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She followed until he stepped inside of his cabin, then she froze.
The screen door cracked open, then a hand popped out, holding a disposable mask. “For you, my lady.”
She relaxed, slipping the springy elastics around her ears. “Thanks.”
Tea took a tentative step into the cabin. Archer also wore a mask as he placed different coffee contraptions onto his kitchen counter. A Chemex. A scale. A hand grinder. Filters. A bag of Ethiopian coffee beans.
“Fancy,” she said, watching as he measured out the beans on his scale.
He shrugged. “It’s the only luxury I have time for these days.”
“Are you really that busy?”
Archer glanced up and pointed to the wall behind her. She turned around, then sucked in a shocked breath.
The entire wall was covered in yellow sticky notes.
She stepped closer to read them, realizing each note was a task he needed to complete for Wild Pines.
“‘Paint this depressing cabin,’” she read aloud. She scanned the walls, the spots of peeled paint hard to ignore now that she stood inside. She kept reading. “‘Send June newsletter. Submit lake association fees. Fill out tax forms.’”
“Those will be the death of me,” he grumbled.
“What, the sticky notes? Or the tax forms?”
“Yes.”
The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted from behind her. She turned, stepping close enough to get a glimpse of Archer in action while still keeping her distance.
His arms were relaxed as he worked, moving the kettle slowly over the fresh grounds in the Chemex, the coffee blooming on top and smelling like heaven on earth. She couldn’t see his full face, but his eyes told the whole story. They were shining.
She was thankful she wore a mask that hid the ridiculous smile on her face as she watched her former friend. Or…current friend.
“Coffee, tattoos…” she said. “Any other hobbies I should know about?”
“Cocktails.”
She lifted her brow. “Cocktails?”
He nodded. “I bartended in college, and found that I loved it a lot more than what I was studying in school. So I switched my major to hospitality and got a flair-master mixology certification.”
“Dang. You can actually have a career mixing drinks?”
“Definitely.” He removed the filter from the Chemex, then grabbed two Silver Falls mugs out of the cupboard behind him. “Although the pandemic certainly put a wrench in my plans. The cocktail lounge I worked at closed for the time being, and I have no idea if they’re planning to open back up.”
“At least you have this,” she replied.
His jaw ticked as he poured the coffee. “Yeah. I guess.”
Tea took the mug that he slid in her direction. His face remained tight and closed off. She felt the need to pry. She wanted to know how he really felt running Wild Pines after all of these years. But she also knew that she lost privileges to Archer and his feelings a long time ago. She would have to earn them back.
She wrapped a hand around the warm ceramic and pushed her mask down to take a sip. She closed her eyes and groaned, the taste of the coffee rich and nutty with a hint of chocolate and orange peel.
“That good, huh?”
She blinked her eyes open, blushing. “Sorry.”
Archer also pushed down his mask to take a sip, but he held his mug close to his lips, grinning at her. “Don’t be. I love watching someone enjoy a drink I made.”
