Wicked Naughty Love

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

When Lloyd Morrison—mega-millionaire, father, and control freak—had cut Gretel off last fall, she’d panicked at first. She’d never had to completely rely on herself before, since she’d always had his credit cards as a safety net. She knew that he liked funding her life because that gave him a say in what she did. It worked out well for both of them.

But then two things had happened. One, he’d gotten mad at Bethany and wanted to punish her. Since Bethany didn’t need his money, he’d gone after Gretel. That wasn’t the real reason, though. Even Bethany didn’t know the real reason. Gretel had done something he considered unforgivable—she’d played Robin Hood with his money. She’d donated funds to a group fighting to protect a butterfly sanctuary from the Morrison Group. Yup, her own father’s investment firm was trying to develop that land, and she’d gone directly against him. To the tune of seventy-five thousand dollars.

Oops. Sorry not sorry.

“You can earn your own money and throw it away,” he’d raged. “Let your sister take you in. I’m done.”

She couldn’t really complain because she’d brought it on herself. But yeah, she’d panicked.

Her mother, Aimee, had begged her to consider one of the wealthy older men who filled her contacts. Why get a job when she could simply marry a rich man?

But Gretel kept refusing her suggestions. It was time to grow up and fend for herself.

She’d accepted the position with the Noonans and taken an extra job at the Wicked Brew Coffee Shop, which had recently been purchased by a Hawaiian guy named Danny D. He’d changed the name from the Dark Brew to the Wicked Brew to give it some edginess.

“I’m here!” she announced as she twirled through the door.

“You always say that as if you deserve a medal.” Danny D rolled his eyes as she waltzed toward the espresso counter.

The idea of showing up at the same time at the same place over and over again—that was new to her, she had to admit.

“Have you seen those roads? And have you seen my truck? It might honestly be faster to snowshoe into town.”

She took off her parka—the hot-pink fur one she’d found at the thrift shop—and hung it on the coatrack in the back. She found an apron and tied it around her waist. For today’s shift, she’d chosen a black lacy top layered over a form-fitting burgundy long-sleeve leotard. A striped spandex miniskirt over leggings and her zebra-print boots completed her outfit.

Joining Danny D behind the bar, she pulled herself an espresso shot. All the coffee she could drink—a reason to dress up—a chance to chat with the Lost Harborites—honestly, she loved this job.

“So you finally got out there with the snowshoes, huh?”

“Yup. And you know something? I am not a sporty person. I suck at skiing and tennis and swimming and jogging and skating and anything that has a ball—except for croquet, I’m pretty good at that—but I think I’ve found a sport I can get behind.”

“Basically walking?”

“In my case, there’s a lot of standing too. The occasional fall into the snow.” She grinned at him and blew on her espresso. “But I love it because you’re absolutely encased in fluff. Snowsuit, lots of fleecy gloves and so forth, fluffy snow. And it’s literally impossible to go fast so there’s no pressure. There’s a reason why there’s no Olympic event for snowshoeing. It would be like watching tortoises race.”

He shook his head with a laugh and untied his apron. He wore a Kingdom of Hawaii bandanna to keep his dark hair off his face. He claimed to be a descendant of King Kamehameha and from his imperial manner, Gretel didn’t doubt it. “You almost talked me into it.”

“Into what? Don’t let her talk you into anything, before you know it you’ll be hot air ballooning over the South Pacific or something.” Her sister Bethany strolled toward the bar, holding hands with her new sweetie, Nate.

“Now that doesn’t sound so bad.” Danny D balled up his apron and headed for the back room. “Don’t burn the place down, Gretel. No freebies for anyone.”

Gretel mouthed “ignore him,” and poured mugs of coffee for Nate and Bethany. “Looks like we have cranberry muffins this morning, are you guys hungry?”

“No, we ate. Nate made pancakes.” The adoring glance that Bethany gave Nate was sweeter than the triple dose of simple syrup Gretel added to her coffee.

Nate smiled down at her, just as blissful as Bethany. On the surface, the two of them seemed very different—Nate was lighthearted and fun, whereas Bethany was a doctor and more serious and reliable. On the other hand, they’d both dedicated their lives to helping others, so they weren’t so different. And they’d fallen madly in love with each other after a few false starts. They were both wonderful people who deserved happiness. Gretel couldn’t wait for their wedding next summer.

