I’m just heading back to the cash register when the door opens and Teller comes in carrying a few boxes.
“‘Morning, Sutton,” he says with a smile and I can’t help but smile back at him. “How did you sleep?”
“Pretty good, actually.”
He sets the boxes down by the front counter and then rolls his shoulders out. He’s wearing a navy blue T-shirt today with the Mystery Cabin on the front and Staff written across his back. The material stretches tight across his chest and around his biceps. The sight has butterflies taking flight in my stomach.
“Stan wanted me to have you stock this stuff. We usually aren’t busy until later in the morning so it should give you something to do.”
“Sounds good,” I tell him as I open up the first box.
“The first tour starts in fifteen minutes and it usually takes thirty to forty minutes for them to go through so they shouldn’t be in the gift shop until closer to ten.”
“Okay,” I say as I glance at the clock hanging above the door. “Hey, I forgot to ask yesterday, but what exactly do you do here?”
“I’m the handyman,” he says. “I fix up the attractions and the Cabin and then help with the zip line and the miniature golf course when Lyla isn’t working.”
“Who’s Lyla?”
“She works in the gift shop here too. Today is her day off but she’ll be in tomorrow,” Teller says as Stan yells for him from the next room. “I’ll be around if you need help with anything. There’s a walkie-talkie on the shelf under the register. Just radio if you need me.”
I give him a grateful smile as he turns and heads off to find my great-uncle. I notice that he’s opening a fortune cookie as he goes and I wonder what the deal is with him and fortune cookies.
I get to work on stocking and I’m surprised when forty minutes have passed and the first crowd of tourists comes in the door. I was able to hear part of Stan’s speech to them as they passed by outside the door.
He’s good at this. He was so light and charming with them and it was weird to hear him putting people at ease when he hasn’t made such an effort with me.
There aren’t that many people in the first group and it only takes them twenty minutes to all look around and then check out. I wave goodbye to them and get back to stocking, doing that two more times before Teller comes back into the gift shop.
“Hey, I’m here to relieve you for your lunch break.”
“Oh, thank god. I’m starving.”
He chuckles at that as he takes my place behind the register.
“I think you’ll have to run into town. There wasn’t much left in the kitchen.”
“Any place that you recommend?”
“The Upside Diner is always good. Plus, it’s close by,” he says, pointing in the direction of town.
“Thanks. How long do I have?”
“Half an hour, but I won’t tell if you take a little longer.”
He gives me that grin of his and I smile before I hurry out of the shop. I take the stairs two at a time and grab my purse and car keys before I head out the back door and over to my car. I pull up directions to the diner that Teller mentioned and head down the road toward Destiny Falls.
If I eat fast, I should have enough time to run to the store to grab some food for later too. It’s closer to one pm when I pull into the lot and the place doesn’t look that busy. It’s retro-looking with a neon sign and chrome fixtures.
I park close to the door and jog inside, looking around to see if I should seat myself or wait.
“Go ahead and sit anywhere!” comes a cheery voice from the kitchen and I decide on a booth close to the door.
The menu is slightly sticky as I grab it from behind the napkin dispenser but I’m too hungry to worry about that. I’ve just decided on the bacon burger when two girls about my age come into the diner.
They’re laughing together and my heart cinches when I see how comfortable they are with each other.
I’ve never really had that. I was the poor girl growing up and then when I got to graduate school for my MBA, everyone was so competitive that I just stopped trying to make friends with anyone.
The girls look up and spot me and much to my surprise, they head in my direction.
“Hey!” the one with the bright red hair says, a warm smile curving her lips.
“Hi,” I say as they stop next to my booth.
“I’m Madelyn and this is Iris,” she says, pointing to her pale blonde-haired friend. “Did you just move to town? You don’t seem to have that tourist vibe to you.”
“Uh, yeah. I’m here for the summer. I’m staying with my great-uncle at the Mystery Cabin.”
I point up the road like they don’t know where that is.
“Stan is your great-uncle?” Iris asks, and I nod, my eyes widening slightly when both girls slide in across the booth from me.
“I love him. He’s such a crotchety old man,” Madelyn says with an infectious laugh.
The waitress chooses that moment to come over to take my order and I order my bacon burger and a Coke. Madelyn and Iris get the same before they turn back to me.
“Well, welcome to Destiny Falls. How are you liking it so far?”
“I actually just got here yesterday afternoon but it’s been good so far.”
Our drinks are set down and then our waitress, Suzie, heads back behind the counter.
“We’ll have to hang out sometime. We can have a girl’s night!” Madelyn says excitedly.
I’m startled by her offer. I’ve never had many friends and I missed out on the sleepovers and slumber parties when I was younger. The idea of hanging out with them while I’m in town sounds cool though. Maybe even bucket list-worthy.
Besides, Madelyn and Iris both seem sweet and like a lot of fun.
“That would be great,” I say and I realize that I’m being honest.
We swap phone numbers and then spend the rest of lunch talking. They tell me about growing up in Destiny Falls and the shops that they both work at. Iris owns Blast From The Past Antiques, a cute shop right next to the lighthouse. Madelyn inherited the Falls Market from her parents when they retired and runs that.
She offers to walk with me there after lunch and I realize that I don’t have much time left.
“I’ll grab the check. You two go,” Iris says with a smile and I hesitate.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, you can get it next time.”
I give her a smile as Madelyn grabs my hand and we hurry across the street to the market. She’s stopped by an employee almost as soon as we step inside and she gives me an apologetic smile as she heads off to help them.
I grab a basket and hurry up and down the aisles throwing in some fruit, oatmeal, spaghetti, and bread. I’ll have to come back to properly go grocery shopping.
I’ve just checked out and I’m headed for the door when I run into someone.
“I’m so sorry,” I start, looking up at the guy that I just bumped into.
“No worries. I should have been paying attention to where I was going,” he says, giving me a friendly smile.
I take him in. He’s got dark brown eyes and close-cropped blonde hair. He’s a little soft around the middle but he looks studious, successful.