Page 20 of Second Chances in Cedarwood

“It’s true. I’m mean and you’re a dick.” He might not say much, but he wasn’t afraid to be blunt.

“When you’re ready to upgrade, call me.” Ray leaned in and kissed him on the lips before Jack could react. He backed up and grinned, then walked out of the restaurant.

Jack slammed the door and hit the lock, then faced the miniscule dining room. His entire body tensed. He gritted his teeth and the muscles in his back ached. This always happened, but he’d forgotten about his internal reaction to Ray. The stress sucked. Having Ray there reminded him why they weren’t good together—Ray wanted more when he had nothing left to give. Everything was about Ray.

No wonder he’d been drawn to Henry. He liked the laid-back, easy qualities of him. Henry was sweet and worked with him when Ray did nothing but argue. Henry was better suited to him.

He spotted the bins behind the counter and sighed. Although almost everything Ray had said was wrong, he probably needed an assistant. If nothing else, he’d be better off with some company, instead of being alone. But he couldn’t expect Henry to come up now. Henry was a nice guy, but nice guys could be pushed too far. He didn’t want to do that to Henry.

Jack rounded the counter and hefted the box of onions onto the counter. If he was going to open on time tomorrow, he’d need onions and they wouldn’t chop themselves.

Chapter Six

Tuesday morning, Henry strolled through Cedarwood on his way to the restaurant. He could’ve driven, but why waste a perfectly good sunny day? He appreciated the exercise and the quiet around him. Besides, he’d leave a smaller carbon footprint if he walkedandhe’d surprise Jack.Double win.

He reached the center of town and headed for Jack’s. When he passed the gazebo, he spotted Charlie coming toward him. He remembered Charlie from the few times he’d ventured into the newspaper offices.

“Hi.” Charlie waved. “Are you busy?”

“I’m on my way to the hot dog shop.” Henry slowed his pace. “What’s up?”

Charlie looked every inch the cub reporter—young, scruffy and hungry for a story, the juicier the better. He jiggled the notebook in his hand. “You’re seeing Jack? Or just working for him?” The piercings in his ear caught the light when he waggled his head, and the tattoo was just visible at the edge of the cuff of his T-shirt. He wasn’t like the cub reporters Henry knew, but whatever. Times were changing and things that weren’t permissible before were passé now.

“We’re seeing each other and I’m helping out at the restaurant. Why?” He narrowed his eyes. If Charlie wanted gossip, he could go somewhere else.

“He was there yesterday,” Charlie said. “With someone.”

“So? He has to do prep work. Anna probably came in to help.” Henry tucked his hands in his pockets. “Where are you going with this?”

“Was it a special party? You’re dating him. You should know.” Charlie shrugged. “He seemed chummy with the dude.”

“If you’re trying to get information, then stop. I don’t know anything about it.” Henry sidestepped Charlie and walked away.

“Wait.” Charlie hurried up to him. “He hugged the guy and they seemed close.”

“So?” The new information bothered him, but it could be a figment of Charlie’s imagination or something to piss Henry off.

“I heard him say he loved him.”

Henry stopped in his tracks. “Look, I don’t know what was going on. Doesn’t matter. It’s not my problem, so if you don’t need me, my problem is getting to the shop.” He needed to be calmer about the situation and Charlie’s presence made that almost impossible.

Charlie shoved the notebook in his back pocket. “Okay, so the real reason I went hunting for you is that the paper wants your services. Remy has been talking about having a travel feature and you’re the best person in town to do this. You’ve gone places and you write about them. Why not work for the paper? The talk is also going around there should be a column about places in Cedarwood. Something like a feature about this restaurant or that shop. You’d be perfect.”

The ideas intrigued him, but if Remy wanted him to write the columns, then Remy could ask. “I’ll get in touch with the powers that be.”

“You will?” Charlie held up both hands and sighed. “Thank you. I’ll let Remy know I talked to you.” He didn’t look back as he walked away.

What a strange kid.Henry shook his head, then strolled the rest of the way to the hot dog shop. The anger from being baited by Charlie hadn’t dissipated, but he couldn’t dwell on what he didn’t know for sure. He was too old for gossip and saw no reason to waste time arguing. But he couldn’t shake the uncertainty. He should go right in and talk to Jack.

Except the shop was jumping. Now wasn’t the right time.

Henry hated going somewhere else for lunch, but he wasn’t in the right headspace to see Jack. Not now. Still, heading elsewhere felt wrong. Maybe he did have a routine. Wouldn’t his father laugh? His father used to say he’d get old, have routines and find true irritation when his routines weren’t followed.

Henry ventured over to the food trucks and ordered a tuna salad sandwich and a bottle of water, then settled at one of the picnic tables on the square. He’d never get any writing done at this rate. His mind was too full of Jack.

Christ.This was why he hated relationships. He disliked drama and gossip.

A half an hour to Jack’s usual closing time, Henry screwed up his courage and headed to the shop. He’d overblown the situation in his mind and should get to the bottom of the problem—if there was one.

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