Chương 41: Definitely a Chapter, Not an Epilogue

Wynnie crossed her arms and looked out over the full house. She laughed softly, shaking her head. Her disbelief and amazement looked radiant on her, and I was happy to see her enjoying the fruits of her success.

"A full house. Can you believe it?"

"I can," I admitted.

"We've even had to turn people away! It feels so wrong to do that."

"They'll be back. We were nice about it. They'll get their chance to enjoy your food soon."

"And your cocktails." She squeezed my hand, which she held loosely at her side. The night had been stressful so far. Busy, chaotic, very fun, but definitely stressful. This moment was the first chance we'd been able to share more than a few frantic sentences barked across the kitchen to make sure we got our orders correct. My prediction had come true. Friday really was just the beginning. And with a full house on Saturday, it was a virtual lock that Sunday would be high volume as well.

Just to complicate things further, Wynnie managed to book two rooms for the night. Both were fishermen passing through. Yet neither had mentioned that The Good Inn was full, which led me to believe they'd actually chosen this place first. Things had turned around quickly. A bit of paint and elbow grease had gotten us far. The touch of passion and care we'd added was putting us over the top. Wynnie leaned her head in, tilting her chin up against my shoulder to look into my eyes.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"So, the pirates threatened you?"

"They did. They said they were sending in their enforcer. Lady Talia seems to think the guy they send could be a big threat. Not just to me, but to you, the inn, and all of Seaport." She searched my face with concern.

"And are you worried?" I shrugged.

"Honestly? I think we have a bigger problem to deal with first."

"What's that?" Several patrons raised their hands, getting my attention to refresh their drinks. Empty plates sat in front of several customers, and they looked around at their party's food, clearly still hungry and ready to order more. We'd found a moment of respite, but the night was far from over. It was just getting started.

"We need to hire someone, and soon."

"You don't think we can do this ourselves?"

"I know we can't." She let out a weary laugh.

"Yeah, you're definitely right. This is… redonkulous." She was really getting the hang of that one. The door swung open. My insides twisted with that "here we go" feeling I always got when a new rush started in the bar. We'd already turned away so many people, but a couple of tables looked almost ready to leave. We could probably turn them and seat more soon. A short, slender young woman in a black leather jacket and skintight velvet pants swished in through the door.

Her deep violet tail flicked through the air behind her, almost like a cat's. I recognized her. I remembered her shapely ass, her ample bosom, and her wickedly curved horns. Her eyes settled on mine, and she crossed the room quickly. Despite the obstacles in her way—people, tables, chairs out of position—she slipped between them deftly with the grace of a dancer.

"Welcome. If memory serves, your name was Trouble, right?" I stuck out my hand to shake hers. She took it deeply.

"Actually, it's Shivai. Trouble was just my nickname in high school."

"Well, we don't want any trouble tonight." A plaintive smile spread across her lips.

"I'm not here to cause any problems. Promise. You heard Lady Talia today. I'm actually here for something else."

"A drink?"

"A job."