Page 19

Chapter 19

Wyatt

T oday might be the first day since starting Shred and Tread that I don’t want to go to work. Looking at Moxie asleep this morning, I want to make her breakfast and spend the day together as if she were my real girlfriend. It sure as hell feels like she is after everything we did last night, but it’s not a question I'm about to ask her in case it sends her running.

I know Hannah’s suggestion that Moxie and I move in together wasn’t serious, but it hasn’t scared me. I’d do it without hesitation if Moxie were comfortable with it, but she’s miles from there. Light years, probably.

I gave Noah my word that I’d be in today to do inventory. Since he’s been wound as tight as a stripped screw lately, I sadly left Moxie dreaming with a note on her nightstand and took a rideshare to work.

As I step on the sidewalk, I’m hit with the dizzying aromas of cinnamon and blueberry that instantly get my mouth watering from Penny’s bakery.

“Hey, Wyatt. Nice to see you this morning. You want some muffins?” Penny is God’s gift to my sweet tooth. She opened the most popular bakery in our city of Tufton about the same time we opened Shred and Tread. I confess, I’m hooked.

“Absolutely. I’ll take a blueberry muffin and a cinnamon roll for Noah.” I follow her into her store. “It seems like you’re busier than ever.”

“It’s been going great. I’ve had to hire a couple extra people to work the counter.”

“That’s terrific. You’ve earned this. Your food is fantastic.” I’m proud of her success.

“It’s actually becoming a problem because I’m running out of room. I have to keep more supplies on hand and we’re adding another display case. I think we’re going to need a new refrigerator and… I don’t know. It’s happening so fast,” she says with an anxious smile.

“It’s a good problem to have, right?” Noah would love this kind of issue.

“I just don’t want to have to move. I like this location. I’d miss you and Noah.” As she hands me my purchase, two people come in. “Here you go, have a good day!” I don’t want her to move either. I can’t imagine the street without her and her bakery.

“Thanks. Hang in there.”

I walk next door to our much quieter storefront, grinning at the sign and feeling pride every day in everything we’ve accomplished.

Noah gives me a nod while holding up his finger as he talks on his phone. I take my muffin out of the bag and put his cinnamon roll on his desk.

He shakes his head in exasperation as his focus returns to the caller. He spins his chair and scratches the back of his head. “Yes, sir. I understand. We’ll take care of that by the end of the month. Thanks again for working with us on this.”

He hangs up, sags into his chair, and rubs his face.

“I got your favorite.” I’m glad he deals with the day-to-day office headaches and I get to do the tours.

“Thanks. This is just what I need. Penny’s got skills.” His mood improves as he bites into his breakfast.

“I know. She says she’s running out of space next door. She’s afraid she might have to move to a bigger space.”

“Can you imagine? I’d be back to granola bars for breakfast.” Noah’s tone is joking, but he’s got worry lines etched across his face.

“Is everything okay? You seem stressed.” It’s been a little while since I’ve spent a day at the office, and I notice that Noah’s desk is unusually messy. Dark circles ring his eyes.

“I haven’t been sleeping great. There’s a lot going on at home, and I’m kind of worried about things here.” Noah paces around the storefront, running his hands along the stacks of t-shirts.

I study him, “You said Mindy had a honey-do list; I can come over and help you knock some of them out if you want.”

Noah shakes his head. “I appreciate that. I just want to make sure business stays busy and everything.”

I get up and grab the stress ball off his desk. “You put too much pressure on yourself. You said you had some concerns, so let’s talk about it. My gut is that you’re stressing too much, but show me what you’ve got. I’m here for you, man. You know that, right?”

Noah gives me a half smile that almost looks sad. “Yeah, yeah. We’re a team. You said you’re going to do the inventory today, and then I think we need to go over some of the numbers here.”

I hate numbers. Noah seems to live for them and puts them in these elaborate spreadsheets with percentages, ROIs, expenses, and all the things that make my head spin. I think a shudder actually runs through me.

“You know you tend to overanalyze every tiny detail, so try to chill. Maybe you and Mindy need a date night and to get yourself laid. Look at me. Do I look stressed?” I spread my arms and spin.

