A Bitter Cup Read online

  "Rule number 8 states that protectors must not appear to have not bathed in days."

  "Right, that sounds like something a dragon council would set as a rule."

  "It should be."

  His dragon form was just as adorable as his cat form, and I often wondered if the glamour left him with cat mannerisms he wouldn't have picked up had he stayed in the caves. The way he stretched out on his belly with his arms and legs extended was so cat-like it was hard to ignore.

  "I'm beginning to see why they sent you top side."

  "Thank you for recognizing my natural leadership skills."

  I gave him a blank stare, and my phone beeped with an incoming text message before I could formulate a reply.

  "Oh, that'll be Beau, don't wait up for me."

  "We're going to have to get you your own little black book at this rate."

  "I hardly think my level of dating is active enough for that."

  * * *

  Ziti The Great was filled with families enjoying their evening together. The soft yellow light bathed the restaurant in warmth like the setting sun. The walls were lined with empty wine bottles from the years of patrons enjoying the best Italian food in the Hill Country. I took every opportunity to eat there, and when Beau asked me on a date, he already knew I would suggest it.

  Beau was not my soulmate by any means, but he was kind, funny, and easy on the eyes. At about 6 foot tall he towered over me, even with heels on. He kept his hair buzzed, and spent his days teaching yoga so his muscular physique was hard to miss. My favorite aspect of him was his deep laugh, it could light up any room.

  For the most part, I enjoyed spending time with him. However, tonight I was not feeling the best. With everything that happened at the cafe, I should have cancelled, but I did not want to be rude.

  Truth be told I would just be eating take out and scrolling through social media while waiting for Azure to return from hunting.

  Being in a small town, Beau already heard about what happened, and jumped straight into it after the salads arrived.

  "Did you know he hadn't been paying his bills?" Beau asked between bites of his house salad with ranch covered in fresh cracked pepper.

  "Joshua was there asking Charlie to cover a bill," I said.

  I was curious to hear what Beau knew. As the owner of Harmony Yoga & Spa, he had access to all the hot lines of gossip that burned through Marble Falls. It was almost as if the residents did not enjoy television. Or maybe Days of Our Lives is more interesting when you can touch the cast.

  As a rule I avoided gossip like the plague. But with Charlie being like a grandpa to me, and having a heart attack in my cafe, it sort of made it my business.

  "Joshua is only the tip of the iceberg," Beau said. "Turns out Charlie owed nearly everyone. Frank Terry, David, even Leonard at the bar. Charlie hated to pay his bills."

  "How did he get away with it?" I asked, shocked. The idea of shafting my fellow townsmen seemed unthinkable. But then there had been Brett, so I supposed I needed a better imagination.

  "That's the thing about it," he said. "It wasn't hard. You know how everyone is. Charlie just said he would settle up later, and no one thought twice about it. He owns that whole ranch, who would have thought he would be hard up for money?"

  "Charlie is broke?"

  "Well, I'm not sure what else would explain it."

  "I don't know," I said and pondered over the idea of how well I really knew Charlie. Could he really be that cold, or was he just frugal and forgetful? "I have a hard time believing it. He moves more cattle than any other ranch in the Hill Country. He has bragged about it more than once."

  "Why do you think he did it then?" Beau asked.

  It was an excellent question, and for once he caught me off guard. I could not explain Charlie's actions. But I hated to think he would be ripping off the whole town. That just was not how things were done in Marble Falls. We all knew we could count on one another.

  "He could be getting senile. I mean, has this been a lifelong issue with him? Or just in the past decade or so?"

  "Maybe," he said, but clearly did not believe the theory.

  The waitress brought our dishes. Beau ordered the shrimp & scallops alfredo and I had the eggplant parmesan. How they managed to get the eggplant so thin without tearing was a mystery, and one I loved eating.

  "Just goes to show how you can never truly know anyone."

  "I'm sure it's not as bad as the town gossip makes it seem. I know he's a regular for you. Don't think I don't like the guy."

