“Doc Embry, I presume? Here to see the elk?”
“Hi, Hailey Bailey!” Neve looked out her windshield. “What elk?” Sure enough, the small herd was gone, as if they and the magic they’d brought had never been there. Neve turned back to Hailey. “Are you joining us this morning?”
“For …?”
“The women’s hockey team. We’re part of a rec league that practices Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
“The women’s version of a beer league?”
“We call ourselves the Margaritas. Tart, sweet, and we pack a punch. We wanted to be the Wine League until the boys started calling us the ‘Whine League,’ as in ‘whiny.’ Fuckers!” Neve threw her head back and laughed.
Hailey joined her with a chuckle of her own. “Boys can be such buzzkillers.”
“Totally. Anyway, you should join us!”
“I don’t skate!”And I don’t live here!
Neve made a beckoning motion with her hand. “We’ll teach you! Better yet, have one of the hunky players from the men’s team teach you. I’m sure you’ll have a line of them slobbering at the chance, kinda like last night.” She flashed a wicked grin.
“Last night?”
“At the Miners.”
“You were there?”
“Yep, not in your section, though. I thinkthatwas filled with the entire male population of Fall River. That tavern maid outfit was killer.I’d like to borrow it sometime. Maybe turn a certain head.” She wiggled her eyebrows, and Hailey’s mind darted to the mystery person Neve had in mind, but she didn’t know her well enough to ask.
“Talk to Dixie! She’s the one who loaned it to me. Oh wait! I have it right here. I was going to return it. It needs a wash, though. Kinda stinks of beer, and I didn’t have a washing machine at my disposal.”
Neve wrinkled her nose. “Never mind. I’ll pass.”
More cars filed in, and it was time for Hailey to get out of the way. She laughed to herself as she drove away.Me, play ice hockey?“Why not?” she answered herself. She’d tackled snowboarding and mastered it pretty quickly. “If you can do that, you can learn to skate and push a piece of rubber around with a stick, you trooper, you. All it takes is one hunky guy to teach you, apparently.” Too bad she didn’t have any candidates at the moment. Well, maybe Charlie.
Back on Bowen Street, she nosed into a parking spot in front of Mountain Coffee and checked a chiming text. Breathing a sigh of relief, she whispered, “Thank you, Charlie.” He’d already arranged for her to stay at the Loose Moose a few extra nights. Cliff would be staying at the Majestic alone.
When she peered inside the dimly lit coffee shop, her heart sank. It wasn’t open yet. Hailey began weighing her options when a form darted in the shadows and rushed toward the front door. The door whipped open, and there stood a beaming Amy, her pearly teeth flashing against her dark skin.
“I’m so glad you could make it! Come in out of the cold.” Amy gave her arm a little tug.
Hailey stepped into a warm, aromatic space scattered with empty bistro tables.
“But you’re not open. I don’t want to put you out.”
“You’re not. I was already here to accept a bakery delivery. Besides, not being open gives us a few minutes of uninterrupted social time.”
Hailey pulled off her gloves and hat, her eyes traveling around the walls as she followed Amy toward the sparkling counter. The space was a little too big for its charmingly mismatched tables and chairs, but everything was tidy and clean, and Hailey couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Who knew if Mountain Coffee was on Cliff’s radar? “So this is where you work.”
“I work here, sweat here, sleep here sometimes …” Amy gave a queen’s wave around the interior. The expression on her face broadcast how proud she was of her store. “Now what can I get you?”
Hailey ordered a double espresso and selected the biggest croissant from one of the bakery boxes. With her mouth watering, she leaned against the counter and watched Amy prepare the coffee and warm up the pastry with spare movements, cleaning as she went—not unlike Noah behind the bar the night before.
And just like that, her mind had landed right back on his carved forearms.
Stop thinking about Noah!“You look like you’ve done this a few times,” she quipped.
“Probably because I have,” Amy tossed back with a laugh. After handing Hailey the croissant and coffee, she prepared herself a cup of Earl Grey, which she doctored with milk and sweetener.
She raised sheepish eyes to Hailey. “I should drink it plain, but I figure the non-caloric sweetener balances out the calories in the milk. Don’t tell Mick I’m cheating.”
