Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Reid
“Dad says you’re going to live in the backyard forever.”
The spoonful of mint chocolate chip hovered in the air as I assessed my niece from across the table. We had our usual table at the back of the shop, by the window where we could people-watch everyone in the plaza.
In the few short months since my brother had moved his daughter back to Trickle Creek, I’d made it a point to spend quality time with her to make up for all the years they’d been in the city and we only got to see them on holidays and the occasional long weekend.
If someone told me six months ago that I’d be looking forward to my regular ice cream dates with a twelve-year-old girl, I would have thought them insane. But truthfully, Quinn was a sharp, witty kid who had no problem saying it like it was, and I enjoyed her company more than most adults.
“He said that, did he?”
“Sure did.” Quinn took a bite of her scoop, and I winced.
“How do you do that?”
She shrugged. “Young teeth.”
“You’re saying I’m old?” I dipped my spoon back in for another bite.
“You’re ancient.” She laughed before taking another big bite of her ice cream. “So, are you? Going to live in the backyard forever?”
“For one,” I pointed my spoon at her, “I don’t live in the backyard. My shop is in the backyard. I have a room in the house, and you know it.” Quinn shrugged, so I continued. “And two…no. I’m not. In fact, I just accepted a big job that pays quite well.”
The work at the inn did pay pretty well, but it was the amount of work that Avery had in front of her that meant a decent and steady paycheck for the next little bit. It would definitely be enough to get my own place plus the workshop I’d already called the real estate agent about. The retainer Avery was going to give me this afternoon was just enough for the down payment. It would leave me short for a bit, but that was a temporary issue. The risk was worth it.
At least, it would be.
“You got a job?”
“You look surprised.” I tried not to laugh. “I do work, you know.”
“Dad says you’re wasting your potential because of your misguided morals.”
I put my spoon down and stared at my niece, finding it hard to believe that Ethan would have such a conversation with his twelve-year-old. “Is that right?”
She nodded and licked the drips off the bottom of her cone. “Yup. And Uncle Gray said that what you really need is a good woman to sort you out.”
Ahh. That made a lot more sense. My niece had perfected the art of eavesdropping on all kinds of conversations when you thought she had her earbuds in, watching whatever garbage was on her phone. I made a note to mention to Ethan that he might want to use a little more discretion in the future when he was gossiping about me. Or anyone else, for that matter. Or, better yet, he could learn to keep his fucking mouth shut altogether.
But for the time being, I was going to use my brother’s lack of discretion to my advantage.
“What else did they say?”
Quinn grinned and leaned across the table conspiratorially. “My dad said it was doubtful you would ever find a woman who’d put up with your grumpy ass.”
“Hey.”
“I didn’t say it.” She shrugged. “Dad did.”
“Don’t say ass.” I pointed my spoon at her.
She rolled her eyes in response before continuing. “But Uncle Gray said that the right woman would be able to put a smile on your face.”
He wasn’t wrong. It had been way too long since any woman had put a smile on my face. Still, my twelve-year-old niece shouldn’t be privy to any conversation that had the potential to quickly become R-rated. I was definitely going to have to talk to my brothers about discretion.
“She’s new.” Quinn pointed over my shoulder. “Doesn’t look like a tourist, though. Too sad.”
“Sad?” Curious, I spun in my seat to see who Quinn was pointing at.
Avery.
She’d traded her coffee-stained T-shirt and sinfully short cutoff shorts for a pretty blue wrap dress and strappy sandals. She looked gorgeous.
But Quinn was right. She also looked sad.
In the brief time I’d known Avery, she’d never once looked sad. Quite the opposite. She was the happiest, smiliest person I’d ever met.
With the exception of earlier when I could have sworn she was about to cry when her swing fell down. But I’d chalked that up to the shock of falling on her ass.
But this…
“She’s really pretty.” Quinn dove into our game of people-watching, completely unaware that the woman we were currently watching was on her way to meet us for an ice cream.
“She is,” I agreed.
“I bet if she smiled, she’d be gorgeous.”
“She is.”
“You mean she would be.”
I turned in my chair to see Quinn giving me a strange look. “No,” I said. “She is gorgeous when she smiles. Her name is Avery. And she’s my new boss. She’s meeting us here.”
