Purrfect Roast: A Dragon Cozy Mystery by Verena DeLuca (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📗

"I don't know who all is in your group, but I haven't seen any of my worst guests with you."

"Good," I said.

"Care to share a pool area horror story from this weekend?" Aubrey asked.

She was prying a bit more than I would have been comfortable with, but hopefully Mark was down to gossip. So far, he seemed excited to find a group of people that worked in customer service to trade horror stories with. Did Aubrey cross a line by asking for details so directly? He did not flinch at the question, so I relaxed into his answer as if I enjoyed the drama of it all.

"Well, I'm not going to name names," Mark said, getting quieter as he spoke, causing us all to lean in to hear him. "But this one group of ladies eats breakfast out here every morning and trashes the table they use. It's such a sticky mess to have to clean up. Sunbaked yogurt is horrid. I dare you to top that."

Aubrey held her hands up in defeat. "There is nothing that happens at the cafe worse than that. Yogurt and oatmeal have to be the two worst things to scrub off of surfaces."

Mark raised his eyebrows in question, surprised she had experienced the horror of yogurt.

"Kids," Aubrey said with a laugh. "The ultimate mess makers."

"Oh yeah," Mark said. "I have none of those, being an uncle is about as close as I want to get right now."

"Here, here," I said, automatically putting my hand up for a high-five which he accepted with more enthusiasm than I anticipated.

"Come on, y'all," Aubrey said. "They aren't all bad."

"That's why I'm glad you have them," I said. "Here for the spoiling, not the rearing."

I gave her a wink and looked over at the cats laying beneath a lounge chair.

"Besides," I said. "I have Azure, and he is moody enough for me."

"I've got a huskie," Mark said. "He has enough energy for a couple of kids."

We all laughed, and I realized he had finished with his work.

"You wouldn't happen to know if those ladies were here this morning from six to nine, would you?" Aubrey asked.

With each question she asked him, I was blown away by the nonchalant tone in her voice. Like she was talking to a coworker, or a friend.

"I did my first round when I got here at eight, and they were at that table," he pointed to the one furthest from the door, "So I would bet before seven based on how far into their food they were. They were gone by the time I came back around to clean up at nine."

"Well, it was great to meet you, Mark," I said. "Stay strong, the weekend's almost over."

"Enjoy the rest of your stay," he said with a smile. "Hope they find those trophies."

"Oh right, sorry to take you away from your work," Aubrey said.

"No worries," Mark said and waved her off. "Thanks for the laugh."

We waved as he pushed his cart back inside, and we headed over to the chairs the cats chose. It was unfortunate that two of the five chairs they laid next to were occupied by women sunning themselves. It would be nice to not be able to discuss the missing trophies, if only for a little while. I took a seat closest to the ladies, while Skylar and Aubrey laid in the other two open chairs.

It felt weird being away from the cafe for an entire weekend. I could not remember the last time I took a legitimate vacation. Had to have been well before Tona died. Living without her was probably the hardest thing I had faced yet in my short thirty-two years.

Was I making her proud? Is this the path she wanted for me, and the cafe?

What I would give for just one more conversation with her. She would have loved the drama of the trophy theft, and thrilled to be knee-deep in the gossip of it all. Not because she loved gossiping. But due to the way her extroverted personality shined in moments of strife. The way she took control of situations inspired me daily. I could only dream of being as strong-willed and assertive as she was.

"All I am saying is the next time you decide to pull a stunt like that, you need to let us know. We shouldn't be expected to cover for you because you're trying to prove a point."

The woman next to me spoke out of nowhere bringing me out of my thoughts. I peaked at her, and neither of them moved. Sunglasses still covered their eyes, while they soaked up the sun. She sounded livid, and I was a tad curious if she knew we had laid down next to her. None of us had spoken a word since sitting down.

Could this be about the trophies?

"I'm sorry, okay," the other woman said. "I wasn't thinking. I apologized, let's just drop it."

The sass was strong with this one.

"If only it was that easy." The first woman took a long pause that left me feeling like they were done talking before continuing. "What you don't seem to comprehend is the fact that you have embarrassed us. Possibly tarnished our name, and all you can think about still, is yourself. This isn't going to be dropped until the whole story comes out, and everyone is satisfied with the punishment."

"Punishment," the second woman cackled. "Oh please, you are too much. What, am I going to be banned from a few meetings? Big deal, Joy. Maybe pull that stick—"

"Hadley! Watch your mouth," Joy said. "This is bigger than a few missed meetings. You stole from us, the organization, and who knows who else. I'm going to have to report you. Don't you get that?"

"You do you," Hadley said. "Everything I did was for a reason. Just because you don't understand it, doesn't make it wrong."

"It's not about understanding. There is nothing to understand about theft."

This had to be about the trophies. What else could it be? What