Page 31 of Deadly Storms (Sunrise Lake #3)

Trail crews camped in Yosemite, and oftentimes supplies were brought to them.

Rehabilitating the trails took time and a tremendous amount of work.

The distances were long, so it made sense that the crews stayed in camps until they had days off.

Many of the young men and women working on the trails came back each summer.

All of them had a love of the outdoors and a passion for maintaining the beauty and nature of the Sierra.

Shabina had met most of them. Often, before they went to Yosemite to camp for weeks on end, they would drop by the café, laughingly calling out to her that they were eating their last great meal for a long time.

They usually ordered double portions in order to pack another dinner with them to eat later.

She missed the laughter and good-natured camaraderie of the younger crowd before they made their way to their campgrounds. She needed their joy and upbeat personalities in her café after the long night she’d had with no sleep.

Not only did she have to worry that Bale was setting her up as a murderer, but she had to worry that if he wasn’t, he planned on killing her dogs and burning down her beloved café.

She had no idea who the fake Interpol agents were, but she was afraid they were trying to uncover Rainier’s identity.

She didn’t know for who or why. Then there was Scorpion.

Did he have spies watching her every move?

She looked around the large room. It wasn’t that the café was empty, in fact, it was absolutely full and had been since she’d opened, but there seemed to be mostly tourists, and she was so paranoid she could barely function, let alone talk to strangers as if nothing were wrong.

It was her way to go to each table and welcome everyone, to ensure they enjoyed their meal.

It was part of the experience in her café.

She just wasn’t able to do that and hadn’t during the first shift either.

She knew Vaughn had noticed because it was so out of the ordinary for her.

They’d cleared quite a few tables, making room for customers who had been waiting in line. She was grateful these would be the last ones before closing. She wanted to take the dogs and go running, get away from everyone. Not think about who in her café might have betrayed her.

She’d gone over the inventory in the kitchen when she’d first arrived to get the baking done before opening.

It should have been impossible to tell if someone had just taken a pinch or two of her spices and a few dates, but they’d been in a hurry and had used the same cup to dip into each marked bin, transferring spices from one bin to the next.

Two of her special dates had been dropped on the floor.

The thief had been in a hurry and was afraid of getting caught.

In their haste, they hadn’t been very stealthy.

She’d taken photographs and sent them to Raine before cleaning up the mess. Vaughn came in before the rest of her staff, the way he always did, cheerful and excited to start the day. She couldn’t imagine that he would be the thief, not after all he’d done to help her make a success out of the café.

Raine had texted back one word. Fingerprints. Shabina didn’t want to think about pressing charges against one of her staff.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, Shabina?” Vaughn asked. He took the two plates of food right out of her hand. “I’ll take these to the table for you. I’ve never seen you like this before. Are you sick?”

That would be such a perfect excuse, but if she was sick, she had no business being in the café where she could expose her customers. She shook her head. “I promise to tell you about it later. I don’t want anyone else to overhear us.”

Vaughn had been a big part of her café since the very beginning. He’d sacrificed right along with her. She was certain he wasn’t involved in a conspiracy against her. She couldn’t allow herself to become so paranoid she became suspicious of all her friends.

Sean came in with Edward, and Chelsey sat them at one of the tables with the best views.

Patsy was sure to have a word with her. It wasn’t Chelsey’s job to hostess.

She worked the outside patio with Nellie.

Patsy or Tyrone seated the customers. Shabina found herself watching Chelsey’s interaction with Sean and Edward.

She was very flirtatious, touching Sean on the shoulder, giggling like a schoolgirl and leaning in to whisper to him.

When the young waitress moved away, light spilled through the window onto Sean’s face. Shabina’s breath caught in her throat. Sean had a black eye. There was no getting around it: the eye was swollen and bruised. His lower lip was split. Sean didn’t seem to care if anyone saw it either.

Shabina immediately came to the conclusion that Sean had been the one to get into a physical fight with Bale.

Her gaze followed Chelsey speculatively.

