Without waiting to hear if Henry was going to respond I flipped through the apps on my phone to check my texts just in case the phone call had interrupted the notification of one from Daniel, I knew it was unlikely but just like how I used to check to make sure the phone still had a dial tone back in the day I had to check the app now. There was no such luck though. Still just the last one from very early this morning. I took a chance and fired him off a reply.Sorry, just got this. I was sad to wake up without you.
There. That was sufficiently sweet, and true, and would let him know I didn’t want to fuss. Hopefully.
Seconds later, as I poured myself a second cup of coffee, my text tone had my heart hopping in my chest. But it wasn’t Daniel who was making my phone go off.
Hello Emma. This is Vance. Trista is having a problem with a rogue shifter, and I suggested Karma might be the perfect solution. It’s a good excuse for having you around. Could you come today?
I swear that vampire had a sixth sense when it came to Daniel. He seemed to know exactly what to say and how to act to piss him off the most. And when to reach out to me when I was feeling vulnerable.
After taking a bite out of the toast I chewed and considered it. I would’ve much rather have made up with Daniel first, but he was probably sleeping in.
Or ignoring me. But that didn't seem like him, so I refused to believe that no matter how many times my brain tried to convince me that was what was happening.
We weren't teenagers anymore, so we weren't playing games. We were open and honest with each other, at least as much as we could be. Even though I wouldn't consider this relationship brand new anymore, it was still delicate, and I didn't want to screw it up.
Daniel made me happier than I'd been in longer than I cared to think about, but I wasn't going to let a man run my life again. We'd have to come to an understanding. I just hoped he was willing to try.
Before I replied, a text from Deva slipped in.Meet us at my restaurant.
We that sounded ominous. If something was seriously wrong, she would have told me, right? Still, I wasn't going to dally.
My day had just busied up, I just wished it wasn't with things that were so negative. First, I replied to Deva.Be there ASAP.As least if we were meeting at the restaurant I could have more than a slice of toast because I definitely wasn't about to turn down any of Deva's cooking.
Then, I texted Daniel.I want to talk, but I have a job today and I need to meet the girls. Sleep well, and I hope to talk to you soon.
And finally, I gave Vance the answer he was looking for.I’ll meet Trista at Deva's Delights in two hours.
With all that done, I hurried upstairs to get ready. If I ran into Daniel today, I wanted to knock him dead. It may not be the fancy gown from last night, but, believe it or not, I knew how to make myself look good, or at least I had remembered how since I'd come back to Mystic Hollow.
I was remembering more and more about who I was without Rick, and realizing just how much he'd taken from me, which made me realize one thing. I'd never let that happen again.
SIXTEEN
Emma
I never did get aroundto eating the rest of Henry’s toast, so the smell of the cafe hit me right in the rumbly stomach. First thing, I went to the counter and ordered more coffee and a huge scone. “And let me have one of the special ones,” I said.
The new girl behind the counter, Rachel, just thought the special scones had extra chocolate chips or whatever in them, but those of us in the know enjoyed the benefits of Deva’s special cooking. These particular scones were full of a bit of extra focus, helping not only to wake me up, but would make sure I didn’t miss anything important today.
Plus, they were freaking delicious. So delicious in fact that I couldn't wait to get to a table before I started eating. “Mmmm.” I moaned as I bit in to the scone. "So good," I added, or tried to, earning me an amused look from Rachel before turning to find my girls at our usual table in the corner.
Poor Carol looked like she hadn’t slept in days, and her eyes were still puffy. I turned to the hostess and slapped a five dollar bill on the counter. “Give me another of these special scones. My friend over there is gonna need it.”
She already had a huge cup of coffee in front of her. Deva's mugs came in regular and bucket sizes, and Carol definitely had one of the buckets in front of her. It was big enough that it might be considered weight lifting to drink from it.
“Sure thing,” the girl said brightly, and soon I had two chocolate chip scones on a plate and headed for the table. Rachel had tried to fight me on just using one plate, but when I'd started stuffing my face with my scone she'd relented and squished them both together.
“Here.” I plopped the plate in front of Carol and grabbed my half eaten tasty treat off of it. “Eat that. It’s one of Deva’s good ones.”
She sighed and nodded toward an empty plate on the edge of the table. “I already had one.” The fact that the plate was still on the table was strange. Usually, Deva's busboys were around and would pick up the plate before I was even done chewing the last bite. Maybe they were focusing on customers that weren't friends with the owner though.
Deva walked up with a cell phone pressed to her ear. “A second one won’t hurt, not after you’ve been up all night.”
Carol shrugged and bit into the pastry while Deva went back to her conversation. “Steve, if you don’t get your butt in this kitchen in the next twenty minutes, you’re going to be looking for another job.” She tapped the phone screen, hanging up the call, and sighed. “There’s something dissatisfying about hanging up a cell phone. I miss slamming a handset down. It was satisfying. The way the plastic creaked and the bell rang a little, it felt more impactful than tapping a screen." She was right about that much.
"How hard were you slamming the phones down?" I laughed.
"Let's just say my mother had some money set aside for an emergency new phone purchase," Deva replied with a wink.