An actual wedding between two people who intended to stay together for life? Imagine that. Having witnessed Lloyd and Aimee’s divorce, then two subsequent marriages apiece, honestly it was difficult.

“Do you both have the day off?” Gretel set to work preparing the behind-the-counter workspace the way she liked it.

“Yes, for once. Do you have any time off today? There’s a new movie at the theater.”

“I’m here until three, and then I need to drive Abby to a checkup.”

Bethany frowned as she tucked a long strand of blond hair behind her ear. “You’re working too much. I’m worried about you. When you’re not helping Abby, you’re working here, and you never have any free time. Why do you need this job, too? Isn’t one enough?”

“It’s fine. I’m making up for my lazy past when I didn’t work at all.” Gretel tossed back her espresso shot.

“You were not lazy. You were fun-loving,” Bethany said sternly. “Don’t you dare criticize my favorite person. Besides Nate, but he’s in a different category,” she added quickly.

Nate put a hand on his heart. “Ego check. Yup, still holding strong.”

“I was a party girl.” Gretel shrugged lightly. “No point in denying it, the evidence is all over social media. The internet is forever. Anyway, I like this job. I’m going to get a sound system in here and get some live music going. Danny has this dark moody vibe that he likes, but he couldn’t say no to some local talent.”

“That’s a great idea. But you’re trying to change the subject from your overbooked schedule. Can you cut back on your hours here, at least? Maybe Abby and Earl can make up the shortfall?”

Gretel had no ability to withstand her sister’s concern. Her whole life, Bethany had been the one person she could rely on, the one person who loved her unconditionally.

“Our arrangement isn’t about cash flow,” she finally said. “They give me room and board and a truck and that’s more than enough. They offered to pay me but I refused. Anyway, as soon as Abby’s healed, she won’t need me as much.”

Bethany opened her mouth to respond, but Nate slung an arm around her shoulders. “It sounds like Gretel has it worked out the way she wants.”

“Yes.” She gave her future brother-in-law a tiny, grateful smile. “Even if they paid me, it wouldn’t be much because they give me room and board. And I need quite a bit of money.”

Bethany’s eyebrows lifted. “For what?”

“I kind of…committed some money to some people.”

“Oh my God. Are you in debt? Do you need a loan? Are there people after you?”

Crap, she’d phrased that wrong and now her sister was panicking.

“No, nothing like that. I don’t owe the money. I donated it. Thinking that I had it, thanks to Daddy. But I didn’t and now the group is in trouble thanks to me. So I need to work as much as I can to make up for it.”

Bethany blinked at her in confusion. “What group?”

“It’s a…butterfly sanctuary in Texas…”

Catching on, Bethany burst out laughing. “Oh boy. It’s all making sense now. The one near Daddy’s development?”

“That’s the one.”

“How much did you pledge?”

“A lot. But it’s not your problem. It’s mine.”

Someone cleared their throat. “Uh, I got a problem. I need a quad shot cappuccino with two pulls of coconut syrup if you’re done blabbing.”

She turned to see Old Crow, one of the weather-beaten fishermen who mostly hung out in the harbor. “Well, look who the halibut dragged in. Shouldn’t you be bugging the poor bartenders at the Olde Salt?”

“Toni told me to broaden my horizons,” he grumbled as he leaned his elbows on the counter. “Besides, their coffeemaker broke.”

“Oh really, is that the story you’re going with?”

He scratched at the salt-and-pepper stubble on his chin. “Fine. You make a damn good cappuccino. When you stop gossiping.”

She accepted the compliment with a gracious nod and slid over to the espresso machine. “No one in this town gossips more than the fishermen, so you can just eat those words for breakfast along with your quad shot.”

“You know she’s right.” Nate laughed and tugged his hat back over his thatch of brown hair. “Didn’t take her long to figure this place out. Though the firehouse could give the fishermen a run for first place.”

“I’ve heard stitch-and-b***h is a good source too,” added Bethany over the sound of the milk steamer.

“Ooh, I actually got invited to stitch-and-b***h!” Gretel finished the steaming process, added two pumps of coconut syrup to the cappuccino and carefully brought it to Old Crow. “They’re going to teach me how to knit. I already know how to b***h pretty well.”

