“Sorry,” he said, dragging his gaze away from Baylin. “I heard people talking about the Sharp triplets while we were hanging quilts at the church Wednesday; they sound bothinterestingandfun.”
“Crazy and stupid’s more like it,” Anita said, shaking her head. “Karl promised he’d be around to help me rebuild the engine on the jalopy of a food truck I bought, which was all I could afford. But they had the Breakaway Rodeo Finals in Montana right after Christmas, then the Southwest Expo in Fort Worth until last week. It’s always something with cowboys…something pulling them back on a trail to anywhere but here.”
“Give him a break,” Baylin said as she moved their dishes to clear the space in front of her. She tried, but failed, to conceala big yawn, folded her arms on the table, and rested her head against them. “You know Karl’s sweet on you,” she mumbled as her eyes closed.
“Just because you can’t be home doesn’t mean the people there aren’t important,” Teddy said, careful to sound neutral rather than defensive or judgy.
“Hard to claim something that doesn’t get your attention is a priority,” Anita countered with a pointed look at Baylin, whose peaceful, sleeping beauty pierced Teddy’s heart.
I could love her so easily.
“Out of sight isn’t always out of mind.”
“It sure feels like it,” Anita said, divulging a thread of insecurity which surprised him as she came across as self–everything…reliant, assertive, confident, and sufficient.
“That’s true,” Teddy agreed. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
“A church boy, huh?” Anita nodded as if connecting dots, sizing up who Teddy was as a human being. “That’s in Corinthians, right?”
“Yeah, 2 Corinthians 5:7.”
“If you meet my mama this weekend, don’t tell her I’d forgotten the exact verse.”
“Deal,” he promised. “Now, tell me more about this food truck in need of repairs.”
Anita’s dreams and her passion and her hopes resonated strong and clear as she described her vision and talked about the menus she’d created. Her fear of failure and her concerns for getting the business up and running bubbled at the surface as well.
“Let me invest,” Teddy offered.
“Nope! Absolutely not?—”
“Not as a gift, if you’re so determined to push out everyone who wants to help,” he interrupted. “Let meinvest…as a true business partner.”
He laid out a proposal, rates and terms far better than what she’d find at a financial institution, but still legitimate enough that Anita didn’t perceive the loan as accepting charity.
They negotiated. She fussed; he persisted. Then they jotted the agreed upon details on a napkin that both of them signed. Teddy grabbed his wallet from his backpack and wrote her a check. To his delight, it bore an eye-popping sum with a lot of zeros.
“Baylin’s right,” Anita said, standing from the booth bench and folding the check before putting it in her back pocket. Her voice carried an earnest note. Her eyes glistened with moisture. “You’re not so bad after all.”
Teddy would’ve sworn he’d just received a billion-dollar endorsement.
“Right back at ’cha, partner.”
Anita walked away, stopping by tables and exchanging a quick word with other people she knew as she made her way back to the kitchen.
Teddy tenderly shook Baylin’s shoulder to wake her up.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” he said when she opened her eyes and lifted her head from the pillow of her arms. “If you still want to run to the farm and get back to town for the baseball game, we’d better get going.”
“Oh my,” she groaned with a stretch. “I think I could call it a night right now and sleep until morning.”
“It’s your call; you said the high schoolers you hired can handle the booth tonight.” A vision of a quiet night by the fireplace in the farmhouse parlor, reading a book from the expansive library, and watching Baylin sew formed in Teddy’s mind. The vision held enormous appeal.
“Nah, the Sweetheart Festival comes only once a year. I’d hate to miss a moment of it. Let’s get going,” she said as they left the restaurant and walked into the chilly winter day. “I’ll text Anita to apologize for falling asleep. I’d hate to disrupt her work again.”
“She’s good,” Teddy told her, “…said she’d see you tomorrow at the exhibit hall.”
“Oh good. Did y’all get to visit some so you could get to know her? I think she’s amazing.”