Two weeks after being hired by Dixie's Cuppa Joe, Phoenix was up at dawn and preparing healthy shakes in Justin's kitchen when he entered from his bedroom. His medium length dark brown hair was sticking up and he was wearing flannel pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt. He wasn't an overly tall man, probably 5'10", but he was lean and muscular because he loved to jog and lift the weights that he kept in a corner of his living room. He'd told Phoenix he would move them to his bedroom if they bothered her, but she'd replied, "No. Not at all. In fact, would you mind if I used them?"
"Not at all," he'd echoed and grinned.
So, for now, Phoenix and Justin had fallen into a daily routine of healthy shakes and jogging together early mornings. Since he was the manager of the coffee shop his hours were usually seven to four and on-call, while Phoenix worked from eleven to five-thirty, five days a week. She would have liked more hours, but Justin explained the policy was no more than twenty-four hours for summer help, but he'd stretched it to thirty for her.
He grabbed his shake and darted back to his room, calling out, "I'll be ready in five minutes."
Already in her sweats and a tank top, Phoenix sipped her shake and thought about Justin. How could such an intelligent, good looking, and well liked man, be satisfied with a career managing a coffee shop? And from what she'd gleaned, he'd been doing it for a long time. How old was he, anyway? Early thirties?
She finished her shake and started stretching. Justin reentered the room dressed in old sweats and a muscle shirt and followed her lead in limbering up. While they did forward lunges, she said, "Justin, how old are you?"
"Thirty-four. Why?"
Rather than answer his question directly, she said, "You know, you're never too old to go to college and get a degree. You could even study online. With your experience and management skills, you could land a high paying job in a top company."
Justin stopped stretching and turned to stare at her. "Phoenix, I know it's hard for you to understand, but I love my life, my job, and my town. I have no desire to do anything else."
She also stopped stretching. "But that's crazy. Do you want to be managing a coffee shop when you're fifty?"
"Actually, yes. Now let me ask you something personal. How old are you?"
"Twenty-three."
"And why are you so sure that climbing the corporate ladder is the only measure of success?"
"I didn't say that."
He arched an eyebrow. "You didn't have to say it. It's written all over you and the questions you ask. In fact, it's downright condescending."
Her eyes widened and then she frowned. "Okay. Maybe you're right. But I was raised as trailer trash, so naturally I want to better myself."
"So your judgment of success rests on the employment someone has and the amount of money in their bank account?"
Phoenix met his steely gaze, held it for a second, and then glanced away. "I never meant to come across like that. I was just…" her voice trailed.
"Offering me advice on how to manage a life I love."
She shrugged. "I guess we just see things differently."
He started stretching again. "How about we agree to disagree and leave it at that?"
"Okay, after one more question."
He stilled and waited.
"Now that you know my family is trailer trash, what about yours? Do you have family in Paxtonville?"
When a profoundly sad expression entered Justin's eyes, she wished she'd kept her mouth shut.
Softly he said, "I'm an only child and my parents died in a plane crash when I was fifteen, so I moved here to live with my grandmother. She died five years ago and I miss her every day. Now let's run."
Lucinda entered Dixie's Cuppa Joe after leaving her office for the day and ordered a strawberry iced tea. She scanned the glass case for the candies she'd been eyeing every time she was in the shop—Jalapeño ChocoDrops, Rhubard ChocoDrops, Cilantro ChocoDrops, and other strange flavors. She pointed and asked the clerk, "What's with these unusual chocolates?"
The clerk whose nametag read "SAMANTHA" grinned. "They're really popular in Colorado. The previous owner of the coffee shop, Dixie, married this FBI agent who retired to help run the business, and he invented ChocoDrops. The first one was jalapeño and it's remained the favorite for years. Dixie and Alligator, that's his nickname 'cause he's so big, moved to Denver to expand their candy line and sold the coffee shop to Cecelia. Would you like to try one?"
"Ah, well… Okay, let me try the jalapeño since it's the favorite."
Samantha picked the candy up with tongs, tucked it into a wrapper and handed it to Lucinda. Then she rang up the sale. Lucinda stepped aside and waited for her strawberry iced tea to be made by a woman she had seen before, but hadn't met. When the barista called out her name, Lucinda smiled and said as she reached for it, "Like the cup says, my name is Lucinda. I'm new in town."
The young woman grinned. "I'm new myself. Only been here a couple of weeks." And although she wore a nameplate, she said, "I'm Phoenix Phillips. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Lucinda started to turn away, but paused. "Maybe we could get together sometime."
"Sure."
Again, she started to walk away but turned when Phoenix said, "Hey, my shift is over in five minutes. If you're still here, I'll buy you a scone."
Lucinda considered the offer and accepted. It would be refreshing to talk to someone who didn't know her background, unless, of course, she'd heard the rumors or read the paper. "You know, that sounds nice. But you don't have to buy me anything." She lifted her candy bag. "I've garnered my courage to try a Jalapeño ChocoDrop."
Phoenix chuckled. "I finally did, too. And they're really tasty. I've tried all of them except for the rhubarb one."
"Would you like to sit outside?" asked Lucinda.
"Yeah. I'll see you in a few minutes."
When Phoenix joined her she was carrying a cup and two scones. She set one in front of Lucinda and said, "I love black coffee with pastries, and these peach scones are fabulous."
Lucinda grinned. "Everything I've tried here has been wonderful. Thanks for the scone. I'll save my ChocoDrop for later."
Phoenix settled into her chair, sipped her coffee, and nibbled her pastry before saying. "I'm from California and I'll be working in Paxtonville until the end of August."
"I moved here from Seattle when I got a job with the local newspaper," Lucinda offered.
Phoenix then described her vehicle debacle and how the coffeehouse manager had miraculously helped her. She ended by saying, "And I don't know how he did it, but Justin, sweetheart that he is, got Burley to release the car to me as long as I stay in Paxtonville until it's paid off. So, after that, I'll be returning to Fresno and school."
Lucinda debated with herself, but finally decided to confide her own story and finished with, "I'm hoping to make amends for my terrible mistake."
After swallowing a bite of pastry, Phoenix said, "Wow! I'd say that's going above and beyond the call of duty. Shouldn't rodeo stars know they're fair game?"
Lucinda frowned. "I suppose that may be true for the tabloids, but my story shouldn't have dipped into tabloid territory. It was classless of me."
Phoenix shrugged. "I guess it could be construed that way." Both women finished their drinks and Phoenix asked, "Were you offered a promotion because of your investigative work?"
"Sort of, but I refused it, of course." Lucinda didn't want to explain more and changed the subject. "I heard there's a new movie with Matthew McConaughey coming out Friday. I was planning to see it; would you like to join me?"
"I'd love to. I can't go on Friday or Saturday, but I'm free on Sunday." Phoenix reached into her pocket for her cell phone. "Let's exchange phone numbers."