Noah rolls his eyes. “I take it you and Moxie hooked up?”

I plop down in a chair next to his desk, images of last night rolling through my head.

Noah interrupts me, “Uh, oh.” He sits down in his chair and eyes me.

“Even with everything she’s witnessed with my parents, she’s still giving me a chance. You know my parents, that’s saying a lot. She’s the best.” My heart is shouting that she could be the one, but I’m not about to say that. He’d give me so much shit.

“It’s only been a couple weeks. You’ve been on two dates, but you already know she’s perfect?”

I glare at him. “When you know, you know.”

Noah shakes his head, holding his hands up. “I’m happy for you, but don’t move too quickly. I don’t want you to scare her off before you really get to know her. I can’t afford to have you check out because you’re heart-broken.”

“I have no choice but to move slowly. Remember, she thinks we’re fake dating. Hannah was trying to use this dating situation to end the feud with our parents.” I let out a heavy sigh in frustration.

“I forgot about Hannah’s eternal optimism. How’s it going?” he asks.

“Not great.”

“I thought it was ambitious.”

“I thought so too, but I had ulterior motives to try and make it work. You saw my mom flip out about going to the casino, and they’re already revving up to have the great hot tub war of Tifton. Then the three of us show up to our moms’ goat yoga class hoping Hannah’s mom would see we were all cool with this hoping they would let it all go.”

Noah stops what he’s doing and looks at me quizzically. “It’s kind of amazing that Hollywood hasn’t found your parents and their friends yet. If a director set up cameras in their neighborhood, they’d have a hit reality show.” Noah laughs and bounces the basketball that we keep back here for sanity breaks.

“Don’t ever tell them that. It’d go to their heads.”

An hour later, I’m tired but the inventory is done. I pull up a chair next to Noah and toss the completed storage log on his desk. “What’s going on with those fancy spreadsheets of yours?”

I look at his screen and do my best to pay attention while he walks through it, but I’m not sure I grasp the whole picture. Numbers tend to jumble together on the page for me, and he has this worksheet with columns of numbers that appear to have dire implications to Noah but just seem like innocent digits to me.

“Do you see why I’m concerned?” Noah sounds nervous but I honestly don’t get it.

“I see the numbers in this section look a bit lower, but it doesn’t seem too terrible. I told you I was thinking about an overnight hike. I think there would be a lot of interest in something like that. It could help bring in more customers.”

My phone chirps with an incoming text. I don’t want to look at it because Noah is clearly stressed out, but eagerness to hear from Moxie wins out. Damn, it’s not even from her.

My thoughts are interrupted by a heavy sigh as Noah plops in his chair. “Let me guess. That’s a text from her.” He doesn’t look happy, and I’m momentarily confused.

“Uh, no. Sorry.” I smile sheepishly.

“Look, an overnight hike isn’t the answer. I thought the Expo was going to boost our numbers, but we didn’t get as much of a spike in bookings as I hoped.”

I shove my hand through my hair while my other hand grasps my phone. My eyes cross as I take in the chart that Noah has on the page. I want to understand, but the more I try to focus, the more my head spins. “I need a little time for this to sink in.”

“Okay, I can see I’ve lost you for today, but we need to have a real conversation about the business at some point.” He waves his hand at his color-coded graph. “Until then, focus on cutting costs and increasing revenue. We can’t spend money on tents and cooking supplies for an overnight hike right now. Don’t even consider any hikes, camps, or new trips. I need your word, Wyatt.”

“You’ve got it, boss. We’re going to be okay, right?” My stomach roils as I expose a little of my fear to my best friend. I may not understand everything that the numbers translate to, and he does tend to stress too much, but I don’t want him to worry.

His smile slides off his face as he studies me. All joking aside, he seriously considers my question. A patient smile eases on his face as he tosses his stress ball to me once again.

“It isn’t going to be easy, but it seems like we’re heading in the right direction. Now get out there and get us a few more customers. And remember, nothing new until our rafts are full.”