His eyes shined with zeal. “Oh, the red rocks are simply amazing! These sandstone rocks that have been beaten down for centuries…”
Slayer’s voice sort of faded out as he continued raving about the geological strata of eons. A great horned owl had just glided soundlessly over our heads so close I could’ve swore I felt the beat of its wings, maybe twenty feet up. I dove for my bike’s saddlebags, pissed that my birding binoculars were stuffed way down at the bottom. I hadn’t used them in weeks, and by the time I fumbled with them and put them to my eyes, of course the owl was long gone.
CHAPTER TWO
PIPPA
“Start low, go slow, that’s the motto.”
I nodded. I was drinking in every word of Lytton Driving Hawk’s training session.
“These are some low-dose options for edibles. Here are some Thick Mints, sort of a takeoff on the Girl Scout theme. They taste the same, with a peppermint hit that goes straight up your nostrils. Of course I can’t let you taste, or you’d be on the ground in an hour tasting everything. You’ll taste everything eventually. Just trust me. Here, smell one.”
I inhaled deeply of the chocolate-covered cookie. Believe you me, you didn’t need to swallow it to get a hit of potent THC. Of course, I hadn’t smoked in six months, not since moving to Pure and Easy. I wasn’t allowed to. But Pippa Lofting was going to get herself a medical marijuana card, for sure.
I said, “Overtones of coffee and maple syrup.”
The darkly handsome budtender smiled, surprised. “Have you worked in a club before?”
“No. That’s wine tasting lingo.”
“Oh, okay. That should stand you in good stead. There are some vineyards on the way up to our plantation on Mormon Mountain. Have you tasted any of our local wine?”
I really hadn’t had any wine in six months either. Way too afraid. “No, but I’d like to go tasting.”
“Where’d you say you live?”
I pointed, as if Lytton could see my tiny apartment. “Right up Bargain Boulevard a few blocks, above the indoor archery range.”
He nodded knowledgeably. “Above Slushy’s office.”
Slushy’s office? Was that some kind of juice bar? I was finding that in Pure and Easy many questions were best left unasked. I was fine with that.
Lytton said, “In fact, in honor of Slushy, we renamed this brownie. It was called Make Me Happy. Now it’s just Slushy’s Choice. Here, inhale. I’ll let you decide what it smells like.”
I breathed. “Well, chocolate, obviously. And…carob? Did you add carob?”
Lytton stood tall and proud. “Yes! Usually only old hippies remember what carob smells like. Or people who buy dog biscuits. What else?”
“Hm. Sort of a whiskey or a berry. Tart.”
“You got it. Blackberry liqueur. You’re going to be excellent at this, Pippa. Where’d you get your plant biology degree from?”
“Davis.” That was bullshit. My biochemistry degree was from Harvard. But if Lytton ever really pressed, I was sure my people could mock something up for him. I knew his doctorate in chemistry was from MIT, and his wife June had a master’s from Berkeley. At last, I was back with like-minded souls!
The guard at the door let a couple of new customers in. They went straight for the edibles where we stood, but I wasn’t allowed to sell yet. I needed more training. I’d used a cash register at the tux rental place on the way out of town, but that was the extent of my working with the public. I sort of disliked the public, to be honest. But I was thrilled to be invited to work at A Joint System. It was much more up my alley then renting out frilly shirts to pizza-faced boys.
“Shadow August here for an hour or so. I’ve got to meet someone for lunch,” said Lytton. He patted me on the shoulder. “You’re gonna do great.”
My hormones were disappointed when the impossibly tall, gangly yet muscular babe took off out the back door. I heaved a giant inner sigh and took my assigned spot next to the crazy-haired, roly-poly ganjier, August. Lytton was married, and besides, having a hookup was the last thing I should be thinking about these days.
Yet I did.