Stepping behind her, Chris wrapped his arms around her upper chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. Instantly, she relaxed.
“Why does it stink in here?” Chris’s chin pressed into her head as he spoke. Once he mentioned it, Daisy noticed the stench of body-odor underlying the more pleasant coffee scent filling the shop.
Lou beamed. “Smelly Jim is back! I’ve been really worried that something had happened to him, but Jim said he’s been, in his words, ‘lying low’ until things settled down here. I tried to give him money, to thank him for pulling me and Callum out of the reservoir, but he wouldn’t take it. I finally got him to agree to me buying him anything he wants from here. It seems like such a small thing for saving our lives, but he’s happy, so I’ll quit bugging him about having a parade in his honor. Sorry, Daisy! I’m talking way too much again, but I’m just excited that Smelly Jim’s okay. Drink?”
“Not to be boring, but just a regular coffee, please.”
“Good choice,” Chris said.
Lou grabbed a cup. “And you could never be boring.”
“I wouldn’t mind a little boring for a while,” Daisy admitted, tracing the edge of the counter with her thumb. “Just going to the grocery store is plenty of excitement for me.”
“Even though I must admit that I miss the whiteboard”—Lou handed her the coffee—“I have to agree with you. Summer’s coming, and that means more people on the reservoirs, which means more calls for us. Being on the dive team is enough of a wild ride without throwing arsons and murders into the mix.”
Taking a sip of her coffee, Daisy just made a wordless sound of agreement.
“And what’s your beverage of choice, Deputy Chris?” Leaning over the counter, Lou examined him closely. “Your face of many colors is healing up nicely. The bruises have faded to a kind of sickly yellow.” Lou looked back and forth between Chris and Daisy. “You two match. It’s cute, in a damaged kind of way.”
He snorted a laugh. “Thank you, I think. And I’ll have what she’s having.” His chin dug into her scalp again. She didn’t mind the pressure. In fact, it was reassuring to be surrounded by Chris.
“So…” As she poured Chris’s coffee, Lou looked over her shoulder at Daisy, who was equal parts impressed and worried about her careless handling of a hot beverage. “What’s the plan, now that you’re out and about?”
Her stomach churned at the question, but it wasn’t a bad mix of emotions. There was fear, but also excitement and anticipation. “I’m thinking about opening a gym. A real one, not just the one in my house.”
Thrusting the cup in Chris’s direction, Lou grinned. “That would be awesome! This town desperately needs something like that—as you know from all the people who pile into your training room on a regular basis.”
“My dad never let me pay rent, so I have some money saved.” Daisy felt Chris release her and shift away so he could drink his coffee, but she’d calmed enough to not need her safety blanket wrapped around her anymore. The conversation was distracting her, too, and talking about her plans out loud was making her even more enthusiastic about the idea. “I thought I could focus on the self-defense aspect—like boxing, MMA, and Krav Maga—but have some other classes, too, for the…well, less violence-inclined.”
“Belly, the coroner, used to teach yoga.” Ellie slid onto the next stool over, grinning at Daisy’s surprised look. “You must not have heard me come in. Lou makes enough noise to drown out the bells on the door.” Laughing, she ducked the cardboard cozy that Lou chucked at her head, reaching up to catch it. “Thanks, Lou. Just don’t do that with my latte.”
Turning to grab a cup off the stack, Lou asked, “What was that about Belly and yoga? Those two don’t seem to fit together.”
“She used to teach it. When she was in the store the other day, she mentioned it.” Turning to Daisy, Ellie said, “I think she misses it. I bet you could recruit her.”
“Yoga.” After considering the idea for a moment, Daisy nodded. “That’d be good, especially for these muscle-bound guys.” She rotated on her stool so she could squeeze Chris’s biceps. Grinning, he obediently flexed. “Need to keep them flexible.”
For some reason, that sent Lou and Ellie into a giggle-fest. “Flexible is good,” Lou said, once she could speak again.
“I’m feeling a little too testosterone-heavy to be a part of this conversation.” Chris bent and pressed a kiss to the top of Daisy’s head. “I’m going to run a couple of errands.” He gave her a questioning look, and she nodded, answering his unspoken question of whether she’d be okay without him for a little while.
The other customers had busied themselves with their phones and conversations, so she was feeling less like a zoo exhibit and more like a normal woman having coffee with her friends.