Chapter 105
“Okay, you have my agreement. But I want you working Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Those are my busiest days. One to eleven.”
“Works for me,” Ryan said. Then he smiled. “Today’s already Sunday, though, so I guess this schedule will start this Thursday.”
Mabry checked his watch. “It’s not one yet. You could still make it today.”
“Maybe, but I don’t want to. I’ve got shopping to do. A shower to get. I need food, furniture. Man cannot live on Jack alone.” Ryan patted Chris’s arm. “You have more people to hire, so you’d probably better get going.”
* * * *
Ryan had admittedly limited funds but he had a couple of credit cards. Not that he wanted to charge very much. The last thing he needed was to be in debt up to his eyeballs. But he couldn’t go without a few necessary items.
He ended up getting a refrigerator, a loveseat, a television, and a bed. All were to be delivered on Tuesday. He’d need to go shopping for food and some dog supplies. He loved having a motorcycle but it sucked for shopping purposes. And the house was a little too far from the nearest grocery store in Sutter’s Bay.
“You know what I need?” he asked Jonesy, his only friend.
The dog wagged his tail.
“One of those grocery stores that deliver. Do you suppose Sutter’s Bay is modern enough for that?”
Ryan sighed. “I really have lost my fucking mind.” He grabbed his helmet. “You gotta stay here again because I don’t have room for you and stuff.” He patted the dog’s head. “Be back soon. I hope.”
* * * *
It was a few hours later that Ryan ended up at the dock, looking out over Sutter’s Bay. He’d taken the groceries home and walked and fed Jonesy. He wasn’t able to purchase anything that required refrigeration but he’d gotten a few staples to start to get his life in order.
Then he’d gone back out and bought a dog bed for Jonesy and a few dog toys. He’d eventually put in a doggy door.
And now here he was. The boat his parents had would have gone out of this dock the day of their deaths. Ryan wasn’t even sure what he was seeking exactly. If there had been answers to what really happened they would be long gone now. And finding out wouldn’t change the outcome.
He turned his head toward the man who was coming down the plank next to a houseboat. The man, probably in his early forties with dark hair, smiled and approached him, hand outstretched.
“Adam Colfer.”
Ryan smiled. “Ryan Callahan. You own Captain Adam’s.”
Adam inclined his head. “That’s right.”
“I had been thinking of going there to get a job,” Ryan explained. “I’m a chef.”
“Oh. You must be the new chef at Mabry’s. I’ve heard about you.”
Ryan laughed, a touch nervously. “Nothing bad, I hope.”
Adam grinned. “No. All very good. Makes me sorry I didn’t need a chef.”
“I understand Sutter’s Bay is really growing.”
“Yeah,” Adam said. “For a long time it only had my old breakfast and lunch café and a steak restaurant. Now it’s got my new place, Chris Mabry’s, and another couple steak and seafood places coming in the future. Lots of shops along the embarcadero, too.”
“Well it certainly brings opportunity my way. Hope you don’t mind the competition.”
“Not at all. Are you living at your parents’ old house?”
Ryan blinked. “You know who I am? Who they were?”
Adam shrugged. “It’s still a small town, and I put two and two together. I grew up here. My father owned the café before I did. I come from a time everyone knew everyone else. So I figured. I knew your dad a little. Your mom, too.”
“Well, so the answer is yes.”
“One night you should come have dinner with me and my boyfriend, Galaxy.”
“Galaxy?”
Adam laughed. “Yeah. Hippy parents. Anyway, I’m serious. Come by the restaurant and we can set up a day.”
Ryan nodded. It would be nice to have friends there. And gay ones, like him. “Deal. Thanks, Adam.”
“Night, Ryan.” And Adam moved off down the street.
Okay, so he was making progress. New job, furniture on the way, and maybe some new friends. Maybe coming to Sutter’s Bay had been the right thing to do after all. 3
Chris Mabry had a headache. Well, actually, he had a number of headaches, but the one actually in his head at the moment was killing him. He twisted off the childproof cap from the aspirin and poured out two pills. Then he thought better of it and added a third. He got a glass of tap water from his kitchen faucet and downed them.