Was he dating her waitress? Or at least acting interested in her, so interested that she might do a favor for him, such as get a few pinches of spice out of Shabina’s kitchen?

Would Chelsey do that? When she’d applied for the job as waitress, during the interview she’d confessed she was desperate and living in her car.

She’d had no money left and didn’t want to return home.

She had implied it was a very bad situation there.

It didn’t exactly follow that Chelsey would show Shabina loyalty over a man she hoped to date just because Shabina had given her a job and found her a safe place to live.

Shabina knew people were flawed. She was flawed.

She couldn’t expect everyone else to be perfect when she was well aware it was impossible, but she valued loyalty.

She didn’t like to think her judgment had been so skewed.

Tyrone, Shabina’s head waiter, seated three women who had been on the bird-watching tour, Val Johnson, Janine Hale and Theresa Nelson, two rows over from Sean and Edward.

The women waved at her in excitement. There was no getting around the fact that she was going to have to speak with them.

Ordinarily, she would have enjoyed a follow-up visit, but just moving seemed to be difficult, let alone forcing conversation.

Truthfully, she didn’t want to move around the café and call attention to herself, not with Sean and Edward in the building.

She didn’t have the energy to put up with any harassment from either of them.

She might fall on the floor in a pitiful heap and cry in front of everyone.

If she did that, she’d never be able to face her customers again.

She waved back to the women, plastering a smile on her face, and when they indicated for her to come over, she took water glasses and set them on their table. “What a lovely surprise,” she greeted.

Janine glanced across the room toward the table where Sean and Edward were seated.

“Edward raved about the food here. He said we shouldn’t miss it.

Stella told us the best dancing was at a place called the Grill, and when we asked Edward about it, he said not only was the dancing fun, but they served good food as well. ”

Shabina was shocked to hear that Edward had recommended her café. He came there often to eat breakfast. Most of the locals did. But she hadn’t thought he would ever recommend the Sunrise Café to tourists.

“Stella said your café was the best as well,” Val agreed.

“We thought it would be fun to spend a few days in Knightly and do many of the fun things Stella had in her brochures. We booked at the local hotel. We’re going to do a tour of the brewery.

I’m not so much into beer, but Theresa really likes it. ”

Janine glanced across the room toward the table where Sean and Edward were seated.

Shabina was surprised to see she was looking at Edward with interest not Sean.

Sean was undoubtedly handsome. His job as a Fish and Wildlife officer gave him status.

Edward rarely spoke when Sean and Bale were around.

He faded into the background. He had zero social skills; in fact, Shabina was certain he fought a stutter on occasion.

He certainly wasn’t a ladies’ man, yet there was no doubt Janine had her eye on Edward.

“I hope you really enjoy yourselves. The brewery is fun to see, and I understand the beer is amazing. As for the Grill, my friends and I go there often to dance. It’s our favorite. If you have any questions about the menu, let me know or get Tyrone’s attention. He can help you too.”

The three women nodded, and Shabina moved away from their table, avoiding Sean’s and Edward’s gazes. The Myers family, Oscar, Leslie and their two teenage daughters, Pamela and Cindy, were seated two tables down from the three women from Washington. She paused to greet them.

“The girls and I are very excited,” Leslie said, handing Shabina a brochure that Stella customarily left in all the cabins at Sunrise Lake. “A pottery class. I’ve always wanted to take one and this is a beginning class.”

Shabina knew Tom and Judy Rosewood, an older couple, had a gift shop.

They sold pottery, embroidered hats that were sought after and a few of Harlow’s sculptures.

The couple were beloved in Knightly. Although in their seventies, they were extremely active.

She knew they occasionally gave pottery classes.

“You’ll love Tom and Judy. Everyone does.

And they’re very, very good at their craft.

If you get the chance, pick up one of their embroidered baseball hats.

They’re only sold here in Knightly, and everyone who sees them wants one.

It’s a very exclusive item. They might not have any at the moment if you don’t see them,” she advised, handing back the brochure.