Chapter 5 #2
I made myself eggs, toast, and sausage for breakfast, made a mental note to go grocery shopping at some point soon—Arlo had said I was welcome to anything and I took him up on that, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to pitch in—and then threw on my winter gear and headed downstairs.
Soft music filtered through the air, so instead of leaving, I followed the sound down the hall to Arlo’s office.
He was frowning at his computer, graying head bent and glasses on his nose, but humming along to the Christmas tune. I knocked on the frame to announce myself, and his head jerked up before he offered me a smile.
“Hey, how are you this morning?”
“Good, thanks. How’s your morning going?” I entered the room and laughed when Arlo’s face twisted like he smelled something bad. Arlo gestured to the seat across from him so I parked myself there.
“Inventory and ordering,” he spat out, like it was a bad word. But there was a touch of humor in his eyes. “The necessary evil of the job.”
“How does it work?” I asked. Arlo shot me a look but I leaned forward.
“No really. I’m interested. I mean, on a surface level, I get it.
You see what you need and you get it. But like, how do you know?
You’ve gotta anticipate what you’re going to need, right?
Balance the whole thing so you don’t get too much. So how do you do that?”
Arlo studied me for a moment. Then he sat back, steepled his fingers, and stared at me some more. I figured he was trying to decide if I was being serious or not. I was. This sort of shit fascinated me. I wasn’t a logistics guy like Barrett. But I’d always wondered.
“You’re serious?” Arlo finally asked.
“Yeah. Give me a crash course in running a pub.”
Arlo gave it another second or two, maybe to see if I was joking, but I unzipped my down vest and scooted my chair closer. Realizing that maybe I was interrupting him or impinging on his work day, I added, “If you have time and don’t mind, that is.”
That was all it took. Arlo’s face lit up and he turned the monitor so that I could see it too.
And then he was off, explaining how some of it just came from his years of doing this, the things he’d learned, but how he looks at trends, compared seasonal and everyday favorites, and what sold well the year before.
I was intrigued, soaking it up, and started to think that maybe, something like this could be my future career path.
Hickory Hollow really was freaking adorable.
I knew much of that was down to Morgan’s hand in things.
Especially the decorations. If I had to guess, I’d assume each business was in charge of their own decorations, but Morgan was definitely the driving force behind making sure it was done.
The Winter Festival started this weekend and according to Morgan, while all the festivals brought in tourism and money, the winter one was the biggest and most successful.
Because I was smart, I wanted to get some present shopping done before the hordes descended. The town was already fuller than when I’d first arrived and granted, I didn’t know people like the residents did, but even I could see that there were tourists starting to pack in.
Plus I needed to get that done so I could ship them to my brother’s house in time for present opening.
I pulled into the parking lot that Yarn Voyage and Bark and Bloom shared.
When I’d been in the yarn shop with Carrington the other day, I’d seen a hat I knew my dad would get a kick out of.
It had reindeer on it and, if you looked closely, they were doing unspeakable things to each other.
On top of that, Lainey was an avid knitter and I knew she’d appreciate some quality yarn.
Only I didn’t know the first thing about it, so I would need some help.
The lot was pretty full and the only place I could find a spot was closer to the pet and plant shop.
Which, honestly, was kind of a weird combination.
I’d never heard of such a thing and I couldn’t quite figure out how those two things went together.
Just as I was about to exit the truck, my phone dinged with an incoming text.
My lips curved as soon as I saw Harris’s name.
Morning. How are you doing?
I was kind of disappointed that it had taken him so long to respond, but the logical part of my brain understood that he’d probably been busy. At least he’d taken the time to check in.
Outstanding. You?
I chewed my lip for a second, contemplating whether or not I should just let him know I was up for a repeat whenever he wanted.
I’d planned on feeling him out a bit more before committing to that, not used to putting myself out there like that.
But I wasn’t active duty anymore and the worst he could say was no.
Fortunately for me, before I made up my mind, Harris responded.
Good to hear. Wanna come over tonight? I’ll show you the zebras.
I didn’t know if zebras was a euphemism I’d never heard of, and the chance he was just inviting me over for a friendly visit wasn’t zero, but I was damn near certain that was an invitation to get naked. And I was definitely down for that.
Fuck yes.
And then, to be funny but also meaning it, I added a quick
Please and thank you
The dots appeared, went away, and then came back again. That happened one more time and then he finally responded.
Good. See you at six. You like steak? I’ll feed you first
The “first’ implied that there was definitely going to be an after, and just the thought of it had my blood singing.
I was quick to send an affirmative and then waited a few seconds to see if Harris was going to say anything else.
When he didn’t, I hopped out of the truck and tucked my phone in my pocket.
I had to walk past Bark and Bloom in order to get to the yarn shop from where I was, but instead of bypassing it entirely, I decided to go in.
The warmth and humidity hit me first and I unzipped my vest to accommodate that.
It was such a contrast from the snowy, cold outside that it took a second for me to adjust.
There were patrons browsing both sides of the shop, and I instantly understood what was going on.
Half the store was dedicated to plants, shelves and shelves of greenery with some white, yellow, and light green thrown in.
The other half was all about pets with food, treats, and toys lining those shelves.
In the middle was a cheeky sign that read “All for-sale plants are non-toxic and pet safe. All pet items are plant safe.” It made me snort.
“Welcome in,” a voice said to my left and I turned to see Elliott standing there. The instant he saw my face, his smile slipped a fraction and then became stiff. What was that about?
“Hi. Nice to see you again. Listen, I need some help.”
Eliott blinked and then nodded once. “That’s what I’m here for. How can I help you?”
He didn’t sound at all like he meant it. I decided to ignore that. “You got any horse treats?”
That threw him for some reason. I didn’t say anything else, just stared at him and he clearly tried to work out what to say. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he cleared his throat.
“You need horse treats?”
Obviously. That’s what I’d asked for. I didn’t know what was going on with the man, so I figured I could explain. “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t think you’d have zebra treats but, you know, I figured they could eat horse treats. Right? Maybe I should research that.”
Something cleared in Elliott’s expression but now he was frowning. “If you’re talking about Wayfair, the zebras aren’t on display or anything. It’s not like you can just walk up to them and give them snacks.”
My brows crunched together. “I didn’t think that. But Harris said he was going to take me to meet them. And I really wanna make a good impression on the man.” I thought about that for a second. “Or you know, continue…you know what? Ignore that. I’m just thinking it would be nice, is all.”
Elliott stared at me for a solid thirty seconds. “You and Harris?”
He didn’t seem disgusted or anything, but I sized him up quickly, decided I could take him if he started trouble, and grinned. “Here’s hoping.”
That fast, everything about Elliott changed. His smile became genuine and he actually laughed. I couldn’t help the confusion because what the hell? I was going to ask, but he clapped me on the shoulder and used it to nudge me toward the pet side.
“Sadly, we don’t carry those sorts of things, which is a shame really.
I should talk to my cousin about changing that.
But what I do have is plenty of dog goodies and this?
” He grabbed a bag off the shelf and handed it over.
It was some sort of bar that proclaimed it had yogurt and apples in it.
“This right here is Cheddar’s favorite all time snack. ”
“Cheddar?”
“Harris’s dog. He dotes on that pup as much as the horses. I can’t help you with the equines, but this will definitely win you points.”
Well then. I would take all the points I could get. I grabbed another bag off the shelf. Two was better than one, right?