Page 22 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
Yeah, totally getting one of those.
The usual lunch crowd filled the coffee shop. Odessa normally grabbed her order and ate on a bench outside, weather permitting. A few minutes of sun and fresh air revitalized her in the middle of the workday. Sugar and caffeine helped, too.
A young woman focused on her phone, joined Odessa in line.
“Damn, look at that ass. You’re looking fine, girl,” a man with buzz-cut brown hair said, practically whistling.
The woman tensed but continued to stare at her phone.
Ugh, that guy. Jayson. They went to school together. He acted as if he was God’s gift to women then and he hadn’t really changed. Maybe fewer pimples.
The door opened again, letting in a cool gust of air, and Mads joined the back of the line.
Don’t stare. Don’t—
He nodded at her.
Heat flooded through her as she blushed. She was too old to blush like a schoolgirl, but here she was fighting the urge to twirl her hair and giggle. She ran through the list of why she was upset with him—kissed her, ghosted her, broke her heart—and why she shouldn’t get that honey feeling inside when he looked at her—the kid. Single moms couldn’t flit about town in a whirlwind romance. She had to put Ruby first, always.
“Ma’am, your order?”
Odessa snapped her head forward, toward the barista and rushed through her order. She moved to the end of the counter to wait.
Jayson planted his hand on the ass of the woman on her phone. “Come on, baby, don’t be like that.”
“Sorry, I’m not interested.” The woman twisted away.
“Those yoga pants tell me you’re interested.”
Several things happened at once.
Odessa’s coffee arrived.
The woman glanced around the café like a deer ready to flee. A few people had their phones out, possibly recording, but not a single person stepped up to intervene. Focused on filling orders, the baristas noticed nothing. The situation was obvious to Odessa. No one noticed or could be bothered to help the woman getting her butt grabbed by a creep.
Determined not to be a passive witness to Jayson’s sleazeball antics, Odessa loosened the lid on her coffee and casually reached down to untie her shoestrings. Someone was about to be clumsy and dump a crotch-full of hot coffee on a jerk.
Mads tapped Jayson on the shoulder.
Buzz-cut turned around, gave Mads a measured look, and sneered. “What do you want?”
All eyes in the coffee shop turned to watch.
“The lady said she wasn’t interested. I suggest you back off and apologize for being a douchecanoe,” Mads said, voice smooth and controlled.
Something about that tone made Odessa’s body snap to attention. It wasn’t bossy or high-handed.
Commanding.
Yeah.
Buzz-cut appeared to be immune to Mads’ presence. “You gonna make me?” He poked Mads in the chest. “Runt?”
Mads was hardly a runt but Jayson was built like an ox—wide and all muscle in the neck—and about as smart as one, too. “Do not,” Mads warned.
“Or what? You gonna spill your soy latte half-caf frou-frou drink on me?” Jayson grinned, obviously pleased with himself. He poked Mads’ again, only this time Mads caught the man’s finger.
Calmly, almost with a bored expression, Mads bent Jayson’s index finger backward and twisted Jayson’s arm, making the bully squeal.
