her head of who was after them, but she created a sort of shadow shape in her mind and put him right in front of the target.
She drew her arm back, felt the weight of the axe, the smooth wooden handle, and threw it.
Whack. It hit the center of the target with a satisfying thunk.
“Got it!” she said. She looked at Colin. He was smiling and staring at her with a look of pride on his face.
“Yes, you certainly did.”
They spent the next half hour throwing axes, making jokes, competing, and eating donuts. Charlie was awesome, just like everybody else she’d met. She was tough, no doubt, but there was a warmth to her that Maren just loved. She figured Ben must have made her a very happy woman.
I wonder if I could ever find someone like that.
Oh, who was she kidding? Not just someone, not just anyone, but Colin. The way he was looking at her, laughing, having fun. She felt like he could make her smile for the rest of her life.
When they were done, they collected their axes and set them back where they belonged. They went through the beaded curtain and stopped at the counter again.
“It was great meeting you,” Maren said.
“Did you have fun?” Simone asked.
“Oh yes. The most fun I’ve had since I can remember.”
“That’s great. Come back anytime. Tell all your friends.”
“How about a little shopping?” Charlie asked Maren. “Then we’ll head on over to Riversong. April’s dying to meet you. You’ve already met her son, Kevin, and her husband, Shane.”
“I’d love to meet her,” Maren said. “But shopping first.” She looked down at her clothing and pulled at her waistband. “This is fine, but—”
“But not your style. I get it,” Charlie said. “And your jeans don’t quite fit right. Boy, do I get that.” Charlie looked up and down at herself and laughed.