Page 53 of Finding Yesterday

Okay, Pop’s subtle hint is not so subtle anymore. “Look, Mr. Max—”

“Pops.”

“Look, Pops, I don’t know exactly what you’re getting at, but I can’t be the reason someone stays in Blue Vine.”

“No, you can’t.” He raises his brow. “But you could beonereason for someone to stay.” The edges of his mouth tick up, then just as quickly, they fall away. Then he turns to me with another new expression. It’s vulnerable, almost sweet. “I see the way he looks at you, Claire. I’ve never seen him look at anyone like that before.”

Something tumbles in my stomach. Pops used my first name, yet another first. And I want that to be true so much—that Jack is falling for me and there’s no one else. That Jack is the man Pops thinks he is, who I thought he was. The problem is that Pops may not know who Jack is these days, they’ve been apart so many years.

And I’m not about to be the one to get in the middle of Jack and Pops, so I simply say, “I’m just trying to piece my life back together.” I put my hands up. “I’m a bit of a mess at the moment.”

He stands silent as he loads all the salt and peppers on a tray. “Well, that might be true.” He looks up. “You know, I was engaged to someone. It was fine enough…until I met Hannah. Then nothing but her was ever enough.” He clears his throat. “I broke it off and started dating Hannah right away. I never looked back.”

I swallow hard. Wow, I knowexactlyhow he feels. But hearing his story is a bittersweet tug of the heart. “Really?” I ask with a smile. “Didn’t know you were so scandalous.”

“Oh, yes, it was the talk of the town. Especially back in those days.” He smiles, warmth in his eyes from the memory. “And boy was it worth it. What Hannah and I had—it was the forever kind of love.”

The forever kind of love. I’m sure I haven’t had that, but I know that’s what I want. “The forever kind of love,” I say softly, giving him a wistful smile.

His eyes meet mine. “I think you need to give yourself credit. You’re finding yourself more than you think.” He winks before he walks away.

My stomach clenches, and I don’t know why. Maybe because Pops has a point? I do feel a peace I haven’t felt in a very long time, despite my rollercoaster circumstances. And I have no idea what to think of this conversation. It’s heartfelt, strange, and a little bit wonderful. WithPops.

He wants me to be with Jack so Jack will stay. Yes, for Jack’s happiness, but does Pops really want to run this place alone? It doesn’t sound like it. As I’m getting to know him, I’m seeing that he’s here so he can be around those he cares about. That’s probably why he closed the restaurant after Hannah passed. Which means I don’t know what Pops will do when Jack leaves.

And I know no one can understand how Pops feels. But him and I both lost someone we adored that same day, in the same strange circumstances. Both of us will never have answers to it, not for sure.

I never thought about it, but maybe we need each other in some strange way. Jack is going back to San Francisco, and after he does, I have to make The Fine Bone somewhere that Pops is excited to go to every day. Pops can’t become a hermit again. And I have this hole Mama left inside me, a yearning to be around someone who shares my passion for cooking. Pops can be that for me.

Yet another reason I have to make this work here at The Fine Bone.

I just have to keep myself from falling for Jack.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I HEAD TOPops’s house. Jack is back from San Francisco, and he wants to see me there. When I’d tried to call, Jack was already getting on a plane. Instead, he texted me and asked me if I could swing by and pick up my chef coat with my name on it.

So, we haven’t talked about anything real, and I’m almost breaking into a sweat thinking about facing Jack after what happened.

“Come in,” he says after opening the door.

I look at him then quickly look away. He’s just so handsome, even after traveling. His ruffled hair and warm eyes catch me off guard even though they shouldn’t by now.

I want to act like nothing happened, that I don’t feel differently. Except everything has changed, and I’m finding it hard to catch my breath.

When I walk inside, it’s a bit like stepping back in time. When I was here at Pops’s house the last time, I only stood on the front porch. Now that I’m inside, I see that the place is pretty stereotypical.

An old farmhouse taken care of by an old man. It’s a bit neater than I’d imagined, but the furniture is surely what Hannah picked out before she died. The mahogany wood of the dining table and china cabinet was popular back then. The reclining chairs in the living room are well-worn, and the quilts thrown over the top looking aged, dated.

I see my chef coat neatly folded and sitting on the couch. “That has to be mine.” I point to it. I know I’ve been at The Fine Bone for almost a month, but it feels official now. There’s no turning back after they have embroidered my name under The Fine Bone logo.

Jack fetches it. “Yup, here you go.”

“Great.” After I take it from his hands, the reason I came here is gone. I should leave, but I don’t want to just yet. I realize that’s contradictory to me not wanting to come here in the first place, but Jack seems to have that effect on me. “So, is Pops still at the restaurant?”

“Yeah, he’s giving Jordan and Nick a hard time about dirty barbecue sauce bottles.”

“Ohh, yeah.” I turn my chef coat around in my hands. “Popshatesit if any of the condiment containers are dirty.”

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