He stirred the syrup and espresso together in the little cardboard cup, then added in the steamed milk. The lovely, floral scent of the vanilla wafted up until he lidded it and passed it over. “Hopefully that helps warm up your fingers a little.”
“Thanks.” He clutched it greedily and sipped. “What’s the damage?”
“On the house.” One guy buying one latte wasn’t going to suddenly put him in the black for the day. “You’re keeping me company on a cold, boring day. At least for a little bit.”
“Well, at least let me drop something in the tip jar. For the trouble.” He dug out his wallet, then pulled a bill free. “Cheaper than a motel room would have been, anyway.”
Percy swallowed hard, trying to control his reaction as his gaze skated over the money. “I can’t take a hundred dollar tip for a free latte.”
“You’re not. You’re taking a hundred dollar tip for housing a wandering traveler with a bad…car part. I don’t know what’s wrong with it. If I did, I might actually be able to fix it.” He took another long drag from his cup, then reached over with the bill and shoved it into Percy’s breast pocket. Maybe it was all in Percy’s head, but he could swear those strong, square fingers rested a beat or two longer than necessary against his chest, directly over his heart, before CJ finally pulled back and dug out his phone once again. “Keep the money. Seriously. Someone should have a good day if I’m not going to.”
Just like that, one latte did, in fact, put him in the black. Or at least close to it; Percy could crunch the numbers later. “I would tell you to call Gene and Debbie, see if they could take care of you at their shop here in town. But I’m pretty sure they’d have to order parts in regardless.” They kept some basic odds and ends on hand, but mostly only for the cars of people who lived in town. The odds of CJ driving a ’78 Buick Riviera or something like that seemed pretty low, if he was ready to hand over a hundred dollar bill for basically nothing.
“It’s fine. I’m just going to arrange for some kind of rideshare and get someone to tow my car. With this weather, I’m sure I’m not the only one on the side of the road, needing rescuing. But they’ll get to it in time.” He flicked his thumb across his screen, then tapped something and brought it up to his ear. “Hi, yeah. Yes, I’m a member. My name’s Charles Jacob Skaug. Yeah, I’m not a in rush. I broke down just off…” He glanced to Percy, sheepish smile on his face.
“Corner of Road Ten and Road F, Hydrangea Hollow.”
“Road Ten and Road F in Hydrangea Hollow, Idaho.” He paused, mouthing “thank you” and nodding to whatever he was hearing on the other end of the line. “Yeah, I know I’m not the only call right now. I’m not worried about waiting. I just need it taken to a mechanic the next town over. I kind of need to be on my way, though. Do I have to stay with it until you get here?” More nodding. “I’ll leave the keys on top of the front driver’s side tire. I appreciate this. Well worth the fees.” He hung up, then took a heavy swallow from his cup. “Moderately worth the fees.” He grinned across at Percy, showing just the faintest flash of his right incisor as his lip cocked upward. “I mean, as long as I have to travel so much, I need to pay it. But this is the second time they’ve come in handy and I’ve been giving them a hundred dollars a year for the better half of a decade.”
“What do you do that you travel so much?” Percy sipped at his own coffee, now closer to lukewarm than hot. But for some reason, with CJ there in the stand with him, the cold didn’t seem to be penetrating quite as deeply.
The music shifted to Sleigh Ride as CJ explained. “I’m a PR consultant. I got called in to help out this place over in Spokane. They got themselves in some kind of hot water. Can’t really divulge details, but they need someone to help them clean up their mess. And I got the contract.” A dark cast fell over his already deep blue eyes, turning them nearly black. It passed almost instantly and he sighed. “I need to get myself a ride into town as soon as I can, try to get a rental so I can make it in time.”
He shifted his gaze down to his phone, and Percy turned around, cleaning up from making that latte and trying not to listen. Not exactly easy when they were three feet apart from each other. At least it wasn’t a phone call, but CJ was certainly giving play-by-play commentary of the process. Under his breath, but he was too close not to be overheard.
“Someone must be running. I’ll offer a good tip. I’ll offer the best tip. I just need to go one town over…Jesus. Well, I’ll itemize it to the company. God knows they’ll pay whatever I need them to pay at this point.”
Percy couldn’t help but be curious. It had to be some hell of a PR nightmare if he was that confident, right? Or was that just how white collar business worked? He had no clue.
“Shit. An hour?” CJ shook his head, then raised his voice back up. “Hey, umm…I don’t think I actually got your name, I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. Totally buzzed past that. I’m Percy.”
He nodded. “I don’t suppose I could abuse your good nature and charity a bit longer, could I? The closest driver is estimating an hour to get here. I would just hitch a ride with the tow truck at that point, but they said it would probably be two hours.”
Of course, Percy would let him. But a little burst of creativity warmed his belly, a thought sparking to life. It was patently ridiculous, definitely too far outside the norms.
And he couldn’t shake it.
“I’m not making any money here today. Drive through coffee stand in this weather?” He rolled his eyes at himself, and partially for show as well. Had to sell it to CJ at least a little bit. “You’d be welcome to wait at my place. It actually has, like, insulation and central heating.”And a couch and a bed and some bottles of liquor…
“No, that would be such an imposition.” He sipped from his coffee again. “I couldn’t.”
“It’s hardly an imposition when I’m offering. Besides, you think I want to hang out here, making no money, when I could be under a nice blanket with a hot toddy?” He even started to clean up a bit, just running some basic maintenance around the shack. Not to be pushy, but…well, to be a little pushy. Absolutely, CJ could tell him no, and Percy would accept that. But so far, CJ had only wanted to avoid being rude. If being a touch pushy got them under the same roof in alotmore comfortable situation? Percy could give a few nudges.
He got the steam wand on the espresso machine clean, then turned around, pinning CJ with his gaze. And a smile. “Seriously. You’d be doing me a favor if you agreed. This isn’t exactly my favorite place to spend a blustery winter’s day.” As if Mother Nature herself was on his side, the wind picked up, rattling the window and dropping the temperature at least a degree as it crept in around the cracks.
CJ blew out a harsh breath, then got up, hands on his knees. “All right. At least let me help you close down.” His gaze traveled up Percy from toe to head.
Maybe things are a little more reciprocated than I might have thought.
Chapter 2
How the hell did I end up here?It was definitely a lot better than the coffee shack, and probably a lot better than the motel, if theyhadbeen able to get him in. It was a smaller house: a living room with a kitchenette, a single bedroom, and a single bathroom. Just judging on looks, probably built in the thirties, cottage style, with some retrofitted amenities.
The interior was warm and slightly cluttered. But not oppressively so. Stacks of books, both on actual bookcases and on the floor and tables, bearing titles ranging fromDragons of TzohintoThe Fundamentals of Landscape Design. Tchotchkes, many broken or chipped or scuffed, adorned most of the open spaces not taken up with functional objects. The couch was low, top curved, and a crocheted granny square blanket draped messily across the back.
“I suppose I should have considered my cleaning habits before inviting company.” Percy scurried around, cleaning up various bits of mess. Not that CJ minded the mess. Or the view as Percy’s lithe frame bent over, his shirt riding up and showing off the waistband of his underwear, to pick up some loose papers that had apparently fallen out of the larger stack on the coffee table.
