I pulled my phone out and opened my chat with Josh.
ME: Did you know Grandma isn’t happy here?
He replied quickly.
JOSH: No. She didn’t mention it.
ME: I’m with her now and she’s miserable. She says the rooster keeps waking her up every morning and she can’t have the flowerbed she wants because the birds will eat them.
JOSH: That’s absurd. They can get a run for the birds, can’t they? Fence them in.
ME: I don’t think Mabel will allow it. It sounds like she’s running roughshod over everything in the outdoor area. Grandma loves gardening and she can’t do it.
JOSH: Hm. What do we do?
ME: Meet me at the bakery? I’ll feed you.
JOSH: On my way.
***
“Why are we going to the bookstore?” Josh asked, adjusting his grip on the bag full of baked goods I’d swiped from behind the counter.
“Because we all have grandparents at the senior center and if Grandma is unhappy, the others might be, too.”
“Oh. Makes sense.”
I pushed the bookstore door open and froze. Maverick was sitting at one of the tables at the front of the store with headphones on, typing furiously at a robust-looking laptop with a little alien face on the on the lid.
What was he doing in here?
Holley popped up from behind the counter. “I smell food.”
“Remarkable,” I said. “Are Saylor and Kinsley here? And what’s he doing here?” I nodded in Maverick’s direction.
“Who is it?” asked Josh. “Oh, wait, is he that author guy?”
Holley nodded. “Maverick Donovan. His neighbors at his apartment play music loud pretty much all the time, so he’s hanging out here to work. This is the second day, and he brings coffee and snacks so I don’t mind. I actually forgot he was there,” she finished in an amused tone.
“Oh. Right. Why doesn’t he just stay at the bakery?”
“Well, yesterday you’d already spent the whole morning together and he didn’t want to bother you by going back, and today he stopped by to get some food but you weren’t there.”
“I was with the seniors,” I replied, glancing over at Maverick. He had no idea we were here, and his fingers were flying across the keyboard at a breakneck pace.
I was jealous.
Was he even looking at the keys?
“Are Say and Kins here?” I asked again, dragging my attention back from Maverick.
“They just ran out. Why? And are there pastries in that bag?”
Josh nodded.
“Good, I’m starving. I skipped lunch. What’s wrong?”
“Has your grandma said anything about the retirement home lately?”
Holley rounded the counter, frowning. “Just her usual bitching and whining about everyone and everything. Why? Is something going on over there?”
“There’s always something going on over there,” Josh muttered.
“Amen,” Holley added. “Here, sit. What’s going on?”
Josh set the bag on the table, and I was about to open my mouth to recant the conversation I’d had with Grandma this morning, but Maverick looked up at the motion. His face broke into a bright grin, and he pulled his headphones down to hang around his neck.
“Hey.”
“Hey, sorry. Did we disturb you?” I grimaced.
“Nah, it’s fine. I need a break anyway.” He smiled, but it dropped a little when he looked at my brother.
I turned to Josh. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at Maverick, and I punched him. “Don’t be so rude.”
Holley fought a laugh.
“Ignore him,” I said to Maverick. “He’s an idiot. Josh, this is Maverick. Mav, meet my big brother.”
“Oh, of course. Hey. Nice to meet you.”
Josh grunted. “Yeah.”
I punched him again. Harder this time. “You’re being a dick. Stop it.”
“Let’s pull it back,” Holley interjected, emptying the bag of all the food I’d smuggled over. “What’s going on with the seniors?”
I quickly explained what Grandma had told me, then sighed and pulled a slice of chocolate cake toward me. I rarely indulged in cake for frivolous means given that I spent so much of my time actually baking them, but today felt like a cake day.
“Wow.” Holley frowned. “That’s… unfair. If the rooster is upsetting them, they should have to get rid of it. There are, what… Thirty-five seniors? Yeah?”
“Probably about right,” Josh said. “Plus they’re looking to get planning permission for an extension for another ten rooms. We quoted them last month.”
“And the problem is that Mabel and Agatha keep letting the hens sit on eggs, so they’re hatching them, and you know as well as I do that Agatha won’t let them get rid of any of the hatched birds.”
“This place sounds like somewhere right out of a book,” Maverick said after a moment of silence. “Sorry, I don’t mean to butt in, but that’s wild.”
“You’re telling us,” I muttered. “Try being there when there’s a party. They’re out of control.”
“Do you think they’ll let her move rooms?” Josh asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “I feel so bad. I thought she was happy.”
“Thought who was happy?” Saylor appeared from out of nowhere with Kinsley behind her.