Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
He leveled his blue gaze on me, and I fought quailing.
“I don’t like the feel of you, you don’t get your cat back.”
“Okay,” I agreed quickly, wondering how their cat sitting business continued to be a business when he occasionally stole client’s cats.
“Raye sits people’s pets,” Luna told them.
“Yeah,” I said. “I have Patches now. He’s a calico. But his momma is super sweet,” I assured. “She had to go home and look after her mom who had hip replacement therapy.”
Tex nodded his approval of this excuse to abandon your cat with a sitter.
“Want a coffee?” Luna offered.
“What kinda grub you got here?” Tex asked. “We haven’t had lunch.”
I smiled up at him. “The best kind. Sit your asses down, and we’ll get you sorted.”
We got them to a table. We got them menus. And we dropped waters on them.
While they perused their choices, and in between taking care of other customers, I texted Cap, Tex is here.
I wasn’t surprised when, about five seconds later, my phone rang, telling me Cap was calling.
I took the call.
“Yo,” I answered.
“What the fuck?” he asked.
“It’s all cool,” I told him. “He seems nice. But he talks really loud.”
I heard him swear under his breath and then, back to me, he said, “I should have warned you. My crew has big mouths. And they’re nosy as fuck.”
“Honestly. Like I said, it’s all cool.”
“It’s not cool my crew just drops in on you while you’re working, Raye.”
“How fresh are the chicharrones?” Tex hollered all the way across the space from his seat at a back wall.
Everyone turned to look.
“Super fresh!” I hollered back.
“Could munch on some a’ those while Nance is deciding!” He was still hollering.
“On it!” I was still hollering too.
“Christ,” Cap said in my ear.
“Gotta go. See you later,” I said to him.
“Raye—”
I disconnected and hit the register to punch in the chicharrones order.
I noted Tito’s pumpkin-orange-framed sunglasses trained on Tex.
Tex noted it too.
“Yo!” he greeted.
Tito tipped his panama hat to Tex then to Nancy and went back to his book.
When I took their chicharrones to them, I told them, “The guy in the corner is Tito. He’s my boss, and he owns the place.”
“Right on, man!” Tex boomed at him then flicked a finger out to indicate the space.
Tito looked at him again and dipped his chin.
“He doesn’t say much, but he’s a super sweet guy,” I informed him.
I knew Tex took this in, but then his gaze went beyond me and his back straightened.
I turned to see Cap stalking to the table, Eric following him.
Eric was looking around.
Cap was homed in on Tex.
Oh man.
I made an approach and tried to waylay him but there was no waylaying going to happen, so, with the arm he put around my waist when I made it to him, he essentially dragged me to Tex and Nancy’s table.
“Yo, Cap,” Tex said casually when we got there.
“You think to warn me you’re gonna show in town and hit up my girlfriend at her place of business?” Cap asked.
“Can’t get a proper bead on her if you warn her I’m comin’,” Tex returned. “She’ll try to be all nice and shit. Don’t got time for that garbage.”
He then crunched into a chicharron.
I thought I might have to draw on my health and safety training when his eyes bugged out of his head after he swallowed.
“Fuck!” he bellowed.
Again, everyone in the place turned to look.
“What? Are they okay?” I asked.
“What’s this shit sprinkled on them?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Lucia doesn’t divulge her cooking secrets. Don’t you like them?”
“They’re the absolute shit.” He shoved the entire chicharron in his mouth and munched loudly.
“This isn’t Fortnum’s, Tex,” Cap said between his teeth. “You can’t shout and curse and act like you have no manners because people are used to your shit.”
After Cap said that, his head turned sharply and so did mine.
Again, Tito was right there.
He put a hand on Cap’s arm, took it off right away, and said quietly, “We welcome everyone here, son.”
He then looked around.
Cap looked around.
I looked around.
After the initial curse bellowed through the place grabbed their attention, now, no one was staring or paying us any mind.
Granted, we didn’t have huge men with wild-ass beards and hair who shouted all the time frequenting our establishment (until now).
But Luna, Harlow, Jessie and I worked there.
Not to mention, like I said, you couldn’t take the Wild out of the West.
Just sayin’.
Tito gave Cap a slight bow, one to Tex, then he shuffled back to his table.
“Like that guy,” Tex declared and chomped into a chicharron sideways in his mouth.
“Fucking hell,” Cap muttered.
Luna sidled up. “You guys have lunch?”
She asked this to Eric.
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t say no to a to-go coffee,” he replied.
Harlow shoved her aside, batted her eyelashes and said, “What can I get you?”
Jessie shoved Harlow aside and said, “I make a wicked dragon fruit refresher. Better than Starbucks.”