Quinn’s mouth fell open dramatically. “ She’s your boss?”
“She is.” I grabbed a paper napkin and wiped my face before standing. “So be on your best behavior, okay?”
“Uncle Reid,” Quinn leaned back in her chair, “I’m always on my best behavior.”
I shot her a look at the same time the bells over the door chimed. I turned to greet Avery, who, just as I’d told my niece, was gorgeous with her bright smile on her face.
Even if it didn’t reach her eyes this time.
Avery
“You’re right, Uncle Reid. She is gorgeous.”
The girl Reid had just introduced as his niece flashed a mischievous grin at her uncle. I couldn’t help but laugh. Especially when Reid tripped all over his words.
“That’s not really what I said. Or how it was said. But…”
He looked up and met my eyes, causing me to laugh again. It felt good after the meeting I’d just walked out of.
“She is gorgeous,” he finished with a smile and a shrug. “Sorry about that.”
“Oh,” I shook my head, “please don’t apologize for paying me a compliment.” I winked at Quinn. “A woman never gets tired of hearing them. Do we, Quinn?”
She shook her head and licked her blue ice cream. “Nope. We women like to hear how pretty we are.”
“Okay, okay.” Reid tried to change the subject. “Avery, can I get you an ice cream? It’s the best in town.”
“Or anywhere,” Quinn added.
“It’s true. Craig Carlson started this shop a few years back, and it truly is the best.”
What I really wanted was a glass of wine, or something stronger. Maybe a whiskey would be better suited considering the meeting I’d just come out of and the news I was going to have to deliver to Reid. The lawyer hadn’t been able to find a loophole. Which meant I was about to lose the inn.
Keeping the smile on my face all of a sudden felt impossible. I dropped my gaze to the black and white tile floor for a moment in an effort to regain my composure.
“Hey.”
Reid’s hand on my bare arm was almost as good as the hug I really needed. I looked up into his concerned eyes.
“Not only is his ice cream the best, but it’s pretty much known as fact to make any day better. Isn’t that right, Quinn?”
“It’s true,” the girl said earnestly. “When I first moved here, I was having a bad day, missing my friends back home, and Uncle Reid brought me for ice cream.”
The idea of the grumpy, growly Reid doing something so sweet made me melt a little. “He did?” I focused on the girl, which was for the best because Reid was still touching my arm and it was causing all kinds of sensations to race through me, which was only making me even more twisted up inside.
“Yup,” she said matter-of-factly. “And now, every time I have ice cream with him, it’s a good day.”
Just like that, the smile came back naturally to my face. I looked at Reid, who shrugged.
“What can I say? It’s powerful ice cream.”
Something told me it had nothing to do with the ice cream.
“What do you say?” he pushed. “You seem like you might be a maple walnut kind of woman?”
“Maple walnut?” I pretended to be offended. “I’m a chocolate girl. The more the better.”
Reid slid his hand off my arm. “I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, I was almost convinced that it was magical ice cream. The double chocolate fudge Reid handed me was groan-worthy delicious. But it was the banter between Reid and his niece that I had to credit for helping me forget my troubles. It seemed the grumpy handyman had met his match in a twelve-year-old girl.
“My uncle says you’re his new boss.” Quinn shifted the conversation to me, and just like that, I lost my appetite.
I pushed the cup of ice cream away. “I…well…I…”
“Actually, Quinn. Avery and I are going to go over the final details this afternoon. So she’s not officially my boss yet.”
Hoping that my face looked as neutral as possible, I glanced quickly between them and nodded. “That’s right.”
“Well, that’s my cue to leave then.” Quinn wiped her face with a napkin, grabbed her backpack off the floor, and jumped up. “I wanted to go check out that new bookshop anyway. See you at home, Uncle Reid.”
Home?
“It was nice to meet you, Avery.” The girl flashed me a smile. “He’s right, you know. You really are pretty when you smile. I hope whatever made you sad isn’t too bad.”
My mouth dropped open, but still, I somehow managed to say goodbye and wait until Quinn had made her exit before I let my smile slip away again.
“Okay,” Reid said as soon as we were alone. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Because if you decided to hire Danny Davis after all?—”
“I’m not hiring anyone.” I stopped him. “I’m going to lose the inn.”