Page 121 of Back in the Saddle

This made sense.

I knew it did to Daisy too when, instead of conceding the point, she screwed up her pretty face so hard, I thought a false eyelash would pop off.

Raye sidled up, and she asked, “Did Shirleen show you pictures of her kickass high-rise condo yet?”

“We’re getting there,” I replied as I watched Shirleen take the hint and dig (also with perfect, lethal, almond-shaped but grape-colored nails) into her bag.

“No!” we heard boomed. “I can’t take the sugar cookie part out! You get a sugar cookie peppermint mocha, or you don’t get anything, sucka!”

Oh yeah.

I loved Tex.

“Excuse me while you pull that up,” I said to the ladies. “I’ll be right back.”

I then dashed to the coffee cubby at the front of SC to say hey to Tex.

When Otis saw me, he beamed.

He loved Tex too, mostly because Tex meant his busy load was halved, and by association, he didn’t have to be nice to customers either.

Tex saw me, threw out his hand, and I squealed and jumped out of the way since he was holding a fully-loaded portafilter, and all the sloppy, wet grounds flew my way, almost hitting me.

“We need a meeting!” he kept booming (all Tex could do was boom, I know it sounds strange, but it was part of his charm).

“A meeting about what?” I asked.

“I gotta lay down the rules. Two o’clock in the morning, and you’re by yourself on the mean streets looking for your brother?”

Shit.

Eric had blabbed.

Or Eric had shared and Cap had blabbed.

“Tex—”

“Nope!” he bellowed. “Shut it, woman. Don’t wanna hear it.”

“I was okay,” I told him.

“Because Turner was on your ass,” he told me.

“No, I was okay before that.”

“Zip it!” he hollered. “At the meeting.” He then looked at one of the crowd standing before him (Otis’s coffee was popular, but with this throng, it was clear I wasn’t the only one who noticed the white shoe polish), and he demanded, “Now, you gonna whine at me about sugar cookie syrup, or are you gonna suck it up?”

“I’m gonna suck it up, sir,” the Gen Zer, who probably had shown zero respect to any adult in his life, said to Tex.

“Damn straight you are,” Tex grumbled (but his grumble was also loud).

“Can you make one of those for me?” I requested.

Tex’s head came up so fast, his beard nearly flipped into his face, and he narrowed his eyes at me.

I lifted my hands and pressed them down as I backed away.

I returned to Shirleen, Daisy and Raye, and now Luna was hanging with them on the other side of the bar.

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