Page 19 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

Chapter 7

Lauren kissed Penny goodbye on Maggie’s doorstep and shouldered her purse. Oh, what she wouldn’t do for a decent cup of coffee. She didn’t usually go out for coffee, but it was so hard to say goodbye to Penny this morning. She decided she needed to treat herself for her own mental health.

She drove back toward the salon and stopped off at Josie’s Coffee shop to buy a cup of her favorite blend. Josie’s coffee was the best. She really should ask Josie if she’d be willing to donate a gift card to the silent auction she’d been preparing for the reunion. Lauren had been friends with Josie since elementary school, and the girls had served on the student council together. Lauren had been president, and Josie had been treasurer.

Lauren was supposed to involve Josie more in the planning of the reunion, but she’d been terrible about delegating out the work. She tended to take on tasks herself without asking for help. It was like she thought she had failed somehow if she had to ask for help. It made her feel weak.

Lauren parked and went into the coffee shop. She went up to the counter where Josie stood with her wavy, red hair up in a high ponytail. “Hey, Josie. Can I get a latte?”

“Hey, girl! Of course, you can! Can I get you anything else?”

“Um.” Lauren scanned the glass case full of pastries and delicious-looking baked goods. She usually just got coffee, but she needed comfort food today. It was getting harder and harder to say goodbye to Penny. “Can I get a blueberry muffin?” This single-mom-business-owner gig was really starting to kick her rear. She was dangerously close to burnout. She needed a vacation like nobody’s business.

Josie grabbed the muffin from the display case with a pair of tongs and dropped it into a paper bag for Lauren. Then she bustled about, preparing Lauren’s latte.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the reunion that’s been coming up,” Lauren said.

“Yeah,” Josie said. “I saw your emails. Did you see my response? I told you I was happy to help out however you needed.” The door opened behind Lauren, but she didn’t bother to see who had come inside.

“Yeah, I saw that,” Lauren said. “I could use some help, actually. Would you be interested in donating a gift card for the silent auction?”

“Of course, I can do that!”

Just then, Josie’s green eyes lit up, and Lauren realized her friend was looking at someone behind her.

“Chase!” Josie said. “Can I get a hug?”

Josie came around the counter with her hands in the air, stretching toward Chase. He laughed as she wrapped them tightly around him. “I’ve missed you so much, friend,” Josie said. “Are you in town for the reunion?”

“I am,” he said. “Look at you, owning a coffee shop,” Chase said, checking the place out. “This is cozy. How’s the coffee?”

Josie beamed. “It’s fantastic. Just wait until you try my special blend.”

“It’s divine,” Lauren said.

“I’ll take the latte,” Chase said. “Whenever you’re done getting Lauren her drink, that is.”

Lauren bit her lip. Here he was again, ordering her favorite. It was starting to get weird.

Josie finished Lauren and Chase’s drink and handed it over to them. They paid Josie, and the redheaded girl said, “What else can I do for the reunion? I feel bad I haven’t done more.”

“You were treasurer when we were seniors, right?” Chase said.

“That’s right! I’m surprised you remember that,” Josie said.

“I was just looking at our old yearbook yesterday.”

“We should bring some yearbooks to the reunion,” Josie said.

“That’s a great idea,” Lauren said. “As far as more jobs that need to get done—we could still use more items donated for the silent auction. And we need to choose a cause to donate the money to.”

“What about the endangered bats,” Chase said. “In memory of Maisy.”

“Endangered bats?” Josie asked.

Lauren was surprised Chase remembered how important saving the bats was to Maisy. “Remember how she was always talking about ways to save them?”

“Yep,” Lauren said. “Because of Maisy, the student council ended up listening, and the bats were saved, even all these years later.”

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