Chapter 102: Nobody Was Hiring Her as the Free Kitchen

Dove pushed the coffee back across the counter. "I can sell what I own. I can’t promise tomorrow’s delivery will be dinner just because you’re asking nicely."

The kitchen owner looked disappointed, but he asked what she did have. That was a much better question. She listed canned chicken, beans, rice, and wrapped seasonings, leaving their own travel food out of the offer. They agreed to meet at the keeper’s office after breakfast.

On Day Forty-Six, Sprout delivered four sets of rechargeable work lights. Dove stood over them after her pool wash, enjoying the rare pleasure of having refused a bad idea before it became her fault.

"See?" she told the system. "Imagine his face when I served him a flashlight."

"Can I use these without buying something else?" she asked. Sprout showed her the charging ports, then offered a solar mat for seventy coins. Of course it had something to sell. She could use a compatible power source and save for the mat later. Three sets needed buyers.

Practice with Edrik would cover the exercise reminder. First, she needed the trip to make sense.

The keeper’s office stood at the end of the raised sheds, with a desk facing the loading yard and maps pinned beside the door. Dove took the chair near the window. Thorne stood beside her while Edrik checked the view outside before settling against the wall.

The kitchen owner spread his route map on the desk. He had two workers and one handcart for his own dry food. He wanted Dove to bring six large cans of chicken, four bags of rice, and a box of beans to sell at a truck stop beyond the higher road. Two more cans would pay for joining his trip. Everyone loaded their own goods.

"No promise about escorting your whole crew," Dove said. "My men protect us. If we help with something else, you ask."

The owner glanced at the two men and nodded. "Agreed."

"And if the road closes, I decide what happens to my goods. Nobody unloads my things to save yours."

Edrik’s mouth curved at my men. Dove almost missed it because she was watching the map, but the bear looked far too pleased when she glanced up.

She rolled her eyes. "Don’t start. I’m discussing who has to carry the heavy shit."

"Of course you are," he said, still smirking. Thorne leaned close enough to add, "You did say it very nicely." She pointed both men back at the map before the keeper could watch her blush.

The keeper lent them a small handcart, to be returned at the truck stop. The organizer would carry a tool set ahead as security and leave it with the keeper there. Dove had him write that down before she agreed, because she wasn’t losing tools over somebody’s excellent memory.

Their food for sale went in marked crates, separate from dinner. The folded cot fitted underneath. Water, blankets, and bandages stayed in an outside bag where either man could reach them if she exhausted herself using her space.

Thorne asked where she wanted to sleep on the way. The organizer described a shorter road with a crowded bunkroom and a longer, higher route through roadside service buildings, ending at the truck stop’s rented rooms.

"Higher road," Dove said. "I would like one night where a stranger can’t roll over and breathe on me."

"You could breathe on me," Edrik offered, far too helpfully.

"I might snore directly into your ear. Try putting that in your little fantasy."

He smiled, and she had to look back at the map before the keeper became an audience to something private.

They planned two travel days if the crossings held, with extra time if they didn’t. The organizer knew the route from a recent visit, but none of them could promise what another warm afternoon would do to the water. Dove copied the turns and marked the service shop where they could stop above the lowest crossing.

Back at the counter, Thorne made lunch while she sold three light sets to men working beneath the sheds. The lamps didn’t replace sunlight forever; she showed the charging ports and told each buyer to bring the correct power source. Their payment was oats, canned peaches, clean rope, and a sound canvas bag.

She stored the rope and collected the sales reward, then practiced with Edrik after eating. Her men had already supplied enough laughter and affection to finish the Favor target. By the time she sat down, her legs wanted a rest and she had one light set left to make a decision about.

Sprout reminded her that keeping it cost four Favor, while returning it would cost one normal coin. She wanted it, but wanting everything useful was how a woman ended up saving forever for a skill she actually needed.

Outside, Edrik worked a stiff wheel loose while Thorne offered advice he clearly hadn’t requested. Dove watched from the shop steps, drinking coffee and enjoying two large men discovering that a very small piece of metal could be annoying.

"You can frighten an entire room, but the wheel’s winning," she called.

Edrik lifted the pin he’d just freed. "Come down here and say that."

"I charge extra for encouragement." Thorne laughed, carried the empty crates inside, and came back for her hand. She let him pull her down the steps, then stayed against his side after her feet reached the ground.

"Are we moving somewhere you want?" Thorne asked. "Or only away from her?"

Dove looked toward the guest shed where Saffra remained indoors. "Both. I’m allowed to enjoy both."

He kissed the top of her head and returned to packing. She marked their sale crates with a strip of blue cloth and tied the household food separately. "And we stop if we find useful stores," she told him. "I want more coming home with us than wet socks." Thorne glanced at the cart. "I was afraid you’d say that."

Edrik fastened their emergency bag where either man could grab it. Dove remembered passing out and made herself leave the check to him. Thorne tucked a second cloth under the strap, then caught her hand.

"Next time I want somebody to carry me, I’ll just whine until you volunteer," she told him. His tail brushed her leg, and he said that sounded familiar.

The organizer arrived before closing to ask for the finished list. At the same moment, Sprout lit the final work-light set on its screen and asked whether she was keeping it.

Dove looked from the empty line under personal equipment to the lamp waiting beside her bed. She had to decide what came with them before morning, and the comfortable room was suddenly much harder to pack than it had been to rent.