Not that Michael went. He’d avoided all festivals until he’d been forced to follow Nell to one. Lucy had been there, and he’d spent much of the night following her around and helping her out.
It had been one of the best nights he’d had in a long time. And then Henry had come home and Michael had gone back to his corner.
“Do you want the usual?” Shannon asked.
He grunted his assent, and she turned to walk away.
“Ooo, Shannon, I’ll take a Denver omelet, some home fries, and bacon,” a familiar voice said. “Oh, and are there cinnamon rolls left?”
Shannon shook her head. “Sheriff’s already been in. He said Gemma’s got her monthly, and he needs to feed the beast. I would say that’s sexist but Gemma’s got anger issues on a regular basis, much less when her uterus is cramping. Chocolate doesn’t do it for her. It’s cinnamon and sugar. If you want breakfast dessert, you’re going to have to settle for an apple fritter.”
“That works.” Ty gave her a smile that showed off brilliantly white teeth. “Oh, and Lucy is taking notes for the Winter Festival committee but they’re not actually paying for her breakfast, so she’s going to tell you she’s not hungry. She is. She’ll take a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes and some crispy bacon. Send the check to me but tell her it’s one of those pay it forward things. Unless the big guy here wants to take it. Are we going to split the bill for feeding her? You should think about it. She can eat more than you think.”
Why had he said yes? He felt like a dumbass sitting there with Shannon watching him like it was a completely normal question between two men. Who was feeding their almost shared girlfriend today? “Uh, yeah. I’ll take care of it.”
Ty shrugged out of his big coat and hung it on the hook on his side of the booth. Michael had taken the one at the very back where he could look out over the rest of the café.
“Excellent.” Ty slid in across from him. “See, this is money saving, too. Go team. I’ve decided to call us Tychael. I think that’s better than Myler.”
“No.” He was a little horrified. He’d thought Ty would be some bubble-brained idiot who only thought about sex and parties. It was so much worse.
“You want to go with Myler?” Ty asked with a frown.
“We are not some celebrity couple. We’re two guys who have very little in common except we both want the same woman. We’re leaving it there. There’s no mystical connection here.”
“Okay. We can play this cool, but I had a night to think about it and the pros of this whole partnership thing outweigh the cons. Like the money thing. She really can eat, and she won’t if she doesn’t have the cash, so we have to be sneaky.”
“She works a lot. Where is the money going?” One part of this partnership that would work in his favor was the fact that Ty could answer some questions about Lucy. He happened to know Trio paid its staff well, and Lucy raked in the tips. She also did short-term jobs. She was always hustling.
Always looking for cash. Like Jessie.
“Her siblings. She stayed at home as long as she could, but she and her dad’s girlfriend at the time didn’t get along. So she moved here to the valley. She stayed in a rental for a while and then moved into River’s when she left. I’m not sure what she’s planning if the job at the lodge doesn’t work out. I hope she doesn’t go back to that dingy rental. I happen to know her former roommate hasn’t found a replacement yet. She runs the quilt shop during the day and at night she mostly prays. She prays for Lucy a lot. The only person she prays for more is me, and I find it quite insulting. I’m not that bad.”
The thought of Lucy’s roommate praying God forgave Ty for his multitudinous sins was kind of funny. But he didn’t like the thought of Lucy feeling shamed by anyone. “Why would she need to pray for Lucy?”
“Oh, Susie Jean prays for everyone. I mean that girl has to have a direct line to the All Mighty. She prays for Lucy because she works in a den of iniquity. I think that’s Trio, and it’s because of the quantity of beer served there and the chipotle wings. Beer makes men crazy and chipotle wings give them heartburn. Both are looked down on by the lord. I try not to tell her that I’ve seen our local pastor at Trio indulging in both. But Susie Jean also prays that Lucy’s car works, so she’s an all-encompassing prayer person. You ever need thoughts and prayers, she will give them to you by the bucketful. And as for your other question, Lucy pays for all kinds of things for her sisters. I’m worried when they graduate, she’s going to work herself to death to try to put them through college. One of her brothers got a football scholarship that paid for most of his four years. The other went to trade school and is deep into an apprenticeship. They help her out as much as they can, but they have classes.”