Page 54 of Finding Yesterday

Jack laughs, and it’s from deep in his belly. The one that always make me a bit unsteady, but I smile and keep my cool as Jack continues with, “I see he’s put you through the wringer.”

I close my eyes, trying not to bust up. “He made me redo all the napkins in glasses once because the sides of the fans weren’t equal.” I pretend I’m looking down through glasses on my nose when I bark, “Pull the edges when you fold them in half!”

Jack’s eyes go bright, happy. “You know, I used to think Pops had a screw loose.”

“Okay,” I reply, holding back on adding, “Used to?”

“It seems he does, that’s true. But there’s a method to his madness. Those small things are actually big things.” Jack closes the door.

I guess I’m staying a minute?

My face goes serious. “You know, I hate to admit it. But he’s right. The bathrooms should always be spotless.”

“That one’s a definite yes.” Smiling, Jack jabs a thumb over his back. “Do you want to come sit on the patio with me? I was headed out for a beer.”

I shift on my feet, nodding toward the front door. “I should probably take off.”

“Claire,” Jack says, his tone firm. “Look, I think we need to talk about what happened between us. You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Okay.” My chest tightens. This is not a conversation I want to have, but I just need to get it over with.

“I have a new dark beer to try.” He nods to the refrigerator.

“Yes, that’d be nice, thank you.” I might as well. I need something to take the edge off. Right now, I’m so jittery I feel like I could fly.

“Sure.” Jack leads me through the kitchen where he grabs two beers from the refrigerator. Sliding open the patio doors, he waves toward the sky. “Come on out. It’s fixin’ to be a great sunset.”

The corners of my mouth quirk up. “You’ve been spending too much time in Blue Vine. Your accent’s coming back.” I follow him out to the patio, rubbing my hands together. Being out here under the beautiful sky is romantic, and right now I need that about as much as another rescue pig. But I’ll just keep my distance.

He hands me the beer. “So, I’m interested to see what you think of this. It’s a new one I’m considering for the restaurant.”

“I’ll give you my review.” I wait for Jack to sit at the patio table before I walk over and take a seat on the porch swing. And Jack was right, itisa lovely night. I liked living in Atlanta, but there is nothing better than Blue Vine at dusk.

The way the sun casts shades of oranges and reds over the rolling vineyards is a view that belongs in a magazine. In fact, does find itself in magazines, more and more as the town grows. Blue Vine is making a name for itself as a vineyard town, and I can see why. It still has that small-town charm but with excellent wines and a fantastic atmosphere.

Jack takes a drink of beer, watching me out of the corner of his eye.

I play it cool as I take a sip. “This is good.”

“I really like it.” He peers into the distance. “You think it belongs in the Fine Bone?”

“I don’t know just yet.” I run my finger over the neck of the bottle. “Let me have a few more sips before I make my ruling.”

“Fair enough.”

“So, it seems like Pops is hitting his stride with the restaurant.” I push my toe on the ground, and the swing rocks ever so slightly.

“Yeah, he needed to be back bossing people around again.”

I set my beer on the side table and narrow my eyes. “You know, that would’ve been a good thing to tell mebeforeI took the job working for him.”

“Really?” Jack feigns innocence. “I had no idea.”

“Did he serve in the military?” I look down to see that my hand is fidgeting. I’m stalling.

“He did. Wow, how did you know?”

“I’m psychic.”

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