Page 106 of Forever By Morning

Another woman came to stand beside her, obviously mid-gestation. “Are you scaring the customers again?”

“You’re just proving my point.” The lanky woman tucked the filter into the machine with practiced ease.

The blond patted her stomach. “We practiced and practiced for this one.”

I laughed because the two were obviously friends.

The blond was beautiful and softly curved from her advanced pregnancy. She had on overalls with a rainbow shirt telling people to have a cupcake. “Crescent Cove is just having a lovely baby boom.”

The dark-haired woman snorted.

“Don’t listen to her, she’s got two of her own.” She wiped her hands on the towel tucked in her pocket. “Can I get you anything to eat?”

I turned to Bells. “Hungry?”

“I could eat.” She tapped her short, ruby nails on the countertop where a menu was taped. “I’ll have the chef salad with an extra hard-boiled egg.”

“I’ll take the chicken Caesar salad and a caramel latte.”

“I got the latte, Vee.” The dark-haired woman started building my drink. Her movements were effortless and graceful as she took her time to make the coffees and added a pinch of something to my latte.

She pushed the drinks toward me and rang us up. “We’ll bring out the food.”

I looked down at my massive mug. There was a leaf shape in the foam with a few green flecks. “It’s beautiful.”

“Coffee is my thing.” She winked. “Don’t mind us back here. We just like to mess with people. We’ve had a few extra people come in since there was an article in a local magazine about the Cove water.”

I’d have to look for the article.

“Well, this place is amazing. I can see why they’d come in anyway.”

“Thanks. It’s my place. I’m Macy.”

I handed over my credit card. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Helena and this is Bells. We work over at the Brothers Three Orchard.”

“Oh, we love the orchard. The taproom has been stealing some of my customers from The Haunt.”

“I love that place. I follow it on Instagram.” Bells shrugged when I glanced at her. “I was researching the area when I was interviewing.”

“My social media maven will be glad to hear it. She’s forever driving me crazy with videos.”

“Well, tell her to keep it up. It’s one of my favorite accounts.”

“I’ll be sure to mention it. Handily, my kids love the haunted hayride out your way for Halloween. They also love to run around in the orchard when it’s picking time.”

I could only imagine how beautiful the orchard was in full season. Too bad I wouldn’t be there.

Bells took her equally massive mug. “Come to mama.”

Macy smirked. “I hear the bakery makes good coffee at the orchard, but nothing beats mine.”

Bells took a sip with a groan. “She’s not wrong.” She swung her purse in front of her and I waved her off. “Aww, you didn’t have to get it.”

“No problem.” I took the receipt from Macy with a smile and tucked a bill into the tip jar. “Thanks so much.”

“Hope to see you again.” Macy waved the next customer up to the counter.

We found a seat by the front windows. The friendly murmur of conversation and the moody music was exactly what I needed after a day full of paperwork and phone calls.

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