This could be the opportunity Mia was waiting for. The animal appearing in the coffee shop was like coming across a lucky penny. What dog owner wouldn’t be grateful when a lost, beloved pet was returned to them? This would for sure put her character back in good standing. She snatched one of the day-old bran muffins. “Hey, Lucky Penny! Who wants a treat?”
Despite his questionable hearing, the dog understood the idea of treats. He turned in tight circles while barking in bursts, the noise becoming an ear-piercing percussion as it bounced off the shop’s walls. His stumpy tail wagged with such velocity, it would have flown off if it wasn’t attached to his rear.
Natalie covered her ears. “Somehow you’ve managed to make it worse. You should take the dog home with you and disguise it as an old couch inside the garage. I’m sure it’s what your mom would have wanted.”
Mia laughed before jogging through the door. “Come here, little pupster. I know you want it,” she exclaimed with a deceptive sweetness. The dog scampered after her, his pink tongue rolling from his mouth. He followed behind as she guided him to the jewelry store, hot on the trail of bran muffin bait.
As Natalie predicted, the door to the shop was propped open. Mia fixed a bright smile on her face as she coaxed the dog inside. “Hello!”
When she turned around, it wasn’t Ross standing at the counter but an older woman with a low center of gravity, not one hard edge visible, and a colorful blouse. The woman smiled at her with a twinkle in her eyes. “Hello there.” Her focus shifted from Mia to the off-white dog. “Oh, Hermes, there you are. I wondered where you went. You’re going to get me into trouble.”
Mia made a quick recovery, adopting a friendly expression. “He made his way to the coffee shop in search of food.” She tossed the scrappy dog the remaining muffin, which he caught and devoured. Small crumbs flew from his mouth onto the shop’s worn carpet, and Hermes went to work, licking it without an ounce of shame. “Is he yours?”
“No. He belongs to the owner. I’ve only been working here for a short time. I’m Aanya.”
“Mia. Obviously, I work at Pony Expresso.” She pointed to the company name printed on her black T-shirt.
“Can I interest you in some jewelry? Even a barista could use a sparkle or two. And all our beautiful pieces are locally crafted and unique.” Aanya’s warm personality made her a better salesman than Ross. Mia liked her right away.
“I could use a bit more sparkle, and I do love the jewelry here, but I’m afraid I only have some of my tip money on me.” She dug into the pocket of her half apron, pulling out a handful of wadded bills. “What kind of sparkle can fourteen dollars get me? And do I get a discount for saving the dog from a life on the streets? Placerville can be pretty tough out there for both little dogs and poor baristas.”
The older lady laughed. “If it was up to me, I’d give you the Hermes Recovery Discount, but I don’t think the boss would like it. He’s very serious and doesn’t price anything here for fourteen dollars.”
“I guess I’ll keep saving my tips then.”
“Well, thank you for bringing Hermes back. I’ll try and keep a better eye on him so he does not bother the coffee shop again.”
“I…uh…was actually hoping to see Ross. Do you know if he’ll be back soon?” Mia asked.
“Oh, he’s here.”
Before Mia could say anything further, Aanya shouted over her shoulder at the closed office door as though she was his mother calling him from his bedroom. “Ross? There’s a young lady who’s asking to see you!” Aanya’s dark brown eyes continued glittering with amusement.
There was no escape. She would have to go through with it and in front of El Dorado Jewelry’s new mom. This was going to be awkward. But, after her tactless comment, it seemed fitting her punishment was to be additional embarrassment.
Ross poked his head out, his eye coming to rest on her with the intense scrutiny she hated. “Can I help you, Mia?”
She couldn’t sense anything but a noncommittal, business tone from Ross’s question, but Mia heard an underlying impatience at being pulled away from his work to deal with her. He wasn’t even coming all the way out of his office for this discussion.
She became nervous, swiping a strand of hair behind her ear. “I—I brought your dog back.”
His face fell into confusion. “I didn’t know he was gone.”
“Um, yep. He came down for a coffee and muffin, which he had. Muffin, I mean, not coffee. I wouldn’t give a dog coffee. Coffee is probably not the best thing for dogs, and Lucky, here, probably doesn’t need any other uh…issues.”
“Lucky?”
“Sorry, I meant, Hermes.” She tapped a clammy hand against her thigh. “Maybe a more appropriate name would have been Ares, the god of war. The dog looks like a warrior. He’d at least look adorable with a small eye patch. Hermes was the messenger to the gods, protector of travelers…patron of literature…trickster—well, lots of things. Hermes the god that is, not Hermes the dog.”
Her eyes dropped to the animal in question, who sat at her feet. Hermes wagged his tail in apparent encouragement, being the one occupant in the shop ignorant at how much Mia was botching this and rambling.Ugh!Why did she ramble so much? If there was a title for most-likely-to-ramble-when-nervous, it would be hers for sure.
“Uh-huh,” was Ross’s response after an awkward moment. “Well, thanks for bringing him back.” And his head disappeared into his office.
“Wait,” she said.
But the door shut with a click, providing his final reply.
She rushed to the office. She didn’t care what happened, but there would be an apology. Her mother would have insisted on it and was probably tapping her foot in heaven because it hadn’t been done sooner.
