Chapter 6
Chapter Six
F irst thing Monday morning, Nate unlocked the front door of the Brew-Ha-Ha as the rain pelted down on his head. He’d forgotten his umbrella, again.
“Hey.”
He glanced over and saw Faye walking toward him holding a massive yellow umbrella.
“Good morning.” He smiled and then stood back and held the door open for her, motioning for her to enter before him.
She stood on the stoop and shook off her umbrella before walking through the door.
He shook the rain from his hair and stepped inside behind her.
“It’s a perfect first day for you,” he joked.
“I love the rain.” She sighed as she removed her rain jacket.
“Rainy days are always busy,” he warned.
“Good.”
He walked over and flipped on the lights.
“You can bring your things back here,” he said as she followed him through the building to the employee break room.
“Every employee gets a locker. You can bring a lock if you want.” He motioned to the short row of lockers.
“This one is empty.” He held the door open for her.
She removed her rain coat and hung it on the hook, then set her umbrella and purse inside.
“If you want to bring food, we have an empty bin.” He opened the fridge.
Inside, there were clear containers with small chalk stickers on them. “You can write your name on the empty one. Rule is, if it’s not in your bin, it’s free game.” He smiled.
“Something tells me you’ve gotten a lot of free food that way.” She laughed along with him.
“Come on, I’ll show you around the rest of the place.”
Nate led her out of the break room and into the main space. He quickly pointed out the different book sections as they passed them and was getting the cash register all turned on just as the first few customers filed in.
“Okay,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “First thing to know—everyone thinks this is the best spot to hang out when it rains. Be patient, smile, and keep the coffee flowing.”
Faye gave him a mock salute. “Got it. Smiles and caffeine.”
He showed her the touchscreen register first, walking her through how to take drink orders, add modifiers, and ring up pastries, which had been delivered by the bakery down the street.
She caught on to everything quickly, and after she took her first order all by herself, she was able to pick up the rhythm without a problem.
“You’ve done this before,” he said, watching her.
“I worked part-time at a coffee shop in high school,” she said, handing a receipt to a customer. “It was less techy than this, but close enough.”
She moved easily behind the counter, asking questions and taking mental notes. He showed her how to grind espresso, how to steam oat milk without foaming it into oblivion, and how to fix the milk steamer when it inevitably gave attitude.
By mid-morning, the place was packed. A group of drenched tourists huddled near the fireplace, a mom and her three kids made a beeline for the children’s section, and a line snaked from the counter to the door.
Rain pelted the windows like it had something to prove, and Nate was running on adrenaline and caffeine.
“Hey, want to help that mom out?” he asked, motioning with his elbow. “Show her the kids section—there’s a couple bean bags and crayons over there.”
“On it,” she said, already stepping out from behind the counter.
He watched her crouch down and talk gently to one of the kids, pointing them toward a shelf of brightly colored books. The mom mouthed a grateful “thank you” as her toddler started flipping pages like it was Christmas morning.
Nate watched her as she worked and had to admit that she fit in perfectly.
A little while later, he handed her a towel to wipe down tables and caught her laughing with a couple of high school girls browsing the YA shelf. She was light and open—approachable in a way that drew people in.
When the main rush finally slowed after lunch, he ran down the street to pick up another order of pastries from Sarah’s Nook and then walked her through restocking the pastry case.
“You’re a natural,” he said as she rang up a couple of lattes and a lemon scone. “And you didn’t even spill anything today.”
“Yet,” she said, grinning. “Don’t jinx it.”
They both looked toward the door as another group came in, umbrellas dripping and jackets soaked.
Faye smiled. “Rainy days are insane.”
“You’re surviving,” he said with a grin, handing her a fresh towel. “I’ll get this one. You clear the tables.”
Finally, the rain eased and the rush died down. The sky outside had turned a soft silver-blue, and the floor was dotted with muddy boot prints, which Nate was wiping up with a mop. Faye leaned against the counter, sipping a hot tea.
“Still gotta love a rainy day,” he said over the mop.
