Chapter 30
CHAPTER 30
SAVANNAH HOLLINGSWORTH
I walk to the empty table in the corner by the window and stack the plates. It’s a typical Monday afternoon at Peachy Keen, the dinner rush is about to start, and I’m still jittery from what happened last night. Courtney scared everyone, and I hope little Skyler isn’t scarred for the rest of her life.
Levi comes over to me and takes the stack of plates. “I’ll get these.”
“Thanks.” I pull out my rag and wipe the table down.
“You all right?” he asks, scrutinizing my face. “You look a little freaked out still.”
I place my hand over my heart. “I’m still a bit worked up. That was terrifying yesterday.”
Levi rakes his hand through his hair, which needs a trim. It’s a bit unruly with his mild curls. “She’s a wacko. Always has been.”
I laugh. “I’m glad Noah came so fast.”
“It was Cricket. She’s the one that called 911.” He puts the stack of plates on his hip. “Thank goodness that’s all over.”
“For sure.” I wait for Levi to carry the plates to the kitchen, but he just stands there, and I get the feeling he wants to talk. I glance around, and there aren’t very many customers yet. “What’s up?”
“I was just wondering something.”
“What?”
He shifts and looks to the floor. “How much money does it take to start your own business?”
I grin at him. “Like opening a bakery?”
He nods and exhales. “Yeah. I can’t stop thinking about it. I know I owe Tobias a ton of money, but maybe I can pay him back after I get a business up and running.”
I fist-bump his shoulder. “I totally think you could start up a bakery. You’d be really good at that. And Tobias doesn’t need the money. I’m sure you can pay him back later. In fact, you should ask him how much your inheritance will be. That might help you get started.”
Levi’s gaze snaps to mine, and his eyes narrow. “What?”
“I mean, I assume you get an inheritance, like Noah did,” I say, faltering. The way Levi’s looking at me makes me think I shouldn’t have said anything.
Levi squints at me. “Noah got an inheritance? How much?”
I shrug, now losing confidence in everything. “I don’t know. He said it wasn’t a lot, but he rented that fancy yacht with it. I bet it could help you start up. At least it could help with first month’s rent.” I really should shut up. Levi’s looking at me like I have a third eye, and I really have no idea what I’m talking about.
The door dings and Noah walks in. He’s wearing his uniform, and I glance at the clock. Four-thirty. He’s early, but sometimes he comes and drinks coffee until I get off my shift. We only get one hour together before he has to be at work. I admit, it’s been nice seeing him every day.
Noah walks to a table in the corner and sits down. Levi rushes over to him, the plates still in his hand. I follow, because I fear he’s going to get mad at Noah, and it’s my fault for saying anything.
Levi sets the dirty plates down on Noah’s table. “Our parents left us an inheritance?”
Noah balks and looks around the cafe. “Uh…”
“Seriously? How much? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Levi’s obviously upset about this news, and I feel terrible. Noah looks like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“I’m sorry,” I interject. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Levi scowls. “Why doesn’t anyone tell me anything? Do you think I’m not trustworthy?”
Noah stands and hitches up his utility belt. “Listen, this isn’t a good place to talk about this.”
Levi looks around and lowers his voice. “No one is near us. Just tell me. Did Mom and Dad leave an inheritance for each of us?”
Noah scrubs a hand over his jaw. “Yes. But Tobias didn’t want me to say anything about it.” He narrows his eyes at Levi. “Why?”
Levi exhales. “I’ve decided I want to open a bakery. Will it be enough to get one started?”
I suddenly feel like I shouldn’t be listening in on this conversation. I grab the dirty plates and rush into the kitchen area. I don’t want to know how much Noah inherited. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable.
I scrape the plates and stack them by the sink. The door dings and I go out to take care of the customers. After I get them seated and take their order, Levi joins me behind the counter.
“I can’t believe Tobias didn’t tell any of us about our inheritance. Sheesh.” He grabs a rag and wipes the glass over the pie section. The glass is clean. He just looks like he needs to work off some energy.
“Do you really think you’ll open a bakery?” I ask.
Levi grins. “Yeah. Noah didn’t tell me how much I’ll get, but he said I should have enough. I just need to hire someone to do the books.”
“What about Amelia? She said she’s looking for a job,” I say, trying to be helpful.
Levi wrinkles his nose. “Amelia? The human spreadsheet?”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “Come on. She was nice. And you don’t want to date an employee anyway, do you?”
“No, but I could never hire her. She’s too much of a smarty-pants.”
I give him a flat look. “She was not. You don’t want to hire someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”
He rolls his eyes. “I guess so. I’ll think about it. I’m going to start looking for an apartment tonight.”
I raise an eyebrow. “An apartment?”
“Yeah.” Levi continues to wipe the glass. “Apparently Tobias is holding on to our inheritances until we move out.”
“That makes sense.”
“If I had known that I would have moved out a long time ago,” he says. A woman walks in alone, and he grins. “I’ll take this one.”
He grabs a menu and rushes off to seat the single woman. I roll my eyes. Levi can’t help it. He’s a huge flirt. At least if he hires Amelia, he won’t be flirting with her. They butted heads quite a bit last night. It’s probably pretty safe to say she’d be a good employee for him.