“Bikers?” Brooke asked.
“The new shop owner is moving things in. And now there are bikers all over the parking lot.”
Brooke shook her head, still rather unsure what to make of this phone call.
“I’m on my way,” Brooke insisted as she hung up the phone.
She turned to Emily with a look of concern.
“Guess you better go find out who this new shop owner is,” Emily suggested. Brooke could only nod her agreement.
When Brooke pulled into the parking lot of the Electric Pear, she found it in complete chaos. Motorcycles were indeed parked everywhere. Men and women wearing leather biker jackets meandered through the parking lot. Brooke managed to successfully pull into a spot on her side of the reserved spaces. Pierce met her in front of the store. Pierce had always been the nervous type. The scene in front of them didn’t seem to be helping Pierce’s nerves.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Pierce stammered.
“It’s okay. Why don’t you go clean up the back of the store. I’ll go have a talk with our new neighbor,” Brooke suggested. She could only hope that her words sounded moreconfident than she felt. Pierce gave a half smile and hurried inside.
Brooke hated confrontation. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person this new woman would be. Brooke squeezed through a group of bikers in the front of the store and inside the threshold. There was a woman standing behind a newly installed counter. She was hanging up what appeared to be tattoo drawings. A couple of people were setting up what appeared to be equipment and workstations. Brooke approached the woman and cleared her throat. The woman turned and Brooke recognized her immediately.
“Oh, it’s you. The woman from the stairs today,” the woman smiled. Brooke felt a tiny flicker low in her gut and smiled in spite of herself.
“It is. My name is Brooke.”
Brooke extended her hand. The woman studied her hand for a moment as if waiting for it to grow claws. When she deemed the gesture safe, she took Brooke’s hand and shook it.
“I’m Drew,” the woman introduced.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Brooke said politely.
“What can I do for you?” Drew asked.
“You could start by moving some of your bikes,” Brooke offered in what she hoped was a pleasant voice. Drew arched a dark eyebrow, her honey-colored eyes sharp with amusement.
“It’s just that half of this parking lot is for my customers and they’re having a hard time pulling in,” Brooke rushed to finish her sentence. Drew sighed and lowered her eyebrow.
“Guys, I told you to park on this side of the building. Can one of you go out there and check on the state of the parking lot?” Drew demanded.
Brooke was surprised when two large men moved in the direction of the parking lot. Brooke felt a near immediate sense of relief. Drew seemed to be well meaning if nothing else.
“Anything else I can help you with, Tomes?” Drew asked.
“Tomes?” Brooke asked.
“Yeah, we bikers love a good nickname. You own a bookstore, right? So, Tomes seemed to fit.”
Brooke bristled a bit under the surface. She wasn’t sure if Drew was attempting to make fun of her, or if the woman saw the nickname as a good thing. Drew seemed to sense her inner conflict.
“You’re welcome to come up with a nickname for me if that helps,” Drew smiled genuinely.
“Maybe I will. What is this place going to be?” Brooke asked. She gave the shop a glance around.
“This is the Electric Pear. My new tattoo parlor,” Drew announced.
Brooke wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never expected her store to be beside a tattoo parlor. She looked around again; her eyes landed on the drawings up on the wall. The artwork was beautiful.
“Are those yours?” Brooke asked.
“They are,” Drew smiled.
