“Yep. Broke my middle finger installing that damn fountain. It’s still slightly crooked.” He turned and secretly flipped me off. Sure enough, it was slightly bent. Barely noticeable unless pointed out.
I laughed and shook my head as we bounded up the steps. A couple sat at a small table enjoying brunch despite the midday heat.
“Howdy,” Austin called, putting on that mask again. “How’s the food?”
“Great!” the woman responded. “You’ve got something special here.”
“We sure do,” he said warmly. “Make sure you get some pie from Evie’s today before she runs out. It’s the best in town.”
They grinned. “We’re headed there right after.”
“Wonderful. You folks enjoy.”
As we walked through the front door, we were met with the warm scent of woodsy vanilla. I breathed in deeply as I took in the space. Wooden floors creaked beneath our boots as we walked through the front lobby to an adjoining space that belonged to the restaurant. Large windows let in natural light, filling the brightly painted space with warmth. It was small, but not too much so, with booths that were perfect to sit and work at.
Austin had left his laptop and things out on the corner booth in the back.
“Wow,” I said, looking around.
The walls were painted a deep forest green with acrylic paintings of Charros on horseback and women dancing in beautiful dressesframed in gold.
“From an artist a couple towns over,” Austin said, catching my gaze on the art. “Lucia Pérez. She’s really talented.”
“She is.”
A bar stretched around the space with velvet barstools, the scent of chorizo, bacon, and scrambled eggs wafting through the air. My stomach growled as we sat down in the booth. Austin pushed his laptop and papers aside.
I raised a brow. “You just leave your shit everywhere?”
“Everyone knows I work here often. And that I always sit at this booth. No one’s going to mess with my stuff, city boy.”
“Fair enough. I forget how trusting people are here.”
“Not the same up north?”
“It’s the same in a lot of places,” I said. “Minnesota is great. Lot of trusting people there. Just maybe not leave your expensive laptop in a booth, leave the building, and walk down the street to see your friends and sister kind of trusting.”
“Fair enough.” Austin relaxed in the booth as he studied me, tilting his head slightly. “I saw the news.”
My stomach dropped. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
By this point though, everyone probably had. At least anyone who cared about hockey. Thankfully most people in Texas didn’t, so maybe I wouldn’t have to be asked a million questions by strangers.
“You didn’t mention anything to me about it last time we talked.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “Is that how we’re gonna do this?”
Austin’s cheeks reddened. “No.” He looked up as a woman with black hair braided into a bun came up to us and slid a menu in front of me. “Hey, Maria. How’s it going today?”
“Fine. Where’s my cousin? I thought after saving Frida he’d be sitting here with you.”
“That damn cat climbed up the tree again?”
She smiled. “Yeah. What can I say? She yearns for the wild.”
Austin chuckled. “She does. Maria, this is Levi. He used to visit in the summers when we were younger, and now he’s back in town. Levi, this is Maria. She works here sometimes, but otherwise, she’s Whynot’s best librarian.”