  "I know, I'm just worried about him. Never witnessed a medical emergency before. He had to have been so scared."

  "He'll pull through. He's so stubborn, I bet he told the reaper, I'll let you know when I'm good and ready to die."

  I laughed, and we settled into a comfortable silence while we ate.

  "After this, do you want to go for a walk down by the lake?" Beau asked as we were waiting for the check.

  "Sure, that sounds great. I could use the fresh air to clear this day out of my head."

  He reached over and gave my hand a squeeze. My smile deepened and I relaxed into my food belly.

  I adored how comfortable hanging out with him was, not once had he pressured me to be anything more than casual friends. Thank the bean for a solid support system.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Thursday, March 19th

  "Hailey?" Aubrey called from the stairs, her tone sounded like it was not for the first time.

  I was still asleep on the couch. The living room was finally cleared out enough to use, without fear of tripping over the boxes, but I had not brought myself to move into Aunt Tona's bedroom. Though Azure found no issue sleeping in her bed at night.

  "Yeah?" I pulled on an oversized t-shirt.

  "William and Barry are here."

  "I'm not dressed!" I screamed in a panic at the prospect of Barry Bear seeing me in my underwear.

  "No, downstairs," she said, giggling. "They need to speak with you about Charlie."

  "Oh," I said, the relief thick in my voice. "Let me get dressed and I'll be down."

  "I'll give them some free coffee?"

  "Of course," I said. "Thank you. Tell Barry Bear I said hi."

  "Will do, but I refuse to call him Barry Bear," she laughed. "Though it's the cutest thing to see him blush, when you do it."

  I heard her climb back down the stairs, and I retrieved a fresh set of unmentionables from the dresser I moved from my apartment into the living room. It was a short-term solution, but cleaning out Aunt Tona's room was not a task I looked forward to.

  The bathroom looked almost the same as when she lived here, white. Three-inch white tiles lined the entire room, from floor to ceiling. I added a new purple shower mat to give the room a splash of color. The way the light through the bubbled glass window reflected off the tile, bathed the room in a soft glow. It made showering a relaxing experience.

  Most mornings at least.

  I covered the basics as fast as possible. Shampooed and soaped with an intense focus. There was no time for shaving, or standing under the burning water to melt away muscle tension.

  When I turned the shower off, and stepped out onto the shag purple mat, the room was already cloudy from steam. My towel was plush against my skin—white with a purple rose growing in the center. No need to keep them as decorative items anymore.

  Azure scratched at the bathroom door and transmitted, "They're waiting on you."

  "Were you listening to my thoughts?" I wrapped myself tighter in my towel. "We've been over this."

  "Calm down," he transmitted. "My ears work fine, I heard Aubrey."

  I was relieved to know that my mental blocks against him hearing my thoughts were working. Early mornings and being lost in thought were still my weakest points.

  We were still working ourselves into the right balance between connection and personal space. Even Azure needed his alone time at night when he liked to glamour into a bat and fly around to
wn. Not that I had ever been able to hear his thoughts without him purposefully sending them to me.

  "Grab me a shirt please," I called through the door.

  "What am I, your personal stylist?"

  "Please?"

  I almost tripped over my own feet pulling on my jeans in a hurry.

  "It's not as if I asked you to go shopping for me," I chortled at my own joke.

  "Fine."

  Another scratch at the door a moment later as I brushed my teeth, told me he was back. I opened the door to find him holding up a dark blue t-shirt with the company logo on the left breast pocket.

  "Thank you." I leaned down and scratched behind his left horn, "Was that so hard?"

  "Salmon can today?"

  "I guess," I said as I walked out into the kitchen, while pulling on the shirt.

  "You've been a good boy," I said as I pulled out a can for him to eat.

  He may have been a dragon, but Azure sure did love his wet cat food. salmon with lemon was the flavor he craved the most, but since it reeked, I refused to allow it except for special occasions. Helping me not be any later to a meeting with the sheriff was the new lowest bar for what qualified as special.

