Chapter Nine
Beryl practically skipped back to the Supernova Supermarket. She installed the bracket herself, which gave her a sense of pride. It fit perfectly, as she knew it would.
She hadn’t planned on asking Jake out, but she was so worried that he wouldn’t ask her that her mouth opened and she spoke before reason or worry could cloud her judgment in the matter.
The transaction was done. They were no longer business owner and client.
Therefore, the relationship could begin.
Beryl wanted to make sure it did. She didn’t want to miss out.
It didn’t even occur to her until she was walking—skipping—back to the supermarket that if she had been mistaken about his possible feelings for her, he could have turned down her picnic idea.
But he hadn’t.
She’d seen by the look in his eye the instant her mouth opened that he had been about to ask her out. That made her smile again. She wondered where they would be going if she let him speak first. Honestly, it didn’t matter. Next time, he could ask her out and they could go someplace that he chose.
Beryl had been thinking about a picnic before Ashleigh had forced a conversation on her.
Once again, Beryl smiled in giddy recollection of how Jake stood up for her against her nemesis. The terrible memory that Ashleigh had brought up circled her brain before Beryl shoved it to the back of her mind. She didn’t need to go there.
Now she had Jake. Well, she would have him for a little while, anyway.
A part of her wondered at the foolish idea of starting a relationship with a human, knowing it could never result in matrimony.
Still, Beryl had to live her life. No relationship was going to be perfect.
She had certainly learned that the hard way.
Beryl’s new goal in life was to take things as they came, one day at a time. She couldn’t predict what would happen with Jake, except that she knew she couldn’t marry him and go back to Alpha-Prime.
She wouldn’t.
In the meantime, she would pretend that she was a human simply having a whirlwind relationship with another human for as long as it worked out.
Beryl spent a couple of moments trying to convince herself that being with Jake would work out, someway, somehow, but she knew she was lying to herself.
Still, she liked him a lot and promised herself to take things very slowly and to bail if he got too serious too fast.
That was going to test her willpower to the nth degree. Merely being within sensory range of him had made her feel like a gushing teenage girl. The sight of him. The smell of him. The way he’d stood up for her.
Yes, Jake was special, but she wasn’t going to let this relationship get out of hand. She understood her boundaries and vowed not to cross any of them.
Jake could hardly concentrate on anything after Beryl left his shop. Frederick was visibly amused by his lack of focus and by the fact that he spent quite a bit of time out in the retail part of the shop instead of in his workshop, where he should be working.
He would walk into his workshop, stare at several of the projects that needed doing, then head back out into the store as if he expected to see Beryl there, which was foolish.
He chalked it up to first date jitters and the fact that he couldn’t remember if he’d even been on a date. How crazy was that?
Frederick reminded him that one of the projects would need to be shipped out in two days. “If it’s possible,” Frederick said. “I’d love to send that out early, if you think you have the wherewithal to finish it today. Thoughts?”
Jake mentally slumped, holding his hands up in surrender. “Fine. Yes. I’ll finish it today. In fact, I’ll go do it right now,” he said, sounding sullen even to himself as he trudged back to his workshop—a place where he usually spent the majority of his time with glee.
Today, he was distracted.
His procrastinating at an end, Jake finished the project in no time and took it out to Frederick a few minutes before his manager left for lunch. The retail shop had been busy with walk-ins and Frederick ended up leaving a half-hour late for his lunch.
“Please don’t worry, Jake,” Frederick said as he grabbed his jacket from behind the counter. “I promise to be back in plenty of time for your special date with Beryl.”
“Thank you, Frederick.”
Business picked up for the next forty minutes or so, keeping Jake busy and not looking at the clock every minute like he would have if it had been slow.
Luckily, the time went by quickly. In fifteen more minutes, Frederick would return and he’d be ready and able to race out of the shop for his picnic date in the park with Beryl Ashcraft. He couldn’t wait. And he didn’t want to be late.
Once the last customer of the rush left, Jake parked himself on the stool behind the counter, leaned on his forearms and daydreamed about the coming date.
After only a few minutes, a man came into the shop.
He was alone. He glanced in Jake’s direction and smiled as if expecting Jake to…
what? Recognize him? Well, he didn’t. He braced himself to explain yet again about The Incident and why he didn’t know this man.
