Page 29 of Bountiful
“Whyisthat?”
“Well…” He glanced at the door of the coffee shop and smiled mysteriously. “Can you maybe just trust me on this? Go inside and buy acoffee.”
“Why?”
Leo shrugged and gave me that weird smile again. “I’m willing to let you think I’m insane. Just go. The shop is really cool, anyway. You shouldseeit.”
That was a lot of pressure from the rookie. I was irritated, but intrigued. Somehow my feet pointed toward the door of The Busy Bean, and I walked awayfromhim.
A bell on the door jingled when I walked inside the lodge-like building. And Leo had been right about one thing—itwascool in here. The coffee shop had big old leaded-glass windows looking out on the river, and antique mismatched tables and chairs arranged on wide, pinefloorboards.
The style was both comfortable and a little wacky. The walls were painted a warm brick color, but the beams were black like a chalkboard—and someone had spent a lot of time decorating them with cartoon figures of coffee drinkers and sayings. The one I spotted first read: “Unattended children will be given a double espresso and a special-needspuppy.”
Hilarious.
The coffee bar itself was topped with a thick, zinc counter that looked like something out of one of Brooklyn’s hipster cafes. And there were glass display cases filled with cookies andpastries.
But then I glanced across the room and forgot all about the decor. Because Zara wasrightthere behind the counter. The moment I recognized the sweep of her hair against her long neck, my body flushed with unexpected heat. Then she turned, and I could seeherface.
And,wow. She was just as beautiful as I remembered. No—more. The late afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows made her expression gentler than I remembered it. Her thick hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was humming while she stacked paper cups beside the cash register. She looked…softer than the last time I’d seen her. The wordlushcametomind.
“Zara—no way!” I sputtered, too surprised to be casual. I crossed quickly to the counter, and she lifted her eyes. “I’m back in town, and I looked for you at The Mountain Goat.”The second I arrived in Vermont,I might have added. “Didn’t know you worked here now. We should exchangenumbers.”
That’s when I noticed her face going pale. Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped open. It was clear that she recognized me. But a long beat went by before she said anything. And when she finally did, it wasn’t what I expected. “Do you…have a b-businesscard?”
“Uh, sure?” I dug into my wallet and pulled one out. I handed it over automatically, still trying to figure out why she was looking at me as if she’d seen a ghost. I was still good at two things in life—scoring goals and reading people. And what I saw on Zara’s face didn’t make any sensetome.
Fear.
I didn’t get a chance to figure it out, because she took my card and turned from me. Then she walked quickly away, disappearing out a side door I hadn’t noticed before. It slammed shutbehindher.
For a second I just stood there like an idiot, wondering what the hell had happened. And if she was going tocomeback.
“Can I help you?” asked anothervoice.
“Um…” It took me a beat to turn to face the other woman. She was a pretty blonde who wore a smile, but was also sneaking looks at the door where Zara had just disappeared. “Well, sure?” It took me another moment to shake off my stupor. “I’ll have a small Frenchroast.”
A minute later she put a cup of coffee in my hand. She looked a little familiar, and I was sure I’d seen her somewhere before. I handed her a five-dollar bill and instructed her to keep the change. Then I left by thefrontdoor.
Leo was leaning against the rental car, sipping his coffee. “Back so soon? Wasn’t it her? I heard the blonde call the dark-haired beauty ‘Zara,’ and I thought I’d foundyourgirl.”
I weighed the car key in my palm, still trying to process the odd interaction I’d just had. “It was her. But she didn’t look too happy toseeme.”
Leo’s face fell. “Shit. I’msorry,man.”
So was I. But I was also really freaking curious. “Can we take a walk for aminute?”
“Of course.” He shoved the rest of his cookie into his mouth and followed me as I headed toward the river bank that was visible between the bar and the coffee shop. These buildings had obviously been part of an old mill. They were situated to take advantage of the riverbelow.
The river bank was a well-kept piece of land, the neatly mown grass stretching to the distant waterline. There were clumps of flowers planted here and there. Once we reached the river, we turned to walk alongthebank.
The water curved around groups of rocks in its center. And, in the distance, an angler wearing waders cast his line into theshallows.
When the river hooked around to the right, I got a new vista. And sure enough, the most beautiful sight in Vermont was about fifty yards away. Zara sat on a bench alone, her chin tipped downward as she studied the business card inherhand.
“There she is,” Leowhispered.
“Yeah. She asked me for my card and then bolted outthedoor.”
