“Sorry,” he said, dropping a hand to Bree’s shoulder as he sat beside her. “Jason called while I was paying the bill for breakfast; he wanted to double-check a couple of measurements. I think he sleeps with that tape measure.”
“How bad is it?” Bree asked.
“Better than it could be,” Hank said. “Worse than my optimistic brain wanted. We’re not broke, we’re not rich. We’re in that fun middle ground called ‘tight but doable’.”
“Story of my life,” Carmen said.
Hank nodded toward Colby’s tablet. “You show them your conspiracy board?” he asked.
“Cliff notes version,” Colby said.
“Good,” Hank said. He glanced at Carmen. “You still heading out today?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Heidi and I are caravanning back, she’s got to be at work in the morning, and Mom will panic if she thinks we stayed in town just to get murdered by your shadow man.”
“Reasonable fear,” Bree said.
Carmen finished her coffee and set the empty cup on the table with a soft thud. “All right,” she said. “I hate goodbyes, so we’re going to make this quick.”
She stood; Bree and Hank followed.
Carmen hugged Bree first, longer this time, her hand pressing warm between Bree’s shoulder blades. “You call me if you need help packing,” she murmured. “I can be bribed with coffee and the promise of local gossip.”
“Deal,” Bree said thickly.
Carmen stepped back and looked at Hank. “You too,” she said. “You ever need someone to run interference with a sponsor or tell a pushy fan to back off, you call me. I have a scary voice.”
“I’ve heard it,” he said. “I’m grateful it’s never been directed at me.”
“Keep it that way,” she said.
She offered her hand; he took it. Instead of shaking, she squeezed hard for a second, warrior to warrior, then let go.
“See you around, James,” she said.
“Count on it,” he replied.
Carmen nodded at Colby, pulled her jacket back on, the Dragon logo bright for one last time. As she walked away, Bree imagined painting over it in white, then in a color that belonged to Carmen alone.
“You okay?” Hank asked quietly.
Bree watched the door swing shut behind Carmen. “I will be,” she said. “Right now I feel… heavy and light.”
“Sounds about right,” he said.
Colby closed his tablet. “I’m going to head back to the warehouse and measure that upstairs wall again before Jason puts anything in stone,” he said. “If we’re dedicating it to Bryn, I want the proportions right.”
Emotion pinched her throat. “Thank you,” she said.
He shrugged, almost shy. “Feels important,” he said, then slipped out with a wave.
That left her and Hank in the corner, the café’s quiet chatter filling the spaces their friends had left.
He slid back into his chair, turning it slightly so his knees brushed hers. “I’ve got meetings with the Cup accountants this afternoon,” he said. “They want to go over prize distribution, taxes, all that fun stuff. After that, I’m free. You got any plans that don’t involve tracking illegal vendors?”
She smiled. “Actually, I had this idea about you taking me on a real date,” she said. “No warehouses, no mayors, no cops. Just you, me, something Copper Moon-y.”
His mouth curved slowly. “I think I can arrange that,” he said. “You like boats?”
