Page 10 of The Christmas Cottage
“You keep glancing toward the door,” George noted, taking a sip of his own coffee. “Hoping for a visit from someone?” he asked good-naturedly, mischief in his eyes.
Jackson quickly shook his head, wondering if anyone had seen him talking to Vanessa the day before, and started speculating. The residents of Fir Tree Grove did love their gossip, especially when it involved newcomers to town and they particularly enjoyed pairing single folks together, of which, unfortunately, he was. He wasn’t sure if Vanessa was or not—not that it mattered.
“No,” he said, possibly a bit too emphatically. “By the way, did you hear about Mabel hurting her wrist?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.
George’s brow creased instantly with concern.
“No, I didn’t,” he said, frowning.
He looked genuinely worried, and Jackson wasn’t surprised. George and Mabel had long had a closely watched relationship of sorts, for many years now that it had become something of a town fixture, like the entrance sign or even the diner itself. He doubted anyone really knew expected it to either go anywhere or just fizzle out. But he knew they cared about each other, and he knew that George would want to know that Mabel had gotten hurt.
At one point in time, years before, the town had gossiped and speculated about whether or not the two would actually get together. He thought he remembered the Maplewood Tavern having a casual betting pool over it at one point, and, although he couldn’t be sure, he thought that it might actually still be quietly going on.
Someone was due a good bit of money if the two of them ever actually went out on a date, although Jackson personallydoubted that would ever happen. It seemed, after all these years, that the two of them were just good friends. But they had always loved spending time with each other, and now and then the residents of town enjoyed good-naturedly teasing the two of them about their ongoing flirtation.
“I’m not sure what happened,” Jackson said. “But she hurt it somehow. I heard a couple of ladies talking about it yesterday, after coming here from shopping at The Toy Chest. It’s in a brace and everything. Slowing her down a bit. I guess the shop closed for a little while too, the other day. So it must be pretty banged up, she doesn’t close for just anything.”
“I’ll go check on her later today,” George said concernedly, tapping his fingers against his coffee mug. “Seeing as how she’s all alone, someone should.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate it. But she’s actually not on her own. Her granddaughter is in town. Vanessa.”
Something in his tone must have given away the fact that Vanessa had been lingering on his mind, because George instantly zeroed in on it. A smirk crossed his face, and he followed Jackson’s gaze to the front door before Jackson quickly looked away. He busied himself with setting out a few bowls of creamers to replace the ones that had been consumed by the last batch of guests to get up from the counter, but George wasn’t fooled.
“Has she come in to the diner?” he asked, and Jackson nodded.
“She seems to be a bit of a coffee addict,” he said, chuckling. “She was mostly focused on getting caffeinated when she stopped by.”
He tried to say it casually, like he hadn’t been intrigued by her since the moment she sat down at his counter, looking like someone had cut her out of a catalog and plopped her right down in the middle of their sleepy town.
“Well, this place does have exceptional coffee.” George held out his cup for a refill. “But is she really, or are you just hoping she is, so you’ll get a chance to see her again?” He chuckled a bit more heartily, giving Jackson a grin.
“She seemed pretty addicted.” Jackson refilled George’s cup, setting the pot back down. “How’s the tree farm business going?”
He figured George also wouldn’t be fooled by the conversational pivot, but he had to try. He certainly didn’t want to delve any deeper into what he thought about Mabel Stewart’s granddaughter.
George laughed. “I see you changing the subject there. Business is good though. Always is, this time of year. You should come down, get your tree for the house. I see the one you bought you put up here.”
He gestured to the brightly lit tree near the hostess stand, and Jackson nodded.
“Planning to do just that this week, actually. I’ve just got to find the time. This place is keeping me busy.”
That was an understatement. The diner was busier than ever, and while he was happy with that, he also didn’t want to let anything slip. He’d actually considered hiring another waitress to keep up with the holiday rush.
“That’s good though. You’ve really got something to be proud of here.” George looked around the diner, nodding. “It’s been good, watching you build this place up. And look where you’re at with it.”
Jackson took a long look around the diner, which was nearly packed by that point, a line starting to form near the hostess stand. Patty was starting to look a bit harried, as were the other two waitresses, it was time to go and lend them a hand. They definitely needed a fourth waitress for the rush hours.
“Get the breakfast special,” he told George, pushing a laminated menu in his direction. “I’m going to go give the ladies a break.”
He spent the next hour taking orders, running omelets and pancakes and specials out to tables, finding high chairs and of course, refilling cup after cup of the diner’s famous coffee. He loved it, he felt a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction at seeing so many people’s mornings made better by coming in and enjoying something to eat at his diner.
He kept glancing over toward the door, the counter, and the tables when they emptied, looking to see if Vanessa had come in, but there was no sign of her. He almost wondered if she hadn’t decided to stay. She’d seemed uncertain about being there, and more than a little preoccupied, and it wouldn’t necessarily have surprised him to find out that she’d packed it in and left. Maybe that two-night stay at Hearthside had ended up being a single night stay.
He shouldn’t feel as disappointed as he did at that thought. She certainly wasn’t going to stick around for good after the holidays. Nurturing a crush on a woman like that, a big-city whirlwind who would be there and gone before he knew it, was a recipe for trouble and nothing else. And, running a diner, he knew recipes.
Business wasn’t showing any sign of slowing down, and soon he was taking as many orders as the waitresses were and backing up the kid running expo in the kitchen. He was so busy that Vanessa finally left his thoughts, and he forgot to keep checking the hostess stand and counter to see if she’d come in after all.
Right up until he heard a familiar voice asking for a cup of coffee to-go, with three creamers, just as he was writing down an order for a table with two families piled into back-to-back booths. There were at least five kids between the two of them, all with different complicated special orders, and he couldn’tbreak away to go talk to her. But as soon as he glanced sideways, scribbling down an order for kids tenders, extra crispy, he saw her standing there.
