Page 1 of Then Came You

Chapter 1

Gillian had her back to the door when the bell rang, announcing a customer. She didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. He came into the coffee shop at the same time almost every morning, much to her chagrin.

She finished wiping down the counter before she slowly turned around to face him.

“Good morning, officer.”

“Morning.”

At the sound of his voice, Cocoa, her chocolate lab, trotted in through the opening between the coffee shop and the connected bookstore, wagging his tail with glee.

“There’s my boy!”

The policeman squatted down and petted Cocoa vigorously while Gillian scowled behind his back. Then he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a dog treat. It was the same as always, a standard beige Milk-Bone. She’d spent extra money on gourmet dog treats, yet Cocoa acted like this one was his favorite. Traitor!

“Same order as usual?” she asked. She was anxious to get back to work, although serving customers was part of her job description.

The officer stood up and perused the glass-covered platters lining the counter.

“Mmm. Cherry pastries. I’ll take one of those with a large—”

“Black coffee. Got it.”

She poured his coffee and plated the pastry while studiously avoiding his gaze.

“How’s business?”

“Good. A little slow at this hour, but it’ll pick up later in the day.”

She pushed the coffee and plate across the counter toward him.

“How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing. I told you that before.”

“At least let me pay for the pastry.”

She sighed, weary of the same conversation they had almost every day. “Officer…”

“My name’s Sam, and I wish you would use it.”

She glanced around the shop. Other than two elderly ladies sitting at a table by the front window, nobody else was there. Still, she lowered her voice.

“We make it a policy not to charge police officers, firemen, or EMTs. Why do you insist on paying?”

“Because I know that it’s difficult to run a small business. You can’t give everything away for free, or you won’t make any money.”

He glanced at the chalkboard hanging up behind the counter and then pulled out his wallet and extracted some bills. “For the pastry,” he said, brooking no argument.

She rang up the pastry and was handing him his change when Lauren came in from the bookstore.

“Morning, Sam,” she trilled.

“See, your co-worker uses my name,” he teased.

Gillian was in no mood for joking, though, especially not with him. She wished he would take the hint.

Sam took his coffee and pastry to the table in the front right corner of the shop, the same table he always chose if it was available. Gillian guessed it was so he could keep an eye on his cruiser, which was idling in a parking spot in front of the store.