“I know the drill, Miss Marla; I’ve been doing it for years.” He took a mouthful, and a bouquet of flavors filled his mouth.
“You sweet on that girl, Fin?” Miss Marla asked him.
“Some.” He didn’t lie; these women could spot one a mile off.
“About time” was all she said.
“Something with roses?” Fin sniffed the cup in his hands. "And tea.”
“Not bad, actually. There is a Darjeeling tea, rose essence, and Assam tea.”
“Right, I was going to say that next,” Fin muttered as he heard the bell ring.
“You want a real man to do that for you, Miss Marla?”
“Real man,” Fin scoffed, taking off the blindfold. “Boy, you have no clue what that means,” he said to Jack.
“Is Maggie here?” Rory asked as she slipped around Jack.
“She is, and go easy on her. She’s had a rough day.”
Rory was short, feisty, and spoke her mind. She’d been born here and left; when she came back, it was fair to say she was pretty much hated by most people. Now she wasn’t. Engaged to a Trainer, she was now universally loved. Being one of the town’s vets helped too.
“I would never be hard on her!” Rory pressed a fist to her chest. “I remember what’s it like to have people pissed with you. It’s not pleasant.”
“Gotcha,” Fin said when she stalked by him.
“That went well.” Jack patted his cheek and followed his woman.
“Whipped puppy.” Fin threw the words at his friend.
“Hi, Fin.” Mandy wandered in with her knitting bag and her man.
“Hey, Mandy, Ted. You knitting too now?”
“Ha, that’s the easy part. Apparently, I have to make the coffee and butter the scones.”
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“You think I’m mighty? Hell, Fin, that just about made my day.”
“Figure of speech, bud.” Fin watched Ted walk behind the coffee machine.
“You go on through and knit a few rows. I’ll bring your tea.”
“Ha. I’ve never knitted a day in my life.”
“Well now, Findlay Hudson, that is about to change.”
Fin straightened from his slouch at the counter as Mrs. Taft walked in. Rory’s old nanny must be in her eighties, but she could snap out her words like a drill sergeant.
“Come along, boy.”
“I need to go, Mrs. Taft.”
“I think not.” She grabbed his elbow and tugged.
If he’d wanted to, he could simply shake her free and leave, but these people had made him part of their lives when he’d first arrived. The elders of Ryker Falls had molded him, and they commanded respect even if he didn’t always agree with them.