  I was starting to see how Aunt Tona ended up spoiling him. Azure could be a persistent little tea-tart.

  There was no time for my own breakfast. What a shame. Hopefully Aubrey would have some warm biscuits ready for me.

  Downstairs William and Barry waited at the counter. They were each sipping coffee and William was chatting with Aubrey.

  "There she is," Aubrey gave me a look that said they had been impatient.

  "Sorry" I mouthed before they turned around.

  "Ms. Morton," Barry stood.

  "Now Barry Bear," I gave him a wink, "you know it's Hailey. Don't go getting all professional with me."

  He had his chestnut messy locks down this morning,a bonus for me as the natural highlights and side swept part were doing his rugged face all the favors. At stark contrast from William no nonsense look.

  William cleared his throat, "This is a police matter."

  "Yeah, but there's no reason to act like we don't all know one another," I said. "It's almost like you're trying to be cold and reserved."

  "How is that new?" Azure transmitted. He had snuck down behind the counter to eavesdrop. "That deputy is never going to go out with you."

  "Only because I would turn him down if he asked," I transmitted as I took a seat at the counter with them.

  Aubrey placed a freshly brewed espresso in front of me and went to refill mugs around the cafe.

  "Where were you when Charlie fell?" Barry asked, not wasting time.

  So this was going to be that kind of conversation. I internally rolled my eyes. Since when did heart attacks require police investigation.

  "Behind the counter," I said, making it a question. "How is he?"

  "His doctor let us know this morning that he might not make it through the day," William said.

  I tried my best to keep my facial expression blank, not that it was hard as I had been practicing my whole life. But my mind raced with the thought of losing Charlie in the cafe only a month after Tona. How many people could die here before the town started in on rumors of us being cursed?

  "How long were you down here before he fell?" Barry asked.

  "At least an hour," I said. "What's this all about?"

  "Charlie was poisoned," William cut in. "With aconite."

  He left the last work to hang in the air, as if it meant something.

  "And?" I asked.

  "Well obviously with this being Aconite Cafe, we have to ask," William said.

  "Ask?"

  "Did you poison him?" Barry asked, and I felt a cold spike to my heart, but it settled into laughter. There was no way they were serious right now.

  "Never going to date you if he thinks you could be a killer," Azure transmitted.

  "NOT HELPING!" I transmitted.

  "That's absurd, what would I gain from it?"

  "Yes or no?" Barry asked, unamused by my deflection.

  "No, Mr. Bear. I didn't poison Charlie. But if you'd like to search my person . . ." I said, smirking at him. I put my elbow on the counter, sliding my hand from holding up my chin to rubbing the back of my neck slowly. Then settled the side of my head into my hand while keeping eye contact.

  Once he was good and flush I glanced up to Aubrey who was trying to not make it obvious she was listening to every single word. She had been packing the same espresso for two minutes.

  "You understand," William said, also looking to Aubrey. "We have to investigate."

  "Why didn't you ask me then?" Aubrey spoke up. "I'm the only one that brewed and served coffee to Charlie that morning."

  "Perks of being married to the sheriff," William said and reached out to kiss her hand.

  Aubrey faked swooning, but the smile on her face was genuine. Her dimples only showed when she was truly happy.

  "Not that I would spill the beans on my best friend." Aubrey said and gave me a wink.

  Thank the bean for small favors, not that I was a murderer. But everyone needed a ride or die like Aubrey in their lives. She had been the grounds to my hot water since kindergarten, the one that calmed and completed me. We made the perfect brew.

  "Help us out then," Barry said. "Who could have done it?"

  I thought back to yesterday morning, and ran through everything that led up to Charlie's poisoning. Tea! Joshua.

