“Maybe it could be, with the right help.” Her quiet confidence made me want to believe her, but I’d learned to be cautious about hope. It had a way of turning into disappointment.
“I should probably let you get back to your work,” she said, misreading my silence. Turning, she strode toward the door, only pausing to give Tressa one last, lingering pat, then speaking over her shoulder. “Thank you for letting me look around. Bye, Hail. Bye, Tressa.”
“Wait.” The word popped out before I could stop it. She paused at the barn entrance, looking back at me.
I had no idea what I wanted to say. Only that I didn’t want her to leave. She made the barn feel less empty. Made me feel less alone.
“The demonstration tomorrow,” I said finally, “at two o’clock. Please come. That is-that is-that is if you’re interested in pottery.”
“I will.” Her smile came out warmer this time, less guarded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Hail.” She left, closing the door behind her.
After, I stood in my barn with clay drying on my hands and my heart doing something peculiar in my chest.
Tressa whined and came over to rub her face against my thigh.
“What just happened?” I asked her.
She tilted her head and gave me a look that clearly said I was supposed to figure that out on my own. How was I supposed to do that?
I went back to the pottery wheel, but the clay had gone too dry to work with. Just as well. I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate anyway.
Tomorrow. Allie was coming back tomorrow.
I had no idea why that thought made me want to spend the next eighteen hours making sure every piece in the barn looked perfect, but apparently that was exactly what I was going to do.
Chapter 3
Allie
Ispent the evening strolling around town, munching on two of the peanut butter crackers packages from a box of them I’d picked up at a supermarket a few days ago, washing them down with water from the tap in my room.
The next morning, I strode down the stairs to the big open area of the saloon with the bar and the small kitchen behind, walking up to the counter to greet Greel, the orc male who’d checked me in the day before and appeared to manage the place. He must be Hail’s brother because I could see the resemblance.
“Good morning,” I said.
Greel grunted, but his lack of reply didn’t offend me. I’d noted he was kind of quiet the day before, though he’d sure perked up when Jessi had stridden out of the kitchen with a loaded plate she set in front of a customer at the bar before sliding over to lean into his side, gazing up at him with adoration. I’d noted how tiny she was compared to him, maybe five-two.
From what I’d seen, orc males were almost all about seven feet tall. I’d only met ones with dark hair and dark eyes, plus the universal medium-green skin. In retrospect, Inla had appeareda little shorter than the males I’d met, maybe six-seven, and her dark hair was threaded through with silver.
Jessi came out of the kitchen with a broad open basket in her hands, her short dark hair swept up in a bouncy ponytail on the top of her head that made her look incredibly cute. She placed the basket on the counter and propped a small sign in front.Day old muffins. Buy one for fifty cents, get two free.
“I’ll take one,” I piped up, salivating already.
“Three it is, then.” Jessi gave me a warm smile and waved to the muffins. “You get first pick. The dartling muffins are my favorite.” She pointed to two of the muffins. “Muffins also come with a free cup of coffee.”
“Count me in,” I said with a smile, taking the two dartling muffins plus one of the others. I’d save the extras for the next two mornings. Or maybe a late lunch. I was getting awfully tired of peanut butter crackers. “Can I take the coffee to go? I want to walk around town. Check it out.”
“Of course.” Jessi walked into the kitchen and returned with a huge, covered cup, handing it to me across the counter. She nudged her head to the sugar and creamer packets on the bar. “Doctor it up the way you like.”
“Thank you. Can I leave it on the counter for a second while I run to my room?”
“Sure.”
I hustled upstairs, tucking the muffins into the dorm-sized fridge and returning to the main part of the saloon. After giving them a wave, I left with my coffee and a muffin in hand, gobbling up the muffin before I’d made it to the end of the boardwalk.
While sipping my coffee and studying the town, I noticed how everyone seemed to belong here. Greel and Jessi with their easy affection, Aunt Inla with her colorful clothing and welcoming smile at the general store, even the tourists temporarily fitting into this carefully crafted Western fantasy.
I could only imagine what it might be like to have a place in this world too, not as a passing visitor, but as someone with connections. The thought led me straight back to the pottery barn, and to Hail.
