Page 5 of Second Chances in Cedarwood

“I don’t know,” Henry said. “Boring isn’t all that bad. I’m here anyway, so why not work for you? Looked like you needed the help.”

“It might not be fun,” Jack said. As much as he wanted to talk Henry out of the job, he wanted Henry to do it.

“Could be fodder for a book.” Henry grinned and held out his hand. “I’ll do it. I can always use the experience. Why not?”

He shook hands with Henry. “True.” He’d pushed and Henry had pushed back. He liked a man who wasn’t a wuss, as Anna put it.

Henry finished his soda. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” He stood when Henry did and shook hands with him again. “See you.” He’d just hired someone.

Henry’s eyes glittered and his smile widened. He fumbled as he put his notebook back into his bag, then wandered out of the store.

Jack couldn’t help but smile, too. He hadn’t felt this kind of tingle in so long. He looked forward to Henry being there the next day.

“Well, that’s a funny way to get a date.” Anna locked the door again. “You do realize you basically asked him out.”

“No, I didn’t.” He laughed to hide his confusion. “I wanted him to work for me.”

“Which brings him closer to you, gives you a chance to see him in action and size him up…kind of like a date.” She rolled her eyes. “I can tell you like him. Those sparks could’ve lit up this shop.”

“Anna.” He wasn’t going to argue with her. He did want to go out with Henry for real, not a weird meet-up or seeing him by accident…or working with him.

“I like it.” She patted him on the shoulder and headed around the counter.

He massaged his temples. She knew him too well. Hehadchosen a strange way to get with Henry, but he’d also gone out of his comfort zone to hire another worker. God, he hoped Henry worked out—and not just as an employee.

* * * *

Henry worked late into the night on the outline for his novel. He couldn’t seem to settle down. He’d been offered a job and would get to spend time with Jack. Okay, so maybe they wouldn’t be side-by-side and he might not get to say much beyond a few words, but he’d be there.

God.He sounded like a damn kid. He wasn’t a young man any longer. He shouldn’t be so excited to be with a man when it wasn’t a date. But he couldn’t contain his excitement.

He abandoned the outline at eleven and fought sleep until eight the next morning. When he looked at his reflection, his stomach churned. He appeared tired. Well, no shit. He’d been up almost all night thinking about Jack.

He dressed, hydrated and spent the next hour in his home gym, alternating among the treadmill, rowing machine and lifting weights. Once he’d finished, he polished off a granola bar and a glass of water, then showered.

He dressed in a decent T-shirt and a pair of older jeans. Should he wear cologne? Stay as neutral as possible? He opted for just wearing antiperspirant, then chastised himself for overthinking the next few hours. He was working, not trying to get a damn date.

Henry checked his look in the mirror again and debated using that shampoo claiming to remove his grays. He’d have to use a lot of shampoo. The grays outnumbered his naturally dark brown hair. He didn’t look forty-seven but rather ancient. He couldn’t compete with younger men and probably wouldn’t be able to cover the imperfections in his hair, either.

He gave up trying to instantaneously change himself and headed up to the hot dog shop. Henry parked in the area behind the shop, then walked in. A few customers were already at the restaurant.

Jack smiled. “Hi. Come around here and I’ll get you up to speed.” He gestured to Henry and touched his arm. “Won’t take long and you’ll be an old hat.”

“Thanks.” He shouldn’t have been so excited when Jack brushed his arm.Shouldn’t want to fall into his embrace.

Jack stood between Henry and Anna. “So the customer tells you what they want. You write down HD. If they want fries with it, then HDF. If they want a soda, HDFS. When they want toppings, that’s when it gets complicated. We only have chili, hot sauce, slaw and cheese. The works is everything. So, HD works. If they want chili, then HD chili. The prices and sides list is right here— upside down for you and right side up so the customer can see it. Make sense?”

“Sure does.” Henry nodded. Once the place got rocking, he’d be in trouble, but he’d make it work. He bumped into Jack a few times and the sparks started right back up. Jack smelled good, and not just of food. When he stood close to Jack, he noticed the flecks of amber in Jack’s green eyes. He had kissable lips, too. This wasn’t the time to be thinking about kisses, but oh well.

“Ready?” Jack elbowed him. “It’s about to ramp up.”

“Sure.” He craved the action and it only took fifteen minutes for him to understand why Jack needed assistance. Once the crowd started to build, it didn’t let up until almost two in the afternoon. He kept up with goings on and learned the menu fast.

At two, the excitement died down a bit. He tucked some of the bills into the money bag beneath the counter. He loved the work. So many stories told and people interacting. He could people watch while aiding the customers.

“You really helped. Thanks.” Jack clapped him on the shoulder. “Hungry?”

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