Page 36 of Love Me Boldly

How odd. I was starting to think that too, but it had nothing to do with his looks. Well, not fully. He was gorgeous.

I nudged Caroline away with my shoulder. “Don’t you have work to do? Tables to clean? People to help?”

“A niece to take care of,” she added with her dry tone. “And that niece who I adore so much is finally smiling, and if it’s because of that boy, I’m thrilled, but you deserve to smile even without a boy around.”

“Thanks for the life lesson.” I turned to the water station, grabbed a tray, and set three glasses on it. “You can go now.”

“Get their drinks and their orders and then sit and enjoy yourself. I’ll bring the food out when it’s ready.”

It was almost eight, and she’d been on her feet since six in the morning. How Caroline and Paul could have a happy marriage when she was on her feet for up to sixteen hours a day was beyond me, but except for the occasional stress that came with running a restaurant in a small town that relied heavily on tourism, I never heard Caroline complain.

And life hadn’t been that much better to her than it had been to me, although she had someone to share it with.

I thought of this while I grabbed the water pitcher and headed toward Graham and his friends. Eli and Tanner sat across from him. I hadn’t seen Tanner since the last time they were in Deer Creek, and Eli shot me a chagrined smile as I reached them.

“Hey,” I said, glancing at all three of them. “Nothing going on in Boone that you had to head out this way?”

“Someone.” Eli coughed as he said it. “Begged us.”

“I didn’tbeg,” Graham corrected. “I simply kept asking someone to come with me until I convinced them. I can be very convincing.”

“Vomit,” Tanner grumbled. “Seriously, it’s right here in my throat.” He pointed to the divot at the base of his throat and cleared it. “Please don’t do that while I’m trying to think of food.”

Graham rolled his eyes. “How’s work going? Looks like you were plenty busy tonight.”

I scanned the side of the restaurant they were in. Years ago, before smoking sections were outlawed, this had been that area, so it was tucked away and separated with a glass partition and two open walkways. Most of the tables were dirty. Some still had plates on them that hadn’t been cleaned.

I cringed as I glanced around at the old restaurant. Back in the fifties, it’d been a diner, complete with poodle skirts and all. My grandparents had bought it after, taken out the jukebox and soda fountains, and remodeled it to have a rustic charm. I couldn’t quite see the charm anymore. It’d faded after years of use, declining profits, and while Caroline was awesome and I loved Paul, neither were nearly as handy as my grandfather, or my dad had been when he’d helped out.

Caroline shouldn’t have had me doing her taxes. I should have been out with customers and cleaning tables, but I couldn’t fault her for tucking me away on a Saturday night. She needed as much business as she could get, and my presence tended to turn them away. We were at the end of ski season. It was probably one of the last few weekends that tourists would flock to our mountains and our town. Soon, we’d be spending our hours keeping the restaurant immaculately clean all for something to do with our time. The Grille needed every penny they could find to get them through the summer.

Right now, there was nothing special about the restaurant, and seeing it through the eyes of college students who had credit cards to pay for hundreds of dollars of flowers and dinners, I wasn’t embarrassed necessarily…but it was humbling.

“Yeah.” I poured their waters, set down the pitcher, and grabbed our old-school order pad. “It was pretty busy. You guys need something to drink?” I rattled off the beers on tap, but they all shook their heads.

“Hockey playoffs are soon,” Eli said. “Need to watch that. I’m good with water.”

“Same,” Tanner and Graham said.

“Any chance you can take a break while we’re here? Come and chill for a minute?”

“I’ll try. I’ll be back with your drinks in a minute. Take your time looking over the menu.”

Not like it would take long to find something to order. The menu was only one page. Sandwiches, burgers, a couple of salads, and a half dozen actual entrées, Caroline always kept the menu simple. She switched things out every few months, though, to keep things new and interesting, keeping the best sellers always available.

I dropped my tray on the stand before pushing through the metal doors and found Caroline leaning up against the metal counter, arms crossed over her chest, like she’d been waiting for me.

“So…? Who’s the guy? And why haven’t I heard about him before?”

“I’m surprised youhadn’theard about him.” It wasn’t like gossip didn’t travel. I’d been kicked out of Golden Eye on New Year’s Eve. Shehadto have heard about that night.

“Chanelle didn’t kick you out, she kept Mick from being a bigger asshole. You know that.”

“Yeah, well, that was the night I met Graham and his friend Tanner, who’s one of the guys with him, so it wasn’t my finest moment.”

“Doesn’t seem to bother him.” She shrugged. “He go to school?”

“Plays hockey at NCWU, majoring in chemistry, wants to be a science teacher and hockey coach. Any more questions, Your Honor?”

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