Chapter 2
Sawyer
“Ugh, gross, Mom.” The coins stick to my palm.
“Hey, people at this place give you all sorts of nasty change.” Mom nods knowingly. “Just be glad it’s not bra money.”
She's probably right. She would know—she’s probably seen it all running the town’s most famous coffee shop.
Well, the town’s only coffee shop. Surprisingly, I haven’t seen as much as the cops you see on TV.
That’s the perk of working in a small town like Pine Hollows—nothing insane really ever happens here.
“Well, I appreciate it.” I grasp my free hot chocolate out of her hands. Yeah, I’m thirty-five and still drink hot chocolate instead of coffee. Sue me. If I drank as much coffee as I do hot chocolate, my heart would beat straight out of my chest.
“Love you, sweetie.”
“Love you too.”
Walking out the door of the Cozy Cup, I see Chris playing on his phone in the patrol car. He’s either beating his highest score on Candy Crush or texting a bunch of college girls.
“Did your mom give you enough?” Chris runs his hands through his sandy blonde hair as I get in the passenger seat.
“No, just some sticky change.” I show him the coins, placing them in a styrofoam cup we keep in the console.
Chris locks his phone, slides it into his uniform pocket. “You know, if you want the bank's coffee, you don't have to do a transaction.”
“Yeah, but it feels rude to just go in there, get coffee, and leave.” I shrug, buckling my seat belt. I get that way in any store, even if I don't find anything. Always feel like I look guilty, so I buy something—even if it’s just a candy bar or drink.
“People do it all the time, Sawyer.” Chris reaches for his seat belt, the buckle clicking into place. “People your age.”
“Very funny.”
The bell jingles as I open the entrance of Pine Hollows Community Bank. I haven’t been in here since I first opened my account—back when I was married. You could walk through the whole building in five minutes.
“Sawyer!” Nora greets with a smile, adjusting her position in her chair. “What a nice surprise.”
“Hey, Nora.” I nod, grabbing a styrofoam cup from the stack next to the coffee pot.
I try to stay away from this bank, especially when Nora’s working.
She was Lila's best friend. Sometimes looking at her still hurts. But the rumor mill went crazy after Lila passed away. In a town like this, people take something small and run with it. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know, I’ve been talking about retiring since I started working here.” She shrugs. “How’s studying for the sergeant’s exam going? You are still studying, right?”
“Yeah, I am.” I furrow my brows, wondering how she’d know that. I haven’t talked to her since that night.
“I always run into your mom at the coffee shop,” Nora explains. “She talks about your sergeant exam nonstop. She's so proud of you.”
“Yeah, she was excited when I told her.” I lift the cup to my lips, feeling the warmth of black coffee—nothing added. “You’ve met Chris, right?”
Nora turns her attention to him, looking him over like she isn't wearing a wedding ring.
“No, I don’t think I have.” She holds out her hand, shaking Chris’s. “I’m Nora.”
“Chris. Chris Hanley. Nice to meet you, ma’am.” He flashes that easy smile of his. Always a flirt, even when he’s just trying to be polite.
“Anyway, I’d actually like to make a dep—”
“I told you for the hundredth time that I did NOT overdraft my account!” A shout from a middle-aged man interrupts my sentence. I can't believe anyone would act like that in public.
“Are you too stupid to understand that?” She flinches. Actually flinches, like she's been hit. That was all I needed to see.
Chris and I exchange looks, immediately moving toward the teller station where the commotion is happening.
“Hey, sir, you’re causing a disturbance,” Chris says firmly. “Either keep your voice down, or we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Her hands are shaking as she tries to process whatever transaction the man wants. She’s young, with straight chestnut brown hair and round clear-framed glasses. I bet she was just doing what she gets paid to do.
“Well, tell her to learn how to do her job or go into a different career field!” The man shoots the teller a nasty look, and it almost looks like she’s about to cry. I can’t blame her. Who knows what kind of day she's been having before this man started yelling at her.
“Okay, that’s enough.” I nod toward the man, silently instructing Chris to escort him outside. Once he does, I turn to the young teller who still can’t make eye contact with me. “Hey, are you alright? What’s your name?”
“Um… Al-Alice,” she finally manages to get out.
“Hey, Alice. I’m Sawyer—Sawyer Edwards.” I point to the golden name tag attached to my uniform. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” Alice gives me what I can tell is a practiced customer service smile.
“That guy was out of line.” I lean against her counter. “You handled it well.”
“I didn't do anything.” She adjusts her glasses—a nervous gesture. “You two did.”
“You didn't escalate. That's something.”
“I guess I'm just used to it.” Her smile falters for a second. Then it's back, bright and practiced. Used to it? That sits wrong with me, but Chris is waiting.
“My gosh,” Nora pipes up from her station. “Sawyer’s our hero. Well, I guess technically Alice’s hero.”
“Do you always rescue strangers, Mr. Sawyer?” Alice asks, a genuine smile replacing the fake one as she leans back in her chair.
The genuine smile hits different. My chest does something I'm not ready to name yet.
“I guess it kind of comes with the territory.” I shrug, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Well, I guess thirteen years of being a cop will do that to you,” Nora adds with a grin.
“Thirteen years, huh?” Alice nods, glancing in my direction. I can tell she wants to look at me, really look at me, but doesn’t want to make it obvious or stare too long.
“Yeah, I’m definitely not young anymore.” I sigh, pushing my black hair out of my face.
“So what, that makes you like thirty, or—”
“Thirty-five, actually.” I give her a slight smirk. “Can’t you tell?”
There’s something about the way she’s looking at me now—curious, maybe a little shy, but interested.
“Hey, Sawyer, we gotta get going,” Chris calls, sticking his head through the entrance door.
Right. Back to work.
But as I head toward the door, I glance back. Alice is already helping another customer, but she's smiling now. Really smiling.
I might need to make more deposits.