Page 83 of Clearly Charmed

‘We promise,’ they said together.

The jarring sound of the front door creaking open had Jessa rushing back to the reception desk. Bree stayed in the doorway. ‘Offer still stands to send over Tobias and a few of his logging friends to scare him a little.’

‘That’s not necessary. Bryce would just figure out a way to use it as color for the article.’

She let out a reluctant huff. ‘All right, but my boyfriend and his pals can be intimidating when they want to be.’

I bit back a smile. Tobias was massive, but he also played Santa Claus every year for the town’s tree-lighting ceremony, so it was hard to picture him threatening Bryce.

‘Pokey is here for his nail trim,’ Jessa called down the hall.

Bree rolled her eyes and I laughed. ‘That dog is ferocious and you know it.’

‘He’s an eight-pound chihuahua, Bree.’

‘Yes, and he uses every bit of that weight to snap at me. Good thing we have that new grooming hammock that keeps him from taking chunks of skin out of my fingers.’

I had to admit Pokey was a tough case. He was deathly afraid of the nail clippers, but Bree exuded enough alpha behavior to get the dog to cooperate.

She took a slow walk down the hall. When she opened the door to Exam Room Three, she was greeted with a snarl. I pressed a hand to my mouth to keep from laughing and went back to work, dreading that in a few hours I’d actually have to pretend to be sociable.

The scent of burnt pepperoni, old beer and drugstore cologne smacked me in the face when I walked into the tavern. All the town regulars sat on the cheap vinyl stools at the bar. The judge and Eric gave me a wave. A few of the local farmers, including a smiling George, tipped their hats in my direction as I passed.

Bree and Jessa had already staked out a spot at the center pool table in the far back room. Two full mugs of pale ale sat on a nearby high-top table.

The girls spotted me across the room, and Jessa waved her arms, making more than a few gazes veer in my direction. When I reached the table, Jessa was still flailing about until Bree reached for her arms and said, ‘We are not flagging in a 747.’

Jessa let out a giggle.

‘How many beers has she had?’ I said.

‘One.’ Bree smirked. ‘She’s a total lightweight.’

A thick glass with a dark-brown stout and a creamy foam top landed on the table. Mo stood a few steps away with one hand propped on her hip.

‘I haven’t been to the bar yet,’ I deadpanned.

‘After what you did for Mara and Banjo, drinks and food are on me tonight.’

‘I don’t want to owe you anything, Mo, especially since you keep spilling secrets that aren’t yours.’ I was still angry that she’d said anything to Bryce about Max. I pulled my wallet out of my canvas bag, but she took a step back.

‘Not taking your money tonight, Dani.’

I started to object again until Bree interrupted. ‘We’ll take a large pepperoni pizza and breadsticks.’

‘Ooh, can we get some of those fried pickles too?’ Jessa squealed.

‘Dani?’ Mo said like she needed my permission.

‘If it’s on the house, add in another round too.’

‘Done.’ She strode away without another word.

‘That woman owes you a hell of a lot more than pizza and beer, but it’s a start,’ Jessa said with a hiccup. ‘The way she runs her mouth about your family. She swears it’s the key to bringing business into town but that’s such a crock of shit.’ She reached for her beer and took another big gulp.

Bree chuckled and helped her lower the glass to the table. ‘Slow down there, J. We have all night.’

Jessa wiped a hand over her mouth and giggled again. It took her two tries to heave her wobbly little body up onto the tall chair at the high-top.