That did make sense, considering he owned the roadhouse. Outside, he unleashed the dog from the light pole, then helped the children scramble into the red pickup. Then the dog jumped in, getting a quick ruffle of his fur before Bull shut the door. He acted like he liked the dog, yet it was so skinny and battered. Why didn’t he take better care of it?

Frankie shook her head and noticed that Audrey had finished ringing up the groceries.

“By the way, do you read?” Audrey asked. “We have a book club—several, actually—and—”

“I’m in.” Frankie winced. “Well, as long as you’re reading something besides literary stuff. I read to escape reality, not wallow in it.”

Audrey’s eyes were dancing. “I feel the same way. We have a romance group, one for mysteries, and one for thrillers. Oh, and Tina and Lillian want to start one that’s only for subversive women.”

“I gave up on romance.” After Jaxson, she’d lost hope there were any nice guys in the universe. “But I love thrillers, and the subversive women’s group sounds like a blast.”

Books—and a way to meet people, gossip, and get information. Perfect.

“Awesome.” Audrey gave her details of the meetings and upcoming books, and Frankie entered everything into her phone. Where would she be without her smartphone to-do lists?

Audrey handed over the grocery receipt. “Your total comes to $105.83.”

“Aaah, right.” She waved her phone over the card reader. “I forgot that the price of stuff here was higher.”

“Sure is. Having to fly or ship everything in makes for high costs.” Audrey eyed Frankie with worry. “Working in the bar doesn’t pay all that well.”

“I’m doing all right.” Her savings account was quite healthy, especially compared to her sisters who’d blow their earnings on clothes, furniture, cars, vacations, and expensive alcohol. Crazy. She preferred quality over trends—and stocks and bonds over spending. Even if she hadn’t gotten the roadhouse job, she’d be fine.

But that wasn’t what a real server would say. To ease Audrey’s worries, Frankie said, “The tips have been good and will get better if the tourist season is as busy as people think.”

“It sure seemed that way last year.”

“Now that you’ve been here a year, do you like living in Alaska? It’s got to be different from Chicago.” Frankie snorted. “The whole town of Rescue has fewer people than are in my apartment building back home.”

Audrey’s eyes lit. “I love living here, especially because it’s so small. I feel like I belong, and I get to help decide what happens with the town. In Chicago, I was…oh, just another ant in a colony. One of the masses. Here, people know me. They notice if I’m ill. They worry about me.”