Page 57 of The Charming Checklist
Outside, he heard the staff begin to arrive as people called out greetings, dishes clanged, knives chopped the aroma of coffee percolated. What seemed moments later, he looked up to see that Sub was lying on his dog bed. A cup of coffee sat on the edge of the desk. He checked his watch and noted he’d been at work for three solid hours and lost track of time.
“Hey, buddy. What? You don’t even say hi?”
Then he remembered that Cole had taught Sub to sit on his bed while in the office, until he issued a command. Max gave the hand command, and Sub happily rose to meet him for rubs and ear scratches. He went back to his bed when Max pointed to it.
He’d been so engrossed in his work he must not have heard Cole open the door. But the good news was that he’d found the money to give the kitchen staff a well-deserved raise. He’d go ahead and let Cole tell them, because he had more of a need to be the “good guy” than Max did. Cole hired; Max fired.
He also found some wiggle room with their coffee distributor and might just be able to start serving Ava’s coffee instead. He couldn’t distinguish between their different properties, but hehadbeen able to taste the difference between the swill they served here.
His decision had nothing to do with sleeping with Ava. Well, almost nothing. He wouldn’t mind being the recipient of her gratitude. Let’s just say that. But whenever Max came across quality, he would try to make the numbers work. He just didn’t know if Ava was prepared to supply them with all the coffee they needed. She was a one-woman operation.
There was a knock on the office door and Debbie opened it a crack and leaned in. “There’s someone here to see you.”
He gulped his coffee, now lukewarm, and grimaced at the taste. “I’m not expecting anyone. Who is it?”
“I’ve never seen him before.” She shrugged. “Says you know him.”
Before Max could get up, a big, burly figure of a bearded man appeared behind Debbie, startling her. “Don’t let him lie to you. He knows me.”
Adam.
“Holy shit, dude!” Max was up in two seconds and grabbed the big guy in a bear hug. “I thought you were going to call me to pick you up at the airport.”
“I have an app.” He held out his phone and shrugged, then caught a look at Sub. “Hey, you finally got a dog.”
“Nah, he belongs to Cole. Submarine, Sub for short.”
Max gave the hand command and Sub got up and came over to sniff Adam for all his worth. He wagged his tail like he’d found his new best friend.
Adam bent down and let Sub get acquainted. “Took a walk down the boardwalk. Got a few looks.”
And Adam did look a little like a homeless person. His beard was long and unkempt, his clothes disheveled. He looked like he’d just come off a mountain somewhere. Since he’d been working and living in Montana on a goat farm, this probably wasn’t far from the truth. He carried a knapsack on his back, which Max would bet carried all of his worldly possessions.
“It’s a little warmer in Texas,” Max said, taking a look at Adam’s battered leather jacket.
“No wonder I’m sweating.” He snorted. “Montana is freezing. I was ready for a change.”
“Tired of goat farming?”
“It was just a stop.”
And there had been plenty of those along the way over the years. Adam was a young widower. After his wife’s death and the end of his military service, he’d been aimless. Jobless, much of the time. A hero without direction. Max owed nothing less than his life to this man, so he planned on making Charming, Texas, Adam’s last stop.
“Let’s talk about my offer.”
Normally, Ava attended the monthly town hall meeting where grievances of every type were addressed.
But this afternoon, she had to go home and check on her mother. Since she’d lost her phone and didn’t “do” texting, Ava couldn’t check in with her during the day. Mom had indulged in some retail therapy on Sunday, buying and shipping several prints back to Dallas. Though Ava was beginning to wonder if something deeper was wrong with her mother, she couldn’t discourage her from supporting local Charming artists.
Ava heard the laughter before she’d even gotten out of her car. Through the screened front door next door, she saw her mother sitting at the kitchen table with Susannah.
“I always wanted a family dog, but my insufferable fool of a husband said they carry parasites.”
Insufferable fool?
Ava’s throat tightened. The bitterness in Mom’s voice was unmistakable. She’dnevercalled her father a fool. Far from it. She’d always claimed he was the most intelligent man she’d ever met.
“Hello?” Ava said from the other side of the screened door.
