Her fingers crossing her heart, Katie said, "I'm telling you. He ditched the Rapunzel locks—had Marina chop them off yesterday and donated them to that place that makes wigs for cancer patients."
"Aww." She softened at that. Any man who donated his hair to help someone feel better was okay in her book. "That was so sweet."
"Not sure if he did it because he was sweet or tired of the stalking. The poor man has so many groupies he can't get a moment's peace. Women stick their underwear in his fence."
Could a heart beat right out of a chest? Was this Katie's way of telling her she knew about the pink panty caper? Nothing in her eyes said she was aware that Mercy shoved hers in his fence.
Mercy's eyes rolled skyward. "Oh yeah, most men would hate skinny, willing hotties hovering. It must be awful having women throw their lingerie at him and offer sex on demand."
"You're probably right. I imagine he has a line at his front door while he escorts the flavor of the day out the back. He's probably in Doc's stocking up on protection."
"Do you think he gets a discount for ordering in bulk?" She imagined a room in his house delegated to groupies. One wall was stocked floor to ceiling with condoms, and the only other thing in the room was a bed.
"Don't tell Bowie because he's the only man for me, but if I was single … I'd stand in line. I mean, can you imagine the skills he must have? They say practice makes perfect."
"That kind of practice keeps doctors busy prescribing antibiotics." She couldn't believe she said that out loud.
She and Katie looked at each other and busted out in laughter. "I like you, Mercy. I wish I could offer you a job, but Ben takes all the hours here." She glanced across the street. "Rumor has it that Phillip and Marge are selling the Corner Store, but there aren't jobs there until there's a new owner."
"They're leaving town?"
"It's not public knowledge, but they're getting on in years, and the store is a full-time job for both of them. I heard they were buying an RV and traveling." She reached up and took a pen and a sticky note from the basket hanging on the wall. "Fill out your wish, and let's see what happens. This town is a place of miracles."
The door opened, and Alex looked behind him like he was being followed, but no one entered.
Mercy tucked her head down and wrote.
I need a job … any job.
Mercy
Katie stood behind the counter and gave Alex her big-as-Texas smile while he ordered several muffins, cookies, and brownies.
From beneath her lashes, Mercy chanced a few glances his way. This couldn't be the drummer from the band. He went straight from the cover of Rolling Stone to GQ. She would have thought the haircut would make him look older, but it didn't. He looked more refined and less bad boy, but the smile he gave Katie as he paid said his haircut didn't tame him.
When he turned to walk away, she tucked her head down.
"Holy hell," Katie said after he left. "He's hotter now. I love a good man bun, but those eyes could hypnotize a girl, and that smile even made my ovaries do a double flip, and I'm married to the hottest guy in town. No wonder women throw themselves at Alex."
Mercy took a five from her purse and set it on the counter. "It was good to get some time to chat finally. Let's do coffee again." Despite the black cloud continually hovering overhead, Katie was a ray of sunshine. Everyone needed sunshine in their lives.
Katie pushed the money back toward her. "His smile was payment enough. It makes me feel like giving everything away for the day."
Mercy went back to the table and tacked her wish to the wall. "He's okay, not really my type."
"Oh, honey, don't lie to yourself, Alex Cruz is everybody's type."
Chapter Four
"Three more pairs of underwear and a cake with, 'Call Me,' written across the white frosting, were in my fence or by my fence this morning."
Gray chuckled. "I had a naked girl on my hammock asking me to be her baby daddy, but when I walked out the back door and she saw it was me and not you, she said I'd do in a pinch but wanted your address to see if she could upgrade."
"You're kidding."
"No shit, man. These women are crazy for you. The only good thing is, now that the stalkers have arrived, there are more women in Aspen Cove."
Was it true that there were only a few single women between the ages of legal and dead? If so, that had to be a blessing because women were nothing but trouble.
"The bad news is we might get chased out of town by the residents who aren't used to, let's call them music enthusiasts."
"The deputy sheriff didn't seem to mind when I called this morning and had him pick her up. Dude's name is Merrick, and he's as big as a house. He didn't intimidate the woman, though. She offered to get warmed up with him."
"He can have her and her ticking clock lady parts. I'm not going to be anyone's baby daddy. I've avoided parenthood up to now, and I'm not going to screw it up with a one-night stand." Alex's outer voice always managed to keep the inner one in check. There had been times when he saw a child playing and felt the tug of want, but "the apple didn't fall far from the tree" was a saying for a reason.
His father wasn't ever around, and his mother was a drunk. There was no love between them because he never changed his lifestyle when he got her pregnant. He'd done the right thing and married her, but that only gave her hope he would come home and be a husband. Dad was married to