It was always odd when it happened. People knowing Jake or seeming to know him when he had no earthly idea who they were. Or even if he should know them. Maddening.
The man closed the door and gave Jake a more pointed stare filled with…what? Expectation, maybe. Had they known each other before The Incident?
Well, Jake had bad news for this newcomer. He didn’t remember him. He didn’t remember anyone he’d met before his hospital stay. He especially hated meeting strangers who acted like they knew him when he didn’t have a clue, even as they tried to drop hints, as if that would help. It didn’t.
Moreover, he had quickly tired of explaining his circumstances to…well, pretty much everyone he met.
Jake decided to take a different approach. This time, he wasn’t explaining anything.
“Welcome to Dark Matter Metal & Leather. I’m the owner, Jake Jones.
Let me know if you have any questions or need help finding anything.
All our new products are along the front wall.
” He pointed to the area with the sign, declaring, “New items to Explore.” And, as he always did, Jake tried to sound sincere and welcoming to all who entered his place.
The look of recognition quickly dissipated from the stranger’s face and he nodded once. “Thank you.” He sauntered through the store, glancing here and there at various offerings until he made his way to the counter.
“Great shop,” the man said, placing his palms down on the flat surface. “How long have you been here?”
Jake’s gut roiled with mistrust. Had he known this man? Why did he feel like that question was a test? Jake couldn’t figure it out because the guy, although big, was rather nonthreatening.
He wore his dark hair longer than might currently be fashionable, but it was neatly trimmed and he was cleanshaven. His eyes were green, not unlike Beryl’s. Did everyone have Beryl’s eye color or was he just besotted? Probably the latter.
He was tall and well built, but he wasn’t threatening in any way. Quite the opposite, in fact. His furtive—Beryl-tinted—gaze missed nothing, which was at odds with the rather unassuming way he carried himself.
“Oh, I’ve been here about six months or so. Have you been in before? I bought the place from Dutch Corley. Maybe you knew him?” Jake asked, watching the man’s reaction carefully. He wasn’t disappointed.
The man’s gaze darted to Jake’s face before he seemed to catch himself and visibly relax. He shook his head. “No. I haven’t been in here before, but I have heard the name Dutch Corley and that he used to be the owner.”
Jake’s gut refused to settle down, even as he tried to tamp down his irrational anxiety. This man was not a threat. He was just a guy.
“Can I help you with something special? If you have a leather or metal item in mind that you don’t see on the shelves, I usually can craft unique things.”
The man’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Oh. Right. Excellent. Yes. Good to know.” He paused, his gaze darting around the store as if suddenly self-conscious. So weird.
“Honestly, I’m not looking for anything specific. I liked the name of this store. That’s really what led me here.” He smiled and Jake was taken aback. Again, this man reminded him of Beryl.
Wait a minute!
Jake’s brain did an all-stop. Did Beryl have a brother? He didn’t know. If so, was this man her brother or possibly related to her? Was he here checking up on his sister’s date? Jake relaxed a notch, finding that notion both troubling and encouraging at the same time.
If it was her brother—or some relative—and he was checking up on Jake, he wanted to make a good impression.
“Do you have any questions that I could answer for you?” Jake asked, trying to sound relaxed and calm.
The man stopped his wandering gaze, fixed his eyes on Jake and asked, “Have you ever heard of a veil of iron?”
Jake cocked his head to one side. “Veil of iron?” He searched his non-existent memory. “Nope. What is it?”
“I think it’s medieval chainmail or something, but worn like a mask. My girl heard about it in some obscure movie she watched called Void in the Shadow.” The guy shrugged. “I just thought it sounded cool.”
Jake smiled. “I’ve never seen that movie, either, but you’re right, it does sound cool.
” His gut still roiled, but he quashed the feeling.
He hated to disagree with his gut but this guy was not an evil villain.
This was just a guy looking for a unique present for his girl.
Or a relative of Beryl’s checking Jake out. Either way, a non-threat.
“Well, if you want me to try to make something custom, like a veil of chainmail, let me know.”
The guy nodded. “Thanks. If I decide to pull the trigger on it, I’ll bring what I think the specs are.”