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“Hey, man,” a voice came from behind him.
Rob turned to see Keith take the stool next to him. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“Martha and the kids are visiting her mother, so it’s either this or a moldy piece of bread for breakfast.”
Rob chuckled. “How long is she gone for?”
“They left Friday, and they’ll be back on Wednesday.”
“That’s not too bad.”
“I guess I’ll survive.”
Allison finally finished up with the couple, and she grabbed a menu on her way toward them, offering it to Keith. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Definitely.” Then Keith turned to Rob. “You’ve got to help me build this shed. I told Martha it would be done by the time she got back, and it’s not progressing the way I thought.”
“How far have you gotten?”
Keith gave him a dubious look.
Rob shook his head with a huff of dry amusement. “I can come over after work, if you want. But you’re responsible for the beer.”
“Done. I dread what she’ll say if it’s still half finished when she gets back.” Keith accepted the coffee Allison brought him and took a large gulp. “Speaking of wives, they say that Dee’s been hanging out at Trevor’s every night this week.”
Trevor’s was the bar in the next town over, more rowdy than most of the establishments in the county. Rob had hung out there when he was young, but he hadn’t enjoyed it in years. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“I don’t know. That’s just what they’re saying.”
“She goes through spells. She’ll drink herself into a stupor and then sober up and try to be good. It’s mostly Cali I’m worried about.”
“Did you hear she’s been seeing that Nelson boy?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard stories that he’s not a good guy.”
“I’ve heard the stories too. Cali says he’s great to her.” Rob shrugged. “Maybe the stories are wrong.”
Keith scowled. “If he’s a Nelson, I doubt it.”
All of the men in the Nelson family were losers or criminals. So far, there hadn’t been any exceptions. Rob wished Cali hadn’t hooked up with that boy.
He was so distracted that he didn’t even see Allison coming over to him with a plate. She looked pretty and polished, as she always did, and his eyes did a quick once-over, taking in her body before he raised his gaze to her face. “Thanks.”
She gave him a smile, showing a little dimple to the side of her mouth. “Has anyone ever had a chat with you about cholesterol?”
Rob blinked, and Keith gave a snort of amusement.
“You eat eggs and bacon every day,” Allison added, as if she weren’t sure he’d followed her line of thinking.
“I hate cereal,” he explained.
“There are a few other breakfast options besides eggs and bacon and cereal, you know.” Her eyes were laughing, and Rob couldn’t help but be pleased that she’d thought about his health, even in a teasing way.
“Not very many. I’m not a smoothie kind of guy.”
Her eyes were still resting on his face. “Yeah. I wouldn’t have thought you were. Enjoy your eggs and bacon, and say a little prayer for your arteries.”
