Page 26 of The Friendship Pact

“You’re not the only one,” Kate said with a chuckle. “I hope I can meet everyone’s expectations.”

Lily came to the table with plates of food, interrupting their conversation.

“We’ll let you all eat,” Cole said. They exchanged quick goodbyes, and he and Kate headed out.

When they reached the sidewalk, a brisk wind blew Kate’s hair into her face. She tugged her jacket zipper higher.

Cole slipped on his gloves. “Did you walk over?”

Kate’s teeth chattered. She didn’t know if it was the cold or the unexpected encounter. “I did.”

Cole pointed to his truck. “I drove here. Hop in.”

* * *

Pete and his crew were framing walls when Kate and Cole walked through the front doors. An old boombox out of the ’90s sat on a sawhorse, playing classic rock.

“I just love the smell of fresh-cut lumber,” Kate said.

“Then you’d love my shop. Most of the time, I don’t smell it anymore.”

“That’s a shame.” Kate removed her coat and placed it on one of the church pews.

Pete walked over with a tall, skinny teenage boy. “Kate, I want to introduce you to Tommy. He’s part of our crew. He’ll be on Christmas break, so you’ll see him around more in the next few weeks.”

Kate stepped forward and shook Tommy’s proffered hand. “Nice to meet you, Tommy.”

“You too, ma’am. I think it’s great you’re opening a coffee shop.”

“Please, call me Kate. You’re not the only one I’ve heard that from.” She laughed. She took in the space around her and said, “If you had anything to do with the living quarters, I’m impressed.”

Tommy nodded and flipped his hair out of his eyes. “Thanks. I’ve learned a lot from Pete and Alexis.”

Pete tucked a hammer into his tool belt. “You guys here to discuss booths?”

“Yep. I’ll get the pews out of your way over the weekend,” Cole said. “I came to look at the space and see how many booths I need to make.”

Tommy excused himself and went back to connecting walls together with a power nailer. Kate jumped at the loud shot that rang through the open expanse of the building.

The three of them moved around the space and discussed booth placement.

Kate’s mind drifted to the scene at the diner. Nick looked happy. He told her he was single, but she wasn’t so sure about the happy-family scenario going on at the diner. It didn’t look like he’d been caught in a lie. Did it really matter? They were only friends.

“I agree,” Pete said.

Kate snapped her attention back to the conversation and tried to follow along.

“When do you need them by?” Cole asked Pete.

“We should be ready for them by mid-February.”

“No problem. I’ll have them ready.”

Pete hooked a thumb in Tommy’s direction. “I better get back to work.”

Cole removed his phone from his back pocket and took pictures of the space. He captured images of the church pews from all angles, even crawled under one. “Okay. This is all I needed.” He dusted himself off. “I’ll draw up some ideas. Can you stop by my shop in a few days?”

“Yes. I’d love to,” Kate said.