Page 43 of Mountain Bean Dream

I looked back at Elliot, who was focused on his laptop, his face lit faintly by the screen. He wasn’t pushing me. He never pushed. But maybe—just maybe—I needed someone to. Or maybe I needed to push myself.

Chapter Fourteen

As an actor, everything had been dictated to me or handled for me, like when I needed to be on set, or if a bill was to be paid, someone took care of it. Sometimes it was hard to stand up for myself, and if I did, it wasn’t always the right time to do so. Was this one of them?

I took my chances.

“I think I should be able to return on Sunday.” I squared my shoulders.

“Excellent. Seven to one it is.” Elliot rose and tucked his chair back under the other table.

Wow, that was easy. “Thank you.”

Sage lingered. “About your hair?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m working until four tomorrow, but I can come to you, if that’s easier. I don’t mind.”

“Honestly, that would be great. Saves me a couple of hours of walking time.” Since I knew I wasn’t going to be able to safely drive just yet. “I’d appreciate that a latte.” I winked and laughed.

“I can’t espresso how much that beans to me.” She grinned and tipped her head back. “It never gets old.”

My gaze flipped to Jeremy, who judging by his one raised brow expression, didn’t feel the same as Sage.

“You live at Riverside Motel, right?” she asked.

“Yep. Room 16.”

“Perfect. I’ll be there by four-ten.”

“Thank you, Sage. I truly do appreciate it.”

She rose, said goodbye to Elliot, and headed out the door.

“Everything works out as it’s meant to be,” Jeremy said, after setting down his mug.

“You believe that?”

“Trying to.” He tapped the pencil on the crossword as he cocked his brow. “Hey, it’s a sign. Two words. Ten letters. The Mandolarian’s ship. That’s a Star Wars spin-off, isn’t it?”

“You’ve never watched? Baby Yoda was all the rage for a while.”

“Oh, is that where that came from? Hmmph.” The tip of the pencil tapped the crossword. “There’s an ‘A’ in the second spot.” He turned it so it was sideways and we both could look.

I leaned over the table and looked at the crossword. In my head, the ship was clear, but what was it called? “Oh! Razor Crest.” The letters filled in the space perfectly. “You really should do some research on that show. It may come up in the trivia tomorrow night.”

“Touche!”

Over the next half hour, we drank our coffees, ate our donuts, put our heads together, and nearly finished the crossword. He was really smart and nailed most of the answers, whereas I only managed to figure out the show business hints.

“You really need to work on your pop culture.” I nudged him.

“Why when I have you?” The words were just as a bit of a surprise to him as they were to me. Quickly, he folded the paper and tucked it inside his coat pocket. “I need to go before I’m late. I’ll meet you outside the school at 11:45?”

“Yeah.”

“See you.” Without another word, he marched out of the coffee shop and turned left toward the school.