“Speaking of gossip, did you hear about Ian Finnegan?” Bethany said. “He has a stalker. He warned all of us at the hospital so we can watch out for her.”

“Yikes.” Last fall, Gretel had spent a crazy night with Ian Finnegan, a neurosurgeon friend of Bethany’s. Since there were champagne cocktails involved, she couldn’t remember all the details, but it hadn’t ended in bed. He had confessed that he had an enormous crush on her, but she’d let him down easy and their friendship vibe still felt pretty good. “I hope he’s okay. I’ll call him later.”

Old Crow was staring down at his cappuccino. She’d mixed a bit of the foam with coffee and made a jaunty little crow on the foamy surface. “What the hell is that?”

“Coffee art. You know they have competitions for that.”

He looked up at her, his weathered face set in forbidding lines. “But now I can’t drink it. Don’t want to mess it up.”

She laughed and pulled out her phone to snap a photo of it. “There, now you can drink. Enjoy. Nothing lasts forever, you know.”

Nate, still smiling, took Bethany’s hand. “We’ll get out of your way, Gretel. Good luck with all these degenerates.”

“Oh, I can handle them just fine. They know who’s boss around here.” She winked at Old Crow, who was now sipping his drink with an expression somewhere between crusty and blissful.

The town had a saying—strange things happen around Lost Souls Wilderness. She would extend that to “strange people”—which were her favorite kind.

The rest of her shift flew by. During her downtimes, she scoured Craigslist for used sound systems. She sent off emails to a few potential sellers. Then she made the whole project even more real by posting in the town’s f*******: group that an open mic night would be coming to the Wicked Brew soon. Within a few minutes, six people had responded with excited comments.

Let Danny D try to back out now.

Her mother called while she was filling a large order of coffees to-go for the real estate office on the next block. She tapped out a text telling Aimee she’d call her in a couple of days.

Her mother sent back a long text filled with uppercase words and exclamation points.

In other words, the usual.

After her shift ended, she raced to pick up Abby and Lulu for the baby’s checkup. She actually dozed in the foyer, curled up in a hardback chair, during Lulu’s appointment. Sometimes her small size came in handy.

She came awake with a start when Abby reappeared, covered in smiles. “She’s doing great! She gained three ounces already.”

“Woohoo!” Gretel clapped her hands and jumped to her feet. “That’s great news! On a side note, the last time I celebrated someone gaining weight was with my anorexic bestie in Bali.”

Abby shook her head in amusement. She was a tall, willowy woman who wore her hair in short curls that had never seen hair dye. She found all of Gretel’s stories about her past life endlessly entertaining.

“Hey, I just got a message from Eli. He and the twins are playing over at Zander’s house and we’re invited to come for dinner. Zander picked up some pizzas from the Last Chance. Just so you know, no one in Lost Harbor ever says no to Last Chance pizza.”

“Cool. Great. Pizza. I’m in.” Did she sound funny? As if an unsettling thrill had shot through her at the mention of Zander?

Because it had.

“You sure? I can tell them to come on home. I know you and Zander are…” She trailed off delicately. Gretel had ranted about Zander once, early on, after he’d criticized the way she parked the truck.

“What? Me and Zander are what? I don’t know what you mean. Go ahead and finish your thought.”

“You’re not his biggest fan, that’s all. Though I really think if you got to know him more, you’d appreciate him. There is not a better, more honorable or responsible human being on this planet than Zander Ross.”

Abby handed the baby to Gretel so she could get her coat on. The sleeping bundle settled sweetly into her arms.

“He’s very responsible. He’s also kind of…judgmental.”

“Really, you think so?” Abby shrugged into her coat and pulled on her bright knitted hat. Earl had knitted it for her—how adorable was that?

“It’s probably just me.” Gretel handed the baby back and zipped up her own coat. “Since he has so much material to work with.”

“Oh stop. If I catch him being anything but sweet to you, I’ll hurl used baby wipes at him. You know I would, too.”

Gretel giggled as they headed for the street, where they’d parked next to a snowbank.

Lost Harbor didn’t have a single parking garage. Or a single parking meter. Or a single valet. It was weird.

But it did have Arctic sunsets the shade of peach bellinis and air like the purest champagne. She drank it in as she drove Abby and the baby up the ridge, each curve revealing a new vision to her dazzled eyes. It was almost enough to give her a buzz—without a drop of alcohol.