She inhaled; the breath so sharp Owen worried when she didn’t exhale immediately. A patron bumped into Ava as they walked past, mumbling an apology. Owen dropped his hand from the movement like he’d been caught doing something wrong. He stepped back from the counter, and Ava blinked rapidly, as if waking up.
When will I catch a break?
Owen cleared his throat, remembering they were in plain view of the whole café. “What can I get you?”
Ava’s shoulders straightened, and she rattled off the order for her and Noah. He considered refusing her payment but had a feeling they’d made enough of a scene without adding a fight about paying on top of it.
“I’ll bring it over,” he said.
Ava nodded and turned to join Noah. Like a magnetic force, Owen’s eyes dropped to her ass, staring at the sway of her hips as she walked away. He was only a man, after all.
While waiting for their food, Owen grabbed the blueberry whoopie pie that was absent from her order, but he knew she would love it all the same and put it in a bakery box. He grabbed that, along with their actual order, and tried to walk casually to their table tucked in the corner overlooking the lake.
“Here you go,” Owen said, lowering the plates to the table. He slid the packaged whoopie pie in front of Ava. Her brows furrowed in confusion, but the smile on her face was worth it when she read where he wrote Ava’s blueberry whoopie pie on the outside of the box.
She touched a hand to the words. “You’re spoiling me, Owen.”
Before he could respond, Ava and Noah’s phones alerted at the same time. Ava frowned at the message on her screen. So did Noah.
“Sorry, man, but looks like we need to head back to the cabin. Lucas found something important we need to see. Can we get a few to-go boxes?” Noah looked up from his phone to give Owen an apologetic smile.
“Of course. Is everything OK?”
“I’m sure it’s fine. But you know how Lucas is.” Ava rolled her eyes and shrugged.
Owen retrieved to-go boxes for the siblings and helped them box up the food they hadn’t had the chance to eat. On their way out the door, Ava brushed by Owen, the touch intentional. When his arm still tingled long after Ava left, Owen knew he couldn’t put off calling Tori much longer.
They were minutes away from the afternoon closing time when the door jingled. Owen looked up from where he was flipping through sales receipts. “Welcome to the Early Bird Café. We’re closing in the next five minutes, but we’d be happy to put together a to-go order.”
Owen’s greeting pulled the man’s attention away from scanning the café interior. His head swiveled like he was looking for something. He looked out of place in Cedar Falls with his crisp button-down, rolled up at the sleeves and dark blue slacks, like he was someone more comfortable in a suit than dressed down. The man rolled his wrist to glance at the wide face of the watch he wore.
Must be a tourist.
The man gave Owen a beaming white smile, the kind of practiced smile meant to charm and put others at ease. Owen could admit he was a handsome guy, though definitely not from around here.
“That’s fine. I won’t keep you. I’ll take a black coffee to go,” he said, still flashing a too-white smile at Owen. He slid a credit card across the counter.
Owen rang up the order and handed the card back to the man.
“This place sure is charming. Even better than it was described to me.” He made a show of looking at the artwork on the walls. “This is one of those small towns where everyone knows each other, right?”
Owen eyed the man from behind the coffee maker as he prepared his drink. “Something like that. You know someone from Cedar Falls?”
Owen put a lid on the to-go cup and pushed it across the counter, crossing his arms once the drink was no longer in his hands.
“I do. They told me all about this place. I came to visit and see it for myself. Only problem is my navigation is acting up, and I’m having trouble finding the address I’m supposed to drive to. Don’t suppose you can give me more reliable directions?”
Owen went back to the pile of receipts, grateful for something to distract his hands. “Depends. I know most people around here. Where are you trying to go?”
“Gavin Hanson’s cabin. I know it’s off Loon Cove Road, but I can’t seem to find it.”
Alarm bells sounded in Owen’s head. He paused shuffling the receipts and looked at the man more closely. He could be a realtor. Was he here to buy the cabin? Why didn’t Ava say anything?
“Why are you looking for Gavin’s cabin? He died back in May,” Owen said, suspicion laced his tone. He didn’t trust the guy.
The man smiled another practiced, perfect smile meant to put Owen at ease. Owen’s hackles rose further.
“Right. I know it was unexpected. A terrible loss.” The man shook his head in pity. “I’m actually looking for his daughter. I wasn’t sure if you would know who I was referring to. Her name is Ava. Ava Hanson. That’s who I’m here to see.”
