Page 28 of From the Start

I stand. “Thanks.”

“I can handle it.”

“You’re the only person behind the bar this afternoon. I need you there.”

“Okay,” she agrees but she looks like I kicked her puppy.

I frown as she leaves. Sloane wants more responsibility but every time I give it to her, she flakes on me. The last time she said she’d open up early for a delivery of new glassware, she ‘forgot’ about it and I ended up taking delivery in my pajamas. Not my finest moment.

I make my way to the rear entrance and open the door.

“Hey,” I greet Chloe. “I didn’t expect you.”

Chloe is the bar and restaurant manager forFive Fathoms Brewing,the local brewery on Smuggler’s Hideaway. I exclusively stockFive Fathomsbeer. Not only do I want to support a local company – especially one owned and operated by five women – but their beer is fantastic.

“I volunteered.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You volunteered or you were volunteered?”

Her nose wrinkles. “What’s the difference?”

“The difference is I need to know what you did.”

She rolls her eyes. “No one can handle a joke anymore.”

“What did you do?”

“I may have dressed up as a mermaid ghost and haunted the brewery.”

“What happened?”

“Blossom screamed and went running. Straight into Paisley, who fell.”

I gasp. Paisley’s pregnant. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Doesn’t have a scratch on her, but Eli went overprotective future girl daddy on me.”

“Girl daddy? Is Paisley having a girl?”

“Crap on a mermaid cracker. I’m not supposed to tell.”

I zip my lips. “I don’t have anyone to tell.”

She snorts. “You have an entire bar of patrons you can spill the beans to.”

“You’re confused. It’s my job to learn the secrets of the island from my patrons. Not the other way around.”

The driver saunters toward me with a clipboard. “Here you go.”

He hands me the clipboard but my phone rings before I have a chance to look at it. “Excuse me.”

“Hi Jade,” I greet my neighbor. “Please tell me Dad isn’t watering your flowers with his urine again.”

“Oh, honey.”

My heart stops at the sympathy clear to hear in her voice. “What’s wrong? What happened? Is Dad okay?”

“You need to come home.”