She smiled at him over the rim of her cup. “Are sunny days this busy too.”
“Depends on the season.” He dumped the mop in the bucket and rolled it behind the counter. “And if we have new books in stock.”
“Who doesn’t love new books,” she said, and her gaze held his for a second longer than it needed to.
Something shifted in his chest. He opened his mouth to say something—something maybe too honest—but then Clover called from the back about a milk delivery, and the moment passed.
Still, he couldn’t stop smiling as he walked away.
That smile continued even after he’d locked up for the night.
He had gotten used to exercising the horses during his breaks every day. He enjoyed spending time with the horses and was even dreaming about getting horses of his own, if and when he ever got his own place. But now he wished he could spend that free time with her.
That evening as another storm rolled in, he sat on his computer and looked at property in the area.
He was surprised at how many run-down properties there were outside of town.
He figured it was because the newest section of Hidden Cove had opened up and people were choosing the new homes instead of fixing up their older ones.
New homes were being built every day up there, but he wanted land and plenty of space, not a small lot butting up against someone else’s.
Some of the older properties had been up for sale for months and months. He could have sworn he’d seen several of them the last time he’d looked.
He didn’t quite know where to begin. He had originally thought he’d get something already fixed up, but everything like that was out of his budget.
He had some savings, since he hadn’t spent most of what he’d earned in the past few years.
Plus he had some inheritance from his grandparents left over. But it still wasn’t a lot.
By the time he went to sleep that night, he was completely frustrated with his options.
There were a ton of fixer-uppers but none of them fit his needs or wants. He wasn’t opposed to doing a little work himself. He’d helped his parents with several projects over the years.
Why was it so hard to find a three or four-bedroom home with land enough for horses and a barn?
The next morning, after showing Faye how to unpack some knickknacks made by a local artist and enter them into the register system, he took a few moments to sit on his computer and search again.
Something was driving him to get out of the rental.
He loved living close to the beach but wanted land of his own.
Since business was slower than it had been the day before, he figured he had a few minutes to look.
Tuesdays were always slower than Mondays, and the sun was also finally shining.
He knew that they would have a rush of tourists for lunch and in the afternoon, but in the morning, most would be hitting the beach or browsing other local shops.
“House shopping?” Faye surprised him as she glanced over his shoulder.
He had the urge to shut his computer screen down but decided against it. “Yeah, it’s something I’ve been thinking about.”
She narrowed her eyes at the screen. “I love house shopping,” she said softly. “Dreaming about each place.” Her voice had a kind of wistfulness that caught him off guard. “Thinking about how I would fix them up entertains me.”
He glanced at her, but she was still looking at the screen, leaning slightly over the counter beside him. A loose curl had fallen forward along her cheek, and for some reason, that single strand undid him.
“Are you into remodeling and designing homes?” he asked, curious.
She nodded, her eyes still scanning the real estate photos on the screen.
“Always. Even when I was a kid, I’d draw floor plans or rearrange the furniture in my dollhouse like every week.
” She smiled sheepishly. “Now I just binge-watch home renovation shows and follow remodel accounts online like a total addict.”
“Is that so?” he asked, settling back in his chair, amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Totally.” She grinned and rested her chin on her fist as she leaned her elbow on the counter, her eyes lighting up in a way that made his chest feel tighter.
“When Max and Juliette started working on their place, I was glued to every single one of their videos. I must’ve watched each one a dozen times—especially the one where they remodeled the basement and put in his wine cellar.
I even paused it just to study the tile layout in that bathroom down there.
Staying there, I’m even more in love with what they did. ”
He chuckled. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious,” she said, frowning slightly as she straightened up.
“It’s my thing. I love seeing how people make a house into a home.
The weird details they choose, the color they paint the walls, the furniture they put in each room, the art that they hang on the walls.
The little personal touches. I don’t know, there’s something so hopeful about it.
I got hooked on it before my surgery, since there wasn’t much more for me to do at the time.
” She frowned. “Socially, I was limited, so I binged shows.”