Page 18 of Whispers and Wildfire
“You’re an awesome mom.”
She laughed again. “Thanks. I just know when to pick my battles. Kids get dirty. It’s fine. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
I ended the call and put my phone down. Well, that sucked. Annika would have been the perfect solution. Not that I blamed her for saying no. She had her hands full.
Who else did I know who might be available? I had a great crew, but their skills were out in the garage. I was prettysure Ollie was allergic to paperwork, and although Patrick was a genius with bodywork, he had the personality of sandpaper. Not the kind of guy to fill in at the front desk, even for only a few hours a day.
I’d just have to do my best to keep up with everything. And maybe being slammed at work was exactly what I needed to shake off the effect of seeing Melanie again.
CHAPTER 6
Melanie
Classic rock spilledout into the night as I opened the door of the Timberbeast Tavern. My lips curled in a smile. Some things never changed, and the Timberbeast appeared to be one of them.
I stepped inside and back in time—to college summers spent in my hometown, finally old enough to enter the coveted hangout—when a night in a tavern with sticky floors, ice-cold beer, and a bunch of burly men in flannel had been the best sort of evening.
My smile fell at the memory of Luke, chatting up some cute out-of-towner at the bar. Or maybe even a Tilikum girl—someone we both knew. I’d have pretended not to notice, except to shoot him the occasional glare just for being in the same place as me.
How dare he?
Small-town breakups were complicated.
Fortunately, I was past all that.
I was about to take a seat at the bar when a familiar face caught my eye. Theo Haven sat alone at a small, round table strewn with papers and a clipboard. His hair was slightlyshaggy, like he was overdue for a haircut, and he wore a dark T-shirt.
He took a drink of his beer without looking up from whatever he was doing. I remembered him as the jock of the family, always playing sports or watching them. Technically, he was Luke’s stepbrother, although no one ever made that distinction—least of all them.
And I couldn’t explain how or why, but all the Haven brothers looked alike, as if their family culture was more powerful than their genes.
Bypassing the bar, I went over to his table to say hello. “Hi there, stranger.”
His eyes widened slightly as he glanced up. “Well, holy shit. Melanie Andolini.”
“The one and only.”
“I heard you were back in town.”
“Did you?”
He lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug. “Gossip line. You know how it is.”
I’d barely known my neighbors' names in Seattle, let alone anything about their personal lives. Everyone knowing my business—whether or not it was any of theirs—would take some getting used to.
“Of course. Tilikum at its finest.” I touched the empty chair. “Mind if I sit?”
His eyes flicked around the bar for a second. “Sure.”
“I won’t if you’re meeting someone. Do you have a date?”
He barked out a laugh. “No.”
I sat and hung my purse on the back of the chair. “Why is that funny?”
“I don’t date.”
