Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
I'm probably just imagining things, Farica told herself. Right?
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
"We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
OOOOOH...EEEEEH!
On her first day at work, Kady was abruptly roused from her sleep by animal cries blasting from some close but unknown source, and when she heard a boar snorting from somewhere her room, Kady shot up in her bed, her disoriented gaze sweeping her surroundings.
What was happening? Where am I?
Brick walls, a super comfy bed with fluffy white covers, and a window that showed the outline of the wooden hand-carved sign of Redwood Cafe.
Oh.
Right.
But—-
♫ A-WEEMA-WEH. A-WEEMA-WEH. ♫
A moment later, she heard a masculine and completely vivid voice roaring from down the hallway. "For fuck's sake, Farica."
The music was suddenly placed on pause, and Farica's laughing voice came in loud and clear. "Rise and shine guys, training starts right after breakfast today. And now, back to regular programming: The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Nylons."
As the still-loud but strangely soothing chants of 'a-weema-weh' resumed in the background, Kady's continuous but somewhat befogged search for the source of Farica's audible antics finally bore fruit: a Dolby surround-sound speaker, mounted on one of the upper corners of her bedroom's walls.
A small-town cafe with its own P.A. system?
This new job just kept getting weirder and weirder...
And thank God for that, Kady thought happily.
She couldn't help humming along, couldn't help smiling and reminiscing as she made her bed up and rummaged through her clothes, which were already neatly hung inside the antique whitewashed armoire next to the vanity dresser.
Last night had been pretty amazing, with Kady wanting to constantly pinch herself as the two extremely beautiful owners of Redwood Cafe carefully went over the ins and outs of the business, like she was already an integral part of it.
(Almost like you're family.)
Supper (both of her employers had taken pains to explain that supper was for evening and dinner was for midday meals) had even been more peaceful, with Mr. Wyndham having to leave for some meeting.
(Don't forget the part when the boss winked at you on his way out!)
Finally, Farica had taken Kady upstairs, and she had been unable to help gasping in awe at her first glimpse of her bedroom. It had a pink rocking chair next to a small fireplace and its window boasted of magnificent town views of Hartland.
(But isn't the most exciting thing about this was Slade Wyndham sleeping right next door?)
Kady caught her reflection in the vanity mirror and gave herself a good, hard glare. Shut up, Bad Kady. Her sly-as-a-fox inner imp had been on a roll since last night, but it was time to put an end to all those dangerously stupid thoughts.
Eric, who had confessed to liking Kady, had still ended up with another (prettier) girl. That should be lesson enough for her: boys out of her league would always stay out of her league.
By the time Kady finished with her shower, Farica's playlist had already blasted out two other versions of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and it was now *NSync oohing and eeehing in the background as Kady slowly ran her hand over the leathery texture of her brand-new apron. The new chapter of her life officially began now, and while the thought still filled her with trepidation, she simply started chanting more of John Wayne's wise words in her mind as she changed into a shirt and jeans.
A man's got to do what a man's got to do.
Farica was seated by the bar when Kady came down, chatting and laughing with a young couple, who - Kady couldn't help noticing - also happened to be as extremely attractive as the cafe's co-owners. And come to think of it, wasn't the man on horseback she saw yesterday just as good-looking?
Kady tried not to grimace as she considered the possibility of all of Hartland's locals to have somehow descended from Aphrodite.
Seeing that the couple was also wearing the same apron she had on, Kady realized that they were probably the two other employees Farica had told her about last night.
Farica caught sight of Kady hovering at the foot of the steps and waved gaily at the younger girl. "There you are." Seeing Kady's shy look, she said with a smile, "Come here and join us. I promise we don't bite—-"
"But I do," Slade purred, standing right behind their newly-hired waitress, and when he started to lower his head as if about to take a chunk off Kady's shoulder—-
Farica did her best to smother her laugh as Kady virtually tripped over her own feet in her haste to get away from the billionaire. And Slade being Slade, the conceited oaf didn't even appear the tiniest bit bothered as Kady seemed to dither like a headless little chick, bumping into tables, chairs, and even into their huge-ass-jukebox before finally arriving at the bar, looking dazed and exhausted.