  "Charlie was in here having his usual coffee with Doug. They liked to get away from the ranch and talk business. I think it makes them feel important. Anyways, both Frank and Joshua, came in upset. From what I've heard Charlie wasn't paying bills, and it looked like they were both trying to collect from him."

  "That makes sense," Barry said.

  "What my deputy meant to say," William gave him a look to shut up, "was what else can you tell us?"

  "Honestly, if I knew more, I would tell you. I only learned about the debt thing last night on my date with Beau."

  Take that mister cold and closed off. First rule of flirting—talk about other dates. I did not even bother to look at Barry. Instead I focused on William's expression.

  "What did Charlie say about it?" I asked.

  "Nothing," Barry said.

  "Charlie hasn't spoken since they took him to the hospital," William said. "His prospects are bleak."

  "Ha," Azure transmitted. "Little do they know."

  "Explain?" I transmitted, doing my best not to look behind the counter.

  "Because you are so great at having two conversations at once," Azure transmitted in a laugh.

  I gave him a mental blank stare, because, well, he was not wrong.

  William took another sip from his coffee and asked, "Is there anything else you can recall. Anything that stood out as odd?"

  Even if there were, I could never throw Joshua under the bus like that. Not before I spoke to Jess. Law and order was fine and dandy, but friendship was eternal. The fact that all those men touched Charlies cup that day was making me ponder though.

  "Not at the moment."

  "You'll let us know first, if you recall anything else?" Barry asked.

  "First thing," I lied with a smile that could break hearts. "If we're done here, I'm going to eat breakfast."

  I excused myself to the storeroom and gestured for Azure to follow.

  "Ms. Morton," Barry called, "Leave it to the law."

  I turned to look him in the eyes, "Yes, Mr. Bear." I gave him a wink and salute.

  The moment the door closed I turned on Azure, "Spill."

  "Dragon," he transmitted. As if that was always an answer.

  "No," I wagged my finger. "Explain yourself Azure Fluffers Rune!"

  I would have used his official middle name, but he did not have one. At least not that he told me.

  "Fine," he yawned and stretched, just like a cat would when you tell them to get off the counter—always that last bit of defiance. "Charl
ie isn't going to die, because my magic ensures a long life for those around me. It's why dragon protectors usually live very long and happy lives."

  "Oh yeah, overwhelmed with joy over here."

  He gave me a cold look, "As I was saying. Long lives. The magic in the beans I roast, should be more than enough to counteract any poison. If anything, it's only taking so long to work because the man was old and out of shape."

  "Charlie is a rancher, I'm not onboard with living to two hundred."

  "No, he was the owner of a ranch. That man hasn't seen a hard day's work in ten years or more." He transmitted as he curled up under the oven. "Not to worry, we can both rejoice in the fact that you won't be around past the normal meaning of long life in human years. Mid eighties to early hundreds. But it does hinge on the protectors lifestyle. As with Charlie, there is only so much magic a dragon can work."

  Azure was probably right, rude, but right. I could not recall the last time I saw Charlie exert himself. Any time he came in town for supplies he always had Doug to load the truck. But it did explain why our customer base was made up of regulars who had been coming here for fifty years. Like I could deal with his level of sass for two hundred years or more, it would put me in an early grave.

  The oven chimed and I slipped on gloves to take the fresh biscuits out of the oven.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Thursday, March 19th

  Aubrey and I had just settled back into our normal morning routine when Jess rushed in, eyes puffy, mascara in a mess, cheeks flushed, and light brown hair pulled back in a bun. Something bad had happened. Her natural pout was accentuated by the distraught state.

  "Hun, what's wrong?" Aubrey asked, instantly hopping into mother mode.

  Would I ever learn to do that? Become the warm comforting friend that they could rely on? Probably not when my first thought was, take a breath, girl. It was not that I do npt care. I did. I feel all those emotions just as strong. It was just not a logical automatic response for me. Just another reason why Aubrey's personality clicked with mine so perfectly. Our yin and yang had saved me in social situations more times than I could count.