Read Online Up to Me (Shore Secrets) by Christi Barth - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christi Barth
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choose from. My favorite’s the cherries jubilee.”
Gray had resisted the coffee service in the hotel lobby. Denied his aching body’s screaming need for caffeine, not realizing that Ella planned to drive him an endless, uncaffeinated fifteen minutes along the lakeshore to get to their destination. “That’s why we came all the way down here? For coffee that tastes like dessert?”
“Dresden’s more or less halfway between Geneva at the north end of the lake, and Watkins Glen at the south. Having the general store here makes it convenient for people to stock up without having to drive all thirty-eight miles from top to bottom.” Her face flushed pink in an adorable clash with her red-and-white-striped hoodie. “And I promise that ends the geography lesson for the day.”
“That ends everything until you pour some coffee down my throat.” Gray opened the big, wooden door of the store and ushered her inside. A huge kayak hung from the ceiling’s pine rafters. Wide plank stairs cut through the center of the building beneath a hand-painted sign of an arrow, a fishing pole, and a tent. Shelves of typical tourist kitsch lined the walls. Most importantly, the dark, rich scent of coffee swirled throughout the large room.
“So you’re one of those people.” Ella wrapped her hands around his arm and led him to the back of the store. A scattering of high tables with stools surrounded a long display counter in front of a chalked menu board. “The ones who can barely tie their shoes once the clock ticks over to a.m. without copious amounts of caffeine.”
“Which makes you one of those annoying, perky morning people who judges desperate people like me?” Relationships had ended over lesser evils. Maybe this was Fate intervening before Gray grew any more entranced by Ella.
“Yep.” Then she surprised him by popping up to her red-sneakered tiptoes to kiss him on the nose. “Don’t worry, sleepyhead. I’ll take care of you.”
No such luck. Apparently Fate was a whimsical bastard, sucking him deeper under her adorable spell. Ella leaned across the wide counter to grab a mug roughly the size of a hollowed-out bowling ball. “Fill this up, and I guarantee you’ll feel like a new man in no time.” She pointed to the row of stainless steel carafes against the wall.
Gray looked around the quiet room. Despite the open door and lights, it bore an empty, early morning hush that made him feel like an intruder. “Shouldn’t we wait for someone official to help us?”
Ella shoved the mug into his hands and gave a little push. “I’m not just a regular. I’m a lifer. Special privileges include serving myself, along with helping to name the new sandwich every January.”
The wet phffft of a loud raspberry sounded. “A privilege that should be revoked.”
Gray barely spared a glance over his shoulder at the blonde woman who hollered from the front door. He was too busy pumping his mug full.
“Casey, don’t start again,” said Ella. “Neither of our sandwich names were chosen this year. It’s pointless to keep carping about it four months after the fact.”
“Time hasn’t diluted how much it still annoys me. You’ve made stupid suggestions for three years running. Nobody wants to eat a sandwich called Delights of the Earth. Sounds like you’re trying to cram worms and mud down their throat.”
“It was a roasted portabello sandwich. You dig mushrooms up from the earth. And they’re delightful. You get it, don’t you?” Ella asked Gray as she cozied up next to him with her own mug.
“Strangers don’t get a vote. Not even when they’ve got a nice ass.”
Gray turned to face the woman with a rasp to her voice that made him think of cigar smoke floating across a shot of bourbon. She wore khaki green shorts that almost matched her mossy eyes, and a tan shirt with a Park Service patch on the arm. A long, blond braid lay just to the side of the badge on her chest.
“Well, introduce yourself and he
Gray had resisted the coffee service in the hotel lobby. Denied his aching body’s screaming need for caffeine, not realizing that Ella planned to drive him an endless, uncaffeinated fifteen minutes along the lakeshore to get to their destination. “That’s why we came all the way down here? For coffee that tastes like dessert?”
“Dresden’s more or less halfway between Geneva at the north end of the lake, and Watkins Glen at the south. Having the general store here makes it convenient for people to stock up without having to drive all thirty-eight miles from top to bottom.” Her face flushed pink in an adorable clash with her red-and-white-striped hoodie. “And I promise that ends the geography lesson for the day.”
“That ends everything until you pour some coffee down my throat.” Gray opened the big, wooden door of the store and ushered her inside. A huge kayak hung from the ceiling’s pine rafters. Wide plank stairs cut through the center of the building beneath a hand-painted sign of an arrow, a fishing pole, and a tent. Shelves of typical tourist kitsch lined the walls. Most importantly, the dark, rich scent of coffee swirled throughout the large room.
“So you’re one of those people.” Ella wrapped her hands around his arm and led him to the back of the store. A scattering of high tables with stools surrounded a long display counter in front of a chalked menu board. “The ones who can barely tie their shoes once the clock ticks over to a.m. without copious amounts of caffeine.”
“Which makes you one of those annoying, perky morning people who judges desperate people like me?” Relationships had ended over lesser evils. Maybe this was Fate intervening before Gray grew any more entranced by Ella.
“Yep.” Then she surprised him by popping up to her red-sneakered tiptoes to kiss him on the nose. “Don’t worry, sleepyhead. I’ll take care of you.”
No such luck. Apparently Fate was a whimsical bastard, sucking him deeper under her adorable spell. Ella leaned across the wide counter to grab a mug roughly the size of a hollowed-out bowling ball. “Fill this up, and I guarantee you’ll feel like a new man in no time.” She pointed to the row of stainless steel carafes against the wall.
Gray looked around the quiet room. Despite the open door and lights, it bore an empty, early morning hush that made him feel like an intruder. “Shouldn’t we wait for someone official to help us?”
Ella shoved the mug into his hands and gave a little push. “I’m not just a regular. I’m a lifer. Special privileges include serving myself, along with helping to name the new sandwich every January.”
The wet phffft of a loud raspberry sounded. “A privilege that should be revoked.”
Gray barely spared a glance over his shoulder at the blonde woman who hollered from the front door. He was too busy pumping his mug full.
“Casey, don’t start again,” said Ella. “Neither of our sandwich names were chosen this year. It’s pointless to keep carping about it four months after the fact.”
“Time hasn’t diluted how much it still annoys me. You’ve made stupid suggestions for three years running. Nobody wants to eat a sandwich called Delights of the Earth. Sounds like you’re trying to cram worms and mud down their throat.”
“It was a roasted portabello sandwich. You dig mushrooms up from the earth. And they’re delightful. You get it, don’t you?” Ella asked Gray as she cozied up next to him with her own mug.
“Strangers don’t get a vote. Not even when they’ve got a nice ass.”
Gray turned to face the woman with a rasp to her voice that made him think of cigar smoke floating across a shot of bourbon. She wore khaki green shorts that almost matched her mossy eyes, and a tan shirt with a Park Service patch on the arm. A long, blond braid lay just to the side of the badge on her chest.
“Well, introduce yourself and he
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